Finance
Exclusive | Hong Kong, Greater Bay Area to fuel US$50 million decarbonisation fund
Kahlbetzer and Twynam’s investment director, Jonathan Green, came just before the holidays to meet with Hong Kong family offices and other professional investors to promote Twynam’s Earth Fund, an early-stage venture capital fund.
Set up in early 2023, the fund aims to raise US$50 million to invest in companies focused on technologies to reduce carbon emissions. It has already signed up prominent investors including US retail giant Walmart heir Lukas Walton and Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia.
“We have met many people in Hong Kong and the reception has been positive,” Kahlbetzer said.
Kahlbetzer, who is the second generation of his family to run Twynam, will consider setting up a base in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong’s revamped cash-for-residency scheme to pit it against Singapore
Hong Kong’s revamped cash-for-residency scheme to pit it against Singapore
“Hong Kong is certainly one of the top options for investment,” he said. “Obviously, we will consider setting up an office in Hong Kong, depending on what investment interests we receive from Hong Kong and Chinese investors.”
Before returning to Australia four years ago, Green lived in Hong Kong for several years, so he is familiar with the development area that includes Hong Kong, Macau and nine mainland cities in Guangdong province.
“In the Greater Bay Area, there are some of the fastest and best innovators anywhere on the planet,” he said.
The fund has already invested in four companies and plans to invest in a total of 25 firms by 2025.
Hong Kong needs art financing ecosystem to support family-office hub plan
Hong Kong needs art financing ecosystem to support family-office hub plan
“Our interest goes back to our agricultural business,” Kahlbetzer said. “We are always looking at how to do things better, in a more environmentally friendly way, and to develop new technologies for different types of farming.”
Kahlbetzer’s father John, who died aged 92 in November, was ranked the 49th richest man in Australia in 2019. He was born in Germany but migrated to Australia to start Twynam in 1969. He made most of his fortune in farming while his two sons, Johnny and Markus, have shifted to venture capital and property in recent years.
Johnny Kahlbetzer has a long history in decarbonisation investments, having personally invested US$80 million in the sector over the last decade.
“If we are going to believe in solving global warming, the only way is through decarbonisation,” he said. “That is my mission, our team’s passion. We are amazed at the number of people we have met in the Asia-Pacific region over the last few days who are talking openly about climate change, saying that it is getting hotter, drier and wetter.”
Kahlbetzer thus believes the fund will have no difficulty raising funds. Rather, the challenge lies in selecting companies that have technologies and business models that can achieve the goal of decarbonisation while at the same time bringing profit to the fund’s investors within 10 years.
Hong Kong sees yuan, green finance among areas to foster Vietnam, Laos ties
Hong Kong sees yuan, green finance among areas to foster Vietnam, Laos ties
The family itself is also investing in 10 per cent of the Earth Fund, at US$5 million.
“The other reason we set up the fund is that I have two children who just finished high school,” Kahlbetzer said. “My eldest son is very interested in this space, and he has already begun to take an interest in the business.”
He added he would like his son to join the family business in eight to 10 years to continue its work and missions.
“That is our family’s reputation, which we consider highly important,” he said. “We want to secure the returns and the environmental impact that we are saying that we are going to achieve by this Earth Fund.”
Access error:
the page you are trying to access is unavailable.
Please wait a moment and try again.
For help please visit help.ft.com.
The following information can help our support team to resolve this issue.
Timestamp: 2025-11-08T08:05:10Z
Request ID: 133g-78ebbeb028b77b3333992c19855ddd / 63f21b37a7794bc19c34000000000001
Status code: 406
Twenty-six million dollars. That’s how much investing platform Robinhood paid out earlier this year after it was found to have breached a range of financial regulations. Amongst them? Failure to properly manage the social media influencers promoting their products. With these so-called “finfluencers” becoming an ubiquitous part of fintech marketing strategies, this eye-watering penalty should serve as a cautionary tale to brands putting content and reach above compliance and risk.
The world of the finfluencers has expanded dramatically in recent years. These young, passionate and social media savvy voices amass legions of fans and millions of views as they dole out advice on everything from stock tips to savings techniques. The main audience? Gen Z. Facing the dual pressures of a tough job market and the spiralling cost of living, Gen Zs are turning to social media for new routes to financial stability — hungry for insights and advice that will help them get ahead. With a huge 34% of Gen Zs saying they learn about personal finance from TikTok and YouTube, finfluencers have exploded in number, reach and power.
Acquiring Gen Z customers is a huge priority for marketing teams. In the world of financial products, customers are sticky. Get them young and you might have a customer for life. That’s why the rise of finfluencers represents a huge opportunity for companies operating across the finance, investment and savings space. And it’s one they’ve been tapping into.
On the surface, engaging finfluencers for paid partnership is a marketing slam duck for fintech and finance brands. Unlocking a route into Gen Z audiences via trusted, engaging voices. But, as Robinhood’s experience shows, the stakes are high when you get it wrong. Any company selling financial products or services is subject to a litany of regulation. And these high standards of compliance aren’t necessarily compatible with the fast-paced, algorithm-chasing game of social media content creation. It’s a conundrum that’s starting to trip brands up.
Alongside Robinhood, this year has also seen Public Investing fined $350k by the US regulator FINRA after influencers made misleading claims. And a recent crackdown from the UK’s financial regulator, the FCA, saw three individual finfluencers end up in court charged with encouraging high-risk strategies without the correct authorisation. Brands and the influencers they rely on are sailing far too close to the wind.
And this risk-reward matrix is only set to become more intense. The use of AI tooling in marketing is speeding up content creation and enabling thousands of iterations of adverts to run simultaneously. And brands are increasingly upping the percentage of marketing budget allocated to social media. Collectively, this is encouraging faster, more dynamic social strategies, with influencers forming a critical part. It’s putting marketers on a potential collision course with regulators cracking down on violations.
Companies leveraging social media partnership with a view to reaching Gen Z customers cannot afford to overlook this reality. From eye-watering fines to a tarnished brand, the implications of getting your social marketing wrong are severe.
But that doesn’t mean brands can’t play in this space. They just need to be smart about it.
Businesses swimming in this pool need to ensure they aren’t sidelining the compliance and risk management strategies that will keep them on the right side of regulation. This cannot be an afterthought. Marketing teams must invest in tooling, work closely with legal teams, and run stress tests on campaigns to ensure they are watertight.
Regulators are coming for finfluencers and the businesses that work with them. Companies should heed the warning and not let their quest for young, digitally-savvy customers rush them into an approach which could see them break the law and sink their finances. Instead, the same level of zeal applied to the creative should be applied to the compliance. They are two sides of the same coin. Combined, they’ll allow companies to cash in.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
The United States sanctioned financial operatives funneling tens of millions of dollars from Iran to Hizballah. These individuals collaborate with businessmen and exchanges to enable significant financial transfers from Iran and conduct covert business dealings that fund Hizballah’s terrorist activities.
This action supports President Trump’s whole of government policy of maximum pressure against Iran and its terrorist proxies like Hizballah, as detailed in National Security Presidential Memorandum 2 issued on February 4.
The United States is committed to supporting Lebanon by exposing and disrupting Iran’s covert financing of Hizballah. By enabling Hizballah, Iran holds Lebanon back and undermines its sovereignty. Iran and Hizballah cannot be allowed to keep Lebanon captive any longer. The United States will continue using every tool at its disposal to ensure this terrorist group no longer poses a threat to the Lebanese people or the broader region.
Today’s action is being taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended, which targets terrorists and their supporters. The Department of State designated Hizballah as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to E.O. 13224 on October 31, 2001, and as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on October 8, 1997. For more information, today’s designation can be found on the Press Release.
Newsom tells Texas crowd taking back House is ‘the whole thing’ for Democrats in 2026
Treating gum disease could reduce risk of heart attacks and strokes, study suggests
No 2 Indiana caps off comeback win over Penn State with sensational touchdown, keeps undefeated season alive
Connecticut man loses life savings in crypto scam
Presents to arrive in time for the holidays, but may be more expensive
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Newsom tells Texas crowd taking back House is ‘the whole thing’ for Democrats in 2026
Trump hands Viktor Orbán a win as Hungary locks exemption for Russian energy imports
9 still missing, fleets grounded, questions mounting: How the UPS plane crash leaves a community in mourning | CNN
Supreme Court blocks lower court order forcing Trump administration to fully fund SNAP program
Full SNAP benefits start to go out even as the Trump administration appeals
-
Austin, TX3 days agoHalf-naked woman was allegedly tortured and chained in Texas backyard for months by five ‘friends’ who didn’t ‘like her anymore’
-
Culture1 week agoVideo: Dissecting Three Stephen King Adaptations
-
Education1 week agoOpinion | New York City Mayoral Candidates: Who Would Be Best?
-
Seattle, WA6 days agoESPN scoop adds another intriguing name to Seahawks chatter before NFL trade deadline
-
Business1 week agoCommentary: Meme stocks are still with us, offering new temptations for novice and unwary investors
-
Business1 week ago
Disneyland Resort lays off 100 people in Anaheim
-
Politics1 week agoVirginia school district slapped with complaint alleging new claims in viral trans locker room fight
-
Southwest21 hours agoTexas launches effort to install TPUSA in every high school and college
