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Foreign companies often seek lists of companies doing business in China. They may want to know about potential customers and competitors, map out their supply chains, or look for contacts in other foreign companies to share experiences or ask for advice. In such cases, The Foreign Companies yearbooks for China and Hong Kong are a great resource

These yearbooks consist of an alphabetical list of foreign companies with their contact information, including street and email addresses, telephone and facsimile numbers, and names of key contacts. The directories also provide, where available, additional information useful for further understanding the company or for benchmarking. The information includes industrial classifications, notes on specific products or services offered, national affiliation, number of employees, date of establishment, and annual turnover. The fact that not all of this information is available for each company in the directory tempers the usefulness of this information for benchmarking, however.

Two of the three indexes are extremely helpful. Both the industry classification and the nationality/trade affiliation indexes make it easy to find specific information.

Given the rapid changes in staff and frequent reorganizations of China operations, these directories will be useful only to the extent that they are updated regularly. The Hong Kong directory was published in June 1998 and the China directory was published in July 1998, but the 1999 hardcover editions may now be ordered online (www.businessmonitor.com) for $390 each. Packages including a hard copy and a searchable CD-ROM are available for $690 per country.

-Iain K. McDaniels
Iain K. McDaniels is deputy director of the US-China Business Council's Beijing office.

East Asia: The Road to Recovery
Washington, DC: The World Bank, 1998.
170 pp. $25 softcover.

In East Asia: The Road to Recovery, the World Bank explores the Asian crisis in detail, from the hidden roots to possible solutions. The book begins with a thorough overview of the crisis, examining the miracle of East Asian growth, the causes of the crisis, and the situation as of mid-1998. A chapter on trade focuses on East Asia's reliance on exports, examines the effects of the crisis on the region's trade, and concludes with a few policy recommendations, such as trade credits for stricken countries and lower trade barriers. Structural weaknesses that brought about the crisis, the actions being taken to address these weak spots, and the difficulties of banking and corporate sector reform are also discussed.

The bank's analysis departs from the ordinary in that it devotes significant time and space to consideration of social and environmental costs of the crisis. Chapter 5 discusses various policies governments can undertake to minimize social pain, and, above all, ensure minimum consumption levels for their poorest citizens. Suggesting that much of East Asia's growth was fueled by natural resource exploitation, Chapter 6 shows how the underlying structural causes of the crisis have also contributed to environmental deterioration and proposes policies to improve the environment as the region recovers.

The book concludes that governments must promote policies that will encourage corporate and banking sector reform, restore growth in aggregate demand, and improve regulatory frameworks. Until recovery is substantially under way, governments must also take action to maintain social stability, and guarantee minimum levels of well-being among vulnerable groups and access to public services such as education. According to the authors, all of these will help restore capital inflows, the quickest way to economic growth

Boxes, such as those explaining the fiscal costs of bank restructuring and early warning signs in Korea, illustrate policies, successful and otherwise, from countries around the world, especially those that have faced similar crises in recent years. A plethora of charts and tables, such as those showing intra-regional exports by country or poverty projections, provide statistics that help readers understand the scope of the crisis

Nevertheless, the book remains heavy on detail and statistics and peppered with jargon. While it seems to be aimed primarily at academics and government policy-makers, businesspeople may find chapters on trade, finance, and corporations, as well as the information contained in the graphs and charts, useful. Moreover, the policy recommendations may give businesses an idea of what to expect from governments in the next few years.

-Virginia A. Hulme
Virginia A. Hulme is assistant editor of The CBR.

China's Unfinished Economic Revolution
by Nicholas R. Lardy. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 1998.
240 pp. $44.95 hardcover, $18.95 softcover.

In China's Unfinished Economic Revolution, Nicholas Lardy lays out a strong case in support of the argument that China must successfully resolve its financial woes before it can move into a fully functioning market-based economy. Lardy's argument is a familiar one to those who have followed the gradual opening of the Chinese market. To summarize briefly (and at the risk of oversimplifying), he argues that the gradual nature of China's reforms over the last two decades has led to an increase in the indebtedness of China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs). SOEs have had to shoulder the nation's social welfare burden in part because the government lacks the resources to provide social services itself. At the same time, the PRC government has stopped nearly all subsidies and other forms of support to state enterprises, leaving only preferential access to credit. Thus, the bulk of SOE debt is held by state-owned banks, also the repository of China's unmatched level of household savings. These savings have been funneled back to inefficient state enterprises rather than into more productive non-state firms

The banks' inability to recoup the bulk of their loans from state firms has seriously undermined the health of the banking system. To solve these interlocking problems, Lardy recommends an acceleration of three main branches of reform. He calls for stepped up closure of bankrupt state firms; further improvement of tax collection, both to provide the government with essential tax revenues and to ease its reliance on bond issues as a source of revenue; and recapitalization and restructuring of the banking system. This restructuring would involve allowing the formation of private banks and, eventually, entry of fore ign financial institutions into the PRC market.

Leaving aside the book's central argument, the study is also valuable for its overview of China's economic and financial frailties. The collection, in one volume, of data on all of China's major financial institutions--both their structure and performance throughout the reform era--is an indispensable reference. But the careful analysis of the performance of this sector in the context of overall economic development is equally important. And Lardy addresses issues relevant not just to economists, but also to foreign businesses: he fits China's World Trade Organization accession progress into the broader context of PRC economic reform, to cite just one example.

Where China's Unfinished Economic Revolution may draw more heat, however, is over the author's contention that the situation is urgent. Some would counter that the sky has yet to fall, despite the strains of Asia's slowdown and the PRC's close ties to Hong Kong's battered currency and economy. From some analysts' perspectives, China has borne up admirably during the Asian economic slowdown. Many praise the recent steps the country has taken to strengthen regulatory mechanisms, restructure the central bank, and move toward a loan-reclassification system that would acknowledge the extent of the bad loans on the books of PRC banks. But Lardy is not alone in warning that China's economic slowdown, and recent fiscal stimulus measures, are further straining the banks.

Thus, though the degree of urgency may be a point of debate, it is difficult to dispute Lardy's conclusions and policy recommendations. If his analysis is correct, China's failure to deal aggressively with financial sector reform will undermine not only the future of China's economy, but also the nation's social and political stability. If China is unable to pull its economy out of the current slowdown, the rising unemployment, falling consumer confidence, and widespread discontent over corruption have the potential to derail all that the country has achieved to date.

-Catherine Gelb
Catherine Gelb is editor of The CBR.

PRC Corporate Secretarial Practice Manual
by Colin Ng and partners. Hong Kong: Sweet & Maxwell Asia, 1998.
$389, looseleaf.

Corporate Secretarial Practice Manual is a thorough guide to corporate practices in the PRC. Aimed at company secretaries, directors, lawyers, accountants, and managers, this tome is a practical guide and an everyday reference tool. The authors describe China's administration, legal system, and government, and give specific information on setting up different types of foreign-invested businesses in China. The manual also gives details about corporate identity and governance, financial and accounting systems, financing, dispute resolution, and company dissolution. Finally, it contains the full English text of the 199 3 Company Law, the 1985 Foreign Economic Contract Law, the 1993 Law of Accounting, and the 1991 Income Tax Law for Foreign Invested Enterprises.

The manual is well-organized and made to last--it is presented in a sturdy looseleaf binder with sections separated by laminated tabs. Graphs, tables, and--most practical--sample forms and letters (in both English and Chinese versions, when available) appear where relevant. The manual ends with a 20-page index, leaving no doubt that the authors have made every effort to make the volume as user-friendly as possible.

Nevertheless, some useful information has been omitted. For instance, though the manual lists the steps that must be taken to establish a representative office, it omits contact information for the government bodies involved. A list of these entities and their contact information would be a welcome addition. But perhaps the greatest danger to the usefulness of this volume lies in the frequent legal changes affecting business in China. To overcome this disadvantage, the publishers have included two updates in the price of the book.

--Virginia A. Hulme
Virginia A. Hulme is assistant editor of The CBR.

Taiwan: A New History
Murray A. Rubenstein, editor. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 1999.
520 pp. $69.95 hardcover, $27.95 softcover.

Taiwan: A New History is primarily a socioeconomic textbook covering major issues in Taiwan's history, with a focus on politics and economics. It begins with a discussion of the geography of the island, moves on to Fujian's economic and trade situation during the late Ming Dynasty, discusses Taiwan's colonial status under Dutch and Chinese rule--with a fascinating chapter on Taiwan as a Japanese colony--and ends with several chapters on Nationalist Taiwan. Scattered throughout are chapters on aboriginal politics and Taiwan's literature and religion.

The book locates modern Taiwan's roots in Japan's half-century of colonial rule, devoting nearly half of its analysis to that period. Economics, politics, and trade in the Taiwan region are also explored thoroughly. Focusing primarily on methods of government used by colonial and local rulers, chapters on the pre-Japanese history of the island include an interesting chapter on local families' rise to power and wealth. The information on aboriginal politics is particularly useful, since this topic is rarely addressed in discussions of Taiwan's political climate. But the chapters on religion and literature, though interesting, lie outside the book's general theme of politics, economics, and trade.

While this is not a book that lends itself to cover-to-cover reading, Taiwan: A New History is an excellent resource for those who want to know more about a particular period of Taiwan's history. The most useful chapters for an understanding of modern Taiwan are the ones on aboriginal politics, the Japanese occupation, and the 1996 elections. The clear prose is written for an academic audience, and the information contained therein is exhaustively researched. --Lissa Michalak

Lissa Michalak is the publications assistant at The CBR.

Copyright 1997-2008 by the US-China Business Council
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Last Updated: 2-Jul-99