CITD Seminar - Doing Business in Asia

The Pacific Rim countries represent an enormous market for US companies but are often difficult to penetrate because of competitive and cultural barriers. Several presenters will join as a panel to provide expert advice on how US companies can succeed in the Asian market, including Japan and China. The panel moderator will be Keith Rayner of Kemarra, Inc. There will be a panel question and answer session and adequate time for networking before and after the presentations.

This seminar is one of a nine-part seminar series on international business and is supported by the US Department of Commerce and the Small Business Association.

Date: Wednesday June 16th 2004
Location: USDoC, 250 Montgomery Street, 14th floor, San Francisco CA 94104
Time 8:45 am - 1:00 pm

Click on the highlighted links for the presentation download.

08:45 - 09:15 Registration and Networking
09:15 - 09:25 Introductions
09:25 - 10:10 Philip Parker, PJParker & Co. - Market entry into Japan with particular reference to the telecom and high-tech sectors
10:10 - 10.30 Adam Schorr, Coudert Brothers LLP - new regulatory developments in doing business in China
10:13 - 11:00 Kevin Ban, Coudert Brothers LLP - joint ventures and corporate structures in China
t11:00 - 11:30 break
11:30 - 12:15 Peter Purushotma, Doing business in Singapore and other Pacific Rim and Asian countries
12:15 - 12:30 panel discussions and questions
12:30 - 13:00 Networking

The panel moderator will be Keith Rayner of Kemarra, Inc.

Speaker Bios

Dr. Philip Parker
With more than 14 years experience in the telecommunications and high tech industries, Philip Parker founded P. J. Parker & Co. in 2001. Under his leadership the company has grown and prospered, even in the recent telecommunications industry downturn. P. J. Parker & Co. currently represents many leading companies entering Japan, including Sylantro Systems, Chiaro Networks, Netrake, and Optibase.
Before founding the company, he established a number of high tech and telecommunication ventures in Japan, including the North Asia office of Project Oxygen, a global undersea fiber optic telecommunications cable company. Additionally, he was a co-founder and director of systemsGo, a leading IT systems integration firm based in Tokyo whose clients include many leading international businesses.
He also worked as a management consultant for Arthur D. Little and A. T. Kearney in almost all of the countries of East Asia helping clients finance telecommunication infrastructure projects, bid on mobile licenses, devise corporate strategy, and evaluate new technologies. His earlier career was with the telecommunications equipment company Alcatel. Dr. Parker holds a PhD in engineering from the Australian National University and has studied at the Osaka University of Foreign Studies and at the Kyoto University in Japan. He also speaks Japanese fluently.

Adam W. Schorr
Adam Schorr is a lawyer in the Corporate Department of the Los Angeles office of Coudert Brothers LLP. He is a member of Coudert Brothers' China Group and has represented public and private companies in a range of transactions in China. Mr. Schorr received his Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Cultures, and his JD from the University of California, Los Angeles. Mr. Schorr also teaches China Business Law at USC and UCLA law schools. He is a member of the California Bar. He can be reached at aschorr@coudert.com or 213-229-2918.

Kevin K. Ban
Kevin Ban is a lawyer in the Corporate Department of the Palo Alto office of Coudert Brothers LLP. He is a member of Coudert Brothers' China Group and has been involved in joint ventures in China as well as other cross-border transactions involving China. Mr. Ban received his BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance from the University of California, Berkeley, and his JD with distinction from the University of Iowa. He is a member of the California Bar. He can be reached at kban@coudert.com or 650-739-2812.

Coudert Brothers LLP – the Firm
Coudert Brothers LLP is an international law firm that has for more than 150 years pioneered the practice of commercial law for the international community. Coudert is a worldwide partnership of more than 650 lawyers in 29 offices in 18 countries. Coudert's mission is providing the highest quality legal advice throughout the world, with an efficiency and innovation our clients need to succeed in our rapidly evolving global economy. Coudert, the first foreign law firm to enter the China market, is celebrating 25 years in the People’s Republic of China this year. For further information, please go to www.coudert.com.

Peter Purushotma
Peter is Singaporean Indian, who has varied International Industry experience with extensive personal relationships in Australia, Asia-Pacific and the United States with Cxx and Board level personnel. He is Founding Board Member of Singapore American Business Association. in California.
Peter played a Strategic Role in leveraging Singapore’s unique assets for India through Far East Computers of Singapore in Singapore/Australia and HCL of India in India/USA.
As a Founding Director of Far East Computers in Singapore and Australia he visioned and implemented Strategic Partnerships and Joint Ventures with US companies including: Oracle, Sybase, Apollo, Banyan, Sequent, and Storage Technology. He conceived and implemented winning strategies for their Asia Pacific Markets.
Mr Purushotma is Advisor to the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) for its IT Summit in California, Advisor to National University of Singapore in Silicon Valley Program, and is Founder/Board Advisor to several Silicon Valley and Singapore start-ups. He was President of Advanced Technologies, HCL-America and is advisor to the Chairman of Headstrong Inc.
Peter's studies include an Executive MBA at Stanford University (America), Advanced Management Program at Ivrea (Italy), and Applied Chemistry and Education at University of Tasmania (Australia)

Keith Rayner, Kemarra Inc.
Keith Rayner is Managing Director of Kemarra Inc, an international business development consultancy specializing in the ICT and Life Sciences sectors. The company represents both US companies wishing to expand abroad, and foreign companies wishing to establish themselves in the US. The company is based in San Francisco, next to Silicon Valley, and is ideally situated to help companies establish themselves in this important high-tech region. Kemarra also works with its network of partners abroad (including P. J. Parker and Co. in Japan) to ensure the success of US companies in their move abroad.
Mr. Rayner started his international career in London, working on the commodity and stock markets. A move abroad to New York saw consultancy work on Wall Street with Goldman, Sachs & Co., and Citibank. He then broadened his international experience with four years in Berlin, Germany, and five years in Paris, France, consulting for a number of companies in the financial and IT sectors. With fluency in both German and French, he then represented a US software product company in sales and marketing to European multinational telecommunication companies, overseeing a number of projects in different countries. Keith then returned to the US, transitioning full-time to product marketing for several US software firms.
As founder of Kemarra Inc. Mr Rayner is keenly aware of the factors that determine the success of a move into a new market abroad, and can help companies avoid many of the pitfalls that await the unwary.
Keith has a BSc in Psychology from Reading University in the UK, a Diploma in Medical Sciences from the University of Central England, and the "Grosses Deutsches Sprachdiplom", specialist subject Economics, from the Goethe Institute in Germany. Kemarra Inc. can be found at www.kemarra.com.