Op-Ed Commentary: Chris Devonshire-Ellis
Jul. 31 – One of the issues in dealing with legal establishment and related matters when it comes to investing in China is the sheer size of the country. Covering nearly 9.6 million square kilometers, China is larger than the United States and Brazil by land size, coming third only to Russia and Canada. India, another massive country, would fit into China three times over with room to spare. Add to this massive landmass the world’s largest population at 1.3 billion people, a coastline of some 14,500 kilometers, a shared portion of the world’s tallest mountain, two of its biggest deserts and a border length of 22,147 kilometers touching 14 other countries, and one begins to get a sense of its vast expanse.
Not surprisingly, many subtle differences have developed with regards to the administration of foreign investment laws and taxes depending on the region within China – a point often lost on law firms not operational in the country or those with relatively small practices. The diversity in application procedures when handling foreign investment matters is one of the reasons that our consulting firm, Dezan Shira & Associates, maintains 12 fully-staffed permanent offices in the country and is not content to remain purely in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai.
To illustrate the point, here we provide some of the pre and post incorporation differences that may be encountered when establishing operations as a foreign investor in different parts of the country. Such scenarios require a firm with a national presence, as lack of local knowledge can both seriously delay application procedures, render the new business inoperable, or present post-incorporation problems with the tax bureau and customs registrations.
Examples follow, from which there are literally thousands to quote from – so we have selected just a common few from some of the more popular foreign investment destinations in China.
Continue reading this article of China Briefing News.
