New retail, healthcare and AI most targeted for PE, VC investment

New retail, healthcare and AI are the most targeted areas for private equity and venture capital investment, with growing investment scale and earlier involvement, industry insiders said at a recent forum.

The forum, China Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CAVA) Annual Meeting & PE/VC Summit, was held in Beijing during CAVA's 15th anniversary of its founding.

Qiming Venture Partners, for instance, has its 40 percent of the investment in healthcare and medical treatment. Projects invested by Qiming have various cycles and focuses. More recently, Qiming has its eyes on precision medicine, medical service and new drugs, according to its top management.

Qiming also focuses its investment on artificial intelligence, specifically an autonomous car. It plans to promote autonomous driving and sell its related services by 2020 or 2021.

Legend Capital, a subsidiary company of Legend Holdings Corp, also values the opportunity that technology innovation brings to healthcare and medical treatment. Legend has weighed biochemical and genetic testing over medical services and medical equipment in terms of investment.

Investors need to wait for a longer time to cash in on their investment in medical manufacturers. said Chen Hao, president and managing director at Legend Capital. For those long-term investments, investors could cash in by selling part of the equities they've invested.