Thursday, November 15, 2007

"China Hearsayworthy" and Signs of China JV Trouble

The always prolific and thoughtful China Hearsay came out with something quite entertaining, and with a bit of southern accent: You Know You’re [Your China JV Is] in Trouble When the . . .

[For a sampling:]

JV partners haven’t spoken to each other for 7 years.
CFO is the wife of the local partner.
Foreign investor has never visited the JV and forgot what city it’s in.
Local partner claims he is son of a PLA general.
Neither party can remember who was supposed to file the application docs.

Stan points out five more signs dooming a China joint venture. Of course, not all of these signs will be present in all JV failures, but some definitely are in the Danone-Wahaha joint venture fallout.