Forget about all the cookie-cutter books that explain how to make money in China. Let’s take a look at how to lose money in China.
Mr. China: A Memoir
In the early 1990s, British businessman Clissold–with a passing knowledge of China and of Mandarin–found himself the point man between a group of Wall Street bankers with hundreds of millions to invest and a budding entrepreneur class in China strapped for cash and foreign expertise. This seemingly perfect marriage would become, as one investor put it, “the Vietnam war of American business.” By decade’s end, hundreds of joint ventures would fail and billions of dollars would be lost. If Clissold was well placed to help create many of these ill-fated partnerships, he’s even better positioned to explain, through his own horrific experiences, what went wrong: a labyrinthine legal and political system that Westerners (even with Chinese help) could never decipher, a rickety and hidebound system of factory management in China, an almost-willful lack of respect by Wall Street for Chinese sensibilities, and often-flagrant abuse by Chinese managers of the Western largesse made available to them. A compelling account, related with sly humor and hard-earned wisdom. Alan Moores
Cautionary tale that doesn’t dim the potential of China, July 6, 2004
This review is from: MR China : A Wall Street Banker, An Englishman, An Ex-red Guard and $418,000,000 Disappearing, Day By Day (Paperback)
Tim Clissold became smiiten with the potential of China and - unlike many of us - acted upon those feelings by plunging into a two-year dedicated study of Mandarin. Through luck and hard effort, he then got himself paired up with a larger-than-life Wall Street investment banker looking to make his mark as ‘Mr. China.’
After rigorously looking at hundreds and hundreds of potential investments, the two of them raise over $400 million and begin to put the cash to work in a series of JVs. In what should be a cautionary tale to anyone looking to invest or do business in China, Clissold describes - in rather remarkable detail - the unique ‘challenges’ they encounter in making a return on their investment. Clissold wisely focuses on three episodes - each involving plant managers or owners - where the Western and Chinese views of banking and contract law begin to diverge…then unravel. Can Tim and team keep it together? It’ll require superhuman effort. I was exhausted simply reading some of these chapters. I can only imagine the stress and strain of actually living it. Indeed, at one point Clissold’s body seems to simply give out. This, however, is not a man easily defeated.
Despite the travails Clissold faces in the book, the book is all about the potential of China. He brings life to the sheer numbers and masses of people - his description of Chongqing for example (how many people know that this is China’s largest city?)…”The density of people was staggering: millions and millions swirling in the roadways, all in faded blue overalls and with piles of baggage, blocking the gates at the station, crammed into buses, milling about on the pavements.”
Wonderful writing, made all the better by the pithy little proverbs that Clissold has chosen to begin each chapter. I stared at each of these for a minute or more, admiring their brevity, significance and - upon finishing the chapter - realizing how apt Clissold’s choices were. Well done, Tim.
An Interesting Read, July 22, 2005
Mr. China puts us in the shoes of a western businessman delving into the opening China market of the late 80’s and early 90’s. When Deng opened up China for business, the author, Tim Clissold, was one of the first into China with western funds to invest. However, the dream of endless profits turned into a nightmare. In this book, you’ll face conflict after failure as China is dragged into capitalism. The experiences in this book may serve as a warning for those who are doing business in China. In the end though, it seems that many of these problems could have been avoided by a little more research and cultural sensitivity. Also, in being first in China, Clissold came face to face with a clash of systems. Westerners assumed that they could do business as usual without concern for the loose business practices of a formerly communist China. They run into thousands of unexpected problems. Clissold tries to put a positive spin on it in the end, but after reading the book, you’ll wonder where he gets his optimism from. Overall, it’s a quick and interesting read on the opening of China. If you’re doing or thinking of doing business in China, check it out.
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