Over the past few months, we have witnessed the most concerted global effort in history to bail out the world economy. However in the process, more questions have been raised than answered. The impact of what started out as the subprime crisis has left many market watchers floundering in uncharted waters.

One of the biggest concerns is if we are in for a global…

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By Richard Brubaker 

My first job out of university was based in San Francisco, and one of the largest things I managed was the APAC accounts receivable. It was in the beginning a frustrating process as I was essentially making collection calls to get people to send their checks, and I felt a little bit like a repo man.

However, after 9 months I had essentially worked out a system. I had learned all the little tricks people play and begun to develop process surrounding that.

For one client it mean literally photocopying the catalog of items they had ordered and making sure the pages were in the same order as the items were listed on the invoice. Not sure why an accountant needed it, but once they used that as an excuse for paying 30 days late, I made sure that future invoices were sent with the documents as a proactive measure - and it worked. Read the rest of “Managing Your Receivables in China” or post a comment

By Salina Leong

The process of registering a business in China is considered complete only after capital injection and verification. Below are the two options of capital injection that companies can choose from:

1. Full injection within six months from the issuance of the business license.

2. Or 15% to 20% injection within 3 months from receiving the business license, and the remaining over 2 years.

Several types of assets are acceptable as part of the capital injection, including a minimum cash value equivalent to 30% of the registered capital, fixed assets, intellectual property such as copyrights, land-use rights and shares in another company or objects with monetary value. Read the rest of “Capital Injection Requirements in China” or post a comment

By Robert Vance

“How much money should I take with me to China?” is a common question that I receive when I am working with prospective teachers. Of course, the answer to this question really depends on the person. People who are high maintenance, like to party, and go on buying sprees are naturally going to spend the most money in China. People who do not mind riding a bicycle around town, eating on the street, and buying items in open markets are going to save more money in China. With the rapid development taking place in China, high spenders and low spenders alike find their niches in the local economy of nearly any Chinese city. Throughout my years in China, I have met hundreds of teachers at many different socio-economic levels. Some teachers have plenty of money and are simply working in China for the experience. Other teachers are ‘dirt poor’ but enjoy the fact that they can live at a higher economic level in China based on a foreigners salary. I have met teachers who are paying off hefty college loans or sending a child care payment back to their home country every month. In other words, in a country where foreigner teachers are often in high demand, one does not have to be rich to travel and teach there. Read the rest of “Money Tips for Expats Living in China” or post a comment

By Shaun Rein
This commentary is based on an article published in Business Week

While U.S. private equity investment is expected to remain flat in 2008, China should register 30%-plus growth for the next three years. With the current credit crunch roiling financial markets, private equity firms in the U.S. and Europe are finding it hard to tap the credit they need to fund their acquisitions. According to Dealogic, the value of buyouts dropped almost 90% in the U.S., from $216 billion in the second quarter of 2007 to only $22.1 billion in the final quarter. In contrast, private equity in China continues to boom. China received $12.8 billion in private equity investment in 2007. In 2005, investors allocated only $5 billion to the country. Capital under management hit $20.5 billion last year, an increase of 40% over 2006, according to Beijing research firm Zero2IPO.

My firm, the China Market Research Group, conducted interviews with managers at several dozen leading private equity firms in the U.S. and China to see if China is likely to remain a hot market for private equity, or if the credit squeeze will hit the region, too. Our findings showed optimism for investment in China. The vast majority of respondents felt that U.S. private equity investing will remain flat or drop in 2008 while China will post 30%-plus annual growth for the next three years. Read the rest of “China’s Private Equity Boom” or post a comment