Canadian Lawyer InHouse

Edward Goldenberg, a partner and head of Bennett Jones LLP's government affairs and public policy practice. "Even if you assume the growth rate drops from 10 to seven per cent, an annual growth rate of seven per cent means the Chinese economy will double in size in 10 years. That has major implications for business around the world." Goldenberg emphasizes that Chinese investment is across the board and not just in the energy sector. "There is going to be enormous opportunities for Canadians in terms of Chinese investment here in Canada. In terms of where the government stands on state-owned enterprises they've set some rules. The bottom line is they approved the Nexen deal and there will probably be more joint ventures and less 100-per-cent takeovers." There is definitely greater diversity in the different kinds of opportunities Real Estate Central Chinese business people are exploring in Canada, says Ian Michael of McCarthy Tétrault. "It's not necessarily oil and gas and minerals — we're seeing examples of auto parts manufacturers, lighting systems, and I think we will see food processing and food processing technology in the future," he says. Lee has acted for many SOEs and says the Chinese view the deals as not just another transaction but a training opportunity for their own people as well. "It's not purely for the resources necessarily — they want the resources but more importantly it's an evolution of these stateowned enterprises to the global stage in a meaningful way." She adds they want to do it in a non-disruptive way and that's why western management is so important to them. The other sectors that have been successful in coming to Canada include technology companies and banks. "They don't necessarily come in via acquisition, they come in by just setting up shops here with branches," she says. BYD Co. Ltd. is one such company. The car and battery manufacturer also produces electric buses and advanced lighting systems. BYD has set up a greenfield Canadian office. Despite some delays, the Chinese-built electric eBus is set to be tested in Ottawa and Montreal until May of 2014. Canada to China S. Michael Brooks airdberlis.com 24 ntitled-4 1 • o c t ob er 2013 Canadians have been much slower than the U.S. and the Europeans in terms of going into China, says Lee. McCarthys acted for Vancouver-based Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers this past year as it launched its business in China but it was a project many years in the making. In late 2012, Ritchie Bros. became the first auction company to be granted wholly owned foreign enterprise status in China, paving the way for its first industrial equipment auction in Beijing. "They have been working on it for over 10 years," says Lee. "They are in a special sector because auction law was not developed there so they had to go in to help the Chinese government develop industrial auction laws." Its first auction in China was held April 18, 2013. It featured a traditional Chinese lion dance thought to bring good luck — possibly the first lion dance INHOUSE 13-09-10 3:06 PM

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