Cross-border Mandates

Lack of trust is the No. 1 reason why Chinese cross-border investments fail

The biggest reason to hold back companies from successfully closing deals is not language, but a lack of trust from both sides in an unfamiliar territory. It takes time to figure out the unwritten laws of doing business and to find reliable business partners one can trust. A lack of transparency in doing business further amplifies the complexity of venturing into a promising, but challenging market. Oftentimes, a less than ideal co-operation is being entered due to a perceived initial good fit and pressure to invest. Cultural differences in ways of doing (or not doing things) can pose very large hurdles.

If these issues are not addressed in a business culture-savvy way, a small issue can quickly become a dead-end, which could easily be avoided if there had been someone involved who is familiar with the other side’s way of thinking and style of doing business.

We bridge differences in doing business, language and culture based on our cross-cultural experience across Asia and Europe

We support corporate clients in German-Chinese investment mandates with intercultural business advisory. Our main focus is on the human aspect of cross-border investments and M&A activities. From our experience, it is crucial to establish common ground fast to develop a basis of trust in order to assess quickly whether there is serious business potential or it’s just the preliminary stage of “gathering information”. Our hands-on approach focuses on the human x-factor during this challenging time. We ease the communication between both parties and make sure that important details don’t get lost in translation. There are many reasons to walk away from a deal. It is our job to eliminate those based on avoidable misunderstandings and misconceptions.