Mid-Term Meeting Shanghai – the business part

The Business programme of this Mid-Term meeting in Shanghai has been put together by the programme committee.

The programme committee started working on the business programme right after the AGM in November 2015 and selected a theme for this meeting: How to make business with and in China and chose speakers accordingly.

On Thursday, Mr Nicolas Musy from China Integrated gave an interesting general economic  situation of China. Nicolas Musy has a MSc. in Physics Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne (www.epfl.ch). He has won his university's first Special Alumni Award for demonstrating outstanding innovative and entrepreneurial spirit. He has also been the China Coordinator for the EPFL since 2006. Exclusively involved in China trade, investment, strategy and project management, he has been residing in the Shanghai area since 1988. He co-founded the first Swiss industrial SME in China, Suzhou 2-ply Co. Ltd (www.2-ply.com). Founding Partner of China Integrated (Shanghai) Co. ltd. (www.ch-ina.com), He has successfully supported a number of multinationals and over 300 mid-sized companies on market entry, operations management and restructuring in the past 20 years.

The presentation entitled "Where is China Heading - The economy from a business point of view" sampled some very interesting survey statistics gathered from Swiss, EU and US companies doing business in China. Some key findings are that despite the crisis, China's export market share still grows and the country will bring ever more opportunities for international companies with a consumer power increasing everyday. See more details here

This was followed by a presentation from Mr Shun Zhou who informed our members on how to attract Chinese companies to make business abroad. Chinese companies increasingly overseas investment since 2000, Europe has become a major destination for their investments. Chinese companies invest in Europe to serve the European and Mediterranean markets, promote technology and innovation and strengthen their partnerships with EU companies. However, investing abroad requires commitment and efficiency. Investors must carefully prepare their projects with the support of professional experts, find the best location and be focused on human resources. Learn more here.

Technical presentations on China as a possible investment destination: tax and regulations overview concluded this first day.

Recently, the Chinese tax system has become closer to Western models by aligning its tax  framework with international standards. In order to adopt a more global approach, China has issued a number circulars and regulations that moved in this direction. More attention has been given to transfer pricing and anti-avoidance rules in order to fight tax evasion, as evidenced by the Revised Circular 2 which is based on BEPS principles as codified by the international organization OECD.

The Chinese tax system is gradually eliminating its weaknesses and getting stronger by following international principles and framework, which shows that China is betting on this key to success. More here and here.

On Friday, after the usual INAA Business session, Mr Lindsay Tavner, a serial entrepreneur who set up a fabric in China came to give an insight on managing the risks and opportunities of doing business in China. HSBC bank then gave some concrete information on innovative finance in China. This presentation was confidential and could not be shared with the members.

The business programme ended with an interactive and extremely interesting workshop on cultural differences with China from Valérie Hoecks.

Valérie Hoeks, co-founder and Managing Director of China Inroads, first traveled to China at the age of 17. She majored in China studies at Leiden University. After several years of living, traveling and working in China, Valérie co-founded China Inroads.  With over 15 years of experience in China, Valérie and her team provide western innovative, expansionary SMEs with a firm foothold in the Chinese market. Thanks to the successful 'win-in' approach, China Inroads supports its customers in creating a successful venture in China, also in the long term. This win-win philosophy is the foundation of the China Inroads team with its Dutch and Chinese shareholders.  From the offices in Utrecht, Shanghai and Beijing, Valérie helps you with the relevant steps of a (re)new(ed) marketing and business development in China.

No presentation available from Valérie but you might be interested in listening to this TEDx Talk from Valérie.

All presentations are available here.