China De-Brief Part I
By David Feldman at 27 May, 2010, 2:52 am
I am heading home after a fascinating 9-day trip to Beijing and Shanghai. Much to tell about the PIPE Conference, but we’ll save that for later posts. Here I just thought I would start with random notes and observations about China in mid-2010:
1. More and more Chinese have their email traveling with them as the I-phone has become somewhat ubiquitous. But the I-pad (which I just got and is awesome) is not scheduled to arrive here for about 6 months.
2. The influence of Western culture continues: phones that answer “hello Moto;” more and more KFC, Pizza Hut and TGI Fridays outlets (apparently pizza and hamburgers are all the rage with the young ones).
3. Young lawyers in the US should appreciate their digs – associates in law firms here all sit in very small cubicles- only the partners actually have offices.
4. Sitting in the no-smoking section in the hotel lounge reminds me of when we smoked on planes – the smoking section was from row 22 or whatever back, but it really didn’t help to be in row 21!
5. I’m getting to like tea without sugar.
6. The Chinese remain wonderful and gracious hosts to their foreign visitors.
7. The reverse merger opportunity here is as strong as ever. In just 2 days in Beijing I met 6 substantial companies getting ready to go public. At the PIPE Conference in Shanghai, a number of very exciting presenting companies.
8. A first for this 6-time China visitor: construction projects apparently idle, and big “for rent” signs on newly completed commercial buildings. It is possible that reports we received in the West about difficulties in the China real estate market are indeed real.
9. Who ever thought my limited palette (sp?) could like bean curd? Though luckily a decent burger at each of my stops. Sorry, I admit, plebian of me.
More to come, and to my US friends – happy Memorial Day!
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