Former Vice President Walter F. Mondale will be the keynote speaker and a panelist at our upcoming International Roundtable program on China. Mr. Mondale will speak on developments in China's political and economic climate, then join a panel discussion with Minnesota business executives and China experts at Dorsey and KPMG to discuss business opportunities in China.
Event Details
Still Crossing the River by Feeling for Stones:
China's Ongoing Economic Reform and Its Impact on Your Business
The world has looked to China as a source of growth and opportunities during the global financial difficulties, which commenced in 2008. Yet, with China juggling its response to global concerns with multiple and often competing domestic challenges such as political change, regulatory reform and the modernization of manufacturing and services industries, China is experiencing a slow-down in the flow of foreign direct investment and has lowered its GDP growth forecasts to the lowest levels in several years. How China manages the next phase of its reform and opening up in such a context will have a major impact on the investment landscape in China.
Please join us at our upcoming International Roundtable program on China for a candid discussion of the challenges and opportunities facing U.S. companies investing in China. Former Vice President Walter F. Mondale will open the program with remarks about developments in China's political and economic climate, then join a panel discussion with Minnesota business executives and China specialists from Dorsey and KPMG.
Topics will include:
Economic and Political Trends and Business Environment
Investment Incentives
Labor Crisis Prevention
International Arbitration as a Dispute Resolution Forum for China-Related Disputes
Regulatory Challenges
Tax Considerations
SPEAKERS
Walter F. Mondale, Keynote Speaker
Senior Counsel, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, Minneapolis
Walter Mondale's record of public service includes Vice President of the United States, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, U.S. Senator, and Attorney General for the State of Minnesota. He was also the Democratic Party's nominee for President in 1984. Currently serving as Senior Counsel with the law firm of Dorsey & Whitney, Mr. Mondale is also advisor to the firm's Asia Law Practice Group, a large and fast-growing practice focused on representing U.S. and Asian clients on a wide range of corporate, regulatory, and financial matters in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong/China, the United States, and elsewhere around the world.
Jim White, Panelist
President, Latin America, Ecolab Inc.
From 2010 to 2012, Mr. White was President of the Asia Pacific & Latin America Sector for Ecolab. Ecolab has a very large presence in China with almost $300 million in sales and more than 1,500 employees. Mr. White, while responsible for China, grew sales more than 25 percent each year, built a new manufacturing plant, implemented SAP, and opened a new R&D center. Before joining Ecolab in 2005, Mr. White held executive positions at International Multifoods and The Pillsbury Company.
David W. Deetz, Panelist
Chief Executive Officer, President and Director,
Ativa Medical Inc.
Mr. Deetz is a medical device entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of Ativa Medical, a development stage med tech business. Mr. Deetz also started PPG Biomedical and Diametrics Medical, one of which completed a successful IPO, and both of which were acquired by industry leaders and still operate today. He will share Ativa's experience in China including the implementation of a new model for primary healthcare.
Scott Halvorsen, Panelist
Director of International Sales,
Bepex International LLC
Mr. Halvorsen has been working in the industrial processing equipment field for over 25 years. In the last seven years, Bepex has increased its sales in China by an average of 40 percent per year, prompting Bepex to open sales and service offices in 2011 to cover China and the East Asian region. China is now Bepex's #1 export country. Bepex received the Minnesota Governors Trade Award for International Business in 2009.
Carl Hinze, Panelist
Senior Attorney, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, Shanghai
Mr. Hinze has worked in the fields of investment banking and law in China since 2004. He advises clients on a wide range of matters, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring, and financial services regulatory issues. Mr. Hinze is co-editor of Oxford University Press' Financial Services Regulation in Asia Pacific. Prior to becoming a legal practitioner, he lectured at the University of Queensland in the School of Languages and Cross-cultural Studies.
Abe Zhao, Panelist
Tax Partner, KPMG, Beijing
Mr. Zhao specializes in Chinese corporate income tax and transfer pricing with a focus on U.S.-headquartered multinational companies. Over the years, he has worked in Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian, and Los Angeles. Serving both China inbound and outbound clients, Mr. Zhao has strong experience in international mergers and acquisitions, private equity structuring, supply chain management, real estate investments, IP migration and accounting for income taxes analysis.
Rodney J. Lawrence, Moderator
Principal, International Tax, KPMG, Chicago
Mr. Lawrence is currently the national leader of KPMG's International Tax practice and serves a number of FORTUNE 500 clients across diverse industries. His work spans transactions, representation before the IRS, and effective rate planning and encompasses corporate and indirect tax and transfer pricing. Mr. Lawrence is also currently serving as an adjunct professor at DePaul University's Graduate School of Business where he leads a class in U.S. international tax planning in the MST program.
Program
7:30 AM-8:00 AM: Breakfast
8:00 AM-10:00 AM: Program