Asia Business Podcast

We interview Lishuang Chen, Founder & CEO at A&J Consulting International, and Director of International Relations for Zhejiang Foreign Economy Interchange Association. On the challenges and opportunities for Chinese companies doing business in India. • Branding – how are Chinese brands viewed in India in these tense political times? • Management styles – how much do Chinese companies localize and how do management styles need to adapt? • Regulatory challenges – how do Chinese companies navigate India’s historically difficult regulatory environment? • What has made Xiaomi in particular so successful and how is it seen today in many ways as a local brand not a Chinese brand? • As Chinese manufacturing companies diversify production out of their home base, how do Chinese companies recreate their manufacturing process and supplier ecosystem in India? Producer Jacob Thomas Follow Us LinkedIn Apple Podcasts

Our Roundtable format continues with predictions for whether new foreign investment will increase, decrease or continue to flatline in the next 5 years. Our panel includes: -Paul Lin - Brand Marketing Consultant at Xavor Corporation and Chair of the Marketing Committee at Amcham Shanghai -Nico Bahmanyar, Senior Consultant at LEAF, a French law firm in China -Tommy Greb, Partner at Olivar & Greb Capital Management We dissect the consumer, tech, and financial services sectors and give feedback based on what we are seeing with our actual clients here in China. We also unpack the latest Amcham Shanghai China Business Report and try to explain the reasons behind the trends in business climate satisfaction and concerns multinational companies are voicing here.Producer Jacob Thomas Follow Us LinkedIn Apple Podcasts

What could possibly stop a seemingly unstoppable Chinese fintech company? Let's get into it here on the upcoming Ant Financial IPO. A roundtable edition of Ganbei with special guests: -James Hull, Founder of Hullx and co-host of the China Tech Investor Podcast -Brian Fleming, Member at Miller & Chevalier, co-host of the podcast EMBARGOED! -Jemma Xu, Co-Founder at RedBlock Capital James helps us break down the business units of Ant, their competitive strengths and how the company got as big as it is today. Jemma walks us through China’s new digital currency, DCEP, and does it pose a direct challenge to Ant and its Alipay mobile payment duopoly with Tencent’s Wechat Pay? And what does it say about the intention of the central bank PBOC to potentially box in Alipay’s growth in other verticals? Brian, our previous guest and formerly of the US Justice Department explains some of the past failures of Ant to expand into the US with the blocked acquisition of Moneygram in 2018 and the potential impact if Ant is placed on the US Commerce Department’s “Entity List” akin to Huawei, as has been rumored in the last month. You don’t want to miss this one. Producer Jacob Thomas Follow Us LinkedIn Apple Podcasts

Indonesia's and China's technology ecosystems continue to interweave and overlap. BAce Capital is a venture firm whose very mission is to connect markets such as Indonesia to China's dynamic tech eco-system. Claiming Ant Financial as its anchor LP, the firm was founded by Ant and Alibaba veterans Benny Chen and "KK" Kshitij Karundia. In this instalment of Sino Indo Tekno with Art Dicker and Allan Hellawell, Benny reflects on the many benefits that the Indonesian entrepreneur can realize in working closely with his/her counterparts in China. How do companies in China scale? What are best practices in product development? What are the most powerful ways to leverage big data? Benny profiled a number of activities that his team has arranged for BAce Indonesian portfolio companies such as Printerous and RoomMe. Learning visits to meet industry peers in China helped answer questions such as those above, while focused workshops on Chinese COVID mitigation techniques offered these companies valuable coping mechanisms for the pandemic. Producer Jacob Thomas Follow Us LinkedIn Apple Podcasts

We kick off a new format with a four-way roundtable discussion with Nalin Balin, head of global sales at Reality AI and formerly at Cadence Design Systems; Nico Bahmanyar – Senior Consultant on Data Privacy at LEAF, and Nate Rushforth – Cybersecurity & Data Compliance Specialist at Da Wo Law Firm. Part 1 – The New Rule Explained • The most recent restrictions on Huawei explained • Detailed timeline of restriction escalations and bans by other countries • Core vs edge computing and why 5G presents so many data security risks • Data privacy frameworks struggling to cope with the “black box” of a modern 5G telecom network such as Huawei’s Part 2 (22:23) – Effect on Huawei’s Business and Technology • Potential effect across all business lines – handsets, networks, etc.? • Can Huawei survive this ban as a business? Could it be stronger in the end? • What obstacles stand in the way of China building an independent semiconductor technology ecosystem? • How long will it take to build the next generation of these local champions? • Will it be too late for Huawei and 5G? Part 3 (39:58) – The China Response and the Impact on US Tech • Can China afford to escalate to a tit-for-tat fight on technology? • How China’s rules are written on the surface never to target any particular company • Will US technology suppliers to Huawei be successful again in applying for license exemptions to the new ban? • Does the US intervening in technology licensing and services do more harm than good in the short and long-term? • Are some buyers in China and elsewhere starting to deem US suppliers as too risky to work with? Producer Jacob Thomas Follow Us LinkedIn Apple Podcasts

We talk with Cameron Johnson, Partner at Tidalwave and APAC Strategy Head at FAO Global. Cameron has been in China for almost 20 years and was the Asia General Manager at a leading carbon fiber company for 7 of those years. -What challenges facing foreign manufacturers in China? -Are these companies moving out as much as the media says they are? To where? -How is an increasingly digital manufacturing process and supply chain helping give Chinese manufacturers a continued edge? -What points in the value chain are driving this digital process? -How are manufacturers and buyers diversifying their risk of concentrating too much supply coming from one country, especially after COVID-19? Producer Jacob Thomas Follow Us LinkedIn Apple Podcasts

We are joined by Brian Fleming, Member at leading Washington DC law firm, Miller & Chevalier. Before joining the firm, Brian spent several years at the US Department of Justice working on national security issues related to export control, CFIUS investigations, and other compliance and enforcement efforts on international trade. Brian and Art discuss the recent Executive Orders restricting the use of WeChat and TikTok and the ongoing discussions about a potential sale of TikTok and the concurrent CFIUS investigation. -What is the legal basis behind the TikTok and WeChat Executive Orders? -How will the 45 day time frame and process work for the Commerce Department to identify transactions subject to these orders? -Are US companies' China subsidiaries covered by the order on WeChat? -Will US citizens really fall under this rule and be prevented from using WeChat from a practical perspective, even in China? Can they really enforce this rule on a person-by-person basis? Who is really being targeted by this rule? -Will the app stores like Apple and Google be forced to take down the app? -Why was the Executive Order for WeChat limited to transactions with WeChat and not transactions with Tencent, whereas the order on TikTok was much broader to include all transactions with Bytedance? -How hard will big business be lobbying to get this rule narrowly applied? -Is there a license exemption process for companies to use and what can we learn from the Huawei experience with similar licenses? -Can Tencent and Bytedance appeal these Executive Orders? -What is the status of the CFIUS investigation into Bytedance and its 2017 acquisition of Musical.ly and how does that interplay with the discussions now on banning TikTok? -What is coming next with respect to a potential sale to Microsoft or Twitter? -How have CFIUS investigations driven other companies to be sold when held by Chinese buyers? -How is the Administration using the Executive Order and the CFIUS investigation together as a coherent strategy? -Was it obvious back in 2017 that Bytedance should have made a CFIUS filing for its acquisition of Musical.ly? -How does the acquisition of a lip-synching app like Musical.ly trigger national security concerns? -Can any Chinese company that handles a large amount of personal data on US citizens put in place mitigation measures to that will actually satisfy CFIUS in the current political environment? -Is CFIUS really the right tool to be using to screen foreign companies and especially Chinese companies from doing business with large amounts of data or acquiring sensitive technology in the US? Producer Jacob Thomas Follow Us LinkedIn Apple Podcasts

The China podcasting market is much bigger than its relatively nascent Indonesian counterpart.  But the potential for growth in Indonesia is enormous especially as content producers and listeners start to embrace the paid content model so widespread in China.  Tyo discusses how, like China, listeners in Indonesia are turning more and more to podcasts as a self-improvement learning outlet especially during COVID-19 times.  We also compare some of the audience demographics between the two markets.Next we discuss how Indonesian platforms are working proactively with content producers like their Chinese platform cousins.  We finish with some  content moderation measures in China and how platforms in Indonesia deploy resources to moderate content as well.  A podcast episode about podcasting!  You don't want to miss.  ProducerJacob ThomasFollow UsLinkedInApple Podcasts

In this first of a series of collaboration with our good friend Alan Hellawell's Indo-Tekno Podcast, we interview Helen Wong, Partner at Qiming Venture Partners on their investment strategy in Southeast Asia. Specifically on Indonesia and how China tech, business models, and other lessons learned from Chinese internet players are being applied to emerging markets like Indonesia now.Producer Jacob Thomas Follow Us LinkedIn Apple Podcasts

We talk with Momo Estrella, Head of Digital Design at IKEA China. Momo was previously Senior Design Lead at IDEO in Shanghai. Producer Jacob Thomas Follow Us LinkedIn Apple Podcasts