As China and Central Asian countries continue to strengthen cooperation in areas of economy, trade and investment, an increasing number of Chinese law firms are choosing to set up shop in Central Asia.
Under the “Belt and Road Initiative” framework, Central Asian countries and China have scaled new heights in economic, trade, investment and financial cooperation. At present, more than 1,000 Chinese-funded enterprises are in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, while that figure exceeds 300 in Tajikistan.
The governments of Kazakhstan and China are forming 55 joint ventures worth a total of USD 28 billion. Astana, Kazakhstan’s capital, established the Astana International Financial Center in 2015 and is actively promoting the development of the first offshore RMB market in Central Asia. Further, Astana has set up the Astana International Exchange jointly with the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and the “Belt and Road” board is expected to come live at the end of this year.
“As China deepens cooperation with Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, to further facilitate corporate investment activities, more and more Chinese law firms are setting up offices in Central Asia,” said Zang Jiemei, managing partner of the Almaty Office of DeHeng Law Offices.
William Wu, chairman of Duan & Duan, stressed that the most important reason for Chinese firms to venture into Central Asia is to follow the steps of Chinese businesses and “safeguard” their investment activities in countries along the “Belt and Road” route.
Both partners said that, currently, Chinese firms prefer Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as the locations for their offices in Central Asia from which they can reach out to the entire region.
At present, Beijing Rus Law Firm, Dentons, DeHeng Law Offices are among the Chinese firms that have set up offices in Kazakhstan, while Duan & Duan and Yingke Law Firm are some of the firms that have opened branches in Uzbekistan. Grandall Law Firm has a special Central Asian Law Research Center. Last year, its lawyers went to Almaty for a field trip and established partnership with Kazakhstan’s Grata Law Firm. Based in Xinjiang, Grandall’s Urumqi office deals with matters relating to Central Asia.
SURGING DEMAND
An important economy in the Eurasian region, Kazakhstan has launched a series of policy measures aimed at revitalizing its economy, and is actively attracting foreign investment and working hard to expand exports. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Kazakhstan, the two countries have frequently exchanged high-level leadership visits, building deep mutual political trust and in-depth economic integration and expanding pragmatic cooperation in various fields. “In this context, law firms can effectively help Chinese companies expand their markets by entering Kazakhstan, to achieve a win-win outcome for both businesses and law firms,” said Zang.
As another cornerstone country of the “Belt and Road Initiative”, Uzbekistan has been the fastest growing economy in Central Asia since 2017. At present, Sino- Uzbekistan relations are also at their best, with efforts underway to comprehensively promote mutually beneficial cooperation and strategic coordination. “China is also Uzbekistan’s largest trading partner and the largest source of foreign investment. Chinese companies are increasingly coming to Uzbekistan to invest, which is bound to drive greater demand for higher quality legal services,” commented Zang.
Do you have to set up an office in Central Asia to serve clients there? Wu believed that the answer was affirmative if one looks at the trend of internationalisation of Chinese lawyers, the strategic positioning of his firm Duan & Duan, and the operating cost and revenue of its offices.
“In serving our clients, we have found that if we engage in ‘peer-to-peer’ cooperation with a local lawyer on a project basis, not only the personnel cost but also the cost of communication will be very high for each project. On the other hand, if we convert such cost into investment, establishing permanent presence locally is the most cost-effective solution,” said Wu. “As business in the region continues to grow, the need to establish offices in Central Asia becomes more urgent.”
For Chinese companies investing and trading in Central Asia, their usual legal service needs include investment and project development, cross-border acquisitions and mergers, establishment of companies, real estate, labour and employment, finance and financing, agency contracts, capital markets, etc.
CHALLENGES AHEAD
“Central Asian countries are very much like China in the early years of reform and opening up in the 1980s, with planned economy still playing a big role in many places,” commented Wu. At present, Kazakhstan and China are actively aligning each other’s new economic policy of “Bright Road Initiative” and “Belt and Road Initiative”. However, at the economic level, Central Asian countries are still relatively behind, with a high level of arbitrariness in law enforcement and even corruption and local protectionism. “Compliance is the primary concern for Chinese companies investing in Central Asia.”
With nearly 14 years of practice in Central Asia, Zang has a deep understanding of the differences in the legal, economic, political and cultural aspects between the countries of Central Asia and China. “The other risks that Chinese companies often face include: restricting market entry, setting up trade barriers, protecting the employment of the host country, and protecting the natural ecological environment. The different focuses of laws and regulations have resulted in legal conflicts. Having an objective and comprehensive appreciation of these differences in cross-cultural management will help Chinese firms formulate reasonable development strategies to better safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises and the realisation of their business goals,” said Zang.
Language is another issue that Chinese lawyers have encountered in Central Asia. “There is still a shortage of top legal talents who understand Chinese law and speak both good Russian and English.” shared Wu.
“The management of cross-cultural conflicts is not to be underestimated, such as national pride, differences in management philosophy, cross-cultural communication difficulties, business management and taboos etc.” Zang also emphasised the leading role of Chinese lawyers in helping clients effectively avoid possible risks.
布局中亚
随着中国与中亚国家在经贸、投资等领域合作不断加 强，越来越多的中国律所选择到中亚设立办公室。
“一带一路”倡议框架下，中亚国家与中国在经贸、投资、金融合作等领域展现新气象。目前，在哈萨克斯坦和乌兹别克斯坦的中资企业分别已有1000多家，在塔吉克斯坦则已超300家。
哈萨克斯坦与中国政府正在组建55家合资企业，总价值280亿美元。其首都阿斯塔纳在2015年成立阿斯塔纳国际金融中心，目前正积极推进中亚地区首个离岸人民币市场建设，并与上海证券交易所共同成立阿斯塔纳国际交易所，预计今年年底设立“一带一路”板。
“随着中国与俄哈乌吉合作日益密切，为进一步促进企业的投资活动，越来越多的中国律所选择到中亚设立办公室。”德恒律师事务所阿拉木图办公室管理合伙人臧洁妹律师指出。
段和段律师事务所总所主席吴坚律师强调，中国律所走进中亚的最关键原因是跟随中国企业的步伐，为中国企业在“一带一路”沿线国家的投资活动“保驾护航”。
两位合伙人均表示，哈萨克斯坦和乌兹别克斯坦是目前中国律所在中亚设办公室的首选，据此可辐射整个中亚地区。
目前，北京罗斯律师事务所、大成律师事务所、德恒律师事务所等中国律所在哈萨克斯坦设立办公室，段和段律师事务所、盈科律师事务所等在乌兹别克斯坦设立办公室。国浩律师事务所设有专门的中亚法律研究中心，去年曾到阿拉木图实地考察，也与哈萨克斯坦的格拉塔律师事务所建立合作关系，其乌鲁木齐办公室定位即立足新疆、辐射中亚。
需求激增
作为欧亚地区重要经济体，哈萨克斯坦推出了一系列旨在振兴本国经济的政策措施，积极吸引外资，努力扩大出口。中哈建交以来两国高层频繁互访，政治高度互信、经济深度融合，各领域务实合作不断扩大——“在这样的背景下，律所进驻哈萨克斯坦，能有效帮助中国企业拓展市场，实现共赢合作，” 臧洁妹律师指出。
乌兹别克斯坦作为“一带一路”建设另一重要基石国家，自2017年以来在中亚地区经济发展最快。目前，中乌关系也处于最好时期，互利合作、战略协调全面推进——“中国还是乌兹别克斯坦第一大贸易伙伴国和第一大投资来源国，越来越多的中资企业到乌兹别克斯坦投资，也必然伴生更多和更高质量的法律服务需求，” 臧洁妹律师谈到。
而服务中亚客户一定要在中亚国家设立办公室吗？吴坚律师分别从中国律师国际化发展趋势、段和段自身战略定位、以及办公室运营成本与产出比三方面对该问题予以肯定。
“在服务客户的过程中，我们发现与当地律师就某个项目进行‘点对点’的合作， 不仅每个项目上产生的人员费用高、沟通成本也大，而如果将费用转化成投资，即在当地常设机构则是性价比最优的解决方案，”吴坚律师介绍到，“随着该地区业务的不断增多，在中亚设立分支机构的需求就越迫切。”
在中亚进行投资和商贸活动的中国企业，通常的法律服务需求涉及：投资及项目开发、跨境收购与兼并、公司设立、房地产、劳动用工、金融融资、代理合同、资本市场等等。
存在挑战
“中亚国家很像80年代改革开放的中国， 很多地方带有浓重的计划经济色彩。”吴坚律师感慨道。目前，哈中两国正积极对接新经济政策“光明之路”和“一带一路” 倡议，但从经济层面上讲，中亚国家仍相对落后，法律执行层面上也通常带有很大随意性、甚至还有贪污腐败和地方保护主义现象发生，“合规性，是中国企业投资中亚的首要注意事项。”
臧洁妹律师在中亚地区从事法律执业已近14个年头，对中亚地区国家与我国在法律、经济、政治、文化等方面的差异感触颇深，“中国企业通常面临的风险还包括：限制市场准入、设置贸易壁垒、保护东道国劳工、保障自然生态环境——规制重点不同，存在法律冲突。客观、全面地认识这些跨文化管理差异，有利于中国律所制定合理的发展战略，更好地保障企业合法权益与商业目标的实现，” 臧洁妹律师指出。
语言，是中国律师在中亚碰到的另一个难题。吴坚律师告诉ALB，“目前仍缺乏懂中国法律又会俄语、同时英语也好的高端法律人才。”
“跨文化冲突的管理也不容小觑，其中涵盖：民族优越感、管理思维差异、跨文化沟通困难、商务管理和禁忌差异等，” 臧洁妹律师同时强调中资律师在其间发挥的主导作用，帮助客户切实避免可能存在的风险。
To contact the editorial team, please email ALBEditor@thomsonreuters.com.
