Behind the name lies a tall tale

What's in a name? Plenty - and the bard, if he were alive and in China, may well agree, looking at foreign companies in the mainland.

There was a time when they would adopt posh-sounding Chinese equivalents of their names to make a deep impression on the Chinese consumer mind. That was key to their mystique, pull, image and the perception that they were exalted, different.

Maybe not anymore. Take McDonald's. Known for its iconic golden arches, the company recently changed its corporate name (which appears in legal documents) to Jin Gong Men. That may sound like a transliteration of golden arches, if a bit unfashionable (in the eyes of millions of Chinese netizens).