16 BUSINESS Thursday, July 14, 2016 CHINA DAILY
BANKING DEALS US, China law firms Ping An sets up fund for Guizhou pool their expertise Bank aims to help vincial committee of the inland open economic pilot Chinese People’s Political zone and that will bring great alleviate poverty Consultative Conference, in opportunities to Ping An By LI XIANG Shenzhen on Tuesday. Bank,”Meng said. [email protected] while creating a “Ping An Bank has advanta Yu Lingqu, a researcher profitable business ges in offering comprehensive from the finance and modern Baker & McKenzie LLP, the financial services and Guiz industry research center at the world’s biggest law firm by It is important for hou has specialty industries, China Development Institute, revenue, said it has been mak By ZHOU MO in Shenzhen and like baijiu or distilled white a Shenzhenbased think tank, ing progress in its joint opera us to get a local YANG JUN in Guiyang liquor. There is much room said setting up the fund will tion with local Chinese law for cooperation between the help Ping An Bank enhance its firm FenXun Partners, a move operation in China Ping An Bank Co Ltd plans two sides.” profitability in a comprehen to expand its presence in the tosetupa50billionyuan($7.5 The Shenzhenheadquar sive way at a time when com “brutally competitive” legal as it brings our billion) poverty alleviation tered commercial lender will mercial banks are changing service market in China. fund in southwestern Guiz set up a branch in Guizhou their business model. The two firms have jointly global clients closer hou province to help develop this year. “By establishing a “At present, it has become carried out about 70 projects to the market...” and upgrade industries there. Guizhou branch, we will increasingly difficult for involving technical advice in The fund will be used to strengthen cooperation with banks to make money from crossborder mergers and Erik Scheer, a member of the promote Guizhou’s infra Guizhou to help promote its depositloan interest rate dif acquisitions, fundraising and global executive committee of structure, tourism, agricul economic growth,”said Shao. ferentials,”Yu said. antitrust issues, according to Baker & McKenzie ture, ecological protection Meng said poverty allevia “Under the circumstances, Milton Cheng, managing part and other industries. tion is a key work of Guizhou, developing intermediate busi ner of the firm’s Hong Kong Shao Ping, president of Ping which aims to build a moder ness is a good way for them to office. An Bank, said the bank’sdevel ately prosperous society for its make profits. The establish “It has been a success for us,” “Pricing has been brutal for opment in Guizhou is in line people by 2020. Gross domes ment of the Guizhou fund will Cheng said. some types of work,” Cheng with the province’s strategy of tic product of the province also bring fund trusteeship, “We are getting the benefit said. “Law firms with less developing “big poverty allevi accounted for 1.55 percent of financial consulting and many of understanding how the Chi longterm views and less toler ation, big data, big tourism, big the country’s total in 2015. other businesses to Ping An nese law firms operate and ance may be deterred by this. ecology” and the two sides can About 4.93 million people Bank,helpingenhanceitsprof gaining valuable perspectives But we plan and invest for the cooperate in those fields. from Guizhou’s rural areas itability comprehensively.” on how Chinese clients are long term.” “We place high expecta were living in poverty by the thinking.” The alliance between Bak tions on Guizhou’s future end of 2015. Contact the writers at In April the firm gained reg er & McKenzie and FenXun development,” Shao said in “Guizhou is also applying [email protected] ulatory approval to set up a Partners, labeled as a proto talks with Meng Qiliang, vice for approval from the central The packaging section of baijiu maker Kweichow Moutai Co Ltd and yangjun joint operation office with type for foreign firm’s opera chairman of the Guizhou pro government to build an in Zunyi, Guizhou province. JIANG DONG / FOR CHINA DAILY @chinadaily.com.cn FenXun Partners in the China tions in China, enabled the (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Chicagobased law firm to Zone, the first of its kind in the advise their multinational country. clients on both Chinese and POLICY The alliance allows the two international law. firms to share their client bas The tieup followed the es and strategies while merger between international remaining structurally and law firm Dentons and Chinese Resources tax incentivizes ‘longterm benefits’ financially separate. firm Dacheng Law Offices in The managing partner said January, which created the By WANG YANFEI per will be charged a resource were informed of the changes it harder for the company to commitment to switching to a the move was also seen as a world’s largest law firm by [email protected] tax on the basis of prices rath when the ministry posted a make profits. more sustainable and greener sign of the gradual liberaliza lawyer headcount. er than volumes, after similar statement in early May, some “Surface and ground water, development model. tion of China’s highly restrict Erik Scheer, a member of A new round of resources reforms were implemented in said they are not yet fully pre which are expected to be “A resources tax does not ed legal service market to the global executive commit tax reform, starting from taxing coal, natural gas, crude pared, especially companies charged at least 0.4 yuan help much to increase the international law firms, which tee of Baker & McKenzie, July, may lead to a heavier oil and rare earths. in heavy industries that con ($0.06)and1.5yuanpermetric government’s revenue com have been facing competitive said that the firm’s global cli tax burden, but it will have Natural resources, includ sume large amounts of ton, respectively, may raise the pared with other sources of challenges in China. ents have supported the longlasting benefits to soci ing water and forests, will be resources. cost of production by 5 million income — the major consider Cheng said Baker & McKen joint operation with the Chi ety and help ensure resource items to be taxed in the Cui Kai, a manager of a yuan each year,”Cui said. ation is to encourage high zie has taken a longterm view nese firm. sustainability, experts said future. Hebei province will be thermal power plant in Hu Yijian, an economics resourceconsuming enter on China despite the increas “It is important for us to get Tuesday. the first pilot region to imple Shandong province, told the professor at Shanghai Univer prises to upgrade their facili ingly intense competition for a local operation in China as it The Ministry of Finance ment a taxation on water China Economic Herald earli sity of Finance and Economics, ties,” said Zhang Bin, a international law firms due to brings our global clients closer said that manufacturers of resources, the ministry said. er last month that a future tax said the longawaited reform researcher at the Chinese the emergence of Chinese firms to the market and the legal minerals such as iron and cop Although entrepreneurs on water resources will make showsthegovernment’sstrong Academy of Social Sciences. of sophistication and size. environment,”he said.