China and France eye tremendous business and investment opportunities

China and France have huge opportunities to cooperate on business and investment by tapping Chinese consumption upgrade and the Belt and Road Initiative, investors and firms said on Thursday.

Bpifrance, the state-owned French investment bank, is keen to explore investment opportunities in artificial intelligence, robotics and clean tech industries. It’s also optimistic about opportunities for “booming new middle-class” consumers in China and and seeks more cooperation on BRI, Simon Robert, Bpifrance's manager, said today in Shanghai.

In January, Bpifrance, Cathay Capital and the China Development Bank announced to launch a new fund of 1.2 billion euros (US$1.4 billion) that will invest mainly in medium-size businesses in France and China.

Shanghai-based Shopal Inc, which secured US$15 million investment from Cathay Capital, aims to offer Chinese consumers more diverse items such as maternal and child products, cosmetics and health care. Through its online platform and business cooperation with mid-cap French and overseas brands, Shopal will meet the demand for better life and health among Chinese consumers, said Guo Lu, founder of Shopal. 

Shopal also said on Thursday that it will cooperate with Bpifrance to import more French brands into the domestic market.

French startup Ledger, another Cathay-invested firm, displayed its latest portable Bitcoin wallet during CES Asia, Asia's biggest consumer electronics show, in Shanghai.