Interview with our new partner, Mr. Alberto Bonetta

About Mr. Alberto Bonetta:

Mr. Bonetta has 18 years of experience in the automotive industry. Prior to joining Seta Capital, Alberto was a Deputy General Manager of a Sino-Italian JV in China (IVECO in Nanjing, also NAVECO). Before this role, he was in charge of Business Development and Operation Management for IVECO in Middle East and Africa where he also served as Board Director. Alberto holds an MBA from London Business School (UK), Columbia Business School (USA), Hong Kong University (China) and a Master degree in Economic and Management engineering from the Polytechnic of Turin (Italy). 

Interview: 

Q1: Why did you decide to join Seta Capital after working for the Automotive industry for more than a decade?

A1: The team’s diversity and the exciting business itself are the reasons.

Regarding team diversity, our team has five different types of nationalities, namely Italian, Chinese, American, German, Lithuanian. Each team member has valuable studying and working experiences abroad in countries like the United States., UK, Germany, France, Italy, China, South Africa, Czech Republic etc..

As for the business, Seta capital offers me a much broader platform to make my own contributions to the Sino-Italian business cooperation beyond just the automotive industry. What attracts me most is the opportunity that I can become a “designer” and create a win-win deal structure benefiting both parties in Europe and in China.

Q2: What is your expertise field?

A2: As an experienced commercial director, my expertise mainly focuses on business development in intercultural context. I had experience before, designing and implementing an Industrial Cooperation Agreement for IVECO’s assembly plant in Kenya and Morocco. I also made a business plan for IVECO’s expansion to Libya and Saudi Arabia. During my 3-year term from 2008 to 2011 as the deputy general manager of commercial division at IVECO in China, our market share increased by 9% yearly and sales increased by 13% yearly.

Q3: What’s your story with China?

A3: My story with China started with a one-week trip to China in 2007. During that trip, I was attracted by the complexity of doing business in China, as I am that kind of person who is eager to embrace challenges. During my four year work there, I made lots of Chinese friends who made me feel at home. Embracing the culture was a challenge at first, but after further immersing myself I began to appreciate and admire the Chinese culture.

Q4: How do you see the future about Sino-Italian Cooperation?

A4: In the advanced manufacturing field, the top brands and top technology from Italy will be interesting for Chinese investors for a long time. Apart from this, I also see a huge potential for cooperation in food production, creative industry at firm level in the future.

Another point which most Italian businessmen care about is the Intellectual Property Rights Protection. This has got much attention from Chinese governments at different levels, and the situation in China is improving constantly. Therefore, it’s much easier to do business in China now compared to ten years ago.

Q5: How does your new life look like at Seta Capital now?

A5: I feel super motivated and satisfied about my new life. The first week, I focused on getting familiar with the business of Seta Capital as fast as possible. I arranged a personal meeting with each teammate, listening to them and learning from them. I also attended meetings with our clients. My first week at Seta Capital has surpassed my expectations.

Q6: What’s your vision about Seta Capital’s future growth story?

A6: I believe deeply that our firm will transform from a young company into an industry leader very soon. I will witness the team expansion and become a “manager” again in the near future!

Seta insights about Current Restrictions on Chinese Outbound M&A

Tanya Wen, Managing Partner at Seta Capital, spoke about the current skyrocketing Chinese outbound M&A activity in the Bocconi Event "The Modern Silk Road". She offered insightful analysis on the current trends and shared transaction case studies that sparked great interest from the audience.

Tanya highlighted two key aspects concerning this trend. Firstly, although lately the Chinese government has been clamping down on outbound M&A activities, yet the focus of the increased scrutiny is on irrational capital outflows, speculative or downright fake transactions. Secondly, will continue to see a lot of activities in the sectors that have been spelled out by the Chinese government as strategic growth areas for the country, in line with China’s Five-Year Plan announced in 2016.

When asked whether she sees a change in the targeted sectors, Ms Wen underlined the fact that China is now in a catch-up period and has to acquire oversea the technology that it has not developed in-house. In particular, she expects that the activities going on in the robotics sector is likely to fade in a couple of years.

Although there is strong demand from Chinese investors for European assets, there are a number of issues that investors and sellers alike face when carrying out a deal. Ms Wen, a veteran of cross-border M&As, PE acquisitions and investment management, regrets saying that failure from both sides to acknowledge a different cultural and business settings, as well as the non-familiarity with foreign policies and rules, can pose threats to the transaction and the post-merger integration.

Ms Candice Young, M&A lawyer at Gianni, Origoni, Grippo, Cappelli & Partners, also spoke at the event. Supporting Ms Wen’s view, she explained that in contrast to US managers, European managers casually approach business meetings and therefore they tend to leave some unexploited profit on the negotiation table. Truely, Chinese investors tend to pay a higher valuation for the targets, but a good manager should also leverage on his strengths and consciously approach any deal proposal. Ms Candice attributes this to the organizational framework of the Italian and, more generally, European mid-cap companies who are usually family-owned or family-inherited enterprises.

The same thing however holds true for Chinese firms and the Chinese financial sector, where, as Ms Young puts it, competent financial advisors are a scarce —yet precious —resource.

This is why Seta Capital, relying on its insights in the Chinese and European market, as well as on the competencies and well-rounded expertise of its team, brings value to companies who want to unlock growth and profit potential in both regions.