By Zennon Kapron

Most of the commentary on the Shanghai market depicts the average Chinese investor as unknowledgeable and following the herd. However, a recent study that we’ve (kapronasia) just completed with Amber shows that individual Shanghai A-share investors are actually much more market savvy than commonly thought.

Although influences like lucky numbers and family advice still impact some decision making, the reality is that most investment decisions today are made on the basis of solid indicators like company fundamentals and straight-forward economics. However, even with this knowledge, Chinese investors still invest in a market that they clearly view as overvalued. Read the rest of “Betting on the Dragon: Chinese investor behaviour” or post a comment

Strategies for luxury brands

By Nick Debnam & George Svinos, KPMG

For certain luxury brands, China has already outstripped both Japan and Hong Kong as the largest single market in Asia Pacific. (37) But the growing presence of luxury brands in China is bringing with it greater competition. The country’s busiest streets, such as Nanjing Road in Shanghai, are witnessing fierce competition among the world’s luxury brands. While some have warned that the China market is becoming saturated, (38) for the time being the environment is still a positive one for potential entrants.

• Marketing

As most Chinese consumers have low levels of brand awareness, they also have low levels of brand loyalty. However this also means that sales staff can be an extremely powerful tool –with the ability to not only inform consumers of the benefits of their brand, but sway them towards making a purchase.

Read the rest of “Luxury Brands in China: Part III” or post a comment

By Anyialsup

The change and progress in China are astronomical even to a Chinese native as myself. Every time I go back to visit, I have to ask myself if I am still in the cities that I was familiar with. With the goal of eventually going back to China to develop my career, I believe it is worthwhile to revisit some common business practices and underlining cultural norms in China from an outsider’s point of view. Read the rest of “Doing business in China” or post a comment