TENTATIVE PROGRAM

Plenary Panel: Sustaining China's Economic Growth
Panel 1: Domestic Demand
Panel 2: FDI
Panel 3: Chinese Companies Going Abroad
Panel 4: High Tech in China - Bucking the Trend
Panel 5: Venture Capital and Private Equity in China
Panel 6: Financial Service Sector

Plenary Panel: Sustaining China's Economic Growth

Against the backdrop of global economic slowdown, China is one of the few bright spots on the landscape. GDP growth has been steady and domestic demand is strong. Its entry into the WTO and the hosting of the Olympics Games will further stimulate its economic growth and accelerate its integration into the global economies. However, problems also loom ahead as China carrying out its economic, financial and legal reforms while striving for economic growth and social stability.

This panel is going to address the following issues:

• How is China going to sustain its two-decades of economic growth amidst the global economic slowdown?
• What role will China play in the economic recovery of the APEC region?
• How should China balance growth, reform and social stability?
• What are the main challenges to China's efforts to integrate itself into the global economies?
  

Panel 1: Domestic Demand

Strong domestic demand has been a critical driver behind China’s robust growth rate. Faced with the global economic slowdown and stagnating export, domestic demand will play an even more important role in pulling China’s economy ahead. Besides, after two decades of phenomenal growth of coastal regions, China has set its eyes on unleashing enormous demand, yielding invaluable natural resources in the west.

This panel will address the following issues:

• What kind of government policies will most help fostering domestic demand?
• Which sectors will lead the growth in domestic demand: real estate, automobile, or education? Who is going to finance the consumer demand in these sectors, and how?
• What industries are likely to emerge in the West, and how should domestic and foreign firms involve in the game?
• What are the competitive advantages of the Western region and how should them be capitalized? How should domestic and foreign firm involve in the game?

Since the mid-1980s, foreign direct investment (FDI) has become one of the main engines of economic growth in China. China's WTO entry will undoubtedly help boost FDI into the country and fuel the growth engine. The opportunities seem boundless. However, subsidiaries of multinational companies operating in China often find the opportunities elusive and fail to transfer them into profit.

This panel will address the following issues:

• How should the Chinese government promote FDI and protect foreign investors' property rights? Which sectors are most likely to see the FDI dollar pouring in?
• How to ensure efficient transfer of technologies and management expertise?
• How can foreign enterprises achieve profits while managing the risks of investing in China?
• What actions should the government take to strengthen IP law enforcement?
• How can foreign firms preempt IP infringement and protect themselves?
  

While the domestic market has fostered the initial growth of many Chinese enterprises, the blue chip Chinese companies are increasingly looking into overseas market for opportunities of expansion and sustainable growth. Their ambitions are high as they sail into uncharted water. As they seek to play bigger roles on the global stage, these Chinese enterprises need a broader strategic plan to cope with challenges and to fulfill the expectations.

This panel will address the following issues:

• What are the competitive advantages of the Chinese enterprises and how to execute on them?
• What are some of the success models of overseas expansion for the Chinese enterprises?
• What are the challenges to the management team and leadership philosophy?
• How can Chinese companies successfully enter foreign markets and build their brand recognition?
• How should they adapt to different legal and regulatory frameworks?
  

Panel 4: High Tech in China - Bucking the Trend

Despite the global high-tech industry meltdown, high-tech in China bucks the trend. Local enterprises and entrepreneurs are rapidly adopting proven technology and business models onto the Chinese soil. Furthermore, many global high-tech giants are shifting their manufacturing base into China. However, competition will be fierce and profits will be hard to win.

This panel will address the following issues:

• Will China witness a high-tech boom in the coming decade?
• What are the benefits of being a global manufacturing base? And how to take advantage of this?
• What should China do to promote its high-tech industry and to attract more foreign IT manufacturers?
• What are the competitive advantages of Chinese high-tech ventures and how should they cope with foreign competition?
  

Panel 5: Venture Capital and Private Equity in China

China's venture capital and private equity industries are in their infancy. However, opportunities seem abundant and expectations are high for the creation of new wealth. For the first time, the mainland and Hong Kong replaced Japan as the leading market for private equity and venture capital in Asia last year. On the other hand, legal infrastructure in China is inadequate, government regulation complicated and investor exit options limited. So can China's VC and private equity industry live up to expectations?

This panel will address the following issues:

• What are the opportunities for the private equity investment in China? Private companies limited by growth capital and management depth? SOEs needing restructuring?
• Who are the real players in the field and the secrets behind their success?
• What are the major challenges faced by the private equity investing in China? How to manage these challenges?
• How should the government promote the private equity industry in China and protect investor rights? What institutional frameworks need to be developed?
• What are the viable exit strategies?

Problems in their financial service sectors have plagued countries like Japan and South Korea and significantly hindered their growth during the past decade. China's finance service sector is ripe with problems. Bad debt is high, regulatory burden heavy, management hands tied, and product innovation scarce. Furthermore, China's WTO entry will unleash fierce competition from global financial players. How can China learn from the lessons of Japan and South Korea? How should the Chinese financial sector restructure itself and continue to fuel the growth engines?

This panel will address the following issues:

• Can Chinese financial service firms compete against global giants? And what should be their strategies? How can they improve their efficiency and transparency?
• How should Chinese banks deal with their bad debt?
• How can government relax regulations and foster innovation in the industry?
• Is debt capital market a solution to the problems? And how to develop it in China?
• How can professional asset management firms help discipline the financial market in China?