Long day
Yesterday we hit the streets of Shanghai and headed to the Bund. Let me just say that jeans and a polo in this weather is torture. Four metro stops and we arrive at a crowded New York-style street filled with expats, tourists and locals. A short walk down and we arrive at the water front. We get a Japanese guy to take our pic then we head to Bar Rouge - a swanky night club (the reason for the jeans and polo). It’s Monday night so it wasn’t as bumpin as we had hoped, but the view was spectacular from the rooftop bar. We overhear an American business man talking about SOEs and buying a company, so naturally we are intrigued and end up sending in our scouting agent Ilya. He finds out that the guy is a writer and supposedly an entrepreneur, but he wouldn’t admit to it. Ilya also spoke to an australian that owned an AC company here in shanghai. Supposedly he lost about $16 million in the stock market, didn’t have enough money to get back home, so he either started or grew his AC business to the point where he is now considered a baller. We caught a glimpse of a high class chinese escort and the australian guy prwomptly told us that we couldnt afford her. The drinks were about what they cost in the states, albeit not as strong, and the waiter hovered over us until we paid. Too bad we didn’t get a chance to experience the place at it’s full glory during a Friday or Saturday night. Next up was a visit to the wall street bull. Actually, it’s a replica of it located on the bund. While we were at the bull, we saw a military man carrying a camera filming a car, then a guy carrying a kid. Both of the men jump into a black Audi and take off with the kid in hand. We catch a glimpse of the license plate and sure enough it was a government car. It was really strange. A few photos later and we head back to the hotel.
Today is by far our longest business day with three companies, my company being the last. First stop was the US commerce office. I found this to be the most informative stop given that they gave us helpful advice and suggestions on how to enter the Chinese market as a US company. I had no idea they offered the services they did ( for a nominal fee) and they appear to be invaluable if you are attempting to enter the Chinese market. The lunch was good but there was a questionable dish that looked undercooked so Jonathan had them take it back and recook it (well done John). However, they brought it back steaming hot but was still sort of grey (it was imitation shrimp or something). I tried it and it had the texture of calamari; not so good.
It Cwas at this point where I hit the wall. Way too much MSG or some one poisoned the food because I got to the point where I could barely hold my head up during the next presentation at The Shaw Group. Fortunately, I wasn’t the only one. Our speaker Mr. Hughes told us that their deal with the government is as such; they come in, provide their services to local nuclear power utility companies but must mentor a chinese national during their stay, which is designed to teach the chinese national about nuclear energy project management so they can one day take over the Americans job. This is so for Mr. Hughes, as well as his directors. I found that part fascinating.
After trying to stay awake while learning about nuclear energy in China, we head to Silicon Valley Bank. I found it interesting since this is right up my alley in terms of finance. However, nothing really stood out to me nor was I told anything I didn’t already know about doing business in the Chinese market, other than the fact you have to apply for a license if you want to provide any new financial security, that a representative from the government sits in on the board meetings of all financial firms, and that the Chinese finance industry wasn’t as hard hit by the financial crisis because they didn’t have the financial derivatives that the US had which limited their exposure.
After the meeting at SVB, we jet to the nearest coffee shop and are now wired and ready to go. Tonight will be low key, hitting up an Indian restaurant near the hotel then either checking to see if this place has a hot tub or going to the bar in the lobby. I’m getting excited for Thailand which is right around the corner.
A side note on random things I’ve forgotten to blog about: kids here wear open ass shorts so they can do their business whenever and where every they please (I haven’t seen it go down yet, although I saw a kid peeing on the curb at the summer palace); couples wear matching shirts; and they have the oddest flavor of snacks here (green tea Oreos and steak flavored lays). That’s all for now.
