Da Dalida Turkovic

Immagine Beijing nell'inizio degli anni 90: una presenza visiva forte di comunismo nell'alloggiamento tipico di courtyard-stile (12 famiglie alloggiate in un blocco sviluppato intorno ad un'iarda centrale), nei vestiti grigi del Mao dappertutto, quasi neon che fa pubblicità ai segni e soltanto agli automobili e ai mini-furgoni occasionali sulle vie. In quei giorni ci erano due valute: Yuan e FEC (valuta di divise estere) disponibili soltanto agli stranieri, con un tasso di cambio più basso che Yuan (1$=8.9yuan, 1$=7.4FEC). Il controllo statale forte, esacerbato dai happenings recenti sul quadrato di Tiananmen, ha significato che familiarizzarsi con la gente cinese era quasi impossibile - non sono stati permessi entrare negli hotel ed in modo da non hanno avuti esposizione alle merci straniere ed al lifestyle, che erano soltanto disponibili in hotel.

I mid-90 hanno portato le nuove prospettive e possibilità in Cina. La proprietà riservata stava crescendo, portando cambia nello stile di vita e nell'espansione veloce durante la notte nell'industria automobilistica, nel terziario, nella pubblicità della via e nel bene immobile. Uno straniero che desidera approfittare delle occasioni numerose di installazione del commercio riservato in Cina è venuto in su contro una montagna degli ostacoli presentati da legge del Chinese. L'unico senso che uno straniero è stato consentito per iniziare un commercio era nell'associazione con una persona locale, che dovrebbe avere una parte importante della proprietà e di tutti i diritti legali. In order to apply, the name approval, acceptance from MOFTEC (the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Cooperation) and tons of other paperwork all had to be legally registered, which would take many months and was often dependant on how good guanxi (relationship building) your Chinese partner had with local authorities.

The beginning of the 21st Century brought further developments. The previously tedious business registration process could now be done by various consulting agencies, providing this service for a minimum sum in a much shorter time. The easiest way of setting up a company was to apply as a consultancy service, which term covered such a broad spectrum that it effectively allowed the individual to explore business opportunities according to the market growth. Three options became available:
- Full Chinese ownership for the investment of 100,000 yuan
- Joint venture with 51-49% ratio in favor of the Chinese partner for the same amount.
- Full foreign ownership (WOFE: Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprise) for $100,000
At this period China was still looking at limiting market growth to businesses with ’serious’ investment, although services for setting up ones own business were much improved and once the business was up and running the only further legal obligation was to pay taxes.

The year 2005 brought in yet more changes and China continues to relax its need for control. Setting up a consulting company now takes only a few months. With a small amount of paperwork and a minimum of $10,000, you can own the business in China, as long as it is already registered abroad, with a Hong Kong bank account. The second step would be to hire an accountant (part-time if necessary) and open a mainland China bank account. For office space, you can run your business from home as long as the real estate management has a licence for such services or if you own the apartment. So, these days you are pretty much free to find your own way, use your own guanxi and explore the many opportunities in the land of dragons.

Copyright 2006 Dalida Turkovic

Article Source: http://www.articles4meandu.com

Dalida Turkovic - Master Coach and Master NLP Practitioner has lived and worked in China since 1990. Please visit her business coaching website Small Steps Coaching and her blog at Life Coaching First Steps.