From Pancake to Cake: Which Chinese Foreign Acquisitions Will Succeed?

In the coming one or two decades CEIBS Vice President and Dean Professor Ding Yuan predicts we’ll see at least US$ 100 billion in outbound investment each year from China. What motivates Chinese companies’ global ambitions? Which deals make sense? What are the challenges in making these cross-border mergers and acquisitions work?

In a talk recorded at the CEIBS Europe Forum in London on July 6, 2017, Professor Ding shares some of the findings from more than 30 case studies done by the CEIBS Centre for the Globalization of Chinese Companies that explore Chinese outbound investments across a wide range of industries and countries. As he explains in his talk, when they began their research, the CEIBS faculty found that the frameworks for globalization followed by Western multinationals do not apply to Chinese companies going global. Their reasons for pursuing foreign acquisitions and joint ventures, and the way they manage them are quite different. He explains the differences and provides some practical examples in this talk.

To learn more about CEIBS 2017 Europe Forums in London, Paris, Munich & Warsaw, see here. 

Greenfield Investment Challenges for Chinese Companies

How will Brexit impact the business of Chinese companies in the UK? What are the challenges of integrating Chinese and European business cultures and practices after a cross-border M&A deal closes? How do Chinese companies learn to navigate through a foreign regulatory environment?

In a lively discussion recorded at the CEIBS Europe Forum in London on July 6, 2017, senior executives from Alipay, NVC Lighting UK, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (London) Plc, and the London Taxi Company discuss the challenges Chinese companies face when going global, and share practical examples of how their companies have solved them. The Roundtable is titled “Greenfield Investment: Creating Value for Win-Win Outcomes”.

For more information on CEIBS Europe Forum London (as well as the stops in Paris, Munich & Warsaw) please see here.

Chinese Companies’ ‘Light Touch’ M&A Approach

Chinese conglomerate Fosun Group’s acquisition of the French resort company Club Med, and the acquisition of the UK department store chain House of Fraser by China’s Sanpower Group are both successful examples of the unique ‘light touch’ approach that many Chinese companies take in managing their overseas acquisitions. CEIBS Vice President & Dean Ding Yuan weighs in on the benefits of this approach, and senior executives from these companies share their experiences to illustrate why it has worked in their cases.

Managing Director of International Business Development at Deloitte Mr. David Percival moderates  this discussion which was recorded at the CEIBS Europe Forum in London on July 6, 2017 at a roundtable titled “Mergers & Acquisitions: Generous Returns from the Chinese Market”.

For more information on CEIBS Europe Forum London (as well as the stops in Paris, Munich & Warsaw) please see here.

Read more about Sanpower Group's acquisition of House of Fraser here