Doing Business in Asia/China: The ‘Belt and Road Initiative’

The aim of this course is to provide students with keen interests in conducting business with China with the new ‘Belt and Road Initiative” (Going in and Coming Out) in mind. Students will:

1. Gain an understanding of the historical developments of China reform and the latest political and economic policies

2. Learn about the existing situations (especially in Asia), cases, possibilities and difficulties

3. Develop critical insights and competencies to identify, evaluate, plan and present choices from strategic investment perspectives

The first part of the course will concentrate on the understanding of China economic developments in the past decades especially on the increasing importance of the “Government”. The course will also touch on the roles of foreign direct investment (FDI) and the rise of the local China businesses such as the big national and privately owned, financial and technological companies. The “Belt and Road Initiative” will be introduced and the rationale discussed. The roles of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to become the leading international financial and professional service centre for the “Belt and Road Initiative” will be presented.

Students will have the opportunity to visit companies, ask questions and collect innovative business ideas referenced to the “Belt and Road Initiative”. Final part of the course will require students to form into teams and present their works in class.

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

- Know more about the background of China business and the new “Initiative”

- Understand the implications and potentials from such an “Initiative”

- Discuss and explore on the types of investments and business models that may (or may not) work

- Able to appreciate, select, present and argue critically on strategic investment options and approaches of your choice