Corporate growth acceleration in China: a brief review of key conditions

China has been through an unprecedented growth path since its economic opening in 1978
under the stewardship of Deng Xiaoping. The development of a market economy with
socialist characteristics is still a concept that needs to be better understood in the West. The
objective of the lecture is to illustrate this process through existing M&A practices, as
acquisitions are one of the strongest levers of corporate growth acceleration. In this respect,
we intend to review some key challenge for financial practitioners in China, especially as it
ambitions to host one of the leading International Financial Centres in the 21st century.

1. The environment of corporate finance in China
2. Specificities related to inbound and outbound M&A
3. Selected case studies
4. Missing building blocks for the 21st century
5. Key findings
6. Q&A

About Olivier Coispeau

Based in Shanghai for almost 9 years, Mr. Olivier Coispeau is a founding partner of Maverlinn, an advisory firm specialized in strategic finance and Corporate Social Responsibility. Prior to this, he was one of the leaders of the financial institutions practice at Roland Berger Greater China and in charge of the «Business development» practice and Mergers & Acquisitions.

During his carrer, Mr. Coispeau worked with major financial institutions including J.P. Morgan (Paris, London, New York), Crédit Lyonnais (Paris) in the context of its rescue plan and Schroders (Paris, London). He specializes in growth acceleration strategies, complex partnerships and M&A. He advised many Fortune 500 companies, foundations and governments.

He was a Managing Director and France head of Antfactory, a London based early stage technology fund and one of the co-founders of the Inventage Nestlé fund. He is currently coaching and investing in social responsibility oriented firms in China with a focus on innovation and education.

For several years, Mr. Coispeau taught Economics in the University of Paris II Sorbonne and Finance at Ecole Supérieure de Commerce Paris. He is a frequently invited speaker at industrial strategy forums.

He studied at Stanford University (SEP, 2001), University of Paris IX – Dauphine (1984), and Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (1980-1983). He is fluent in Chinese, and studied at Shanghai JiaoTong University (2006) and Taiwan Normal University in Taipei (2005).

Among the books published under his name are: “M&A and Partnerships in China”, as the lead author with S. Luo, T. Labarre, J. Chow, S Yu (SEFI, 2012), “Dictionnaire de la bourse”, (SEFI, 2013), “Gestion de haut de bilan” (SEFI, 1992) and “L’évaluation des enterprises” with V. Bessière (SEFI, 1990). Many of his contributions have appeared in books and in press articles in business and professional journals, including most recently “Corporate Social Responsibility in China” by Benoit Vermander (World Scientific, 2013).