TheChina Global Investment Forum: Legal and Practical Challenges will be held on 16 October 2015 in Beijing. This is an event hosted by Grandall Law Firm inconjunction with the Interlex Group.
Attendeesof such event include executive officers from over 200 corporate entities aroundthe world and top-tier commercial lawyers from member firms of The InterlexGroup.
The Forum is afull day event and consists of a major section and four sub-sections.
Main section will focus on the policies surrounding China "One Belt, One Road" strategy, Chinese outbound investment, and the legal and practical challenges faced by Chinese enterprises when doing outbound investment.
Sub-Sections will comprise of discussions of laws relating to foreign investment, banking & finance, anti-trust, environment and tax in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific.
Thefollowing is a summary of some of the speeches to be given on the Forum:
What Chinese investors should know about EU-Russia sanctions and counter-sanctions
Overview：The annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation has triggered the EU to put in place sanctions against Russia. Russia has in turn imposed counter-sanctions against the EU. The implementation of such measures has had a large impact on both the EU and Russian economies.
While various measures have been put in place, the sanctions which have affected foreign business the most are the trade and investment regulations imposed by the EU against Russia and the Crimea, and the embargo of EU food and agricultural products imposed by Russia.
As a consequence of these measures, foreign businesses and investors are being presented with a unique opportunity to enter the EU and Russian markets. Businesses in the EU member states are seeking new markets to export banned products, and Russia must find new sources for import. There are also new investment opportunities for foreign investors, for example in the oil industry in Russia. However, foreign businesses and investors may not be completely immune to the EU-Russia sanctions and counter-sanctions and it is also important to understand the risks and limitations on their conduct of business.
The presentation will briefly explain the details of the sanctions and counter-sanctions, and assess the effects of such measures on the EU and Russian economies and policies. Also, it will address the areas of trade where the EU and Russia are seeking aid from foreign business or investments, as well as matters to keep in mind when doing business in such areas.
North America Parallel Session
An Overview of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and Trends in Chinese Investments in U.S. Companies
Overview：Greg Krafka’s presentation will be in Chinese and will cover (1) trends in Chinese companies’ investments in U.S. companies in recent years, including up-to-date data on Chinese companies’ investments in various U.S. industries in recent years and a summary of recent investments in Texas by Chinese companies, and (2) the U.S. government’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which is the committee which reviews prospective acquisitions of U.S. companies by foreign companies to determine the transaction’s effect on the national security of the U.S. The discussion of CFIUS will include a description of CFIUS’s review process, the factors CFIUS considers in its national security analysis of proposed transactions, and a brief summary of some key findings from the most recent CFIUS report to Congress.
Latin America Parallel Session
Energy, Infrastructure and Public Private Partnership Investment Opportunities in Mexico
Alejandro Sobarzo Hadad（Mexico）
Firm：Kuri Breña, Sánchez Ugarte y Aznar
I.The opening of Mexico’s Energy Sector.
We will discuss and provide an overview of the historical energy reform in Mexico that is currently in its early implementation stage. This reform represents the most significant overhaul of Mexico energy industry since 1938.
Activities that until very recently were reserved to the government are now open to private investment. Foreign investment restrictions have also been lifted. Available contract models in the upstream sector include: Licenses; production sharing contracts; profit-sharing contracts and pure service contracts. Midstream and downstream sectors are also open to private investment.
The reform seeks to attract private capital in the electric industry as well by allowing the private sector to participate in areas previously held exclusively by the government, and by implementing a structured wholesale electric market. The reform provides a new paradigm allowing the private sector to actively participate in generation, transmission, distribution and commercialization projects.
II.Infrastructure & Energy.
We will present Mexico’s aggressive and ambitious infrastructure plan for 2014-2018. Such plan contains specific objectives and strategies and contemplates important infrastructure projects in areas such as communications, energy, health, housing and tourism. The Energy sector is an important part of the plan. The budget for infrastructure totals an amount of approximately USD$441 Billion Dollars. 50% of this amount is destined to energy projects alone. A large portion of the investment is expected from the private sector.
Mexico has recently passed a law that promotes and encourages public-private partnership in infrastructure projects. The enactment of this law is intended to detonate the development of infrastructure in Mexico in line with the national infrastructure plan and it is undoubtedly one of the pillars for the implementation of the energy reform. It is contemplated that the number of PPP projects will importantly increase in Mexico as a mean to supplement governmental tax resources. The law features the so-called unsolicited proposals in order to encourage implementation of these types of projects. The government would reimburse developers for the costs and expenses of studies presented in connection with projects that are approved for implementation.
How Chinese Investors Can Benefit From Opportunities in Brazil
Overview：Brasil is one the largest economies in the world and, together with China, India, Russia and South Africa, is part of the BRICS. Brazil has almost the size of the United States and population of more than 200 million inhabitants.
It is common understanding that for the Brazilian economy to grow as fast the Brazilian would like to, international investment is absolutely necessary. And Brazil welcomes foreign investment in its various areas of the economy.
Brazil has a long tradition of receiving foreign investment, which became successful ventures in the country: most of Brazil's automotive, and heavy machinery industries are subsidiaries of foreign companies.
There are great opportunities in Brazil not only in the manufacturing industry, where China is one of the global leaders, but also in infra-structure (ports, airports, roads and rail roads), which will be offered for PPP or concession process soon.
Brazil is a world leader in the agribusiness, and is the country in the world with most area still be to used for agriculture. Its location near the Equator allows two annual crops, making it one of the most competitive countries in this economic field. One can benefit from this opportunity not only by planting crops, but also by industrializing them.
Additionally, Brazil has a stable political environment, with an independent judiciary, and legislation that treats foreign and national investor just the same.
Asia Pacific Parallel Session
Overview of the Korea-China Free Trade Agreement
Wonil Kim 、 Jiyul Yoo（South Korea）
Overview：China is South Korea’s largest trading partner. In 2014, South Korea exported U$145.3 billion to China and imported U$90.1 billion from China. That is, South Korea’s exports to China account for about 25 percent of its total exports and South Korea’s imports from China about 17 percent of its total imports. From China’s perspective, South Korea is China’s fourth largest exporting country and the largest importing country in terms of trade amount.
South Korea and China have provisionally signed a Korea-China Free Trade Agreement (the “Agreement”) in February 2015. The Agreement, consisting of 22 chapters, covers a variety of trade and industry areas, including trade of goods, service, intellectual property, communication, finance, e-commerce and so on. Under the Agreement, the two countries have agreed to eliminate or reduce tariffs on more than 90 percent of merchandise in 20 years. Also, both countries have made significant achievements in non-tariff barrier areas. For example, the two countries have agreed to set a simple and transparent rule of origin, facilitate customs clearance procedures and migration of people between the two countries, and enhance protection of intellectual property rights.
Through the Agreement, both countries expect that the bilateral trade and investment will significantly increase. In particular, among the top ten trade countries in the world, Korea is the only country which has signed free trade agreements with the world’s top three trade units, China, the United States and the European Union. Thus, China may use Korea as a global free trade hub in its trade and investment.
Easingof Restrictions on Investments from China to Hong Kong and Hong Kong to China –What It Means to Investors
Alwyn Li（Hongkong, China）
Overview：The highly anticipated Mutual Recognition of Funds (MRF) between Hong Kong and Mainland China was launched in early July 2015. The scheme is set to promote joint development of the Mainland and Hong Kong capital markets, and provide more diverse fund investment products to Mainland and Hong Kong investors, expand the business opportunities and enhance the international competitiveness of Mainland and Hong Kong fund management firms.
Under MRF scheme, a fund that is authorised by the home jurisdiction, can apply for authorisation for retail distribution in the other host jurisdiction provided that certain requirements can be satisfied.
In this presentation, Alwyn will walk the audience through the essentials for “southbound funds”: What type of mainland funds would be eligible for SFC authorisation; what are the requirements for mainland funds seeking SFC authorisation? Then go into its counterparts in Hong Kong- “northbound funds”: What type of Hong Kong funds would be eligible for CSRC registration; what are the requirements for Hong Kong funds seeking CSRC registration? The presentation will also cover the key points set out by the regulators, as well as operational and ongoing requirements for this scheme.
Invitation
Invitation|THE INTERLEX GROUP · China Global Investment Forum
