China :: Business :: Deals

Donald Trump got "fake news" in the U.S., and you know what? Walt Disney got "Fake Deals" in China. In 2013, Meng Dekai, a Disney executive in China, signed a deal with the mayor of Hefei to build a $1.3 billion “Disney cultural and industrial park.” It was one of several agreements with multiple cities in China that Mr. Meng apparently signed. The only problem: He was not allowed to do so. The Walt Disney Company said on Wednesday that it had parted ways with Mr. Meng — it did not say whether he resigned or was fired — after opening an investigation into allegations that he had signed deals with local governments for Disney-related projects. The brazenness of the apparent duplicity highlights the risks for foreign companies operating in China, where counterfeiting and corruption are still rampant despite repeated government campaigns to crack down. Reports of Mr. Meng’s deals across the country have also led to widespread confusion about Disne...

“It’s kind of surreal being here.” The general sentiment, no doubt, of most people on planet Earth right now, but the words of Matt Damon at the premiere of his latest film this year. The reason for his befuddlement? The film was  The Great Wall , for which he had moved to China for half a year with his family. But the premiere was taking place beneath the extravagant pagoda of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. From actual China to Los Angeles’s idea of China — no wonder Damon found it weird. Yet, as so often happens in Hollywood, the weird could well become the way of things.  The Great Wall  and its premiere are the result of what is becoming one of the most significant partnerships in show business, between the American and the Chinese film industries. Other actors will have to make the 10,500km journey between LA and Shanghai. Strangely, this is a partnership founded on mistrust. For years, China’s communist regime took a dim view of the lumi...

Not exactly a business ... Still a big deal nonetheless. A Hong Kong heir to a property fortune has been ordered to pay his ex-wife more than HK$ 1.22 billion (US$ 157 million) in one of the city's biggest divorce settlements, Hong Kong media reported Friday. High Court Justice John Saunders ruled yesterday that Samathur Li Kin-kan, the son of billionaire Samuel Tak Lee, pay Florence Tsang Chiu-wing HK$ 1.22 billion -- which represents 20 percent of the couple's assets when applying the "sharing principle." The settlement is slightly more than half the amount demanded by Tsang. Saunders said the couple lived a "lifestyle best described as just below that of a US-dollar billionaire", and ruled that Tsang, a 38-year-old solicitor, should be kept in the comfort to which she had become accustomed. Tsang reacted to the decision with "cheers and a broad smile", reports said. "I'm delighted that the proceedings have now concluded,...

Source : By Lu Chang (China Daily European Edition) For Shen Dongjun, the 22-hectare chateau in Bordeaux seemed a priceless investment and a natural addition to his new wine business, rather than being just an expensive holiday home. The idyllic Laulan Ducos, a medieval-style chateau, with surrounding vineyards that produce wine was the latest addition to Shen's business empire comprising of more than 300 jewelry stores. "I have been searching for the right vineyard for more than six years. This is exactly what I was looking for and the wine quality is outstanding," he says. "My aim is to bring these high-quality French wines to China at affordable prices." Shen, 42, is part of a new wave of Chinese investors who are snapping up wine estates across the world to quench China's growing thirst for high-quality wines. Data provided by the International Wine and Spirit Research shows that China surpassed Britain as the world's fifth-largest wine c...

Source : By Li Fangfang (China Daily) SHANGHAI - The global food and nutrition giant Nestle SA plans to double the scale of its investment in the Chinese coffee market during the next three years, said a top company executive. Heiko Schipper, managing director of Nestle Food & Beverage, Greater China region, said the move will support the company's plans to accelerate its business in the face of fierce competition in the coffee market with the most potential. "We are planning to double our investment in China, one of the key growth engines for our coffee business in the future," said Schipper, without disclosing further details. "Our coffee business has grown quite rapidly over the past five years, by 20 percent year-on-year on average. And we think we can further accelerate growth in the future by expending more effort and tailoring more products for the market," said Schipper. Having been involved in China for 20 years, Nestle is the leader in ...

General Motors to Test Chinese Plug-in Vehicle Market With Volt General Motors Co. (GM) will introduce its Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid car in China at an auto show on Nov. 21, and dealers will begin taking orders for the model shortly, the automaker said. This will be relatively low-volume, Kevin Wale, president of the Detroit-based companys China unit, said in a phone interview yesterday in Shanghai, declining to comment on specifics including pricing before the show in Guangzhou. Were trying to use this as a statement for technology and the beginning of the path towards electrification. GM will be first among the worlds largest automakers to sell a plug-in car in China, where rivals including Daimler AG (DAI) and Nissan Motor Co. also plan to introduce similar models. Electric-car sales in China are forecast to exceed those in the U.S. by 2020, helped by government subsidies and investment as the Asian nation, the worlds largest polluter, seeks to cut emissions, according to the...

As promised a departure from our recent focus on fashion and luxury in China. I did a Q/A with the always insightful, always entertaining and fantastic writer Benjamin Shobert of the Asia Healthcare Blog yesterday. Here is the article he published. Ben Shobert: You make reference to what you call Chinas policy of health through wealth? Can you explain where that comes from and what it means to companies looking at China as an opportunity for their healthcare business? Michael Zakkour: That phrase came from my extensive and repeated readings of the Chinese governments 12th five-year plan. I tried to formulate in my mind what the commonalities across sectors were as the country pursues growth. What I saw was an admission by China that to sustain growth and continue to move in the right direction they had to admit that the country has some unhealthy things happening. To address this, they see that they need to approach the health of the people, the country and the environmen...