Having a meaningful footprint in China has become a strategic imperative for multinational companies from around the world. The attraction is China’s seemingly insatiable demand for products, services, capital and technology. George D. Martin, partner and chair of the Faegre & Benson China Practice, sees the current acquisition boom in China as the logical culmination of foreign investment trends that he first observed when practicing in Shanghai in the mid-1990s. Martin expects this M&A trend to continue. But in the years to come, he advises, it won’t be just foreign companies on the buy-side of cross-border M&A deals involving China.

China’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 opened new sectors to foreign investment and eliminated many restrictions on structuring those investments. As a result, joint ventures that were in vogue among early China investors waned. Read the rest of “Dealmaking in China: Getting In on the Action” or post a comment

By Mona Chung

China has become a synonym for future business growth. It is the business nirvana of the 21st century. It is the place to be. Companies are scrambling to get a share of the action. Not a day passes without some company making an announcement of an investment in their future which involves China.

Their reason for this scramble is the expectation of gaining vast increases in shareholder value. Reported performance would suggest that these expectations are difficult to realise. Anecdotal evidence would suggest that decreases in shareholder value rather than increases in shareholder value should be the expectation. Why is this? One reason for this is poor marketing performance. Comparing companies that have been successful with those that have not suggests that better preparation directed at understanding the market context, marketing operating requirements (this includes marketing management) and their surrounding culture would have seen fewer red faces at senior management level and less red ink at shareholder level. Read the rest of “Marketing-China and Getting it Right” or post a comment

While hard work and plain living have been revered virtues of the Chinese people for generations, there has been a growth in demand for foreign-branded or imported goods. But running counter to the growing habit of consumption in China is the traditional propensity to save. Though luxury consumption is growing, for most the dominant social idea is still prudent consumption and undertaking no more than you can perform.

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Chris Devonshire-Ellis, Senior Partner of Dezan Shira & Associates, speaking at the Asia Business Forum Annual China M&A Conference in Singapore today said that he felt the Chinese economy would withstand any U.S. recession and that M&A (mergers and acquisitions) activity would continue in the PRC.

His comments, made to a group of prominent academics and lawyers, including the corporate finance heads of Deloitte Touche and KPMG …

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Foreign companies share a growing interest in tapping into China’s luxury market. Statistics show not only that the number of wealthy people is growing fast in China, but that their willingness to spend on big-ticket items is also on the rise, driven by an appetite for status as well as the comforts and trappings of luxury products.

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