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.

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By China Briefing 

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, stated that while U.S. imports had declined by over 10 percent in the past four months signaling a downtown in the U.S. economy, Chinese exports had risen by over 21 percent for the same period, proving, he said, that China had sustainable export markets elsewhere that would keep it immune from any U.S. recession. Read the rest of “China M&A activity unlikely to slow down, economy appears immune from U.S. recession” or post a comment

By Andrew Hupert

‘Will there or won’t there be?’ The small clump of young European & Asian salesmen breaks from their huddle and puts the question to me. They try to look relaxed, but clearly they’re concerned. The entire sales department has been watching the economies of the US and Europe losing momentum and asking themselves the same question:

Will there be an influx of talent from the North America and Europe into China? Will Shanghai become the new post-grad landing-pad for casual resume builders and hard-playing English teachers? Or will serious, experienced business-people decide that this is the perfect time to establish their China-presence?

It’s a great question for senior managers with HR responsibility. Read the rest of “What would a US recession mean for China Sales HR?” or post a comment

Sam Flemming’s first experience with China is with a sino-American software company, where he trains Chinese employees for a life in the United States. A few years later Flemming, totally at ease in public relations and corporate communication, starts his own company: Internet Research for American companies. His source of inspiration? The unprecedented publicity that companies and their products enjoy on Internet forums and blogs. “This is a big thing. It’s not just thousands of messages, it’s tens of millions. Written by real people, sharing real experiences about real brands, products and services.” Together with his Chinese co-founder and a team of what he prefers to call ‘Internet Word of Mouth Analysts’, Flemming now runs CIC, a company specialized in providing research and consulting based on consumer talk on BBSs and blogs. We’re eager to ask for his experiences.

“Of course, being a pioneer is always a challenge. There are no manuals, no models, nothing about this industry. We can only rely on our experience and knowledge. The government here in Shanghai is always very supportive though towards new initiatives, towards anyone who creates new jobs. We’ve had nothing but good experiences. And there’s also a great advantage in pioneering: the fact that we’re developing by every step we take, means that we are Read the rest of “American Dream in China” or post a comment

By Benjamin Ross

China and the US have been in the news again, and this time it’s about intellectual property rights. The US is accusing China of not taking intellectual property laws seriously. China has responded by giving the US the proverbial middle finger. Here’s my take.

From the American Perspective Read the rest of “Pirates of the Middle Kingdom” or post a comment