Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:
China's pitch to foreign investors falls flat as
incentives dwindle (2/2)
Joe Cash
Updated Mon, July 24, 2023 at 4:25 a.m. PDT
(continue)
BENEFITS, NOT INCENTIVES
Noah Fraser, managing director of the Canada China Business Council, said his organisation had also been on the receiving end of a "charm offensive" from municipal, provincial and regional authorities, but that his understanding from most of them was that cash would not be forthcoming and projects would need to be self-financed.
"They'll be friendly, they'll be open minded, but I don't suspect that they have a great deal of financial capital to move with," he said. "So I think any equity or any assets will be...in the relationships and permissions that get rid of the red tape."
Senior executives from three large Western companies that Reuters spoke to on the condition of anonymity said they were similarly unconvinced after discussing prospective investment with local authorities.
"(The incentives) are not worth engaging our finance team over, it's public affairs work, as it's a conversation we're having with the local government, but it's not going to affect the company's investment or operational decisions," said one of the executives.
He added that while in the past his company had been offered enterprise tax waivers and deals on land to put in fresh investment, an eastern Chinese government had recently only offered him a deal on personal income tax for their top executives amounting to 6 million yuan.
"I wouldn't say its an incentive. It's a benefit. But would our company stay in China forever for this 6 million yuan? No."
PART OF THE SYSTEM
Local authorities carry out a delicate balancing act when courting foreign investment and dealing with critical questions about Xi's security policies.
Many foreign companies have expressed concerns over the changing business environment in China, which in recent years has been marked by a crackdown on consultancies affecting how investors can perform due diligence, as well as new data and anti-espionage laws.
"I do think (Li Qiang) wants and intends to bring inbound investment back, but he's someone who's loyal and so should he be asked to lock down Shanghai again or do anything that isn't business friendly, he would," said Agatha Kratz, director at Rhodium Group, a China-focused consultancy.
"As far as the macro situation is concerned, local governments can't do anything to reassure foreign investors. Actually, they are part of the system," he said.
(Reporting by Joe Cash; Editing by Brenda Goh and Sam Holmes)
Translation
（繼續）
是小惠，而非誘因
加中貿易理事會董事總經理 Noah Fraser 表示，他的組織也受到了市、省和地區當局的“魅力攻勢”，但他從大多數人那裡得到的理解是，現金不會即將到來,項目需要自籌資金。
他說: “他們會很友好，他們會思想開放，但我不懷疑他們擁有大量的金融資本”; “所以我認為任何股權或任何資產都將......在擺脫繁文縟節和得到許可中有關連。”
路透社匿名採訪的三大西方公司的高管表示，在與地方當局討論潛在投資後，他們同樣不相信。
一位高管人士表示: “（激勵措施）不值得讓我們的財務團隊介入，這是公共事務工作，因為這是我們正在與當地政府進行的對話，但這不會影響公司的投資或運營決策” 。
他補充說，雖然過去他的公司曾獲得企業稅減免和土地交易以進行新的投資，但中國東部的一個政府最近只向他提供了一項總額為600萬元人民幣的高管個人所得稅作交易。
“我不會說這是一種誘因。這是一種福利。我們公司會為了這600萬元永遠留在中國嗎？不會。”
系統的一部分
地方當局在吸引外國投資和處理有關習近平安全政策的關鍵問題時採取了微妙的平衡措施。
許多外國公司對中國不斷變化的商業環境表示擔憂，近年來突顯的有中國對諮詢公司的打擊, 影響了投資者如何進行盡職調查，以及新數據和反間諜法。
分析人士表示，對偏離中國共產黨商業思維的容忍度現在很低，這迫使許多外國公司重新考慮其對應中國的做法。
Rhodium Group,一家專注於中國的諮詢公司的董事 Agatha Kratz說：“我確實認為（李強）希望並有意將入境投資帶回來，但他是一個忠誠的人，因此如果他被要求再次封鎖上海或做任何不利於商業的事情，他會的。”
雇主是一家外國汽車製造商的三名高管中的一位表示，他對官員們最近在中國南方城市舉行的一次會議上重複提出習近平的自力更生和自強政策感到驚訝。
他說: “就宏觀形勢而言，地方政府沒有辦法讓外國投資者放心。實際上，他們是體制的一部分” 。
So, China
is struggling to revive foreign investment. Foreign
firms remain wary of political risks, and new incentives fall far short of
sweeteners once that was used to attract overseas money. Foreign firms note
that China has changed. Many foreign
companies have expressed concerns over the changing business environment, which
in recent years has been marked by a crackdown on consultancies which investors
perform due diligence. There is also the new data and anti-espionage laws. Its
seems that China has an up-hill battle to fight to
attract new foreign investment.
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