China’s Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) have begun to implement rules designed to ensure that by 2019 seventy-five percent of the technology in China’s banking system is “secure and controllable.” The rules are wide-ranging, covering hardware such as mainframes, personal computers, and point-of-sale...
Archives: Blog entries
April 5, 2015
March 25, 2015
With China’s emergence as the world’s number one energy consumer and oil importer, its ties with Middle Eastern and Central Asian nations have assumed a more significant role in sustaining its rise to power globally. China is the number one recipient of Saudi and Iranian oil exports in the world. In...
February 10, 2015
In early February an American law firm filed a class action lawsuit against Alibaba for violating the US Securities Exchange Act by concealing information about regulatory problems it faced in China. The case linked to a spat between Alibaba and China’s State Administration of Industry and Commerce over the amount...
February 9, 2015
Japan is still in shock and anger following the tragic killing of two Japanese hostages in ISIS-ruled Syria. What does this incident mean for Japanese MNCs? From a risk management point of view, the attack on the Tigantourine natural gas plant in Algeria in January 2013 was far more shocking....
February 3, 2015
One major aspect setting Chinese multinational corporations apart from other MNCs is the high proportion of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Despite concerns about potential competitive distortions, national security threats, and undesired corporate behavior associated with state ownership, disagreements about the extent of the difference between state-owned and private firms have left...
January 23, 2015
China’s policy banks, particularly the China Development Bank (CDB) and China Exim Bank (EXIM), are playing an increasingly active role in its energy acquisition strategy. The two banks finance the overseas investments of China’s National Oil Companies (NOCs) and the development of host country infrastructure to deliver oil and gas...
December 22, 2014
In July, news reports revealed Facebook, blocked in China, was working to expand its presence in China with the signing of a multi-year office lease in Beijing. Since then, media have reported Facebook staff appearing at major conferences in China, meeting with Chinese Internet regulators, and intensifying efforts to provide...
November 7, 2014
China has been a World Trade Organization (WTO) member for almost thirteen years. The titanic battles over its admission to the globe’s leading international economic organization have long passed. While some were anxious about China’s WTO accession, many were exuberant. They foresaw new markets for the goods they manufactured outside...
September 24, 2014
The launching of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (SFTZ) approximately one year ago generated considerable excitement. Months before its launch, Chinese media began to talk of an area that would be “grander and bolder than anything that has ever been conceived.” As far as foreign investors were concerned, the SFTZ’s...
September 22, 2014
Poor macroeconomic policies over the last two decades have been highlighted as the main cause of Japan’s economic difficulties. Following the bursting of the economic bubble in the early 1990s, Japan failed to act decisively to boost money supply and lower interest rates to prevent the economy from falling into...
