International expansion offers enticing opportunities and presents formidable challenges. Wherever you are based, whether bank or manufacturer, overseas markets can offer significant opportunities for expansion; and for a captive it’s a natural complement to an international sales and distribution strategy. Cultural and trading differences are generally impediments which hinder progress.
At worst they may bring the whole venture to a gradual, grinding halt. Speed of execution, to establish a new subsidiary as planned, can be critical to support a parent company and ensure the international strategy has the best chance of success.
IAA Directors have extensive contacts internationally, in both mature and developing leasing markets. They have undertaken projects and spent time researching and understanding many Emerging Markets, in particular Eastern Europe, China, Russia and the Middle East. We have provided advice to the Finance Ministries & Central Banks of such markets on the regulatory, legal and tax changes needed to create an effective and efficient leasing market to aid an emerging economy.
Recognising the potential of the Chinese market, IAA has a Director based in Beijing. Don Chan is a highly experienced executive who has been in the Chinese leasing industry since 1997 when he was appointed CEO of a new joint venture leasing company owned by AT&T Capital and two Chinese partners. With a US education and qualifications, Don speaks, Mandarin, Cantonese and English fluently, so he has the skills and sensitivity to build the bridge between Western and Chinese business practices and cultures.
Don Chan, together with other IAA directors with Far East experience, offers a practical approach based on a deep understanding of Chinese regulatory approval processes, the credit environment and lending culture. We can use this to help clients develop competitive funding structures, a critical factor for leasing success in China. We are also advising major financial institutions entering the Equipment Finance Market, both into China and Chinese companies entering western markets.
To enable international expansion, IAA can help its clients in the areas of governance, leasing regulations, and functional excellence in different cultures. This works in many directions: for expansion within Europe; into and out of Europe; and beyond to and from China and other emerging markets.