Managing The Dragon

Note to MTD Followers: In the course of its daily activities, JFP Holdings, Ltd. gains first-hand insights into various aspects of China’s economy. Until now, these findings have been reserved for internal use only. However, in order to promote a greater understanding of China and its economy, JFP Holdings has decided to make its proprietary […]

How many times is a trillion dollar industry created? Not very often. After all, a trillion of anything is a very large number. To put it in perspective, only the largest 15 countries in the world had a Gross Domestic Product greater than $1 trillion in 2013. However, no less an authority than McKinsey & […]

  By now, many people have heard of Chip Starnes, the 42-year-old CEO of Florida-based Specialty Medical Supplies, who was held for six days against his will in the company’s suburban Beijing factory. Starnes has appeared on CNBC Squawk Box, Bloomberg and countless other news shows, and the story of his “detainment” has been covered […]

Last week, it was announced that New China Life Insurance Co., a state-backed insurer that is partially owned by Zurich Financial Service AG and is the third-largest life insurance company in China, may raise up to $2.3 billion in an initial public offering in Hong Kong and Shanghai. China Life, Ping An and China Pacific, […]

Why is China’s Bright Food Group interested in GNC Holdings, the U.S. vitamin chain? That’s what Louise Lucas of the Financial Times wanted to know. Several months ago, Shanghai-based Bright Foods was in discussions to buy United Biscuits of the U.K., but its interest now seems to have shifted to the potential $2.5 billion acquisition […]

Now that President Barack Obama has signed into law his “historic” health care legislation, millions of Americans are trying to figure out what the new law actually means to them. Some got their answer immediately. Even before President Obama signed the bill on Tuesday, Caterpillar said it would cost the company at least $100 million […]

My apologies to MTD followers and to those who have written regarding opportunities at JFP Holdings as a result of the recent New York Times article.  I left China on August 12 and have spent most of my time since at Shadyside Memorial Hospital, one of the many fine hospitals that comprise the University of […]

One of my consistent messages regarding China is that, even though the country’s economy is already the third largest in the world, it is still in an embryonic stage of development. The most casual observer will readily note that many product, technology and service gaps exist in the country today, each representing a potentially exciting […]