Heidrick & Struggles and Fudan University have just put out what is one of the best pieces I have seen on corporate governance and boards of directors in China. Part of its Asia Pacific Thought Leadership Collection the Benchmarking Corporate Governance in China report (PDF Here) highlights findings of more than 100 companies in China (State-owned, private, and foreign invested)…

The motivation for the study:

Corporate governance is a hot topic in China. As the nation opens to foreign investment and privatizes industries that used to be solely under state control, investors around the world are placing large bets on the country’s future. As the influx of capital grows, so does the pressure on Chinese corporate boards to make sure those investments pay off.

And like other markets worldwide, China has had its fair share of corporate scandal in recent years. Despite the growing importance of corporate governance, so far there has been little investigation into how Chinese corporate boards are formed and operated. A review of existing studies on Chinese corporate governance revealed little about the actual makeup of company boards among state-owned, private and foreign-invested companies.

So we decided to find out for ourselves.

and what they have found is very interesting.

One of the first things that caught my eye (see from the above image) is the underlying criteria by which boards are evaluated have some big differences. for SOEs, the primary measure of performance is return on assets/ equity where as both private and FIE are judged on profitability and market penetration… . More interesting than that though is the fact that while 50% of private enterprises are evaluated on public comments, SPE and FIE are in the 20s.

Continue reading »

Typically, I would not put a link to article I am quoted in, but this month I have 2 articles in the October edition of CHaINA.. and that warrants a post!

CHaINA is a local magazine started by Michael Pennington and supported by Shanghai Business Review and Supply Chain Council. The primary focus is supply chain/ logistics, however they are beginning to widen their scope to regional manufacturing locations as well (that is where I come in). With the support of SBR and Supply Chain, it is a great monthly read and I would suggest anyone in supply chain, investment, or manufacturing begin downloading their monthly editions at their website.

On page 32, Chris Horton (see the blog Go Kunming) writes the piece Tale of Two Cities to profile the growth (and understand their competitive advantages) of Chengdu and Chongqing, the hottest cities in the Southwest. Interviewed by Chris, I you will find some of my thoughts on the dynamics of the cities themselves, their strengths, as well as how they are working together to draw investment in. While the competitive nature is similar to SIP and TEDA, there is a lot of coordination between the two and each believes that their success is tied to the other (SIP and TEDA would differ on that point)

Continue reading »

With the October holiday no upon us, and the theoretical week holiday now in sight, I thought I would pass along some of the articles I have set aside for when the phone stops ringing.

Macro China:
Is China’s Growth Real and Sustainable? - (PDF Here)
Toward Consumption - (PDF Here)

Second Tier Cities:
Chengdu: An Up-and-Coming Market in China’s Heartland - (PDF Here)
Variations in the economic development of China’s provinces .- (PDF Here)
Structural Change and Energy Use: Evidence from China’s Provinces - (PDF Here)

Logistics related
The Air Cargo Market between China and the United States:Demand, Developments and Competition - (PDF Here)
China’s Need For Ultrahigh Speed Railways - (PDF Here)

Sustainable Development:
Sustainable Real Estate Development in China - (PDF Here)
Accelerating the Commercialization of Fuel Cell Vehicles in China - (PDF Here)
China’s Cities at a Crossroads: The Need for Smart Growth - ( PDF Here)
Status and Planning on Renewable Energy Development of China - (PDF Here)

Other
China Perspective - (PDF Here)

If you have seen a report related to China’s growth and development (nothing political) you think should be on a must read list, feel free to make suggestions.