China Outbound: Down but Not Out Go back »
Click here to view pictures of this event.
-
Time2017-10-26 | 09:00 - 12:00
-
Venue:Four Seasons Hotel, 5th Floor, QINGII&III
-
Address:
-
Fee:Members: 300 |
Non Members: 600
We would love to hear your feedback, and it just takes a minute.
In 2017 China formally laid down new rules on overseas investments, making explicit its de facto campaign against “suspicious capital outflows” and “irrational” acquisition of trophy assets. Coupled with increasing scrutiny of some of China’s most bullish companies; ODI levels dropped 44.3% in the first half of 2017, down significantly from record highs one year earlier.
Behind these alarming numbers, China Inc. continues to go global. While the days of purchasing football clubs may be over, investment in high technology and in modern services still remains on the governments ‘encouraged’ list providing a myriad of opportunities for European companies seeking capital and for the third parties needed to facilitate these deals and bring operational support to Chinese companies in overseas markets.
The European Chamber is delighted to welcome a distinguished group of speakers to explain the underlying reasons for the 2017 outbound investment crackdown, and to surmise what we can expect from China outbound in the near future; Did any major indicators come out of the 19th Party Congress? Will Europe continue be the go to investment destination? How worried are Chinese investors about Trump’s America and recent higher profile investigations by CFIUS? Will this be the year we see investment in line with the President's signature Belt and Road Initiative really take off?
Agenda
09:00-09:15 Welcome Remarks, Viktor Arak, Beijing Local Chair, European Chamber Investment Working Group
09:15:09:55 The Visible Hand: Signals from the Regulator, Andrew Polk, Co-founder, Trivium/China
09:55:10:35 The Outbound Experience of Chinese Enterprises, Alex Zhu, Lead, Greater China Infrastructure Advisory, EY
10:35:10:50 Coffee Break
10:50-12:00 Panel Discussion, moderated by Joerg Wuttke, President Emeritus, European Chamber
- Timothy Stratford, Partner, Covington & Burling
- Simon Lacey, Vice President, Huawei Technologies
- Florian Bohnert, Head of Global Partnerships, Mobike
- Andrew Polk, Co-founder, Trivium/China
Terms & Conditions
Events have limited seating so to ensure your attendance we encourage advance online registration and payment for ALL events. We cannot guarantee entry to anyone not registered in advance.
All our events are held in English and follow the Chatham House Rule unless otherwise stated. Post event sharing of presentation materials is at the speaker's discretion.
Cancellation Policy
If you cannot attend an event for which you have registered, please cancel your registration no later than one business day prior to the event. If you fail to notify us of your cancellation in a timely fashion, you will be charged for event costs.
To cancel you can: 1) email jli@europeanchamber.com.cn, or 2) cancel online if you registered for the event through the website.
Speakers
Mr. Timothy P. Stratford
Mr. Timothy P. Stratford
Tim Stratford is managing partner in Covington & Burling LLP’s Beijing office and a member of the International Trade, Corporate and Government Affairs Practice Groups. Mr. Stratford’s practice is focused on advising international clients doing business in China and assisting Chinese companies seeking to expand their businesses globally. As a former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative, Mr. Stratford is the most senior former U.S. trade official working as a member of the U.S. business community in China. Except for the five years he spent in Washington, D.C. in government service (2005-2010), Mr. Stratford has lived and worked continuously in the greater China region since 1982.
While at USTR, Mr. Stratford was responsible for developing and implementing U.S. trade policy toward mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and Mongolia. He worked closely with other senior U.S. and Chinese officials from numerous government departments and agencies to address problems encountered by companies engaged in bilateral trade and investment and co-chaired a number of important bilateral working groups and dialogues established under the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade and the U.S.-China Strategic & Economic Dialogue.
Prior to serving at USTR, Mr. Stratford was General Counsel for General Motors’ China operations, where he was a member of GM’s senior management team in China and oversaw the company’s legal and trade policy work. Mr. Stratford also served previously as Minister-Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and as Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Brigham Young University, and is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese.
Mr. Andrew Polk
Mr. Andrew Polk
Andrew Polk is the Co-founder and Head of Economic Research at Trivium China, a Beijing-based strategic advisory firm.
Before founding Trivium, Polk was the China Director at Medley Global Advisors, where he advised asset managers and hedge funds on developments in China's economy and financial markets.
Previously, Polk was the Resident China Economist at The Conference Board's China Center, where he conducted economic analysis on the Chinese economy for corporate clients.
Polk is the co-author of The Long, Soft Fall in Chinese Growth and maintains a deep network of professional contacts in the official, academic, and business communities in China – built over a decade of living in China and working on China issues.
Other research positions he has held include stints at the Institute of International Finance and the U.S. Treasury; he holds an MA in economics and international relations from Johns Hopkins SAIS.
Mr. Simon Lacey
Mr. Simon Lacey
Simon Lacey is currently Vice-President at Huawei Technologies in Shenzhen, China, working in the company’s Global Government Affairs division on issues of Trade Facilitation and Market Access. He is the lead author of a company white paper entitled Trade Rules for the Digital Economy. Prior to joining Huawei Simon (a native of Sydney, Australia) obtained a first degree in law at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland (in German and French), before going on to obtain an LLM at Georgetown University Law Center in the United States.
Simon has worked in over 30 countries providing advice to stakeholders in both the public and private sectors on international trade and investment rules. He has served on different country delegations to the WTO. Simon previously spent several years embedded in the Indonesian Ministry of Trade advising on such issues as regional economic integration and WTO dispute settlement. Simon’s professional areas of responsibility include the digital economy, non-tariff barriers, as well as trade in services and investment. Recently he has served as part of a group of experts to the United Nations Committee on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in the context of drafting the 2017 World Investment Report and continues to publish and speak publicly on various aspects of international trade and investment liberalization.
Mr. Alex Zhu
Mr. Alex Zhu
Alex has an over 20 years career, spanning geographies, sectors and clients, with experience in Asia, Africa and North America. Alex started and led the Valuation & Business Modeling practice in Beijing, which has seen remarkable growth through market-driven service offerings and cross service line teaming. He has been instrumental in launching Greater China Infrastructure Advisory services focusing on One Belt One Road infrastructure opportunities and serving domestic Public Private Partnership market.
Mr. Jörg Wuttke
Mr. Jörg Wuttke
Jörg Wuttke is Vice President and Chief Representative of BASF China, based in Beijing. Since joining BASF in 1997, Mr. Wuttke has been responsible for helping guide the company’s investment strategies for China, negotiation of large projects and government relations.
Previous to joining BASF, Mr. Wuttke worked with ABB for 11 years; in fact his first professional encounter with China was in 1988 as the Finance and Administration Manager of ABB Beijing. In 1990, he returned to Germany as Sales Manager of ABB Power Plants Division, responsible for gas turbine sales to Africa and Russia. In 1993, he became Chief Representative ABB China in Shanghai and in 1994 moved to the President's Office of ABB China in Beijing, where he was responsible for the development and financing of large projects.
From 2001 to 2004 Mr. Wuttke was the Chairman of the German Chamber of Commerce in China. From 2007 to 2010, 2014 to 2017, and since May 2019 again he is the President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China
From 2011 to 2019, Mr. Wuttke was Chairman of the BIAC China Task Force of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC), a Paris based body of major business associations that lobbies the OECD.
From 2013 to 2016, and again since 2019 Mr. Wuttke is Vice Chairman of the CPCIF International Cooperation Committee, a group representing Multinational Companies in China’s Chemical Association.
Since its establishment in 2013, Mr. Wuttke is member of the Advisory Board of Germany’s foremost Think Tank on China, Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS), in Berlin.
In January 2019 Mr. Wuttke joined the International Board of the Stars Foundation, in Switzerland. stars - for Leaders of the Next Generation.