http://www.knowledgeatwharton.com.cn Knowledge@Wharton is an online resource that offers the latest business insights, information, and research from a variety of sources. Content includes analysis of current business trends, interviews with industry leaders and faculty, articles based on the most recent business research, book reviews, conference and seminar reports, and links to other websites. en-us Copyright (c) 2006 The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/globals/images/katw_white.gif http://www.knowledgeatwharton.com.cn 125 45 Knowledge@Wharton Research Finance and Investment http://www.knowledgeatwharton.com.cn/index.cfm?fa=viewfeature&articleid=2168&languageid=1 China's government was one of the first in the world to announce a stimulus package to spend itself out of the global financial crisis in 2008. And Beijing’s RMB 4 trillion ($585 billion) stimulus arrived with a bold and specific goal: To achieve 8% GDP growth in 2009. With actual GDP growth in 2009 estimated to be between 8.3% and 8.5%, it appears that Beijing has delivered the results. Or has it? While the government stimulus is keeping confidence levels in China’s economy high and promoting its recovery, some contend that it conceals serious challenges and exacerbates pre-existing problems. Leadership and Change http://www.knowledgeatwharton.com.cn/index.cfm?fa=viewfeature&articleid=2167&languageid=1 Like their counterparts around the world, China's venture capital (VC) firms have had a white-knuckle ride during the financial crisis. The value and volume of investment deals in the country in 2009 were down by as much as 30% compared with 2008 and initial public offerings all but disappeared for much of the year on major markets around the world. All this has been happening as VC companies -- and the companies they invest in -- work in uncharted territory, in which there's a lot less cash chasing a lot fewer opportunities than previously, says Allan Kwan of Oak Investment Partners. A 25-year veteran of telecommunication, wireless and Internet multinationals in China before becoming a venture capitalist at the Palo Alto, California-based company in 2007, Kwan discusses with China Knowledge@Wharton the key to VC success today in the country, while also offering advice for budding venture capitalists. Finance and Investment http://www.knowledgeatwharton.com.cn/index.cfm?fa=viewfeature&articleid=2166&languageid=1 Stronger than developed markets but weaker than Asia -- according to analysts, that's how best to describe Latin America's growth prospects in 2010. With a new-found dynamism, all eyes across the region will be focused on the strength of economic recovery and business expansion in the months ahead. On the back burner for now: reforms addressing the region's longer-term competitiveness. Finance and Investment http://www.knowledgeatwharton.com.cn/index.cfm?fa=viewfeature&articleid=2165&languageid=1 Wall Street may have been the epicenter of the financial crash that shook the world, but Europe -- along with other global markets -- experienced the aftershock in the form of a deep recession in 2009. Wharton faculty and other experts predict that in addition to an anemic recovery, Europe will face a number of key challenges that will shape the business and economic environment in 2010 -- including concerns about economic integration, sovereign debt default, regulatory change and the European Union's place in the global economy. Finance and Investment http://www.knowledgeatwharton.com.cn/index.cfm?fa=viewfeature&articleid=2164&languageid=1 U.S. stocks boomed in the last nine months of 2009, but remained well below earlier highs. Indeed, many people referred to the first 10 years of the 21st century as "the lost decade," because stocks returned virtually nothing while investors had been conditioned to expect 10% a year. Meanwhile, bonds and commodities experienced a stunning run. Have the rules of investing changed? What's ahead for 2010? Knowledge@Wharton talked with Wharton finance professor Jeremy Siegel, who sees some hazards, especially for bonds, but expects a good year for stocks. Finance and Investment http://www.knowledgeatwharton.com.cn/index.cfm?fa=viewfeature&articleid=2163&languageid=1 Despite renewed GDP growth and other positive signs, the U.S. isn't out of the woods, says Wharton finance professor Franklin Allen. In fact, the country could be heading into a "double dip" scenario that tips it back into a recession. That depends on how a number of factors play out in the coming months -- or even years -- not only in the U.S., but also around the world. Global interest rate policies, property markets and public deficits will all demand attention, Allen notes in a recent interview with Knowledge@Wharton. Business Ethics http://www.knowledgeatwharton.com.cn/index.cfm?fa=viewfeature&articleid=2162&languageid=1 China offers a multitude of business opportunities, but international investors often find themselves stumped with a range of issues, many of which boil down to the country's distinct system of corporate governance. Here, the lines between interests and relationships are less clear-cut, and links to the government seem to serve as a proxy to accountability. This is a system that exists for a reason, said TJ Wong at SMU's Ho Bee Professorship in Chinese Economy and Business lecture series. However, foreign investors, used to international norms of transparency, are calling this into question. Finance and Investment http://www.knowledgeatwharton.com.cn/index.cfm?fa=viewfeature&articleid=2161&languageid=1 The rapid pace of economic change in China is straining the country in many ways. Just ask officials at the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. Like many other government institutions, it is struggling to deal with the vast flows of commerce sweeping through the country. To its credit, it has enacted droves of measures recently to reduce the complexity of foreign exchange transactions and accelerate the pace of full convertibility of the renminbi. But much more needs to be done. Finance and Investment http://www.knowledgeatwharton.com.cn/index.cfm?fa=viewfeature&articleid=2160&languageid=1 After a tough grind through the Year of the Ox, it's easy to see why China is looking forward to the beginning of the Year of the Tiger in February. Thanks in large part to the government’s ability to keep the Chinese economy moving in 2009 with a massive RMB 4 trillion ($585 billion) stimulus program, most analysts expect robust growth in the year ahead. The challenge now is to reduce its overreliance on exports and manufacturing by increasing domestic consumption. Meanwhile, some experts warn that unemployment and the specter of inflation could threaten any new-found consumer confidence. Real Estate http://www.knowledgeatwharton.com.cn/index.cfm?fa=viewfeature&articleid=2159&languageid=1 Real estate in the U.S. is showing some early signs of recovery as an attractive investment, at least compared to some other opportunities like corporate debt. But capital markets must open further to revive normal deal flows, said panelists at the recent Wharton Zell Lurie Real Estate Center conference in Philadelphia. And while glimmers of confidence are returning to some sectors, the positive signs are distributed unevenly. Panelists also discussed lessons learned from regulatory lapses, ways to fix them and growth drivers that might stimulate the economy.