Wealth Without Borders Podcast

Are you sure that your legal entities in China are properly structure or does it need some re-structuring? Are you aware of the legal environment and the laws of China? 

You wouldn’t want to step on the wrong foot when structuring or re-structuring your business in China. It is important to know the legal environment and the laws implemented in China when expanding your business for you to avoid future issues with your legal entities, partnership, etc. 

Zach Lichtblau is a Shanghai partner at Bonnard Lawson, an International Law Firm. He is one of the partners in Equasia which provides consulting and corporate secretarial services in Hong Kong and in China. 

In this episode, Zach shares his insights on the importance of properly structuring or re-structuring your business in China since it has a different legal environment. He also talks about the do’s and don’ts of what you should do before building a long-term business relationship and how to avoid future legal issues. 

What you will learn from this episode: 

• Discover how to structure your legal entities in China and deal with your corporate dispute with proper help 
• Learn more about the do’s and don’ts of business structuring and re-structuring in China 

• Find out how to handle your legal issues and how to avoid further problems 

“Before entering a long-term business relationship, I would recommend that people stop for a second and examine whether the relationship is likely to be stable in the long run. You need to understand the incentives of both sides and create what we call a mutual friendly leverage.”  

 - Zach Lichtblau 

Topics Covered: 

01:32 - Zach defines his ideal client 

02:25 - Problems that Zach solve for his clients: Structuring their legal entities in China and dealing with corporate disputes 

03:31 - Businesses could go wrong, how understanding the legal environment and the risks are important, especially in countries you are not familiar with 

04:21 - Not realizing the risks, no protection from liabilities, and entering a business relationship with little-to-no knowledge about your partner and their motivations, one of the common mistakes people make trying to solve the problem 

05:20 - Zach’s valuable free action: “Before entering a long-term business relationship, I would recommend that people stop for a second and examine whether the relationship is likely to be stable in the long run” 

06:04 - Zach’s valuable free resource: Go to Equasia.com to avail the free introductory consultation 

06:40 - Books alert: Mr. China by Tim Clissold and The Imperialism Imprisoned: The Fate of British and French Firms in China from 1949 to 1954 

07:43 - Question that should have been asked to Zach: Share a war story or example of how things went wrong in a situation that we handled.

Key Takeaways: 

“Of course, people can also set up everything right and things will still go wrong because of personal differences, or because they did not realize that there's a divergence of interest at a certain point in time, but I would say it is very important to keep on paying attention to the business relationship, and not assume that no news is necessarily good news.” - Zach Lichtblau 

“Misaligned expectations are the number one reason things go wrong in a joint venture stage.” - Zach Lichtblau 

People / Resources Mentioned: 

• Mr. China by Tim Clissold 
• The Imperialism Imprisoned: The Fate of British and French Firms in China from 1949 to 1954 

Ways to Connect with Zach Lichtblau: 

• Website: https://www.equasia-group.com/ 
• Website: https://www.bonnard-lawson.com/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachi-lichtblau-903a362/ 

Ways to Connect with Howard Whiteson: 

• Website: http://www.wealthwithoutborders.net    
• Podcast: https://wealthwithoutborders.net/podcast/  
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/howardwhiteson