VC firms feel the chill of sluggish market, but remain warm about future

Andy Yan, managing partner of SAIF Partners, delivers a speech at 2016 Demo China in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Sept 21, 2016. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Andy Yan, managing partner of SAIF Partners, recently proclaimed that a chill has descended over the capital market in the country.

"What is the most expensive thing in China? You might say housing... (But I would say) it is the valuation of a startup," he said. Yan said he was advised to invest in a company whose annual revenue was about 4 million yuan ($600,000), but valued at $100 million.

Yan slammed the overpriced startups whose valuation rose much faster than the real estate market.

He added that it was harder to make money now. "It is rare to have a net profit as high as 5 percent, as opposed to a commonly seen 10 percent in the past."