I was interviewed last night by a reporter for a story on foreign companies doing business in China. At one point, she asked me what I saw as the best business opportunities for foreign business in China and I mentioned the following:
1. Education. China is big on education and everyone knows China is particularly big about its best and its brightest (well, its richest anyway) getting a foreign or a foreign-like education. So even though some aspects of China’s education business are shut off to foreigners, education is still a prime area for foreign business.
2. Healthcare. China is aging, getting wealthier, and seeking to improve its healthcare, but healthcare is a big field and much of it is a minefield of regulation, corruption and/or other assorted difficulties. Though this is overall a great field, it has its issues.
3. Food. China wants better and safer food and without exception, all of our law firm’s clients that have fought through the requirements to be able to get their food product into China — either on their own or through a Chinese distributer — are thriving in China.
4. Clean-tech/green-tech. China has massive pollution problems, but this is a tough field for foreigners because it is one in which government connections are critical.
5. Software. China wants better software, but the big hurdle for foreign software companies in China is pricing. Chinese consumers and businesses are generally “not accustomed” to paying high prices for software and their Chinese competitors are accustomed to selling software at rock bottom prices. On the other hand, our clients that sell highly specialized industrial/commercial software are doing fine.
What are you seeing out there?
