What ‘capital winter’? Sequoia Capital’s Neil Shen says there’s still plenty of money around for China’s start-ups

A top Chinese venture capital investor has dismissed concerns about a drought in funding for the country’s start-ups, urging instead that more attention be placed on supporting budding businesses.

There is no “capital winter” and there is plenty of funding in the yuan-denominated market, Neil Shen, the founding and managing partner of Sequoia Capital China, said on a panel at the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, China, on Thursday. The stock market also provides a very good way for investors to exit their start-up investments, he said.

There needs to be more attention on early seed fund investments even though they are still small, he said. To support budding businesses, Sequoia and ZhenFund will soon set up a non-profit management programme to coach start-up entrepreneurs, Shen said, without giving additional details.

Shen is regarded as one of China’s most influential start-up investors and one with a Midas touch. He backed Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the South China Morning Post, when the Hangzhou-based company was still a scrappy start-up. His other investments include local services firm Meituan Dianping and video-and-news app operator ByteDance, now the world’s most valuable start-up at US$75 billion.