By Zhang Ran (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-11-19 07:27

Not too early, not too late. James Zukin knew well when the time was right to engage the Chinese market.

In the past two years, Zukin, one of the four founders of the firm Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin, spent most of his time in Asia and particularly in China - holding more than 100 meetings to explore the vast array of opportunities.

The Asia chairman of the Wall Street investment bank will soon see his efforts bear fruit.

An office with about 30 staff members will soon begin operation in the capital city, following a Hong Kong office earlier this year, set to open around the New Year, the chairman says.

The establishment of a Beijing office will provide the investment bank access to the headquarters of most large Chinese enterprises, a big advantage in seizing opportunities in increasing numbers of outbound merger and acquisition (M&A) activities.

"Beijing is my favorite city here. There are important business opportunities," Zukin says.

The office will also give the investment bank a more convenient location to build good connections with the Chinese government.

"In the past few months, we have had a series of talks and exchanges with Chinese regulators," Zukin says. The interaction included inviting officials from the State-owned Asset Supervision and Administration Commission to Los Angels, as well as holding New York seminars for China's securities regulators to interpret the nation's new M&A rules and speaking at China Banking Regulatory Commission's inaugural seminar held in Beijing as one of three international advisors.

Houlihan Lokey's global business focuses on four sectors: providing financial advice on mergers and acquisitions, offering fairness opinions, organizing financial restructuring and in financing. The company ranked as the No 1 M&A advisor for US transactions under $1 billion in 2006, according to Thomson Financial. It is also the No 1 M&A fairness opinion advisor.

Unlike its Wall Street rivals Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley that have been active in China's offshore initial public offerings, Zukin says the company will not be involved in share trading in China, though the country's stock market surged 130 percent last year and almost doubled this year.

"Our business in China will focus on the merger and acquisition side, particularly on serving Chinese companies in outbound investments. Providing fairness opinions will be another focus," he says.

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