GSK

MNCs in the News-2016-10-14

China’s inward foreign direct investment (FDI) for the first nine months of 2016 grows a modest 4.2 percent year-over-year (YOY). China takes various steps to ease process for inward FDI, but foreign observers reserve judgement. Shanghai Municipal Food and Drug Administration imposes several million dollars in fines on Shanghai Husi and OSI Group’s China office for distributing reprocessed and expired meat. GlaxoSmithKline has been moving over the past two years to enhance its R&D capabilities in China and to take other steps to enhance its ability to serve Chinese patients. Chinese outward FDI in the US hits a record in 2015, spurring increased sensitivity. Chinese President Xi Jinping promises Portuguese Prime Minister his country will encourage more investment in Portugal. Alibaba plans to help Thailand with small business development, e-commerce, and e-payments. Chongqing actively engages with China’s One Belt, One Road scheme giving it all kinds of new export and logistics opportunities. Fujitsu plans to downside in the UK and denies the move relates to Brexit, though there are doubts. Japan’s SoftBank partners with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund to create massive tech investment fund. Korean construction firm Doosan wins approximately billion dollar power plant project in Saudi Arabia. Korea Electric Power Corporation wins more than $35 billion coal-fired thermal plant contract in South Africa, the country’s first independent power project. Investors enthused about Indonesia infrastructure opportunities, but worry about requirement they be paid in rupiah. Malaysia welcomes investment in the biomass industry and announces major new investment by Korean petroleum refiner. Samsung’s massive global Galaxy7 smartphone recall may have an adverse impact on Vietnam’s growth rate. Ho Chi Minh City see big drop in investment in industrial parks and export processing zones as it pushes investment in tech rather than labor-intensive sectors.

MNCs in the News-2015-11-27

Google Play app store ready to play in China. Chinese investment in the American financial sector dwarfs American investment in the Chinese financial sector. U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade meeting reportedly yields agreement on the protection of trade secrets and opens Chinese market further to certain types of American firms. Payoff of GlaxoSmithKline’s measures to recover from its 2014 China bribery scandal remain unclear. MOFCOM touts China’s opportunities to Japanese firms and hopes they will invest in “emerging sectors.” Premier Li Keqiang says China will invest $1 trillion overseas in the next five years. Chinese outward foreign direct investment (FDI) and contract work continues to record impressive results. Chinese firm private firm outward FDI (OFDI) shows impressive growth. Chinese OFDI in Africa, though, collapses. China promises $10 billion in infrastructure loans to Association of Southeast Asian Nation countries. Chinese train company motoring along in Malaysia. China National Corporation for Overseas Economic Cooperation fires up over Mexican energy sector investment. Chinese companies power up nuclear energy cooperation with Argentina. Japan opens its purse strings to win more infrastructure deals and counter China. Japan expresses its displeasure to Indonesia about Indonesia’s awarding of a high-speed rail contract to China. Japanese public private fund steps forward to finance Texas high-speed rail. Indonesia will act to revise its negative investment list to exclude e-commerce companies.

MNCs in the News-2015-10-23

China announces plan to role out a Negative List in various regions over the next two years. Apple powers up its renewable energy initiatives in China. GlaxoSmithKline CEO Andrew Witty tells official Chinese media that his company has put in place systems to ensure no bribes are paid to doctors. Xi Jinping’s visit to the U.K. leads to promise of massive Chinese investment in the Hinkley nuclear power plant. Alibaba reaches out to U.S. Trade Representative Office to highlight its efforts to fight the sale of counterfeit goods on its websites. Indonesia expresses confidence that realized investment for 2015 will exceed government goals. Falling investment in labor intensive sectors in Indonesian prompts investment authorities to press government to liberalize tax allowance policies. Thai firms, including medium-sized enterprises, increasingly engage in outward investment, especially in neighboring countries. Malaysian MPs call for legislation similar to Singapore’s that would allow for the government to punish companies associated with massively polluting Indonesia forest fires

Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard's picture

A corrupt anti-corruption campaign?

Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard
Posted: Mar 30, 2014

After he became China’s President, Xi Jinping made fighting corruption a central part of his domestic policy agenda. In line with this, state anti-corruption organs have investigated tens of thousands of Chinese Communist Party officials and government bureaucrats and numerous high-ranking officials at the central and provincial government levels have lost their posts or party membership, or have been put in jail. Many foreign companies welcome the anti-corruption campaign in concept because it means, if it works, they do not have to offer “gifts” or find “middlemen” and that they will not be at a competitive disadvantage if home country laws, scruples, or both preclude them from providing a gift.