...Danone v. Wahaha: Lessons for Joint Ventures in China Steven M. Dickinson Harris Moure PLLC www.harrismoure.com Danone Group and its partner, Wahaha Group Company, are shareholders in a joint venture company that is the largest beverage company in China. A recent dispute between the partners now threatens to wreck the joint venture. What lessons can be learned from this dispute for investors considering new joint ventures in China? Disputes such as this are not inevitable in China. They can be avoided by following certain basic rules. Many of the most important rules were violated in this case. As a result, the problems that have arisen were almost certain to occur. I. The Facts A. Formation of the Joint Venture Company The Wahaha Joint Venture (“JV”) was formed in February, 1996. At the start, there were three participants in the JV. (1) Hangzhou Wahaha Food Group Co. Ltd. (“Wahaha Group”), led by its chairman Mr. Zong Qinghou. (2) Danone Group, a French corporation (“Danone”). (3) Bai Fu Qin Ltd., a Hong Kong corporation (“Baifu”). Danone and Baifu did not invest directly in the JV. Instead, Danone and Baifu formed Jin Jia Investment Co. Ltd., a Singapore corporation (“Jinjia”). Upon the formation of the JV, Wahaha Group owned 49% of the shares of the JV and Jinjia owned 51% of the shares of the JV. This structure led to immediate misunderstandings between the participants. From the Wahaha Group’s point of view, the division of ownership was 49% Wahaha Group, 25...
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...Caroline MORAND 8 October 2010 International Trade Management BUAd 401 Individual Class Assignment #1 DANONE’s entry in China The article. Danone's quick expansion in China By Shangguan Zhoudong (chinadaily.com.cn) 2007-06-15 Brief introduction Group Danone is one of the most famous food and beverage groups in the world with its headquarters in Paris and 90,000 staff members worldwide. Group Danone is a Global Fortune 500 company with a long history and large size. Danone develops its business across over 120 countries focusing on three core categories: fresh dairy products, biscuits (in which it ranks second worldwide) and beverages (in which it ranks first worldwide). Founded in 1966, Danone has followed an active expansion strategy throughout the world since the 1990s. In less than 40 years, Danone has become a giant of the food industry, owning many famous international brands such as Danone, LU, Evian, and more. Since the end of the 1980s, Danone began to develop the production and business in China extensively by investing in building factories. Now, the main business of Danone in China concerns yogurt, biscuits and beverages. Danone has 70 factories in China, including Danone Biscuits (in Shanghai, Suzhou and Jiangmen), Robust (in Guangzhou), Wahaha (in Hang Zhou), and Health (in Shenzhen). The products are not only sold in China, but also exported to different countries. Four brands under Danone Danone: the leading brand worldwide...
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... a multinational foreign company entered into a joint-venture contract with a local Chinese beverage company named Wahaha in order to better access to Chinese market. The form of the joint venture was a great success at the beginning stage, with both parties gained substantial benefits from the relationship. However, in 2001, conflict arise when Wahaha Group created a series of Non-joint venture companies that sold the same product as the joint venture and use the Wahaha trademark. Since then, a long time dispute continued around the ownership of the “Wahaha” trademark, the rationality of the existence of non-joint ventures and the non-compete issue. Several lawsuits were carried but all ended in Wahaha’s favor. Eventually, Danone relinquish the claims and secede from the joint venture by selling its 51 percent share to the business’s Chinese partners. Main body With a global standing and desire for international expansion, Danone entered the Chinese market in the late 1980s. Compared with many developed countries where markets almost reach saturation, China has a promising market with cheap labor which provide a good opportunity for Danone to further develop. At early stage, Danone entered China through forming a joint venture with the local enterprise Wahaha. There are three main reasons for why Danone use the joint venture mode instead of using other modes to enter China. First, Danone can benefit a lot from Wahaha’s knowledge of local Chinese market and conditions. The...
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...is a billion dollar company that is based in the United States. They are trying to increase its competitive position in expanding their company globally. Electrowides goal from partnering with a local Asian company is to have them help manufacture and sell their electronic equipment that are put in cars. They believe it will help them encourage its business growth by expanding globally. Electrowide has decided to partner with a Chinese company and begin a joint venture. They chose a Chinese company because they understand that Chinas market is offering a vast opportunity of growth. As they have realized, “It is predicted that by the year 2025, Chinas economy will be by far the largest in the world.” The company has chosen Motosuzhou, a large Chinese enterprise of the Beijing municipal government. The American company formed a team composed of three members who went to the local establishments of the company in order to meet the Chinese managers with the goal of reaching an agreement for their company. The differences in doing business between both companies were rapidly obvious. For example, Electrowide’s team members were fascinated that the Chinese team members were more interested in their own lives and families than in discussing the projected joint venture. Negotiations continued for eight weeks. The American team had a contract made up. And when meeting with the Chinese team they made a mistake by presenting the contract almost immediately. The Chinese managers took that...
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...Possible topic : How Joint Venture has acted as a successful navigation in China <All about GM> * General Motors Company, commonly known as GM, is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, that designs, manufactures, markets and distributes vehicles and vehicle parts and sells financial services. , * General Motors acts in most countries outside the U.S. via wholly owned subsidiaries, but operates in China through 10 joint ventures, including Shanghai GM, SAIC-GM-Wuling and FAW-GM. * The company manufactures most of its China market vehicles locally. Shanghai GM, a joint venture with the Chinese company SAIC Motor, was created on March 25, 1997. The Shanghai GM plant was officially opened on December 15, 1998, when the first Chinese-built Buick came off the assembly line. The SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile joint-venture is also successfully selling microvans under the Wuling brand (34 percent owned by GM). Much of General Motors' recent growth has been in the People's Republic of China, where its sales rose 66.9 percent in 2009, selling 1,830,000 vehicles and accounting for 13.4 percent of the market. (This is what a microvan looks like) * * Buick is strong in China, being led by the Buick Excelle subcompact. The last emperor of China owned a Buick.The Cadillac brand was introduced in China in 2004, starting with exports to China. GM pushed the marketing of the Chevrolet brand in China in 2005 as well, transferring Buick...
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...the most popular markets since it is growing vibrantly. Hence, burgeoning market economy in China has attracted numerous companies that want to enter this market and Danone Group is one of them. Danone is a French food and beverage conglomerate and signed an agreement with the Hangzhou Wahaha Group in 1996, a Chinese beverage company, to set up a series of joint ventures in China. The partnership was established to market products under the Wahaha brand name. Ultimately, the agreement resulted into thirty-nine joint ventures. Those joint ventures were hugely profitable as the Wahaha brand became a household name in China. In spite of these successes, the relationship started to deteriorate. After years of court battles, Danone finally pulled out of the JV and ended this partnership with Wahaha. Based on the case study, this essay will firstly analyze Danone’s market entry mode and limitations of this mode. Subsequently, this essay will discuss contributions of both Wahaha and Danone in this relationship. Finally, this essay will present reasons for the Danone-Wahaha dispute and lessons derived from this dispute. Danone’s market entry mode Danone entered the Chinese market selling consumer drink products, including fruit juice, dairy products and bottled water, all with Chinese joint venture partners who were market leading brands in China. A joint venture is a special type of strategic alliance, which requires establishing a firm jointly owned by two or more otherwise independent...
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...Eldora Company Capture both the advantage of lower labor costs and proximity to Boulder by locating assembly in Mexico. Good strategy to try and capture the lower labor cost by locating assembly in Mexico. However, the overall growth in the USA had dropped to about 2 % and the Asian markets for the same kind of bikes were doubling annually which means that they focus should be mainly on capturing a share in the new market rather than focusing on only reduced labor. Open a small office in china staffed with one of their people to collect information about the Chinese market, distribution channels, local conditions and laws, as well as identify potential joint venture partners. In that way the management group could be clearer on how they should proceed. This is a very good strategy. The laws are different in many countries, and by taking the time to study how the Chinese markets operates would be a great idea. However, instead of hiring one of their people to operate the small office in china, you should hire a local person who already knows about the Chinese Laws. Being that this person is Chinese, the people would be very receptive to him, and he would have the information Eldora needs soon. Establish a joint venture whereby Eldora would provide the product and process knowledge and the joint venture would manage both the manufacturing and distribution capabilities. Joint ventures are an easy access point to entering a new market. Forming a joint venture will...
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...with inconsistent interpretation and enforcement of laws are phenomena that have long annoyed foreign investors in China. In 2001 China became a full member of the World Trade Organization. One of the first immediate effects of China’s entry was that, as a member of the World Trade Organization, China was obliged to open its domestic market further to foreign investors. Since the joining, China has been revising large numbers of new laws and regulations, including those especially effecting foreign investors. In this respect, the accession of China has encouraged an increase in mergers and acquisitions in the Peoples Republic of China as special restrictions or prohibitions against foreign acquisitions of certain types of companies or assets of companies in...
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...Joint venture From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses, see Joint Venture (disambiguation). This article is written like a personal reflection or opinion essay rather than an encyclopedic description of the subject. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (April 2010) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2010) A joint venture (JV) is a business agreement in which the parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets. There are other types of companies such as JV limited by guarantee, joint ventures limited by guarantee with partners holding shares. In European law, the term 'joint-venture' (or joint undertaking) is an elusive legal concept, better defined under the rules of company law. In France, the term 'joint venture' is variously translated as 'association d'entreprises', 'entreprise conjointe', 'coentreprise' or 'entreprise commune'. But generally, the term societe anonyme loosely covers all foreign collaborations. In Germany, 'joint venture' is better represented as a 'combination of companies' (Konzern).[1] With individuals, when two or more persons come together to form a temporary partnership for the purpose of carrying out a...
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...A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets. There are other types of companies such as JV limited by guarantee, joint ventures limited by guarantee with partners holding shares. In European law, the term 'joint-venture' (or joint undertaking) is an elusive legal concept, better defined under the rules of company law. In France, the term 'joint venture' is variously translated as 'association d'entreprises', 'entreprise conjointe', 'coentreprise' and 'entreprise commune'. But generally, the term societe anonyme loosely covers all foreign collaborations. In Germany,'joint venture' is better represented as a 'combination of companies' (Konzern)[1] On the other hand, when two or more persons come together to form a temporary partnership for the purpose of carrying out a particular project, such partnership can also be called a joint venture where the parties are "co-venturers". The venture can be for one specific project only - when the JV is referred to more correctly as a consortium (as the building of the Channel Tunnel) - or a continuing business relationship. The consortium JV (also known as a cooperative agreement) is formed where one party seeks technological expertise or technical service arrangements, franchise and brand use agreements, management contracts, rental agreements...
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...Background Joint Ventures Agreement Sheraton Asia Pacific and Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs In August 1966, a joint venture was shaped between Sheraton Asia Pacific and Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Basically, Sheraton Asia Pacific Corporation is a Subsidiary of ITT Sheraton. Andrew Wilson was appointed by Sheraton, an Australian by origin, for the Deputy General Manager position, along with Clara Chan, a Singaporean Chinese, in the Chief Auditor position. These two higher officials were appointed in 1996 only after the regulatory authorities had given formal approval to the project. Agreement Launching Ceremony Incident At the very beginning, a lunch was organized by Yang Zhao, who happens to be the General Manager of the Beijing International Club Corporation. He was also the appointee of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the lunch session, Clara Chan received her first lesson in JV management and experienced what it is like to be in a venture with the Chinese. Yang Zhao gave a rather subtle complement to Chan by saying that she belonged to the Chinese background and due to which she will be culturally in sync to help Sheraton and Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to establish a good understanding and a better network of communication between these two companies. Chinese Economy: At a Glance Chinese government is tried to make a favorable market condition for the foreign investor to attract them to invest in China. The result to...
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...foreign firms to increase their after-tax returns. For example, General Electric keeps only 30.7 billion of its 85.5 billion in cash reserves in the U.S., while intends to invests more than 1.5 billion in joint ventures with Chinese state-owned companies in “key high-technology sectors”. The purpose of the paper is to present the forms of foreign investment enterprises can be taken in China and the different tax incentives are used to induce foreign investment enterprises, then to analyze their influence on selection of a particular form of FIE. Body China developed one of the biggest market in the world and is attracting more and more global investors to move into China's market. It is necessary for foreign investor to understand all the potential tax costs would be incurred in China before making an investment decision in order to operate business in a most efficient way. Learning the regulation of taxation is the first step for foreign investors who decide to invest in China. The investment forms of FIE in China In China, foreign investment enterprises take four forms which is representative office, equity joint ventures, contractual joint ventures and wholly foreign-owned enterprises. Equity joint venture takes the form of limited liability corporations which mean Chinese and foreign partners jointly invest and manage the operations. There is a 25 percent...
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...Doing business in another country takes time and research. To often management fails to understand that business values and behaviors done in the United States do not translate to the rest of the world (Daft & Marcic, 2011, p. 105). This could be an area that the president of Rocky River failed to research, and understand what business values his joint venture company Shui Fabrics believes in. CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS There are cultural characteristics that influence organizations, those characteristic include language, religion, social organization, education and attitudes. Attitude is a big factor in the Rocky River and Shui Fabric joint venture, mainly understanding each other’s value. As noted in the textbook Understanding Management “Attitude toward achievement, work, and people can all affect organizational productivity” (Daft & Marcic, 2011, p. 111). Just as Paul Danvers doesn’t understand that his counter part Chui Wai is very pleased with the five percent return on investment, referring to attitude of the Chinese culture. Understanding each cultures cultural characteristic is key in a successful joint venture and business or partnership. SOCIAL VALUE Managers need to understand the local culture and one way is to understand the differences in social values. Researchers have identified different areas in which they refer to as dimensions. Within the different dimension countries are...
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...Chinese Energy Market Michael Alexander Landon Bunn Thomas Burrus Benjamin Duva Marcela Horan Table of Contents: Executive Summary…………………………………………Page 3 Demand for Energy…………………………………………Page 4 Coal and China…………………………………………………Page 6 Solar Energy in China………………………………Page 8 Competition…………………………………………………………Page 9 U.S./China Relations………………………………Page 10 Recommendations……………………………………………Page 14 Joint Ventures………………………………………………Page 15 References…………………………………………………………Page 17 Executive summary As the nation with the world’s largest population moves towards an industry focused on consumer products, the need for an abundant supply of energy becomes essential. While coal and oil are the current sources of energy, concerns about the quantity available and environmental problems force officials in China to look elsewhere for the country’s energy. Nuclear, wind, and hydroelectric power are all options in this field, but solar energy seems to be the most promising. This paper researches the history of energy demand in China and the potential of solar energy. By providing information about competition, the relations between China and the U.S., and methods of entry, we hope to give insight to those interested in entering the Chinese Energy Market. Demand for Energy in China Figure [ 1 ] From the 1940s to the 80s, the Chinese economy grew from an output level of 18% to 44%, while the amount of energy required to match the economic output tripled. This created an...
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...Holistic Supply Chain 6 GM & SAIC Partnership 6 Joint Ventures 6 Foreign enterprises 7 Corporate Level Strategy: 8 Business Level Strategy: 9 Conclusion: 10 References 11 Annexure 12 Executive Summary: This is a Case base scenario of Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) and the General Motor Company (GM). The world’s largest automaker, traces its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM does business in some 120 countries. The General Motors-China relationship dates back more than eight decades. GM China’s vision is together with its partners to be the best automotive group in China The joint venture between General Motors (GM) and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC) in 1997 was regarded as the largest single foreign investment ever made in China. The joint venture was considered by many as a high-risk investment for GM at that time. Eight years after signing the joint venture, GM proved to the world that its investment in China was justified, with its growing market shares and successful partnership with SAIC. Attempts to understand the strategic alliance between GM and SAIC and how the relationship contributes to the success and rapid growth of GM in China. Also analyzes the strategies adopted by GM and the potential threats and challenges imposed on foreign automobile companies in China. Sheds light on devising viable strategies for foreign companies to enter emerging markets. Shanghai General Motors Co...
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