manufacturing

Mr. & Mrs. S.H. Wong Center for the Study of Multinational Corporations orchestrates successful workshop on the effect of Chinese outward FDI in Southeast Asia

In early October, the Mr. & Mrs. S.H. Wong Center for the Study of Multinational Corporations (Wong MNC Center) hosted a workshop entitled “The Effects of Chinese Outward FDI in Southeast Asia” in the San Francisco Bay Area (California, USA). This 1-1/2 day workshop, organized and sponsored by the Wong MNC Center, drew leading academics, researchers, and policymakers from China, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the United States.

MNCs in the News-2021-June

China adopts law for countering foreign sanctions, which some in foreign business community in China fear may be applied against it. Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China releases report highlighting anxieties about uncertainties created for Japanese firms by a slew of new, ambiguous laws and regulations such as the unreliable entities list and national security review law. Current data do not support the thesis that China’s national security law for Hong Kong has damaged Hong Kong’s status as an international financial center. Chinese firms are expanding their overseas operations to escape home country competition, gain local knowledge, and so on. Chinese outward foreign direct investment in Belt and Road Initiative countries shows respectable growth over first five months of 2021 versus prior year period. Japan continues along the path of greater regulation of internet giants and their potential abuse of market power. South Korean district court dismisses wartime labor compensation lawsuit brought by a group of Koreans against 16 Japanese companies. Korean firms substantially increase their lobbying activities in the United States for various political and economic reasons. Korean consortium’s hopes to win nuclear power plant bid rise with Czech government’s decision to rule out the involvement of Chinese and Russian companies.

Executive Director Jean-Marc F. Blanchard interviewed for TI Observer article about US-China Economic Relations

Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard, Founding Executive Director of the Mr. & Mrs. S.H. Wong Center for the Study of Multinational Corporations, was interviewed for a Taihe Institute TI Observer article about China-United States (US) economic relations with a focus on foreign direct investment (FDI). Dr.

Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard's picture

Circling around China’s Dual Circulation Policy, part III-Implications for China’s Outward FDI

Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard
Posted: Feb 14, 2021

This piece complements two earlier pieces that, respectively, overviewed China’s Dual Circulation System (DSC) and pondered its implications for inward foreign direct investment (FDI) into China. It specifically focuses on the potential ramifications of the DCS for Chinese outward FDI (OFDI). Prima facie one logically might expect the DCS to moderate Chinese OFDI since its goals include inter alia enhancing China’s indigenous capabilities, insulating China from an occasionally hostile external environment, and increasing domestic consumption and production. In actuality, though, these and other DCS aims do not support the premise the DCS will result in Chinese money shunning the outside world.

Mr. Naoyuki Haraoka's picture

The Coronavirus Reveals Inconvenient Truths

Mr. Naoyuki Haraoka
Posted: Aug 16, 2020

The spread of international supply chains has played a key role in advancing globalization as well as enabling greater production efficiencies at multinational corporations (MNCs) because it has facilitated the division of labor. This has especially been the case where manufacturing industries, an engine of the global economic growth, such as automobiles, are concerned.

MNCs in the News-2018-12-14

Inward foreign direct investment (FDI) into China for the first 11 months of 2018 year-over-year relatively stable. Beijing stops requiring its local governments to support the Made in China 2025 policy. European Union Ambassador to China calls on China to stop requiring companies to transfer technology for market access. Apple considers moving some production out of China due to possibility of increased tariffs on its China-produced smartphones and laptops. 2018 proves a tough year for Chinese outward FDI (OFDI) in the oil sector. Huawei accepts various UK technical requirements “to address risks in its equipment and software.” Following a Japanese government’s decision that effectively excluded China’s Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. from public procurement, Japan’s three major mobile phone carriers Softbank Corp., NTT Docomo Inc., and KDDI Corp. plan to stop using various products from these companies. Japanese expert panel calls on Tokyo to take measures to protect the usage of consumer data. Korea Electric Power Corp. report on Northeast Asia power grid notes it would face serious challenges because of sanctions on North Korea. Beginning July 2019, Korea will impose a value-added tax on a wider range of services provided by global technology giants to level the playing field for Korean firms.