Bukky Reposting Response to Brits make it Rich on China (Post 1of 3)

As I sat here watching the series of videos, I can't help but laugh out loud at some of the issues the Brits are encountering. Not because they are funny but because I can see thru the actions of the Chinese business men and can almost predict the outcomes. As someone who grew up in an emerging economy and who still has ties to a 3rd world country, the actions of the Chinese business men come as no surprise to me. I have come to the realization that business men in emerging economies are all the same, shrewd, sometimes dubious, sometimes dishonest, and unreliable and inherently greedy. Different cultures, locations and people but they all have the same common link of greed. Not to say their Western counterparts are too different. The only difference for the westerners is the availability of law & order. The attitude of most is to take advantage of their western counterparts who are not familiar with the way of doing business because they feel they have the resource to burn.Tony, Peter and Vance are all taking a huge risks going to China. What tempts them and most westerners is the possibility of "high risk, high rewards", to quote Vance. They are aware that in emerging markets, a business man can become a millionaire overnight because these countries have very high potentials and vastly untapped markets. You can also loose your shirt and your life if you are not careful.Tony - His cushion business was ruined by cheap Chinese imports. He was the #1 cushion maker in Europe before then. He determined to go to China to salvage his business, sort of "if you can't beat them, join them". Heavily indebted, he heads for China to build a factory for manufacturing cushions. One of the biggest concerns he encounters is copy right infringement. There are no laws governing or discouraging this dubious practice in China. The problem is so bad that people are actually taking pictures of his product right in front of him for later reproduction. Building the factory was also a massive challenge for him. He needed to partner with a Chinese business woman in order to accomplish this project. The work ethics of some of the workers is very bad with the workers not being very dependable and there does not seem to be much the average foreign business man can do about this. Tony was able to secure contracts thru his persistence and hardwork. Finally with the factory almost complete, there was the issue of hiring english speaking Chinese workers for his business. Most of the workers are migrant workers leaving their farms to move to the urban areas to seek a better life for themselves and their families back home.With Tony's factory successfully completed, most of the local dignitaries wanted to be associated with his success though they were not visible when he was struggling to set up the factory.
January 19, 2010 6:07 PM