Fund managers seek joint venture openings in China
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| Victor Chu, Chairman of First Eastern Investment Group, Hong Kong will chair the session on liberalization of financial services in post WTO China. |
Beijing, 19 September 2002 - An international business conference here next month will assess the impact of China's accession to the World Trade Organization on the financial services industry - and what can be done to increase the flow of much-needed capital to speed economic development.
Speakers at the International Chamber of Commerce conference on 14-15 October will examine China's readiness to meet commitments to liberalize financial services entered into when it joined the WTO late in 2001. The session will be chaired by Victor Chu, Chairman, First Eastern Investment Group, Hong Kong.
Also on the panel will be Jiang Jianqing, President of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Ding Yunzhou, Vice President of People's Insurance Co. of China.
The conference - the first ICC Asian regional forum to be held in the Chinese capital - is against the background of heightened interest among foreign fund managers in joining forces with Chinese partners.
But how long will it take for joint venture applications to be processed by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the Chinese market regulator? Are there undue delays and how can they be overcome?
Coming a few weeks before the Chinese Communist Party Congress in November, when China's leaders for the next five years will be chosen, the ICC conference will provide a timely insight into the views of foreign fund managers about prospects in China.
A separate session will highlight China's pressing needs for capital, and especially venture capital as its economy thrives despite downturns in the rest of the world.
China is the world's leader in export expansion, according to the latest World Investment Report from the UN Conference on Trade and Development. The report says that the share of foreign affiliates in exports rose from 17% in 1991 to 50% in 2002. Inward investment rose to nearly $47 billion in 2001 from $41 billion the previous year.
The conference will examine the challenges the domestic financial sector in China will face as financial services are liberalized and the measures the government and the Chinese financial sector will be taking to cushion the impact and meet increased competition.
A separate session will tackle ways of improving corporate governance specifically in the financial services sector following the wave of corporate scandals in the United States.
The final day of the conference on 15 October will focus on ICC arbitration in the globalized world.
ICC China, representing Chinese companies in the world business organization, is hosting the regional conference.
ICC-Asia Regional Forum full programme and how to register