“What enables enlightened rulers and wise generals to conquer the enemy at every move and achieve extraordinary success is foreknowledge.
Foreknowledge cannot be elicited from ghosts and spirits; it cannot be inferred from comparison of previous events, or from the calculations of the heavens, but must be obtained from people who have knowledge of the enemy's situation. ”
Sunzi, The Art of War
The principles of military strategy taught by Sunzi are applicable to strategic business thinking. Converted into business terms, foreknowledge refers to business intelligence—the investigation, research and gathering of vital and accurate intelligence, and analysis of such intelligence by experienced professionals who know the market and the business operating environment.
Doing business in China presents unique challenges. Please see “The Challenges of Doing Business in China”. Foreign investors should not underestimate the value and need of thorough due diligence when doing business in China. For instance, it is imperative to conduct due diligence on the target of an acquisition, merger or of any significant investment, as well as prospective partners in joint ventures or other business relationships, and important contractual parties. The object of undertaking due diligence in any merger or acquisition is to evaluate the potential risks of the proposed transaction by looking into all relevant aspects of the business to be acquired.
We understand the need of clients for exhaustive and dependable intelligence to prevent or mitigate actual or potential risks to their business operations in unfamiliar territory. We have the capability and resources to provide effectual due diligence throughout China with our team of experienced professionals, and far-reaching network of associates and local contacts. Our Due Diligence team and associates are highly proficient in carrying out discreet investigations, enquiries and research to provide clients with reliable and accurate business intelligence to make informed decisions.
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the "FCPA'') and the UK Bribery Act have forced many international companies to reconsider how they evaluate overseas relationships with agents, contractors, suppliers, vendors and business partners, particularly with regard to foreign officials. FCPA due diligence is essential in terms of assessing the risk of doing business with an entity prior to establishing a relationship, as well as evaluating existing overseas relationships.
Comprehensive due diligence in China ensures that an investor or takeover company is fully apprised of all decisive information necessary to pursue a particular transaction or relationship. Likewise, it is advisable for the target of an investment or acquisition to carry out due diligence on the investor or takeover company to verify the source of funding and render certain that the monies to be received do not derive from illicit activities.
In performing due diligence, we discuss details of the matters for investigation to define its scope. After gathering the intelligence agreed upon, we finalize a report which will typically form the basis for deciding on whether or not to proceed with an investment, acquisition, merger or some other relationship.
Please refer to “The Services We Provide” for the wide range of matters on which we undertake due diligence investigations for clients.
CASE EXAMPLES:
Due Diligence for Business Relationships
Engaged by a MNC pharmaceutical company to perform effective due diligence on a potential local distributor of its products in China. A. Louie conducted a supply chain analysis and background check on the potential distributor. A. Louie also provided a risk management plan for the MNC.
Due Diligence on Key Personnel
An American company wanted to hire a local Chinese citizen as its China CEO. A. Louie performed an in-depth due diligence on the individual which included discreet investigation and research into his family and political background, academic records, history of civil and criminal litigation and even his health. Our team liaised with and consulted the relevant industry associations, past professors and employers, judicial authorities, Hukou registration, and credit agencies.