China Joint Ventures. Find Me A Good One....
Excellent article by Tina Wang up on Forbes.com. The article is entitled "KKR's Concrete Lessons In China" and it is subtitled, "A KKR-led group bought into a Chinese tycoon's cement business. Over a year later, who's in charge?" It is on a KKR cement industry joint venture in China and like so many stories on joint ventures (not just in China but just about everywhere), it reads like a bad spy/war novel.
It reminds me a bit of a chapter (or two) from Jack Perkowski's book, Managing the Dragon, where Jack very graphically writes about one of his China joint ventures gone bad. Jack's story is so incredible, that if my firm had not represented parties in similar situations (right down to the unbelievable parts), I would never have believed it. Let's just say one of my favorite joint venture stories involved a client who after being hung head first outside a high floor window in Russia he decided he would gladly relinquish his controlling interest after all.
For additional reading on the perils of joint ventures in China, check out the following:
"Chinese Joint Ventures -- The Information The Chinese Government Does Not Want You To Know "
"China's Joint Venture Jeopardy" (this post is on an article I wrote for the Wall Street Journal on the same subject.
"China -- Damn The Joint Venture"
"Beware The China Joint Venture"
"Beware The China Joint Venture, But Do Not Ignore It Completely"
"China SMEs: Own If You Want To Own."
http://www.chinalawblog.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-t.cgi/3187
» The China Joint Venture. It's BACK!!! China Law Blog
AmCham China just posted an interview here of me regarding the return of joint ventures to China. Josh Gartner conducted the interview and he did a great job. Though joint ventures obviously never left China, there has definitely been a post-recession ... []
Comments
Reminds of the scene in 'A fish called Wanda' when John Cleese is held out of the window - 'I unreservedly apologise...'
But, seriously, how terrifying that some people in some parts of the world are capable and willing to do such things.
Makes me feel London is more civilised than I normally give it credit for.
Posted by: uk visa lawyer | July 16, 2009 2:21 AM
It's unbelievable to me that business in other countries is still conducted mafia-style.
Posted by: Joe | July 16, 2009 8:53 AM
The Barbarians at the Gate run into the Great Wall.
Posted by: Frank Rizzo | July 17, 2009 5:41 PM
Reminds of the scene in 'A fish called Wanda' when John Cleese is held out of the window - 'I unreservedly apologise...'
But, seriously, how terrifying that some people in some parts of the world are capable and willing to do such things.
Makes me feel London is more civilised than I normally give it credit for.
Posted by: sen | July 18, 2009 9:45 AM
An article you might want to comment on - which seems tangentially related to this -
"Half of top judges lack legal training" (SCMP)
http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2c913216495213d5df646910cba0a0a0/?vgnextoid=5ee30c2500992210VgnVCM100000360a0a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=teaser&ss=China&s=News
Posted by: Clement Wan | July 20, 2009 8:40 PM