How to invest in China: Omron's experience in the Chinese economic area

This article broadly outlines some of the challenges and problems Omron faced after entering the Chinese market. Although Omron had maintained contact with Chinese businesses for several years, we did not establish our own facilities in the region until 1987, when we decided to set up a temporary office in Beijing following the success of a control components exhibition we had held in several Chinese cities the year before. I have focused in particular on the four-year period following 1991, the year in which Omron inaugurated its China Division and set up its first factory in the region, as this interval effectively spans what can be called Omron's ‘first phase’ of strategic operations in the Chinese Economic Area and offers the reader a broad insight to Omron's rationale behind the move as well as a description of our experiences.