New Issue of China Briefing: Trading and the Rise of FICE

Posted by Reading Time: 3 minutes

Jul. 1 – The new issue of China Briefing magazine, titled Trading and Establishing Foreign-invested Commercial Enterprises in China, is out now.

While there has been a great deal of discussion about the macroeconomic trends surrounding and microeconomic thinking behind “the Chinese consumer” (and even whether this term is too generalized to use), the one word describing this demographic that all sources seem to agree on is potential.

It doesn’t take a PhD demographer or marketing guru to calculate that world’s largest population + rapidly rising disposable incomes + increasing tastes for foreign products = a rather enticing market for the foreign company. This little calculation is not new – though it is perhaps significantly more true now than several years ago – and it forms the central theme of hoards of business books and news articles.

But more and more foreign businesses are starting to act. A trend we’ve been seeing a lot of on the ground in China is the conversion of representative offices (ROs) to foreign invested commercial enterprises (FICEs). It is this trend that inspired this issue’s theme.

In this issue, we evaluate the suitability of ROs, walk you through the details of FICE (including establishment procedures), discuss franchising in China for foreign companies, and put in a few words about what the Chinese consumer from a macroeconomic perspective.

In This Issue:

  • Evaluating the Suitability of ROs
  • Establishing a FICE: Laws and Procedures
  • Franchising in China: A Flourishing Business Model
  • A Macroeconomic Overview of China Consumers

This issue of China Briefing – Trading and Investing in Foreign-invested Commercial Enterprises in China – is available from the Asia Briefing Bookstore, priced at US$10.

Dezan Shira & Associates is a boutique professional services firm providing foreign direct investment business advisory, tax, accounting, payroll and due diligence services for multinational clients in China. For more information on investment opportunities in China, please contact info@dezshira.com, visit www.dezshira.com, or download the firm’s brochure here.

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