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Why Grant Thornton
Whether you’re growing in one market or many, looking to operate more effectively, managing risk and regulation, or realising stakeholder value, our firms can help.
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Culture and experience
Grant Thornton’s culture is one of our most valuable assets and has steered us in the right direction for more than 100 years.
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Global scale and capability
Beyond global scale, we embrace what makes each market unique, local understanding on a global scale.
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Join our network
In a world that wants more options for high quality services, we differentiate in the market to grow sustainably in today’s rapidly changing environment.
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Leadership governance and quality
Grant Thornton International Ltd acts as the coordinating entity for member firms in the network with a focus on areas such as strategy, risk, quality monitoring and brand.
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Africa
24 member firms supporting your business.
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Americas
31 member firms, covering 44 markets and over 20,000 people.
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Asia-Pacific
19 member firms with nearly 25,000 people to support you.
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Europe
53 member firms supporting your business.
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Middle East
8 member firms supporting your business.
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Business consulting services
Our business consulting services can help you improve your operational performance and productivity, adding value throughout your growth life cycle.
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Business process solutions
We can help you identify, understand and manage potential risks to safeguard your business and comply with regulatory requirements.
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Business risk services
The relationship between a company and its auditor has changed. Organisations must understand and manage risk and seek an appropriate balance between risk and opportunities.
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Cybersecurity
As organisations become increasingly dependent on digital technology, the opportunities for cyber criminals continue to grow.
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Forensic services
At Grant Thornton, we have a wealth of knowledge in forensic services and can support you with issues such as dispute resolution, fraud and insurance claims.
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Mergers and acquisitions
We work with entrepreneurial businesses in the mid-market to help them assess the true commercial potential of their planned acquisition and understand how the purchase might serve their longer-term strategic goals.
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Recovery and reorganisation
Workable solutions to maximise your value and deliver sustainable recovery.
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Transactional advisory services
We can support you throughout the transaction process – helping achieve the best possible outcome at the point of the transaction and in the longer term.
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Valuations
We provide a wide range of services to recovery and reorganisation professionals, companies and their stakeholders.
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IFRS
At Grant Thornton, our IFRS advisers can help you navigate the complexity of financial reporting from IFRS 1 to IFRS 17 and IAS 1 to IAS 41.
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Audit quality monitoring
Having a robust process of quality control is one of the most effective ways to guarantee we deliver high-quality services to our clients.
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Global audit technology
Our global assurance technology platform provides the ability to conduct client acceptance, consultations and all assurance and other attestation engagements.
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Corporate and business tax
Our trusted teams can prepare corporate tax files and ruling requests, support you with deferrals, accounting procedures and legitimate tax benefits.
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Direct international tax
Our teams have in-depth knowledge of the relationship between domestic and international tax laws.
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Global mobility services
Through our global organisation of member firms, we support both companies and individuals, providing insightful solutions to minimise the tax burden for both parties.
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Indirect international tax
Using our finely tuned local knowledge, teams from our global organisation of member firms help you understand and comply with often complex and time-consuming regulations.
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Transfer pricing
The laws surrounding transfer pricing are becoming ever more complex, as tax affairs of multinational companies are facing scrutiny from media, regulators and the public
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Africa tax desk
A differentiating solution adapted to the context of your investments in Africa.
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Banking Holding banking to account: the real diversity and inclusion pictureWe explore how the banking sector can continue to attract, retain and nurture women to build a more diverse and inclusive future.
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Sustainability From voluntary to mandatory ESG: How banks can future-proof their operationsAs we move from voluntary ESG initiatives to mandatory legislation, we explore what the banking sector needs to prioritise.
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IFRS IFRS 9 - Audit of Expected Credit LossesGPPC releases The Auditor’s response to the risks of material misstatement posed by estimates of expected credit losses under IFRS 9
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growthiQ Steering your company to long-term successHistory has something important to tell us about the difficulties of steering a business to long-term success – through seismic shifts in technology, consumer demands and product development. With that in mind it’s unsurprising that over half the world’s largest companies in the early 1900s had shut their doors by the late 1990s. Some, however, have endured.
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International Financial Reporting Standards Implementation of IFRS 17 ‘Insurance Contracts’The auditor’s response to the risks of material misstatement arising from estimates made in applying IFRS 17 ‘Insurance Contracts’
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IFRS Get ready for IFRS 17After twenty years of development the IASB has published IFRS 17 ‘Insurance Contracts’, find out more.
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Global business pulse - industry analysis Mid-market recovery spreads to more industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Global business pulse - industry analysis A very uneven recovery across industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Global business pulse - Sector analysis Clear patterns of damage from COVID-19 across the industriesThe index results for 12 key sectors of the mid-market reveal just how much or little the various parts of the economy were impacted by COVID-19.
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Not for profit Mission: possible – putting impact at the heart of charityGlobal charitable continues to decline and charity leaders are increasingly looking at their own unique impact journey.
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Access to finance Raise finance to invest in changePrepare your business to raise finance to invest in change.
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Private equity firms Private equity in the mid-market: reshaping strategies for 2021When the global COVID-19 pandemic stormed across the globe in early 2020, the private equity sector was hit hard but deals are coming back to the market.
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Mid-market businesses Getting ready for private equity investmentOur specialists explore how private equity firms are now working with their portfolios and how the mid-market can benefit from investment.
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Mid-market businesses Myth-busting private equityNervous about partnering with Private Equity? We explore some of the common myths we come across when speaking to mid-market businesses about PE investment.
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Public sector Helping build the government of tomorrow, todayLearn about the Grant Thornton US public sector team.
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Global business pulse - industry analysis Mid-market recovery spreads to more industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Global business pulse - industry analysis A very uneven recovery across industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Global business pulse - Sector analysis Clear patterns of damage from COVID-19 across the industriesThe index results for 12 key sectors of the mid-market reveal just how much or little the various parts of the economy were impacted by COVID-19.
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Industries European Real Estate PodcastJessica Patel, Tax Partner at Grant Thornton UK speaks with tax partners and directors across the network to share their insights on the real estate market and some of the challenges.
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Industries European Real Estate PodcastJessica Patel, Tax Partner at Grant Thornton UK speaks with tax partners and directors across the network to share their insights on the real estate market and some of the challenges.
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Global business pulse - industry analysis Mid-market recovery spreads to more industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Global business pulse - industry analysis A very uneven recovery across industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Global business pulse - industry analysis Mid-market recovery spreads to more industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Global business pulse - industry analysis A very uneven recovery across industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Retail How retail is positioning for successCOVID-19 provided some hard lessons for the retail industry. It is time to turn those into sustainable and well executed growth strategies in 2021.
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Telecoms Can tech and telecom leverage economic headwindsAs most businesses brace for an economic downturn, tech and telecom could see new prospects. But, to turn the headwinds to your advantage, you need to find your unique opportunities and risks.
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Technology Mid-market tech companies lead the way on diversity and inclusionWe explore how the mid-market tech sector can continue to build and nurture a culture that’s increasingly more diverse and inclusive for women.
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Tax Resetting global tax rules after the pandemicBusinesses are seeing rising challenges, and finance heads are dealing with a range of new measures. To say the next 12 months are critical for businesses is an understatement.
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TECHNOLOGY International tax reform: the potential impact on the technology industryIn this article, we’ve summarised key elements of the global tax reform proposals, their potential impact on technology industry and advice from our digital tax specialists on what technology companies can do to prepare.
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Telecoms Can tech and telecom leverage economic headwindsAs most businesses brace for an economic downturn, tech and telecom could see new prospects. But, to turn the headwinds to your advantage, you need to find your unique opportunities and risks.
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TMT TMT industry: Fully charged or on standby?Our research revealed five key trends that resonated with Technology, Media and Telecoms (TMT) industry leaders around the world. We asked a panel of our experts from UK, US, India Ireland and Germany, to give us their reaction to the findings.
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Cybersecurity One size fits nothingTechnology companies must adopt a new approach to digital risk: those that successfully develop a reputation for digital trust by demonstrating an unwavering commitment to cyber security and data privacy will be able to carve out a competitive advantage.
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Technology, media & telecommunications Why it’s time for a 5G reality checkFigures suggest the mobile sector is maturing. While data usage continues to soar, mobile revenues are expected to flatten out over the next few years.
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International business Mid-market businesses lifted by rising tide of optimismOptimism among global mid-market business leaders rose to 67% in the first half of this year and they are markedly more optimistic about their prospects with global optimism having increased by 8%.
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Global business pulse - industry analysis Mid-market recovery spreads to more industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
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Hotels COVID-19: Checking in with the hotel industry one year onCOVID-19 provided some hard lessons for the hotel sector. It is time to turn those into sustainable and well executed growth strategies.
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Global business pulse - industry analysis A very uneven recovery across industriesThe index results for 13 key industries of the mid-market reveals a very uneven recovery from COVID-19
- By topic
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Women in Business 2024
2024 marks the 20th year of monitoring and measuring the proportion of women occupying senior management roles around the world.
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COP28: Mid-market firms should seize the opportunity from adaption and innovation
COP28 was the first time there has been a global stocktake on progress against the Paris Agreement.
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Scanning the horizon: Mid-market sets sights on global trade growth
The latest International Business Report (IBR) data shows that mid-market businesses have high expectations for global trade.
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Mid-market sees business optimism reach record high
Grant Thornton's latest International Business Report (IBR) sees optimism among mid-market business leaders reach a record high with 74% optimistic about the outlook for their economy over the next 12 months.
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Women in tech: A pathway to gender balance in top tech roles
Grant Thornton’s 2024 Women in Business data suggests we are far from achieving parity within the mid-market technology sector.
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Women in leadership: a pathway to better performance
What makes the benefits of gender parity compelling is the impact it can have on commercial performance.
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Women in Business 2024
2024 marks the 20th year of monitoring and measuring the proportion of women occupying senior management roles around the world.
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Women in business: Regional picture
We saw an increase in the percentage of senior management roles held by women, on a global level, but there are some significant regional and country variations.
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Pathways to Parity: Leading the way
To push towards parity of senior management roles held by women, who leads within an organisation is vital.
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Generating real change with a long-term focus
The most successful strategy to achieve parity of women in senior management is one which stands alone, independent of an ESG strategy.
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People at the heart of great business
Businesses have started to put guidelines and incentives in place, focused on driving employees back to the office.
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Focusing and developing a solid strategy around diversity, equity and inclusion
Grant Thornton Greece is pioneering a growing set of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives that centre around three strategic pillars.
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Ten considerations for preparing TCFD climate-related financial disclosures
Insights for organisations preparing to implement the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)’s Standards.
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COP28
COP28 was the first time there has been a global stocktake on progress against the Paris Agreement.
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Transition Plan Taskforce publishes its final disclosure framework
As organisations in the private sector make commitments and plans to reach net zero, there's a growing need for stakeholders to be able to assess the credibility of their transition plans.
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Promoting ESG excellence through tax
ESG considerations have never been more important for an organisation’s long-term success, but how can tax be used to add value to an ESG agenda?
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International business: Mid-market growth and expansion
The mid-market looks to international business opportunities for growth.
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Top five constraints to international business in the mid-market
Top five major constraints that are testing the mid-market’s ability to grow their businesses internationally.
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Brand and international marketing – breaking global barriers
Brand has been identified as a key driver of mid-market success when looking to grow and develop international business.
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The key to international business: Investing in people
How can recruitment and retention help grow international business?
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Building resilience in international business
Evolving supply chains and trade patterns amid ongoing global uncertainty.
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IFRS Alerts
IFRS Alerts covering the latest changes published by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).
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Example Financial Statements
General guidance for preparers of financial statements that supports the commitment to high quality, consistent application of IFRS.
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Insights into IFRS 2
Insights into IFRS 2 summarises the key areas of the Standard, highlighting aspects that are more difficult to interpret and revisiting the most relevant features that could impact your business.
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IFRS 3
Mergers and acquisitions are becoming more common as entities aim to achieve their growth objectives. IFRS 3 ‘Business Combinations’ contains the requirements for these transactions.
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IFRS 8
Our ‘Insights into IFRS 8’ series considers some key implementation issues and includes interpretational guidance in certain problematic areas.
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IFRS 16
Are you ready for IFRS 16? This series of insights will help you prepare.
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IAS 36
Insights into IAS 36 provides assistance for preparers of financial statements and help where confusion has been seen in practice.
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IFRS 17
Explaining the key features of the Standard and providing insights into its application and impact.
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Pillar 2
Key updates and support for the global implementation of Pillar 2.
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Global expatriate tax guide
Growing businesses that send their greatest assets – their people – overseas to work can face certain tax burdens, our global guide highlights the common tax rates and issues.
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International indirect tax guide
Navigating the global VAT, GST and sales tax landscape.
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Global transfer pricing guide
Helping you easily find everything you need to know about the rules and regulations regarding transfer pricing and Country by Country reporting for every country you do business with.
One Belt, One Road – why is it so important?
China’s One Belt, One Road outbound investment strategy presents a wealth of opportunity along major global land and maritime trade routes. But how can business owners outside China take advantage?
It’s five years since the rest of the world became aware of Chinese plans to become a champion of globalisation and free trade through the One Belt One Road initiative (B&R), a USD$1 trillion infrastructure programme that affects Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. Over that time, 68 countries and international organisations have signed up for the project.
First proposed in a speech at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan by China’s president Xi Jinping, a main driver for B&R is Xi’s commitment to turning China’s emerging economy into a ‘moderately prosperous society’ by 2020. China’s president has set the same tight deadline for ensuring all of his nation’s rural populations are out of poverty.
This might seem an easily achievable target for the world’s second-largest economy but, in terms of GDP per capita, China is currently ranked 79th in the IMF’s 2017 rankings, putting it alongside the likes of the Dominican Republic and Iraq.
If these challenging targets are to be met, then new trade routes connecting China with the rest of the world are essential. It will also allow China to move up the value chain by producing finished goods as manufacturing moves to countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam and the wider APAC region.
But while it’s easy to see the scale of the opportunity along these historic trade routes, how can business owners gain exposure to this massive multi-generational project? And how do they best engage with Chinese businesses?
Business opportunities
An initiative on the scale of B&R sends out two clear messages. First, in terms of direct Chinese capital investment, hundreds of billions of Renminbi will pour into the development of railways, ports and power stations along the trade routes. Second, these developments will stimulate domestic investment. So, if they aren't already, dynamic companies should be looking to understand the opportunities it presents if they want to be part of the next chapter in global trade.
Xu Hua, CEO of Grant Thornton China, said “Belt and Road brings immense opportunities for growth. However, without a deep understanding of how to work with China and the Chinese, corporations will miss out. Getting the right advice from the right advisors will pay dividends in both the short and medium term.”
The most significant area of opportunity lies in large-scale infrastructure projects. One of the most high-profile has been at the Sri Lankan port at Hambantota, which “will one day resemble Shanghai” with maintenance, oil storage and refueling facilities. The site has been the subject of a USD$1.1 billion purchase of a 99-year lease by one of China’s largest state-owned companies, China Merchants Group. The port is only a few miles from the main Indian Ocean sea lane linking the Suez Canal and the Malacca Straits, a key route for Chinese imports and exports.
On the overland route, the first China-bound freight train carrying British products left DP World London Gateway terminal in April 2017 and arrived at eastern China’s Yiwu city, known as China’s ‘world supermarket’, after a 19-day journey. As of September 2017, the freight trains connect 33 Chinese cities with 32 cities in 12 European countries.
A boom for the commonwealth of independent states (CIS)
One region that has seen a significant influx of investment is the CIS, which separates China from Europe. Gurgen Hakobyan, Regional head for the CIS and Mongolia of Grant Thornton International Ltd, says that China’s volume of trade with CIS countries is approaching USD$100 billion a year.
“The largest chunk of the trade with CIS is with Russia and related to oil and gas. But all the CIS countries enjoy a significant level of investment,” says Gurgen. “China became more active in the region about five years ago. They had been investing in mining and construction projects in Central Asia, but then started to shift investments west and have now reached Belarus, where they recently invested USD$3 billion to build a big terminal for goods to be transported from China to Europe.”
Gurgen adds that Kazakhstan is one of the main beneficiaries of Chinese investments in Eurasia. Chinese-Kazakh bilateral trade volume amounted to USD$7.87 billion in 2016, putting it second only to Russia (USD$66.1 billion). The oil sector has played a major role in this. Kazakhstan’s oil exports are forecast to increase by 50% by 2020 – a large share of which will be used to meet China’s growing demand. Kazakhstan aims to provide 22 million tons/year of oil to China by 2020, up from an estimated 12.1 million tons in 2011.
Closer ties with China are mirrored throughout the CIS. In Uzbekistan, as of 2016 there were more than 700 Uzbek companies with Chinese capital and the two countries have signed a package of bilateral covering trade and economic projects, investment and financial cooperation for USD$6.3 billion, including investments, loans and grants from China worth USD$2.7 billion.
Even the EU-friendly Moldova has obtained a low-interest loan of USD$62 million from Chinese SinoHydro for the modernisation of roads in the country, while in June 2015, China Shipping Group announced the official launching of its container shipping services in Moldova, becoming only the second foreign company to operate in the country’s sole port of Giurgiulesti.
China's Belt & Road joins the global dots
Brand awareness
“The infrastructure opportunity is undeniably huge,” says Jonathan Geldart, Executive director – markets development (Greater China) at Grant Thornton International Ltd. “But another key aspect is brands,” he says.
This is because Western brands have a reputation for quality and elegance in China and the country’s consumers are particularly brand-conscious. They are also getting wealthier fast. There were 1.6 million Chinese with at least 10 million yuan (USD$1.57 million) of investable assets in 2016, up from 180,000 in 2006. The growth has been so rapid that the country’s luxury consumers now represent a third of the global luxury market.
In part this is due to the convention for gifting. As the Marketing to China website notes: “The gifting of international branded products highlights one’s wealth, personal success and modernity. Almost every brand in China also provides a special gift packing service with its brand name because they know people are going to use their product as a gift.”
“The Chinese love brands,” agrees Jonathan. “If you have a successful brand, you can look to do a deal with a Chinese investor. They will mostly leave you alone, take your brand back to China and expand it. That’s certainly what we’re seeing around middle-market businesses in Western Europe.”
A steep learning curve?
But how easy is it for firms to take advantage of the opportunities? “It isn’t as easy as you might think,” says Jonathan. “First of all, the culture is different, so we have all learned how to engage with and speak to Chinese people. The main difference is in terms of behaviour, because of their expectations in terms of what they’re used to when it comes to the business environment and relationships.
“A second issue is that the working relationship is much more challenging. And there is, of course, the language barrier. Chinese English can be good but it takes effort on our side, too. Fortunately, Grant Thornton is set up to advise businesses looking to take advantage of the opportunities B&R presents,” says Jonathan.
“Where Belt & Road is concerned, it’s all about identifying and making the best possible use of the significant opportunities that are emerging,” agrees Panos Vodinas, who heads Grant Thornton’s China Europe Business Group (CEBG).
“Even for dynamic businesses, selling into a new market and setting up operations in another country is a step into the unknown. Lack of familiarity with the territory or little experience of doing business overseas means it can be difficult to bring plans to fruition,” Panos explains.
“Whether it’s a Chinese organisation considering investment in Europe or a European business looking to enter the Chinese marketplace, they will need to identify strategic business or investment partners,” Panos adds. “They also need to understand the local complexities of the markets they are entering. Clients can access the expertise of our member firms through our CEBG to identify and realise the right growth opportunities.”
Opportunities for the taking
For the CIS, the opportunity is there for the taking. “We are a natural transit route for China and Europe to trade with each other as the Eurasian part of B&R goes through our countries,” says Gurgen. “It means there is a clear opportunity for us to capitalise on this and the possibilities it brings. We’re already helping CIS firms on their learning curve to prepare themselves.”
To find out more about how you can take advantage of Chinese outbound investment opportunities, contact jonathan.geldart@gti.gt.com, ann.yu@cn.gt.com, gurgen.hakobyan@gti.gt.com, or panos.vodinas@eu.gt.com.