2009年4月28日星期二

Short term apartments

If you are short or long term living in china for business trip , but u feel the hotel is expensive,maybe here is the best solution for you when u want to stay in china you may consider our short term apartment service ,

we provide monthly rental full furnished with bed linen, laundered weekly ,free internet,freezer,aircon,washer,kithchen, stay here same as home with hotel service,and very safety than anyother place. need no estate agent commision cost, deposit will turn back you immediately when check out.

2009年4月24日星期五

Supply Mini-Laptops with competitive direct factory price

Current fashion consumer eletronic product is Mini-Laptops. There are many chinese manufacturers to make it. jst like 4 or 5 years ago in MP3 case.



Smaller than traditional laptops but larger than handhelds, Mini-Laptops offer most standard laptop features — web browsing, document creation and editing, email — just slightly scaled down in terms of both size and power. Most appealing of all, they're cheap.



Tommy China Business Consulting directly represent several chinese Mini Laptop manufacturer for overseas market.

For detailed product specification, please visit http://www.tommyconsulting.com/ProductSourcing.asp

2009年4月18日星期六

A Guide to Doing Business in China - Understanding the Cultural Differences

The main characteristic about business in China is that it's relationship driven, this means that in China you have to develop a relationship before you do business, whereas in western cultures you often do a transaction and then develop a relationship. There are certain characteristics about relationships in China otherwise known as guanxi, first of all they tend to be reciprocal in nature, so if someone grants you a favour, you should grant one back, also when you maintain relationships in China, you have to pay attention to other aspects such as whether the Chinese side looses faith and that's going to damage a relationship. You also need to pay attention to hierarchy as this is another aspect which is important in Chinese culture, treating people according to their rank is important.
In a first meeting the exchange of business cards is a really important part of doing business, in this case you should be prepared and have your business card translated into Chinese, paying particular attention to getting your rank and title translated accurately as these are very important in Chinese business cultures. When you give and receive a business card, you should do so with two hands as this shows great respect to the person that you're meeting. Other important aspects on how you can leave a good impression with the Chinese side are knowing a bit of Chinese for example and also showing some formality during a meeting in terms of presenting your company and listening to the Chinese side, and finishing your encounter, if you want to continue your business relationship, by presenting the Chinese side with a small gift.

When it comes to doing business in China, you will need language skills, which is why it's recommended you employ an interpreter and even a Chinese employee to talk to the Chinese and communicate with the Chinese in a language they understand so that there are no misunderstandings. Remember, things like technical jargon and humor will not translate very well. It would also be a good idea to have a couple of pages from your website translated into Chinese along with your business cards.

Whether you're going to China for leisure reasons or for business reasons, you still need a visa. The particular characteristics of a business visa is that you need either a letter of invitation from a Chinese company or a visa notification form from an issuing authority in China and it's that which you use along with your application form to go to the China visa application service center in London or the Chinese consulates in Edinburgh or Manchester. There are different types of business visa that you can apply for, including single entry, double entry, or multiple entry so you have to think about how often you're going to be going to China throughout the year. If you have a letter of invitation, it may need to state which type of visa you're going to have to apply for.

2009年4月16日星期四

Case Study: Establishing a Representative Office in ShenZhen

The Client An American SME trading in sporting goods and apparels

Their Needs The client planned to set up a Representative Office in Shenzhen and was mandated by the China regulations then to engage an authorized agency for the registration process.

Our Approach We completed in a month, the full process of the client's Representative Office Business Setup Registration, including various License Applications, Appointment of Chief Representative, Seal Carving and Opening of Bank Accounts. We also assisted the client with their Chinese Company Naming and helped the company ensure Regulatory Compliance by providing necessary license renewal services. Pleased with our efficiency and dedication, the client continued to engage our services in other areas such as Recruitment and Tax & Accounting

2009年4月15日星期三

Chinese Visas for Expat

Chinese visa is a permit issued to a foreigner by the Chinese visa authorities for entry into, exit from or transit through the Chinese territory. The Chinese visa authorities may issue a diplomatic, courtesy, service or ordinary visa to a foreigner according to his identity, purpose of visit to China and passport type.



Visas for foreigners
The ordinary visa consists of eight sub-categories, which are marked with Chinese phonetic letters (C, D, F, G, J-1, J-2, L, X, Z respectively).
Visa C - For crews of airplanes, trains and ships who are on regular visits to China. Their accompanying family members are issued with the same type of visa.
Visa D - For permanent residence in China.
Visa F – For those who come to China for a business trip, a lecture, or for cultural, scientific or technological exchanges.
Visa G - For stopover's in China.
Visa J-1 - For foreign resident journalists in China
Visa J-2 - For foreign journalists who come to China to gather news.
Visa L - For sightseeing, visiting friends and relatives or to deal with some private matters.
Visa X - For those who come to study in China, or practice as interns for more than 6 months.
Visa Z - For those who come to work in China and to their accompanying families


We can look after the issues and complications of Chinese tourist (L) visa, business (F) and working visas (Z) as well as associated permits for expatriates. We are here to help and ease the problems and reduce time in applying for visas and work permits


Invitation Letter

If you wish to come to China for business or work, it is required that an official invitation letter (sample) from the appropriate authorized organization be provided at the time of application in Chinese embassies /consulates or China visa office in Hongkong.

We can assist you with obtaining the letter of invitation required for a business visa (F) or work visa (Z) application. It takes one working day (three working days for a one-year visa) to process the invitation letter which we will then email or fax back or door-to-door deliver the original copy to you. We can provide invitation letters for the following types of business (F) visa:

90 day single entry
90 day double entry
180 day multiple entry
360 day multiple entry

Note that double and multiple entry visas usually have a limit of 30 days on the duration of each stay in China. However, this limit can be removed after you arrive in China—contact us for more details. Once the limit is removed you can stay in China up to the date of expiry.




Visa Renewal 
If you enter into China on a tourist (L) visa, a business (F) visa or a work (Z) visa, and want to stay in China for longer than the stay time limit or validity period specified on the current visa, you can apply for the newel of your visa at the Ministry of Public Security and its affiliates at the provincial or city level, these affiliates are collectively known as Public Security Bureaus (PSB). There are some types of renewals you can choose, also there are some restrictions you may need to know when you apply for the visa renewals.


Visa Conversion 
Under some circumstances, one type of visa can be changed into another type, for example, from L visa to F visa, or from L / F visa into Z visa. This could be done within China.

Rules and requirements for visa conversion are constantly changing, please contact us for the latest ones.

Starting Business in China

Attitude to foreign investment

The People's Republic of China (PRC) has welcomed investment from abroad since 1978, the year of the introduction of economic reform policies. The principal objectives of the “open door” policies are the development of the country using advanced foreign technology and know-how, earning foreign currencies and increasing exports. Technology transfers are sought to advance the state of economy to meet international standards.Doing business in China requires deep understanding of the local business environment such as social system, human culture, economy, policy and etc.. As we know, making the best strategy to set up the legal structure for your business and establish a real presence is a critical issue. One should consider many questions such as How much does it cost? Who do I contact? Do I need a partner? What restrictions are there? How do I obtain the proper visa and residence permits?

Forms of business organizations available to foreigners
Generally, enterprises can choose to set up in the PRC one of the following forms of business organizations available to foreigners, namely
Representative Office (RO)
Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise (WFOE)
Manufacturing WFOE
Consulting & Business Service WFOE
Trade WFOE
Joint Venture (JV)
Representative Office
A representative office of foreign company may be established in China to provide business information, business liaison and similar services on behalf of the head office. This needs the approval by the appropriate authorities. The representative office must also be registered with the local administration bureau of industry and commerce as well as the local tax bureau.
Depending on the actual circumstance, such representative office may be exempted from business tax and foreign enterprise income tax. The representative office of a foreign company is not technically permitted to perform profit-making activities. Any other services performed beyond the approved scope of representative office’s business will render it subject to business tax and foreign enterprise income tax on actual income or deemed income basis. The deemed income approach such as cost-plus taxing basis is strongly preferred by the tax authorities for most of the representative offices as it is much easier to use than the actual income approach. For representative office engages in business consultancy, legal, taxation, accounting or auditing services, it is required to keep proper books and accounts and compute the actual taxable income for tax filing purpose.
Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise
Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprises are established exclusively with the foreign investor’s capital. They are limited liability companies, the profits and losses of which are borne solely by the foreign investor.
The following activities are still not open to Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprises despite the accession of China to WTO:
Press, broadcasting, television, film industries
Life insurance
In the meantime, several industries under restricted category will be opened to Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprises in accordance with the timetable as specific in the Revised “Catalogue for the Guidance of Foreign Investment Industries” published in Year 2007:
With China’s accession to WTO, foreign investors are permitted to establish wholly foreign-owned trading companies (wholesaling or retailing) since 11 December 2004.
Joint Venture
A joint venture is a contractual arrangement whereby two or more parties undertake an economic activity which is subject to their joint control.
Equity Joint Venture
A foreign company wishing to establish a business in the PRC can do so by means of a Foreign Equity Joint Venture Enterprise in partnership with a Chinese partner.
This is a form of Chinese limited liability company between a Chinese and a foreign party and is therefore a separate legal entity. Each participant contributes to the venture in financial terms by way of an investment of capital and therefore has a stake in the business. This is similar to the holding of shares in a limited company.
However the foreign participant is not able to recover the investment until the termination of the joint venture. The joint venture also brings together the respective skills and technologies of each party.
The participants share profits, risks, and losses in proportion to their respective contributions to the registered capital of the joint venture. All equity joint ventures are governed by the Law on Joint Ventures using Chinese and Foreign Investment promulgated in 1979 and amended in 2001. There are also a number of other laws and regulations which affect the joint venture's operations relating to such matters as taxation, employment and foreign exchange.
Co-operative Joint Venture
A more flexible way of operation with a Chinese partner is a Co-operative Joint Venture which is governed by the Law on Chinese Foreign Co-operative Enterprises promulgated in 1988 and amended in 2000. This legal framework allows individual agreements such as profit sharing, which need not be restricted to the equity contributions. It differs mainly with the equity joint venture in that the foreign investor may repatriate his original investment prior to the expiration of the joint venture.
This kind of partnership structure has limited applicability between foreign individuals or entities and Chinese entities.
Contracting out management
Contracting out management is an arrangement to satisfy the demand of foreign investors under the joint venture to assume greater control of the management of their projects. Normally, the management of a joint venture is contracted out to the foreign investor for a fixed term at a guaranteed fee. The foreign contractor must guarantee that at the expiry of the contract term, the joint venture will become profitable or that there will be marked improvement in its operations. The fee for contracting out the management operations of a joint venture may be calculated based on the after-tax profit of the joint venture.
Company limited by shares
The Company Law promulgated in 1993 and amended in 1999 governs all limited companies including FIEs. It also creates a new form of company which is limited by shares if future listing is anticipated.
Investors can form a company limited by shares like those in the West. Whe n specific conditions are fulfilled, the company can openly issue to the public for shares and debentures upon approval by relevant authorities.
The minimum capital requirement to set up a company limited by shares with foreign investment is RMB 30 million. The foreign party shall hold at least 25% of the registered capital. Shareholders can agree among themselves on the composition of the board of directors in the management of the company. The profit and loss are distributed according to the ratio of the investor’s respective shareholdings.
Chinese holding companies
With the approval of relevant authorities, a foreign company can set up a Chinese holding company to hold its joint ventures and FIE investments in China. The minimum capital requirement for setting up a Chinese holding company is US$30m. The main advantages of setting up a Chinese holding company are it is allowed to centralize the management / financial functions of various investee FIEs such as sales and marketing, legal, human resource, financial and information technology, etc. Pursuant to the recent business regulations on Chinese holding companies, the PRC holding company can extend lending to its PRC investees, subject to the approval of the competent governmental bodies. Through holding of a Chinese holding company, multinational companies could manage their Chinese investments more efficiently and effectively in operational point of view.
Other arrangements
Processing and Assembling Trade
Activities in China may be done without setting up any kind of enterprise. If relatively cheap labor is the main purpose of making a step into the Chinese market, a contract processing arrangement may be the right choice. Under this kind of arrangement the foreign party consigns raw materials and equipment to the Chinese party free of charge while the Chinese party contributes the factory premises and workers. The Chinese party manufactures and hands over the goods and receives the agreed processing fee. Terms and conditions of a co-operation arrangement should be agreed in detail and have to be submitted to the local MOC for approval. All products have to be exported. The foreign party remains the owner of machines and other equipment. Verification and cancellation of “production contracts” with PRC Customs and Foreign Exchange Bureau are required.
Tommy China Business Consulting has the right solution for you: our team composed by lawyers, accountants, tax consultants , and marketing professionals, our experience in international business will guide you in the right direction, we'll take charge of your needs and provides a full range of advice and practical assistance which would help you to accomplish the goal smoothly and efficiently. Please contact us for detail information.

Tommy China Business Consulting offer Virtual Office and Virtual China Presence service

Our customized virtual office service allows you to set up everything you need to run an office without having to pay the rent, salaries and overhead costs of a normal office. These services include:
Use of a prestige city business address
Touch down office and meeting room facilities
A local telephone number answered by our customer service centres
Call transfers to wherever you are, worldwide
Use of a fax number enabling receipt and forwarding
Mail acceptance and forwarding
Furthermost we offer you turn key solution to your initial stage China market entry, which we call incubation approach.Our China incubation services allow clients to significantly reduce the costs & risks of china market entry. Clients can leverage our existing China-based infrastructure, thus reducing the need for expatriate arrangements until the China business case is proven.


For more information, please visit http://www.tommyconsulting.com/VirtualChinaPresence.html