There are two types of real estate investors in China. The first are pure speculators who treat residential real estate as a source of value, far removed from its original residential use. These investors purchase multiple properties without bothering even to remodel their units for actual use. They are responsible for the empty condo buildings
Just got my third email this week from someone who bought tens of thousands of dollars worth of “iPhones” from someone in China, only to receive fakes. All three emailers were so blinded by the idea of buying iPhones at ridiculously low prices that they did nothing to make sure the sellers were legitimate, which
It happened again last week. Multiple calls from the same person, wanting to speak with me urgently, yet refusing to provide any information to our receptionist on the nature of his issue. I eventually called this person back and here is pretty much what we discussed, which varied little from what I have heard from
Though we often talk generally about what it takes to form a company in China, a loyal reader recently wrote to point out that we have never set out the basic steps one must take to do so. The following sets out the basic steps foreigners usually must take to form a Wholly Foreign Owned
Got an email from an attorney/client/friend yesterday with a link to an IndustryWeek Article (Why Is China Cheaper?) and a note saying that I needed to give this “CLB’s dumbest article of the month award.” We do not actually have such an award (should we?) so for that reason alone, it is not in contention.
A new client of ours from Spain recently sent us an article and asked whether it made “good sense” for both China and Mexico. My response was, “yes, it most certainly does ” The article [link no longer exists] nicely lays out the following “surefire steps to ensure you work with a factory that can
David Wofl at Silicon Hutong just did a post on ethical issues in China, Business Ethics and Culture Clashes in China and I love it for three reasons. First, it is very well written. Second, it imparts useful advice. Third, it says many of the things we repeatedly preach on this blog. In fact, replace
The big story in the China business/legal community this week is the back and forth between Muddy Waters and Sino-Forest (see here).I will reserve my comments on the specific situation until things develop further, but I will add my two-cents about something called a “Reverse Merger” or “RTO,” the corporate structure at the center of
About a week ago, I did an article, The Five+ Best Books for Understanding China [link no longer exists]. The article was a public response to a request that I reveal “3-5 good books to read to understand China that are contemporary, but also something providing some historical perspective to current doings.” I listed the
Earlier this year, I was on a slow highway on the outskirts of Hanoi when my daughters said something like “look at those dogs being prepared for eating. Eewww.” Without looking, (and thinking they were referring to live dogs in cages) I tried to put the best spin on things for my 13-year old by
