Highlights: On December 2, 2013, the People’s Bank of China (“PBOC”) released its Opinions on the Financial Support of the Development of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (the “FTZ”) (the “Opinions”). The Opinions committed to the promotion of reforms and pilots in the FTZ in the sectors of cross-border RMB usage, RMB capital … Continued
Highlights: The highly anticipated China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (the “Zone”) was officially launched on September 27, 2013, followed by a flurry of implementing rules and measures. The central government of China expects the Zone to be the country’s testing ground for groundbreaking economic reforms to be extended nationwide in the future. The most … Continued
Executive Summary: Main Article: The opening ceremony of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (“Shanghai FTZ”), held on September, 29, 2013, marks the formal operation of Shanghai FTZ. Liberalization in certain media and entertainment sectors is one of the highlights of the various reforms of Shanghai FTZ. According to media reports, many listed companies operating … Continued
Highlights: Following the PepsiCo-Tianyi transaction, where the acquisition aroused mass protests from workers of PepsiCo bottling factories and ended up with significant unexpected expenses paid to the employees, the Cooper-Apollo transaction is now facing similar challenges. It highlights the importance of addressing employees’ concerns proactively at the early stage, to ensure smooth consummation of an … Continued
Highlights: The recent separation of the two former branches from the well-known Chinese arbitration institution-CIETAC and the branches’ establishment as independent arbitration institutions have brought confusion to the domestic and international arbitration community and businesses with regard to some arbitration agreements providing for arbitration at a CIETAC branch. The recent judgments of two Chinese courts … Continued
Since the end of 2010, a number of China-based companies that have engaged in reverse mergers were accused of committing accounting fraud, resulting in a suspension in trading or even delisting. They have also been under investigation by U.S. authorities for violating securities laws or found themselves targeted by class action lawsuits represented by U.S. … Continued
Executive Summary: This article discusses some of the disadvantages unique to Chinese companies and how such constraints have impeded the momentum of China’s quest for a deserving piece of the international M&A market. Main Article People frequently observe the cultural barriers which the Chinese companies find difficult to overcome in relation to China’s nascent outbound … Continued
Executive Summary: Despite the gloomy predictions of foreign economists, the Chinese economy is not near collapse, but actually about to turn around. The presentation explores the current state of the economy, looking at metrics suggesting the Chinese economic down turn is worse than signaled by its GDP numbers, explains economic growth cycles and suggests key … Continued
Highlights: The European Commission has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission and the Chinese State Administration of Industry and Commerce. These anti-trust authorities seek to increase cooperation and information exchange by facilitating greater technical cooperation regarding cartels, restrictive agreements and abuses of market dominance. In recent years, the … Continued
Highlights: Chinese firms too often announce deals and are then unable to follow through. According to a study (forthcoming) by Olga Hawn of Duke University, cross border deals involving Chinese companies are almost twice as likely to break down (15% of the time) as deals involving companies from other BRICS countries (8%) and three times … Continued
