The decision to sell a controlling stake of McDonald´s to private investors in the Carlyle Group, Citic Capital and Citic Group triggered off mixed reactions among analysts. Retail analyst Ben Cavender says the new investors can help to refurbish and expand the chain. Peking University business professor Jeffrey Towson sees a different management style, that makes competitor KFC run for its money. But business analyst Shaun Rein sees to end to the inevitable decline of McDonald´s.Read More →

China is becoming fast one of the most innovative markets, explains Shanghai-based managing director William Bao Bean of the Chinaccelerator. Fintech and mobile will leave their marks on 2017, he explains to a non-Chinese audience. While startups have a hard time to find funding, 9% of the startups in Shenzhen get one million US dollar in funding. In stead of joining foreign multinationals, young Chinese prefer now an entrepreneurial career.Read More →

Internet giant Alibaba paid US$2.6 billion for the retailer Intimate group, another sign Alibaba wants to leverage its online presence to brick-and-mortar retail operations, says retail analyst Ben Cavender to Reuters. Earlier it bought also leading retailer Suning.Read More →

In line with expectations, McDonald´s has sold a controlling stake of its China and Hong Kong operation to private investors, after competitor Yum did the same last year. With the new financial resources, the China operation can improve fast, says Shanghai-based retail analyst Ben Cavender to Bloomberg.Read More →

Increased government restrictions on the outflow of capital will severely impend the outbound M&A activities in the first quarter of 2017, after a record year in 2016, expects business analyst Shaun Rein, according to the South China Morning Post.Read More →

China´s consumers have been eager purchasers of foreign products, but getting them at the right price proved to be troublesome. New startups are going to make that choice easier, predicts William Bao Bean, general partner at SOSV and managing director of Chinaccelerator, in TechNode, after closing days of presentations by startups.Read More →

A Chinese bid for the Chicago Stock Exchange is running into major roadblocks, both in China and the US. The bidder the private Chinese company Chongqing Casin Enterprise Group might have waited too long, says business analyst Shaun Rein in the South China Morning Post. Both in China and the US barriers seem too high to close the deal.Read More →