Reuters is reporting that China's national pension fund, the National Social Security Fund, is looking to invest up to 10% of its assets in private equity.

The fund is worth about $74 billion. So the move could eventually give the private equity industry in China a boost of over $7 billion.

The Reuters piece pointed out that the NSSF has already dabbled some in private equity. "It has already ploughed money into some government-backed private equity funds, including the Bohai Industrial Investment Fund based in the eastern port city of Tianjin."


© jurvetson

China is becoming a nation of shoppers. So I appreciated the piece by Shaun Rein on China's Rising Retail Market over at China Business Success Stories earlier this month.

Rein's article, originally published in Business Week, puts some math to shopping trends and patterns in China's retail sector. Rein focuses on market research (he runs the China Market Research Group). His article is based on interviews with 500 Chinese in 10 cities.

According to Rein, Chinese youth intend to spend "considerably more" in 2008 than they did in 2007. He says that multinationals had better start thinking young.

I enjoyed Rein's article. You will, too. Read China's Rising Retail Market...


© Yoshimai

One of the biggest changes in China's business landscape over the past year has been the implementation of new provisions of the country's employment law on January 1st. Some of those changes have been radical...

If you're not horribly familiar with employment law in China and the subject interests you for some reason (like, for example, you have employees in China), you may want to look at this guide to employment law in China, published by the nice people over at China Business Success Stories.

Gregory Sy, a partner with Grandall Legal Group, wrote the guide. Besides having a degree from the University of Victoria in Australia and a license to practice law in New York, Sy has an impressive list of clients in China and recently acted as chief editor for Martindale's China Law Digest.

Topics in the guide include...


© trotzenberg

I came across a blog post by James McMullen back on February 16: China Is a Budding Business' Best Friend. I saved it. I intended to comment here on it, but I just never got around to it. Then a couple of weeks ago (April 6) I saw this piece by Mark Gilroy on the current state of the Chinese economy and it struck me that the two pieces provide an interesting contrast...

McMullen is almost bubbly in his excitement about the opportunities that China provides. And why not? The world's largest single market really is becoming more and more accessible at a time when its consumers are becoming increasingly affluent and increasingly interested in consumer goods. Sure, there's been some negative press over product recalls. Yes, America's attitude toward Chinese imports seems to be toughening. But McMullen's words ring true when he says that "...businesses wanting to make it with the big times are scrambling to file their paperwork and get their business relationship with China cemented."

Mark Gilroy's post is more analytical.


© clgregor

Two private equity funds, the Carlyle Group and MBK Partners, are in discussions to obtain a 25 percent stake in Sunny Bank. The small investment bank is in Taiwan. Reuters is reporting on the story.

Acording to the Reuters report, Sunny Bank is not publicly traded. It has more than 80 branches on the island and around US$9.9 billion in assets. Both PE funds are already active in Taiwan and Carlyle was involved in a deal last year that took a 35 percent stake in Taiwan's Ta Chong Bank.


© leonghimwoh

Life is complicated. Simplistic views, when they're expressed in isolation, can make some particular issue seem simple; but very few issues are really all that isolated.

I know there's almost nothing I can say about the war of words between CNN commentator Jack Cafferty and the government of the People's Republic of China that won't get myself into trouble with someone. If I sound too sympathetic toward China, people are going to questions my support for human rights, free speech, my patriotism as an American, and probably my parentage. If I blindly give CNN a good pat on the back and proclaim my sheer joy that someone was finally able to speak the truth about China, I come across as intellectually shallow - and maybe racist. What to do...

I could just say nothing. But one of the flaws in my personality is that saying nothing is hard for me.


© larryfishkorn