对话美迈斯律师事务所中国业务部合伙人 万孝杰

The Do’sand Do Not’s of China Market Entry for Tech Companies – with O’Melveny ShanghaiManaging Partner Walker Wallace

We sit downwith Walker Wallace, managing partner of O’Melveny’s Shanghai office, todiscuss how foreign tech companies should think about entering the Chinamarket. It’s worth noting that most tech start-ups should not evenconsider China entry in the early days, as building up tech and achieving afocused product-market fit should be the only priority, and a prematureobsession over China could very well be a huge distraction. But for companiesthat have built up a relatively sustainable business and are looking to scale,a thoughtful, well executed China strategy could create significant value.

Today wediscuss: what type of tech companies should consider entering the China market?What should their key considerations be before designing a market entrystrategy?  What are the different options and structures available? How do JVs work, and what is the value exchange between JV partners?  Anyother best practices to keep in mind?

Walker J.Wallace is a leader in O’Melveny’s China practice. He has extensive experiencein international transactions and has worked with clients in a wide range ofprojects across Asia, from multi-nationals seeking to invest in China, toprivate equity funds pursuing investment strategies in Southeast Asia. InChina, Walker has helped clients negotiate the complexities of investing andstructuring business operations in numerous industries, including consumerproducts, healthcare, real estate, software, media and entertainment, retailand education. 

Walker hasbeen working in the Shanghai office since 1997.   He is the formerChairman of the Legal Committee for the American Chamber of Commerce inShanghai, and is the co-author of “Acquisitions of Companies with ChineseAssets,” “Foreign Private Equity Investment in China: Which Way to the Exit?,”“Onshore Financial Investing in China,” and “Enforcement on Defaulted Loans andMortgage on Real Property under Chinese Law.”   Walker was named as aleading lawyer by Chambers Asia 2016/2017 under the categories“China, Corporate/M&A” and “China, Private Equity: Buyouts (InternationalFirms)”. 

对话美迈斯律师事务所中国业务部合伙人： 科技公司进入中国市场时应注意的规则

今天与我们对话的是万孝杰先生，美国美迈斯律师事务所，驻上海代表处负责人。他将与我们分享国外科技公司是如何考虑进入中国市场的。值得注意的是，大多数科技初创公司不应该考虑在早期进入中国，建立技术和实现集中的适合市场的产品应该是唯一的优先选择，并在对中国市场过早地向往，也很可能分散公司实习。但是对于一些已经建立相对可持续业务的公司来说，寻求大规模经营、周到以及高效执行的在中战略，将会创造很大的效益。

我们今天讨论的内容有：什么类型的科技公司可以考虑进入中国市场？在制定市场进入战略之前，他们需要考虑的关键问题是什么？有哪些不同的选项以及结构可供选择？合资企业是如何运作的，以及合资企业合伙人之间的价值交换是怎样的？还有其他较好的实践吗？

万孝杰（Walker J. Wallace）是美迈斯律师事务所中国业务部合伙人，已在上海代表处工作近二十年。万律师有丰富的国际交易经验，曾在亚洲各地的各种项目中为客户提供服务，包括跨国公司在华投资项目、私募基金在东南亚寻求投资策略等。在中国，万律师曾帮助客户就他们在各行各业的投资和业务结构进行复杂的谈判，包括消费品、保健、房地产、软件、媒体和娱乐业、零售业、和教育。

在1997年来上海工作以前，万律师在纽约执业。他还曾担任上海美国商会法律委员会主席。万律师与他人合著了《收购中资公司》、《海外私募资金在中国投资：如何选择退出战略？》以及《中国法律针对房地产领域拖欠贷款和按揭的强制执行》。