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Our Firm

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Introduction

Established in 2001, CoStone Capital is one of the earliest venture capital and private equity investment institutions in China. Its core team boasts over 20 years of investment management experience. Headquartered in Shenzhen, the company has branches in Beijing, Shanghai, Hefei, Nanjing, Changsha, Wuhan, Hong Kong, and Silicon Valley. CoStone Capital manages approximately 85 billion RMB in total assets, spanning various types such as angel investment, VC, PE, mergers and acquisitions, and private placements, covering all stages of a company's lifecycle.


Adhering to the investment philosophy of “Concentrated investment and customized services",CoStone Capital has cultivated and established numerous industry leaders and niche market champions in fields such as hard technology, emerging industries, life sciences, and healthcare, achieving sustained, stable, and excellent investment returns.


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Assuming that we are breaking systematic barriers to private enterprises’ participation in market economy, and boosting innovation and entrepreneurship of our society, then we are heading towards a promoting direction. We are marching in the path of light, regardless of the ups and downs of Sino-US relationship, the drop in GDP growth rate, or the monetary policy.

———Greeting from the Chairman

Investment
Methodology

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22 Investment Rules
of Costone Capital

    • 01Fear is born in the blindness of following trends and buzzwords of investment, instead of the macro economy.
    • 02In spite of the capricious macro economy, our investment should flow in excellent enterprises in the new economy. We are investing on the real enterprises and entrepreneurs instead of the industry.
    • 03 The stock market is not a bell-weather for the macro economy. The tendency in the capital market will not be always in line with that of the macro economy in the next five to ten years. It is also true between the trends of stock prices and enterprise performance.
    • 04 Growth potential and value are paramount indicators. Growth potential guards against the uncertainties in the economy and markets. Value determines abnormal returns.
    • 05The original, world-class and platform-level technology can yield high value like a solid foundation can support a skyscraper.
    • 06 An independent IPO in A share is seen as a crucial factor. IPO in Hong Kong or the United States, stock-for-stock merger, acquisition and delisting will affect our returns on investment. Different IPO exits and value systems are essential to our returns and should be taken into consideration in the first place.
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22 Investment Rules
of Costone Capital

    • 07 Margin of safety is more important than profits. Irrational prosperity of the capital market is an unexpected gift. Margin of safety is the true power source of compound interests.
    • 08The enterprises with a margin of safety worth a high position of investment. One should not expect more when doing the least. Investment should have a priority.
    • 09 Investment counts on holistic judgement and three-dimensional thinking. They enable a and essential and comprehensive understanding on corporate behaviors and capital markets, or you will never see the whole picture. Holistic judgement and three-dimensional thinking combined will generate steady profits from 10-year or 20-year projects.
    • 10 Investment is not a science but an embodiment of cognitive capacity. The right investment needs strong comprehension. One may not fully comprehend what he feels, but he can definitely feel what he fully comprehends.
    • 11 Combinational investment, diversified portfolio and trend investing are not working in both primary and secondary markets. Therefore, we will not stick to only one industry.
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22 Investment Rules
of Costone Capital

    • 12Investment depends on commonsense. Don’t be thrown by the appearance of an enterprise. It is likely a monster in disguise.
    • 13 An enterprise is an organic body. Financial indicators are not the only approach to comprehend corporate behaviors. The reports of brokers are now overwhelmed with irresponsible optimism.
    • 14 Not all enterprises that CoStone invested boasted entrepreneurship, but those who did brought CoStone time-enduring and extraordinary profits.
    • 15 Be careful about those enterprises which dabble in different fields, play at the capital market, or refuse to make long-term investment on R&D and the building of mechanisms.
    • 16 All investment holding companies are troublemakers. If we don’t value corporate governance, it will backfire.
    • 17 Be kind those entrepreneurs who have devoted themselves for us and be harsh to those frauds who create information asymmetry on purpose. For those who commit the crime of frauds and duty encroachment, we must hunt them down.
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22 Investment Rules
of Costone Capital

    • 18The corporate governance of state-owned enterprises is underperformed. We will not participate in the mixed ownership reforms of those enterprises which the executives do not hold shares, corporate governance has not been improved or have trouble with securitization in domestic market. We will prioritize the enterprises which have shifted the control power.
    • 19 The century-old enterprises share one recipe——they are the organizers of an industry chain instead of merely a producers of a product. CoStone vowed to be the organizer of the industrial chain for equity investment.
    • 20 Profits are the natural outcomes instead of our original goals. CoStone will remain compassionate, aspiring, ambitious and responsible. As a qualified enterprise, we provide a platform for talented colleagues who share the same values and eliminate unqualified ones.
    • 21The mission of C-Level Executives is to create, find and clinch crucial deals.
    • 22 Angel investment, part of CoStone’s charitable campaigns, should be operated as an enterprise and should be commercial, in order to increase investment and benefit more entrepreneurs. We are doing the same in other investment. Investment is how we provide capital for all industries and make contribution to the society. Our new mission is to introduce public capitals to private sector.

Culture and Values


Talent is our most valuable asset;
We are engaged in a team work, individual heroism will not be encouraged;
Employees must have honesty, integrity and sense of responsibility, and refuse any defects in professional ethics;
To assist enterprises to build core competitiveness and achieve long-term success is our cause The foundation of existence;
We strive to pursue financial return and social value beyond it to create "beauty" Things of the world;
We resolutely abandon the speculation that causes harm to customers and enterprises and destroys value;
We have an obligation to create returns to our customers;
We share success with employees, customers and enterprises;
We must always focus on the asset management industry, which is our core competence.

Honors

Costone capital is an alternative asset management institution with profound history, with more than 20 years of investment management experience, and is one of the earliest market-oriented private investment institutions in China.
Association Accreditation
Institutional Awards
Media Awards

The year 2019 marks the fortieth anniversary of China’s Reform &Opening-Up, once again, we meet at the turning point of history. What’s the next step for the game, is there any clear guidance? The answer is affirmative.

Our country is enjoying a good momentum of development, which does not come from the Washington Consensus nor the Beijing Consensus. China’s experience has proved that both the visible hand and the invisible hand are crucial: the visible hand, stands for the government-led reform, and would yield benefits for reform and opening up; the invisible hand, stands for the Marginal Power represented by the private sector, and would improve economic efficiency and tax collection, create jobs and employment opportunities.

Provided that we want to protect and expand the benefits form reform, three simple but mandatory agreements are to be made and followed: No.1 Private ownership must be recognized, protected and treated equally with public ownership constitutionally, both ownerships are scared and inviolable;No.2 Make further clarification of the principal position of market economy, “deepen economic system reform by centering on the decisive role of the market in allocating resources”, as President Xi addressed in the third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee;No.3 Implement the guiding principles of “comprehensively promoting law-based governance” of the fourth plenum. The rule of law is essential for economic growth, irreplaceable to protect private ownership, and necessary to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship.

Above are three rules for us to avoid falling into the Middle-income Trap. Assuming that we are breaking systematic barriers to private enterprises’ participation in market economy, and boosting innovation and entrepreneurship of our society, then we are heading towards a promoting direction. We are marching in the path of light, regardless of the ups and downs of Sino-US relationship, the drop in GDP growth rate, or the monetary policy.

These principals also apply on knowing how better to run a business: don’t be hedged by rules and regulations at the beginning, pay more attention to your survival, and you’ll learn more when you start your second business.

For many years, Huawei has been the only Chinese company on the list of the Top 50 R&D Spenders. Regardless of the economy and its income, what Huawei has been doing is investing in its future, dedicated to R&D, continuously and resolutely. This provisional work underscores Huawei’s accomplishments, making Huawei anindustry leader.

So, there are standard answers on how to run a company,which could be summarized as concentration and professional dedication, continuous investment on innovation and trying harder in R&D. Entrepreneurship is also important, every single company needs entrepreneurs to push aside all obstacles and difficulties, to implement strategies and ideas. We, as investors, are destined to look for such outstanding entrepreneurs and their companies, invest in them and partner with them.

At this key point of history, a country, a company, or asingle individual, will all need to find the right path. Four decades after the Reform and Opening-up, it’s time to learn from our experience and stop “wadding across

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