This double issue of China Business Law Journal features our fourth annual China Business Law Directory, a handy reference guide for the China-related legal services market. We would like to give hearty thanks to all of our participants and supporters who have worked with us to create a useful tool for corporate counsel and business leaders to find the quality legal services they require.
Our directory this year spotlights listings and in-depth investigations in three insightful features. Changing horizons is an overview of regulatory and market developments in the previous year that significantly bear on inbound and outbound investment. The ramp-up to the release of the Foreign Investment Law tops the watch list of many, promising an overhaul of the outdated bifurcated regulatory system for domestic and foreign companies. It also signals clear warnings to those using variable interest entity (VIE) structures to seek more advantageous market positions, which may explain in part recent trends of red chip companies dismantling foreign VIEs and returning to the China market.
Further regulatory events have opened China’s borders as well. Relaxed approval and filing procedures have facilitated the rising wave of Chinese outbound investment. And the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and mutual recognition of funds have forged an important link of mainland markets to the world.
Also in the directory, leaders from three in-house counsel groups – the Association of Corporate Counsel, Hong Kong Corporate Counsel Association and China Enterprise Legal Management Research Centre – share with readers how they are Navigating a tougher field. The groups offer their perspectives on how the current market landscape impacts China-related corporate legal work. The increasing strictness and globalization of domestic regulatory enforcement have made internal compliance more complex and costly – which is giving in-house counsel more say in strategic decisions. This changing role requires the ability to incorporate legal strategies into the wider overall business picture.
Forced moves explores how the new economic normal has posed challenges to domestic and international firms in the legal services market. Client demand for sophisticated and specialized legal services at an attractive cost is making the already tough competition between law firms even more fierce. Many indicate that firms now face the choice of walking the boutique path or increasing their size and scope through mergers or alliances.
Beyond the directory, New business in ancient lands discusses Chinese investment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Many may consider oil and gas MENA’s key attractions, but we find Chinese investments there far more diverse. Investors have fixed their keen eyes on MENA’s capital markets and its retail, technology, renewable energy, social infrastructure and healthcare sectors. Yet roadblocks remain – companies should be aware of not just potential instability but regulatory restrictions.
