Archive for the ‘International’ Category
|Play with the Tiger but don’t get hurt
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011
China is endlessly fascinating to American corporations. A market of more than 1.3 billion people. A country that survived the recent global economic downturn, but, some say, even thrived during it. A place that experienced a robust 8.5% growth rate in 2010 to American’s 3.1%. In fact, China’s economy has grown approximately 10 % per year during the past decade, and this growth has fueled a GDP of $4.8 trillion, which means China will become the second-largest economy by 2012. No wonder American corporations are looking at China – and other areas in Asia Pacific that are collectively known as the Tiger Economy – as a potential source of expansion.
But doing business in China is complicated, starting with establishing a presence in the region. First and foremost, the Chinese government controls of all aspects of business and real estate, and this can be disconcerting to American companies which are used to US policies and procedures. It is easy to run afoul of rules and regulations without meaning to. Also, China has a different legal structure and legal concepts. Contracts and documents must be drafted in Chinese, and the language itself often is not able to be translated into Western legal concepts. The language barrier can be an obstacle – while many business people speak English, many also do not. Tax rules are different, too. Finally, the speed of commercial development, and the changes in a city, can be breathtaking. All of these issues make establishing a presence in China to be a huge challenge.
At CresaPartners, we advise numerous national companies on real estate matters, and we consistently get questions on how to do business in China and the rest of the Asia/Pacific region. That was one of the motivating factors behind our new strategic alliance with Savills, one of the world’s leading commercial real estate services firms, and one with an experienced and thriving practice in China and throughout Asia Pacific. Savills has 42 offices in the region, but they are much more than dots on a map. Their Asia based corporate services professionals have worked for years in the region and understand the nuances of doing business in this very complicated country. Beyond their expertise, they share our value to “do the right thing” for our clients, and we are looking forward to working with them.
Tags: Asia Pacific, China, corporate real estate, Savills
Posted in International | Comments Off
