Bertelsmann bets on China's growth

The investment fund was established in 2008 in Beijing with 100 million euros. It has so far acquired direct or indirect shareholdings in 16 Chinese media companies with a focus on niche business fields that Bertelsmann wishes to expand, including digital publishing, social media platforms, e-commerce solutions and online education.

Three of those investments, involving China Distance Education Holdings Ltd, Phoenix New Media Ltd and Bitauto Holdings Ltd, have already been listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

"The Internet, mobile services, e-commerce, online advertising and gaming are experiencing a real boom in China," said Annabelle Yu Long, head of Bertelsmann Asia Investments.

She said the fund was started as an experiment to understand the Chinese market via investing in startups in sectors that are relevant to Bertelsmann's core businesses.

"We have been actively seeking investment and strategic partners in China. We believe we offer an ideal home for creative and entrepreneurial talent in China who want to put their business ideas into practice with a powerful partner," Long said.

As Bertelsmann is busy preparing for a massive investment in China's media market, some industry experts suggest it should be cautious in decision-making due to the nature of the country's publishing industry.

"China's current book publishing market is not standardized and still suffers from rampant piracy," said Cao Yuanyong, an associate editor of Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing Group.

"Therefore, the business prospects of a foreign investor in China can either be rosy or sour. They totally depends on its knowledge of the local market and whether it knows how to establish good relationships with local content providers to cater to local readers' tastes."

Others believe now is the right time for foreign investors to tap China's huge media market.

"Because China's e-book market is still in the early stage of development, there has been no market leader so far, so Bertelsmann will not face strong local competitors, making it easier for the company to enter China," said Yu Dianli, general manager of Commercial Press.

Learning from the past

For Rabe, a constant review of the past is also very necessary.

He admitted Bertelsmann has made a few mistakes in China either in market strategy or business models over the past 20 years. To make improvements by learning from previous mistakes is vital to ensure Bertelsmann's future success in China, he said.

"One mistake in the past is we did not make products that were sufficiently adapted to market requirements, but we've corrected those mistakes and learnt from those mistakes," he said.

"It does not mean we will not make mistakes in the future, but we would like to limit the mistakes."