Why do Chinese companies want to go international? - Joel Backaler

+Joel Backaler 

Since the Chinese domestic market is so huge, why to Chinese companies bother to go international? Author Joel Backaler of China Goes West: Everything You Need to Know About Chinese Companies Going Global gave last month 14 presentations seven European cities. And this was the most asked question.

Joel Backaler:

It would take an entire book to provide a sufficient answer to this question, but I typically answered by breaking the common misconception held by observers of this trend. People all too often attribute Chinese companies going global exclusively to the government’s 走出去 or ‘go out’ policy. Indeed, government policy is an important factor to consider as the internationalization of Chinese firms helps the government invest its vast foreign exchange reserves (state sector investment), obtain critical natural resources to sustain China’s economic growth, and develop a series of “national champions” (Chinese firms that are able to compete globally in key industries). However, focusing solely on government policy only reveals one part of the story. Even more important – and what matters most for Western multinational executives– are the business drivers for why Chinese companies go global. The business environment in China has changed dramatically in recent years – the days of 10% GDP growth are over, labor costs have increased significantly, and competition has heated up across industries. Chinese companies are not immune from the consequences of doing business in this new reality. As a result, Chinese firms are going global for many of the same reasons that Western firms do, including:

• Geographic diversification
• New capability acquisition (ex: technology, brands, talent)
• Cross-border capital relocation

It’s also important to keep in mind that there is still a lot of opportunistic investment occurring that may neither be due to government policy nor sound business strategy and may result from the personal motivations of the executives leading these Chinese firms. That’s why we see examples like a Chinese bulldozer firm acquiring an Italian yacht company the same way we have previously seen Chinese firms in a heavy industry like chemicals decide to enter obscure business areas like noodle restaurants domestically.

More at the Frontier Strategy Blog.

Joel Backaler is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´ request form.

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