Chinese venture firm Crystal Stream Capital has established a new venture fund named Qinghan Fund with Chinese movie star Lu Han and dairy producer New Hope Group. The investment vehicle will aim to invest in early-stage cultural projects, online content platforms and media companies.
Qinghan Fund has completed a first close from New Hope Group, a fund-of-funds under Zero2IPO Group, and Chinese film and entertainment company Huashi Entertainment Group Inc. No financial details were disclosed.
According to the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC), Qinghan fund's shareholders includes Caogen Hechuang Asset Management Co., which is owned by the chairman of New Hope Group, Qinghan Gaoyuan Investment Co., owned by the founder of Crystal Steam Capital, as well as Huashi. Lu Han is not a shareholder of the fund, but his friend Gao Suyao holds a 7.69% shares.
Qinghan Fund has already made some investments, including backing Shenzhen-based Duidui Technology Co., a dating mobile app operator. According to the SAIC, the fund held 1.36% share of Duidui as of December 2016, and later made a follow-up investment to increase its shareholding to 3.33%.
Lu Han, a former member of popular South Korean band EXO, is a famous pop star in China. He casted in movies including 20 Once Again and The Great Wall, and has released five albums so far.
Many Chinese celebrities have entered the venture capital business in the past few years. Famous Chinese singer Hu Haiqun launched his eighth venture fund last month, while actor Ren Quan, Li Bingbing and Huang Xiaoming established a venture capital firm Star VC in 2014. Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming also established Mingjia Capital in 2016.
Founded in 2012 by a former Baidu technology officer Wang Mengqiu, Crystal Stream Capital focuses on early-stage investments in the telecom, media and technology companies. It has made over 40 investments so far, including Chinese Internet financing company 51Credit, Chinese homosexual social app Blued and a Wechat official account Li Jiaoshou.