On May 8, 2017, a conference on “China Invests in the World: Chinese Outbound Investments in a New Era” was organized by a group of Yenching Scholars: José Izquierdo (Spain) , Grzegorz Stec (Poland), Rebecca Arcesati (Italy), Marta Vitvitska (Ukraine), Emily Conrad (United States), and Estefania Giraldo (Colombia) from Guanghua School of Management, Peking University. John Holden, Associate Dean of the Yenching Academy attended the conference.
After a warm welcome given by Dean Holden, Mr. Omar Puertas, Managing Partner of Cuatrecasas in China, introduced a case describing the process for Chinese companies to purchase overseas assets. The case presented the particularities of cross-border transactions when one of the parties is an entity based in Mainland China. Mr. Puertas also explained the impact of the new controls on capital outflows, and the steps to follow for the deal to be successful under the current regulatory environment.
Afterwards, Mrs. Sara Marchetta, Vice-President of the European Chamber of Commerce, presented the topic of Chinese investments from a European perspective. Besides introducing the most attractive sectors and main actors of Chinese ODI in Europe, she explained some of the key aspects of the investment agreement between the EU and China, currently under negotiations.
Mr. Aaron Chi, Representative of Genertec, contributed with his professional experience, as manager of a Chinese SOE with important investments in Latin America. He explained to the audience what to be avoided when establishing offices in foreign countries with different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, as well as the great importance of maintaining a fluid communication with the local employees and their communities.
Dr. Qi Bin, Executive Vice-President of China Investment Corporation (CIC), put an end to the first part of our conference by highlighting the evolution of Chinese overseas investments. He delivered an insightful speech examining the main targets of outbound investments and explained their role in China’s economic transition from exporting to domestic consumption. After contextualizing the present state of the global economy by the analysis of ongoing political processes, he introduced the “Belt & Road” initiative as a strategy for the defense of Globalization.
The first part of the conference was followed by a coffee break nicely provided by the Yenching Academy in which the audience had the opportunity to discuss their views with the speakers and notable attendees.
The conference was finalized by a discussion panel, moderated by Dean Holden, in which both notable attendees and speakers had the opportunity to have a conversation about the future trends of Chinese outbound direct investments.
