What to Expect in 2024

MoFo partner Paul McKenzie was quoted in a recent article, “What to Expect in 2024,” published by Practical Law. In the article, practitioners from top-tier international and domestic firms give their views on the major legal developments they foresee in China in 2024 and how these developments could impact the business community going forward.

When asked if the environment for foreign direct investment (FDI) would improve in China, Paul commented that “2024 will be another challenging year for inbound investment, but perhaps with some new opportunities absent in 2023. Look for further efforts by foreign investment regulators to improve the investment environment for foreign companies, including through the easing of investment restrictions in the telecoms and other sectors, greater transparency in the implementation of data and other regulations, and new investment incentives. These efforts may contribute to an uptick of new FDI, especially in life sciences and other less sensitive sectors. Corporate failures in the property and other sectors as the Chinese economy continues to struggle may offer bargains to foreign investors – and we can expect to see continuing efforts both nationally and locally to improve insolvency and bankruptcy processes. Some foreign investors will be drawn back to China as they discover that rebalancing their investment portfolios in favour of SE Asia and other markets outside China is not as easy as expected. At the same time, one should not expect a significant easing of geopolitical headwinds. Aggressive enforcement of national security rules will continue, if less noisily than in 2023. And some foreign investors already in the market will continue to exit, in some cases following restructurings of their businesses.”  

Read the full article.