Deloitte's foresight gives it an edge in China

Understanding investment trends of the past is crucial to gaining a competitive advantage nowadays. Around a decade ago when the drive among investors to venture into the mainland had not yet reached fever pitch, Deloitte & Touche anticipated China's rise in the global economy and began early to explore possibilities.

"At least 10 years back, we identified China as extremely important," says Dirk Haellmayr, partner at Deloitte's Chinese Services Group (CSG). "There were inbound investments, but not to the extent we see today, and there was almost no outbound investment. However, it was foreseeable that if China kept on this development path, investment would increase dramatically and there would be Chinese companies going outbound."

From this foresight came Deloitte's CSG, formed to help foreign multinational corporations (MNCs) and Chinese companies navigate risks and implement cross-border investment strategies on the mainland and abroad. For over 10 years, CSG was focused on MNCs entering the mainland and becoming operational.

"With our CSG platform, we have built many relationships and gained a lot of experience and knowledge about China, which now help us assist mainland companies when they go outbound," Haellmayr says.

Germany remains attractive for globally ambitious Chinese companies, acting as a gateway into the European market and offering acquisition opportunities in manufacturing, technology and brands, especially in the mid-market range with deal sizes of US$100 million to US$300 million.

Mainland heavyweights such as Geely and Sany have already used CSG's extensive access to more than 200,000 professionals worldwide. With its ability to provide integrated services that include financial advisory, consulting, audit, due diligence and tax compliance to expand overseas, Haellmayr says CSG is poised to do more.