The China Business Conundrum

Praise for THE CHINA BUSINESS CONUNDRUM “I couldn’t put down this engrossing tale of Chinese government partners manipulating and milking SVB to create local competitors. While most victims of this all-too-common swindle quietly slink away, Ken Wilcox has the humility and moxie to go public with this cautionary tale.” —JAMES McGREGOR, author of One Billion Customers “This account of establishing a bank for start-ups in China simply gallops along with twists and turns and surprises. It’s a salutary tale of how Western assumptions, hopes, and expectations prime companies for failure in the Chinese context. I’m giving copies to all my CEOs, past and present.” —FELDA HARDYMON, MBA Class of 1975 Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School, emeritus; Partner emeritus, Bessemer Venture Partners “The inside story of how Silicon Valley Bank stumbled in China.” — DAVID BARBOZA, co-founder of The Wire: China, former two-time Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times columnist “Ken Wilcox is uniquely qualified to offer insights on doing business in China. In particular, his admonitions about the Chinese Communist Party and its ability to control everything it touches are chilling. As the author of The China Business Conundrum, Ken will bring you to understand that you are most at risk when you come to believe that you have a full grasp of your situation. In all probability, You are not even close! Read it once and then read it again!” — ALEX W. “PETE” HART, former CEO of Mastercard International and financial services industry veteran, former Chairman of the Board, Silicon Valley Bancshares “While working in China, banking executive Ken Wilcox kept his eyes open and became deeply skeptical about the CCP’s willingness to actually collaborate with foreign businesses.…