11/4 FBT Optimizing your Business in China 2011 Seminar

Frost Brown Todd hosted a webinar with a focus on optimizing business in China. Below are key topics explored in two case studies.

Vetting Suppliers – For companies purchasing materials or products in China, it’s absolutely necessary to have native Chinese people vetting suppliers. There are far too many illegitimate companies selling products. As a company that puts a great deal of effort into vetting suppliers, 889 Global Solutions couldn’t agree more. Our bilingual team in the U.S. and in China put forth great effort in questioning, visiting, and inspecting the suppliers we work with.

Barriers to Entry and Issues with Hiring – Barriers and issues include cost of having expats in China, the time and process of relocating expats, and obtaining proper paperwork and visas. This summer China started requiring expatriates to pay into a Chinese social security fund. Hiring Chinese nationals is a good way to keep costs down, but there are high turnover rates, and precautions need to be taken if people are exposed to trade secrets or intellectual property. It’s not uncommon for companies to pay these kinds of people a year’s salary after the employee leaves as a safeguard against information leakage.

Protecting IP and Trademarks – Earlier this year a French company started doing business in China. The company registered its trademark in China, but only in English. Shortly thereafter, a Chinese company copied the French company’s trademark, registered it in Chinese, and then went after the French company for using registered trademark. The lesson here is to (1) work with a professional entity that knows the Chinese legal system, and (2) make sure to properly register and follow all steps to lay claim.