Barbatelli&Partners Announces Acquisition of In3Act China
[Shanghai, January 15th] – Barbatelli & Partners, a leading Management Consulting company with more than 30 years’ experience serving European SMEs in China, proudly announces the successful acquisition of In3Act China, a renowned Strategy Consulting company based in Beijing. The acquisition was made possible through a strategic investment by The European House Ambrosetti, further solidifying Barbatelli & Partners’ position as a key player in the consulting sector in China.
The merger that combines the Chinese activities of Barbatelli & Partners and In3Act China marks an important milestone, bringing together two exceptional organizations with a shared vision for growth, innovation, and excellence in consulting sector. By joining forces, the combined entity will leverage the strengths and expertise of both companies to deliver even greater value and comprehensive solutions to clients in China.
This significant development not only strengthens Barbatelli & Partners’s market presence but also pays homage to the late co-founder of In3Act China, Guido Giacconi. Guido Giacconi’s legacy as a visionary and trailblazer in the China business consultancy will continue to inspire and guide the team as it embraces new opportunities and challenges in the evolving business landscape.
With this acquisition, Barbatelli & Partners aims to enhance its capabilities in key areas such as entry strategy, growth strategy, financial, legal, HR, investment and M&A operations. The integration of In3Act’s China talented team and extensive industry knowledge will complement Barbatelli & Partners’s existing resources, enabling the combined entity to deliver innovative solutions, drive operational excellence, and exceed client expectations.
The teams of both companies are committed to ensuring a seamless transition and integration process, ensuring minimal disruption to ongoing projects and client relationships. Clients of In3Act with existing or perspective interest towards China can expect continued support and the same high level of service they have come to expect, now backed by the expanded resources and global reach of Barbatelli & Partners.
Following this recent acquisition of In3act China operations, officially our organization has now expanded to include three entities:
- Barbatelli & Partners (Shanghai): It serves as the central hub for our organization, providing a wide range of management consulting services and facilitating seamless collaboration among our others entities. For more information, you can find at http://www.barbatelli.net/.
- BPCOM (Shanghai): BPCOM was founded from the extensive experience at Barbatelli & Partners. BPCOM is a digital company designed to create and manage digital marketing & PR services for foreign companies in China. You can visit our BP COM page at http://www.barbatelli.net/bp-com/.
- IN3ACT (Beijing): IN3ACT will be dedicated to offering a wide range of strategy consulting services while assisting the team for existing management consulting projects and the clients in Beijing. We invite you to explore our IN3ACT China website at https://www.in3act.com/en/.
We are excited about this new chapter and look forward to continuing to serve you with excellence and professionalism across all our entities!
Best regards,
Barbatelli & Partners
China’s Measures for Foreign Investment
China's Measures for Security Review of Foreign Investment
China's Measures for Security Review of Foreign Investment
Co-released by China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), the new Measure for Security Review of Foreign Investment aims at maintaining national security while promoting foreign investment. Released on December 19, 2020, enter into force on January 18, 2021.
The Measure applies to (1) foreign investors, alone or jointly with other investors, who invest in new projects or establish enterprises in China; (2) foreign investors who obtain equity or assets of domestic enterprises through M&A; (3) foreign investors who invest in China by any other means.
Investments subject to the Measure
- Foreign investment in the military industry, including military facilities, investment in the surrounding areas of military industry facilities and other national and security related areas
- Foreign investment in key areas related to national security, which includes agricultural products, energy and resources, equipment manufacturing, infrastructure, transportation services, cultural products and services, IT and internet products and services and financial services where such investment obtain the actual control of the invested enterprises.
In reference to ‘the actual control of the invested enterprises’, the term includes the following situations:
(1) foreign investors hold more than 50% of the shares
(2) foreign investors hold less than 50% of shares but their vote can significantly impact decisions of the board of directors or during shareholders’ meeting
(3) other situations in which foreign investors have significant influence in operational decisions, personnel and finances aspect of the enterprise.
The review will be led by NDRC and MOFCOM and the office will be located within NDRC.
Material to submit
Any investment that is within the scope listed above must be submitted to the review office by investors and concerned parties within China. The material to submit for the review are:
(1) Declaration form
(2) Investment plan
(3) Explanation on whether foreign investment affects national security
(4) Other materials required by the review office
The declaration shall specify the name, domicile, business scope and investment of the foreign investor. Applicants can modify or cancel the investment plan while undergoing the security review.
Review process based on a three-tiered system
Tier 1: Security Review Submission (15 working days). Once applicants submit the relevant material, the review office has 15 working days to decide whether the application needs to undergo a general security review. If not, the applicant may start to implement the investment.
Tier 2: General Security Review (up to 30 working days). The review office will have 30 days to inform applicants whether the project impacts national security and must undergo a special review. If the review office decides that it does not impact national security, investors may move forward with the project.
Tier 3: Special Review (60 working days). The review office will need 60 working days or more under special circumstances to conduct the special review. The review office can reject the project for national security reasons or provide either a full or conditional approval. Conditional approval requires that involved parties accept additional conditions that would “mitigate (the projects) potential impact on national security”.
China e-commerce market, where to start?
China e-commerce market, where to start?
The two largest e-commerce platforms Alibaba and JD.com during Double 11, the Global Shopping Festival, saw an increase in sales of 26% YoY and 32% YoY respectively. Alibaba Tmall reached 498.2 billion yuan (US$75.27 billion) and JD.com reached 271.5 billion yuan (US$41.02 bn) in GMV. These positive results show the potential and vastity of China e-commerce market despite the effect of the pandemic. Moreover, the restrictions and the habit changes shaped due to Covid-19 show the great opportunities businesses can create by going online and tackling China e-commerce market.
How is the industry outlook in China? Which e-commerce platform is best for your business? How to assess your products?
E-Commerce, where?
China E-Commerce market presents a variety of platforms, where brands and businesses promote and sell their products. The biggest well-known ones are Taobao, Tmall, JD.com and Pinduoduo. Other smaller platforms pervade the ecosystem, to cite few WeChat Mini-Shop, e-shop on Douyin (Chinese Tiktok) and Little Red Book, and XPanda. Each of these platforms presents unique features.
Where should you open your store? A market analysis is required to assess the industry outlook, the brand positioning, products feature and budget for the project. This will help you to consider and evaluate better your next step.
How to open?
Once you have decided the e-commerce platform to start with, you need to prepare in advance some documents.
- Company information: a registered entity in China (Wholly Foreign Owned enterprise or Sino-foreign Joint venture) or abroad, bank information
- Product trademark: register a trademark in China to protect your product
- Product Information: it is essential to have product description and photos for online sales.
How to operate?
Step 1: Launch of products with attractive titles, text descriptions, pricing, new product promotion, inventory maintenance and other activities
Step 2: Design & Optimize Stores
Design your online store, home page, product pages, promotion events
Step 3: Operational activities
Product selection, price setting, types of promotion, registration to shopping festival activities, data analysis
Step 4: Marketing activities to attract customers and achieve sales
Daily advertising operation, internal and external activities such as in-store or on e-commerce platform homepage’s product promotion.
BPcom and Barbatelli & Partners provide comprehensive services for brands aiming to enter China e-commerce market. What are our services?
- E-commerce project audit to find the best solution for your specific project and budget
- Registration and shop design/website
- Shop management and customer acquisition, by uploading, updating and managing contents in line with your requests
- Promotion and customer loyalty management, by creating and managing campaigns following the various events of China E-commerce calendar.
- Multi-Channel marketing strategy to create and increase brand awareness with PR, Kol and Seo.
China Response to Novel Coronavirus: Live Updates, Municipal Policies and Measures
