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 Andrew Hupert

Successful entrepreneurs in China will tell you that success took longer than they had originally planned. Ex-pat owners of businesses in China who have been slugging away for 5+ years can suddenly find themselves on a steep growth curve. Many of these ‘overnight success stories’ that were years in the making end up leaving their owners hostages to the business. The founders are cash-poor while the business gets bigger and richer.

What can successful China entrepreneurs do to boost their household finances without destroying the company balance sheet?

Over the years you’ve tweaked the business model, found the right marketing & sales mix and were ready when demand caught up with your offering. What happens when your 5 year old business becomes an overnight success? Read the rest of “China Entrepreneurs Need an Incremental Exit Strategy” or post a comment

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 …

Read the rest of “China M&A activity unlikely to slow down, economy appears immune from U.S. recession” or post a comment >>