IE Programme Paper: IE PP 2010/04

The ‘Marco Polo’

Effect: Chinese FDI in
Italy
Carlo Pietrobelli
Senior Economist, Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), Washington D.C. and
Professor of Economics, CREI, University of Roma Tre

Roberta Rabellotti
Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Università del Piemonte Orientale

Marco Sanfilippo
Research Assistant, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University
Institute, Florence

February 2010

The views expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not
necessarily reflect the view of Chatham House, its staff, associates or Council. Chatham House
is independent and owes no allegiance to any government or to any political body. It does not
take institutional positions on policy issues. This document is issued on the understanding that if
any extract is used, the authors and Chatham House should be credited, preferably with the date
of the publication.
IE PP 2010/04: The ‘Marco Polo’ Effect: Chinese FDI in Italy

KEY POINTS

• The study investigates the motivations driving Chinese outward direct

investment in Italy. The analysis is based on secondary sources and
in-depth interviews with key informants and senior managers of
Chinese affiliates in Italy.

• The empirical analysis shows that the evolution of the Chinese

pattern of entry to Italy is in line with the model followed by Chinese
firms for direct investment in other European countries: starting with
small-scale operations in trade-related activities, and evolving
towards the acquisition of tangible and intangible resources deemed
necessary to increase the Chinese presence in international markets
and, more generally, to upgrade its technological and production
capacities.

• Chinese investments in Italy are increasingly targeting the acquisition

of design and brands in key Italian sectors of specialization, and
technological capabilities in sectors such as metalworking.

• Chinese multinational enterprises also are investing in Italy to get

access to local competitive advantages in sectors such as automotive
and home appliances. This location choice is clearly linked to the
intention to tap local competences available at the cluster level.
Welcome to the new Word template for Chatham House
miscellaneous papers such as working papers and transcripts.

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IE PP 2010/04: The ‘Marco Polo’ Effect: Chinese FDI in Italy

Introduction
China is clearly a latecomer as a global investor: the stock of its outward
foreign direct investments (FDI) accounts for less than 1 per cent of world FDI
stock, and lags behind the world average in terms of ratio to gross domestic
product (GDP) (UNCTAD, 2009). Nevertheless, the very rapid increase in
Chinese investments abroad, which rose from US$ 5.5 billion in 2004 to
nearly US$ 42 billion in 20081 (MOFCOM, 2009), is attracting much interest
from international business scholars and economists as well as the media.

Despite the presence of Chinese companies in the developed world being

negligible in absolute quantitative terms, with Europe and North America
receiving respectively 2.8 and 2 per cent of total Chinese FDI2, the focus on
China’s overseas expansion in research conducted in these countries is
strong. The reasons for this are several, and reflect the mix of fears and
hopes from such expansion. Given that the Chinese state is often behind FDI,
there are fears of unfair competition based on the political and financial
support received by the Chinese companies involved, and possible takeovers,
and there is uncertainty about the future survival of companies acquired by
Chinese investors, the impact on employment, and the risk of loss of key
technological capabilities. On the positive side, the input of fresh capital is
very attractive and, in the case of acquisitions, often rescues enterprises
facing financial difficulties.

The mixed expectations related to China’s overseas expansion calls for a

better understanding and knowledge of the strategies of Chinese companies
entering overseas markets to inform what is becoming an increasingly
relevant debate. Although this topic is becoming fashionable in international
business studies3, the empirical evidence on Chinese FDI in European
countries is quite limited and relates mainly to the UK (Burghart and Rossi,
2009; Cross and Voss, 2008; Liu and Tian, 2008) and Germany (Schüller and
Turner, 2005; Schüler-Zhou and Schüller, 2009). This paper contributes by
analysing the case of Italy.

1 The official data are from MOFCOM’s Statistical Bulletin of China’s Outward Foreign Direct
Investment, first published in 2003. These statistics underestimate the real value of investments
because they do not include the financial sector and are based on the value arising from approval
procedures rather than the effective value of bids (thus excluding non-approved investments and
private transactions not formally recorded). In addition, these data do not account for most M&A
activity since this is often financed through foreign banks and thus not recorded in Chinese
balance-of-payments information. Notwithstanding these limitations, MOFCOM data represent
the most up-to-date source of information on Chinese FDI, disaggregated by destination country
and sector.
2 The largest part of Chinese FDI goes to Asia, mainly Hong Kong, which absorbs more than half
of the country’s total stock.
3 See, e.g., the books by Alon and McIntyre (2008), Alon et al. (2009) and Larçon (2009) and a
Special Issue of Industrial and Corporate Change on ‘The Internationalization of Chinese and
Indian Firms’ (Athreye and Kapur, 2009).

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IE PP 2010/04: The ‘Marco Polo’ Effect: Chinese FDI in Italy

Based on new and original empirical evidence collected via in-depth

interviews with key informants and senior managers of Chinese affiliates
located in Italy, we present a picture of Chinese investment in Italy, exploring
its characteristics in terms of size, choice of location, sector of specialization
and activities undertaken. We address the following research questions: What
motivates Chinese companies to invest in Italy? What are the chosen types of
entry modes?

In our analysis, we discover that what is happening today mirrors what

happened centuries ago, but in the opposite direction. Marco Polo, the
famous Venetian traveller, visited China in the thirteenth century and lived
there for over a decade. He was astonished by the level of civilization
achieved and brought back important scientific and technological discoveries
such as the use of the compass, money and coal. In recent years, Chinese
enterprises appear to be interested in discovering and assimilating the
original knowledge being developed in the Italian economy, frequently related
to design-intensive, high-quality productions.

In terms of stock, Italy is ranked seventh among the countries of Europe

(excluding Russia). It is an especially interesting case for analysis because of
the peculiarity of its economic system, which shares some features of the
Chinese economy: strong presence of small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) specialized in ‘traditional’ industries (Amighini and Chiarlone, 2005).

The paper is organized as follows. Section 2 provides a review of the

literature on the motivations behind Chinese FDI, Section 3 gives some
background information on Italy as a location for FDI, Section 4 focuses on
Chinese FDI in Italy and explores motivations and entry strategies, and
Section 5 concludes.

2 Motivations for Chinese FDI

Much of the work that investigates the motivations for FDI refer to the four
categories identified out by Dunning (1993): natural resource-seeking;
defensive (to secure a position into a market) and offensive (to invest into
new markets) market-seeking; strategic asset-seeking (to acquire
technologies, managerial capabilities, brands, distribution channels and other
tacit assets); and efficiency-seeking (to exploit economies of scale and scope
and/or to secure access to cheaper input factors, especially labour).

In the 2006 World Investment Report, UNCTAD identifies market-, efficiency-

and natural resource-seeking as the most relevant motives for FDI from

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emerging countries to less developed destinations, and market- and strategic

asset-seeking as the main attractors in developed countries (UNCTAD,
2006).

Natural resource-seeking has been the main motivation for Chinese FDI since
the country started to invest abroad and its importance has risen with the
country’s exceptional economic growth. Chinese MNEs have targeted
resource-rich developing countries in Africa and Latin America, to satisfy the
country’s ‘hunger’ for natural resources (Trinh et al., 2006). Most Chinese FDI
in Africa is by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) searching for unexplored
reserves, often tying investments to government aid programmes (Cai, 1999;
Kaplinsky and Morris, 2009), especially in politically risky domestic
environments (e.g. Sudan, Angola and Zimbabwe). In some cases SOEs,
enjoying access to cheaper capital and relying on longer-term strategies than
their rivals, identify risky investments with the opportunity to achieve high
rates of return, rather than seeing the volatile political conditions of some
African countries as a constraint (Alden and Davies, 2006).

Chinese market seeking investments are common in both developing and

developed countries. One of the main reasons for market seeking
investments is excessive competition in the domestic market, based on the
large number of foreign MNEs entering and investing in China. This has
caused profit margins to fall and resulted in overcapacity in some mature
industries, such as textiles and clothing, pushing Chinese firms to find new
markets overseas by establishing local sales and distribution centres, but also
overseas production bases (Chen and Lin, 2006; OECD, 2008). In some
cases, market-seeking investments also reflect a strategy of taking advantage
of preferential access to the developed-country market (e.g. investments in
Turkey aimed at the EU market, and investments in Sub-Saharan African
countries to enjoy preferential treatment from developed markets in textiles)
(OECD, 2008; Kaplinsky and Morris, 2009).

In developed countries, access to markets remains one of the main

motivations for investment. Liu and Tian’s (2008) survey of Chinese
investments in the UK confirms that Chinese companies see seeking market
share in EU markets as one of the main criteria for internationalization; and
Cross and Voss (2008) highlight an interesting time pattern related to Chinese
FDI. They show that in the earlier stages, Chinese investments were mainly
defensive market-seeking (i.e. FDI following trade) as firms set up foreign
affiliates in order to serve their customers better and to increase customer
loyalty, while for later entrants (after 2000) they were aimed at raising

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company profiles in a large market where growth potential for their companies
had been identified (i.e. trade following FDI).

The other main attractor of Chinese firms to developed countries is access to

technology, know-how, managerial and marketing skills, established brands
and reputation. Evidence from the UK confirms that the need to acquire new
and advanced management skills and the need to tap into pools of knowledge
are key reasons for Chinese internationalization (Cross and Voss, 2008).
Further empirical evidence of these motivations is provided by case-studies
on the white goods sector (Bonaglia et al., 2007) and on well known Chinese
MNEs such as Haier, Lenovo, BOE and TCL (Li, 2007; Liu and Buck, 2009).

The intensification of cross-border merger and acquisition (M&A) activities by

Chinese companies is confirmation of the importance of the strategic asset
seeking motivation. As new international players, Chinese firms generally
carry out cross-border M&A primarily to speed up acquisition and control of
strategic assets. Based on case studies on companies such as Lenovo,
Huawei, Haier and TCL, Deng (2009) and Rui and Yip (2008) analyse the
rationale for foreign acquisition activity, emphasizing that it provides a tool to
compensate for competitive disadvantage and is a low-cost way of leveraging
advantages in production capabilities (e.g. in the case of Lenovo) and the
institutional support received for these operations. Rui and Yip (2008) quite
rightly stress the difficulties involved in these operations and the importance
of the culture and management capabilities in their success. Referring to the
well known cases of Lenovo and Huawei, they emphasize that the capacity to
integrate and combine Chinese culture with world class Western
management systems is key to the success of these acquisitions.

Analysing the entry choices of Chinese firms investing abroad, Cui and Jiang
(2009) use survey data on a sample of 138 companies and show
econometrically that wholly-owned subsidiaries are preferred when asset-
seeking motivations prevail and the host industry market is highly competitive,
while joint ventures are chosen to establish first- or early-mover advantages
in high growth foreign markets. Size is also shown to influence entry mode
with large companies more likely to choose wholly-owned subsidiaries, while
joint ventures are preferred as a means to penetrate cultural barriers and
offset regulatory institutional barriers. Using Chery as a case study, Zhang
and Filippov (2009) show that young, dynamic, private companies, lacking
easy access to government support, find it profitable to start their
internationalization through strategic alliances followed by direct investments.

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Still on the choice of the entry mode, Liu and Tian (2008) note that the choice
of a wholly-owned subsidiary contrasts somewhat with mainstream theory
that firms should choose minority equity entry modes in more culturally distant
countries (Kogut and Singh, 1988). Liu and Tian’s survey of Chinese FDI into
the UK shows that sectors matter in determining entry modes: Chinese
subsidiaries in banking and trading sectors are wholly-owned companies,
while affiliates in other sectors choose more diversified entry modes, such as
joint ventures and acquisitions.

The next section addresses Chinese investments in Italy and provides original
evidence on a country that so far has not been researched in detail4.

3 Italy as a location for Chinese FDI

Italy traditionally has not been attractive as a destination for foreign
investment: according to UNCTAD (2008), in 2007 Italy was ranked 31st in
the inward FDI potential index, and 107th for inward FDI performance. The
reasons for this poor performance are many: structural factors such as the
fragmentation of the private sector dominated by small and medium sized
enterprises5, specialization in traditional sectors characterized by low R&D
expenditure, and the large size of the public sector have been suggested as
discouraging foreign investors (OECD, 1994; Committeri, 2004; Bronzini,
2007; Mariotti and Mutinelli, 2009). Other disadvantages include poor
infrastructures, high levels of criminal activity in some areas of the country,
high levels of bureaucracy and rigid labour market regulation (Committeri,
2004; Daniele and Marani, 2008). The ‘Ease of Doing Business’ ranking
produced by the World Bank confirms the persistence of these constraints,
and shows that Italy dropped from 59th position in 2008 to 65th in 2009 owing
to a worsening in workers’ employment regulation, more lengthy property
registration and procedures, and the greater time and costs involved in
obtaining construction permits (World Bank, 2009).

In terms of attractions, the results of a survey conducted by the Bank of Italy

on foreign investors stress the importance of the size of the domestic market
and the lower labour costs relative to other EU countries (Committeri, 2004).
Also, a recent empirical analysis shows that strong location advantages linked
to local specialization among agglomerations of firms are attractive to FDI in

4
To the best of our knowledge, there is only one study, by Spigarelli (2009), which is based on
secondary sources and provides on a very general picture of the phenomenon. There are no
analyses of motivations and entry strategies.

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the same sectors (Bronzini, 2007). Italy is specialized in such sectors as

automotive, textiles and clothing, machinery and home appliances, and we
would argue that this specialization may indeed be an attractor for
multinationals from emerging countries, such as China, which are currently
trying to upgrade their production and technological capabilities and build
their own global champions in these industries. This is confirmed by the
increasing presence in Italy of investors from emerging economies in these
sectors highlighted by Mariotti and Mutinelli (2008), based on firm level data
from the ICE-Reprint database.

Focusing on Chinese FDI in Italy within a European perspective, Italy ranks

7th with a share of 4.05%, while Germany and the UK account for more than
50 per cent of the total stock of Chinese FDI in Europe in 2008 (Table 1).
Section 4, based on original empirical evidence, explores the main
internationalization characteristics and strategies of Chinese companies
operating in Italy.

Table 1: Top recipients of Chinese FDI in Europe (excluding Russia)

(US$m)
% of
Flows Flows Flows Flows Flows Flows
Europe Stock
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
(excl. 2008
Russia)
Germany 25.06 27.50 128.74 76.72 238.66 183.41 845.41 25.65
United Kingdom 2.11 29.39 24.78 35.12 566.54 16.71 837.66 25.42
Netherlands 4.47 1.91 3.84 5.31 106.75 91.97 234.42 7.11
France 0.45 10.31 6.09 5.60 9.62 31.05 167.13 5.07
Sweden 0.17 2.64 1.00 5.30 68.06 10.66 157.59 4.78
Spain n.a. 1.70 1.47 7.30 6.09 1.16 145.01 4.40
Italy 0.29 3.10 7.46 7.63 8.1 5 133.60 4.05
Europe (excl. Russia) 114.41 79.90 189.54 128.73 1062.82 480.56 3295.68 ..
World 2854.65 5497.99 12261.17 17633.97 26506.1 55907.2 183970.71 ..
Source: Authors’ elaboration on MOFCOM (2009)

5
According to Committeri (2004), the small size of enterprises reduces the opportunities to
attract M&A which are usually directed towards big companies. Indeed, data from UNCTAD show
that, when considering M&A only, the relative position of Italy reduces further (UNCTAD, 2009).

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4 Chinese FDI in Italy

Data collection
There is no comprehensive database of Chinese companies operating in
Italy. Therefore, our first task was to compile an original database based on
multiple statistical sources, to enable an in-depth study of Chinese FDI in
Italy. The data sources used are FDI Markets, previously called Locomonitor,
now produced by the Financial Times Group which is the leading source of
intelligence on FDI and provides UNCTAD and the World Bank with data.
This database includes information on mode and year of investment,
employment, sector, activity and turnover. We also used the European
Investment Monitor (EIM), or Euromonitor, produced by Ernst and Young on
project investments across Europe, and data on M&A collected in the Zephir
database compiled by Bureau van Dijk. In addition, from 2007 to 2009 we
continuously monitored the specialist business press (including Il Sole 24
Ore, the main Italian economic newspaper, and the Financial Times) to check
for information on new projects. The list of companies in our database was
cross-checked with the assistance of MOFCOM representatives in Milan and
the Association of Chinese Firms in Italy, led by the Bank of China.

We identified 68 Chinese investment projects in Italy, including five ceased

investments and two cases of relocation. The database includes information
on company name and address, parent company name, sector of
specialization, main activity undertaken in Italy, number of employees, total
sales, year of the investment, entry mode and ownership share. Whenever
possible, this information is complemented by additional sources such as
company documentation available on the Internet (including main company
websites in Chinese), research papers and press articles6.

Following construction of our database we conducted several interviews with

key informants and senior managers of Chinese affiliates in Italy, based on a
set of open-ended questions focusing on background information about the
company, its strategies of internationalization, motivations for investment in
Italy and opinions on the Italian business environment.

6
Because of the diverse sources of information, the data were cross-checked to increase the
reliability of our analysis.

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Characteristics of Chinese FDI in Italy

The first Chinese ‘flagship’ investment in Italy was in 1986 when Air China
opened a commercial office in Rome (AT Kearney, 2008). From the mid-
1980s to the end of the 1990s investments were sporadic, and included an
office in Turin of the Nanjing Motor Corporation7, a commercial office for
Cemate Machinery Technology and a branch of the Bank of China in Milan.
The majority of Chinese FDI in Italy occurred after 2000, and represent recent
but rapidly increasing interest. The available information shows that the
majority of Chinese companies located in Italy also have investments in other
European countries8. According to some of our informants, Italy is not the
first choice of most Chinese investors, and the decision to invest in Italy is
usually part of a broader European strategy. Notable exceptions are Haier,
whose location in Italy is strategic for the company, owing to its specialization
in the white goods industry and HG Europe, which is located in Italy because
of its Italian managing director, who has personal links with the Chinese
family owning the Hengdian Group.

In terms of size of investments, data on employment are available for only 52

of the 68 companies. Table 2 shows that most of companies are small or very
small, which is in line with the findings of the survey by Cross and Voss
(2008) in the UK that the majority of Chinese operations have less than 25
employees. Note that, with two exceptions, the few companies that employ
more than 50 people were all established since 19999.

Table 2: Employees in Chinese companies in Italy

1986-94 1995-99 2000-04 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 n.a. Total

<10 3 1 4 1 1 3 .. .. 3 16
11-49 1 2 8 1 3 3 2 2 .. 22
50-99 .. 1 .. 1 1 1 1 1 .. 6
>100 .. 1 4 1 .. .. .. 2 .. 8
Total 4 5 16 4 5 7 3 5 3 52
Source: Authors’ database

With regard to sectoral specialization (Table 3), the main sectors are
household appliances and automotive, both industries in which Italy
traditionally has strong production capabilities and in which China is rapidly

7 This representative office was established in order to manage the relationship with Iveco which
later evolved into a joint venture.
8
We checked for the existence of subsidiaries in other countries in the databases and in the
Chinese websites of the parent companies.

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increasing its competitiveness (Amighini and Chiarlone, 2005). In terms of

number of investments, Transport and Logistics is an important sector owing
to the geographical position of Italy as a hub for Southern Europe. Also, Italy
represents an important market for electronics and telecommunications,
which are other attractive industries for Chinese investors.

Geographically, Chinese investments are strongly concentrated in the North

of Italy (Table 3). The region of Lombardy hosts 34 investments, 15 in the
metropolitan area of Milan. This is the favourite destination of Chinese firms,
reflecting the general attractiveness of the region, which hosts half of total FDI
projects in Italy (Mariotti and Mutinelli, 2009). Milan is particularly attractive to
firms in the service sector. The only Bank of China branch in Italy, established
in 1998, is in Milan, and a second branch is planned for the heart of
Chinatown Milan. Consulting firms set up to assist Chinese companies
wanting to invest in Italy are also present. Among them, since 2007, the
China Milan Equity Exchange (CMEX) operates as sole partner of CBEX
(China Beijing Equity Exchange) in Europe, providing comprehensive advice
on legal, fiscal, financial and organizational issues.

Table 3: Sectoral and geographical distribution of Chinese FDI in Italy

Rest
Lombardy Piedmont Veneto Emilia Lazio of Total
Italy*
White goods 3 1 5 .. .. 1 10
Automotive 1 6 .. .. 1 1 9
Transport and Logistics 3 .. .. .. 1 3 7
Trade services 4 .. .. 1 .. .. 5
Textiles 4 .. .. .. .. .. 4
Electronics 5 .. .. .. 1 .. 6
Telecommunications 1 2 .. .. 2 .. 5
Metal products 3 1 .. .. .. 1 5
Machinery 3 .. .. 1 .. .. 4
Chemical products 2 .. .. 1 .. .. 3
Financial services 2 .. .. .. .. .. 2
Others** 3 .. 2 1 1 1 8
Total 34 10 7 4 6 7 68
Source: Authors’ database
* Campania, Liguria, Marche, Tuscany and Basilicata
** Bicycles, Jewellery, Toys, Plastics, Food and Tobacco, and a diversified group

The second most important region of Italy for attracting Chinese FDI is
Piedmont. Owing to its traditional manufacturing specialization in the
automotive sector, most Chinese investments are in this industry.
Investments in other regions are based on different sectors of specialization,

9
For 22 companies, data on revenues and assets are available from the AIDA database and
confirm the small size of Chinese companies in Italy.

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such as household appliances, more precisely white goods in Veneto,

machinery in Emilia Romagna and logistics in Campania and Liguria.

We can obtain some interesting insights from the disaggregation of

investments by main activity (Table 4). Whereas in the past the prevailing
activity was establishment of sales and marketing offices, there has been a
recent increase in activities such as manufacturing and R&D. This is in line
with what has happened in other European countries (Hay et al., 2009). And
information from key informants shows that traditional trade-related
investments are evolving towards more advanced services, such as the
search for new markets and the acquisition of new brands.

Table 4: Chinese FDI in Italy, by activity*

1986-
1995-99 2000-04 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 n.a. Total
94
Sales and Marketing 5 4 11 2 2 4 2 3 5 38
Manufacturing .. .. 8 2 1 3 1 2 .. 17
Headquarters .. 1 1 .. 1 .. .. .. .. 3
R&D .. .. .. .. 1 3 .. .. .. 4
Logistics and Distribution 1 1 1 .. 1 .. .. .. 2 6
Total 6 6 21 4 6 10 3 5 7 68
Source: Authors’ database
*Classification based on Sturgeon (2008)

Chinese investment in Italy has experienced a gradual evolution in entry

mode. The first wave of investments in representative offices was
characterized mainly by small-scale greenfield investments; this has
developed to larger greenfield investments directed to activities such as R&D
and marketing. Since 2000 there has been an increase in M&A activity
including the acquisition of the motorcycle manufacturers Benelli by
Quianjiang, acquisition of Meneghetti and Elba by Haier, and the takeover of
Cifa (specialized in the production of machinery for the building sector) by
Zoomlion, which so far is the largest acquisition in Italy and the second
largest in Europe (Table 5).

On the basis of the empirical evidence collected, Chinese FDI in Italy present
some interesting characteristics in terms of sector specialization, location and
recent evolution with regard to activities undertaken and mode of entry. In the
next section, we investigate the main motivations behind Chinese
investments in Italy, exploiting original empirical evidence collected in in-
depth interviews with selected companies.

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Table 5: Main M&A operations by Chinese firms in Italy

Size Stake
Year Target Acquirer Sector
(employees) (%)
2001 Meneghetti Haier White goods 100 100
2004 Wilson Wenzhou Hazan Textiles n.a. 90
2005 Benelli Quianjiang Automotive 100 100
2006 Elios Feidiao Electrics White goods 54 n.a.
2007 HPM Europe Spa Hunan Sunward Intelligent Machinery Machinery 6 51
2007 Omas srl Xinyu Hengdeli Holdings Luxury goods 48 90
2008 Cifa Changsha Zoomlion Machinery 70 60
2009 Elba Haier White goods 150 20
Source: Authors’ database

Why are Chinese companies investing in Italy?

Chinese investments in Europe reflect a sustained effort to enter competitive
European markets and get access to superior technologies, know-how and
competence (Filippov and Saebi, 2008; Hay et al., 2009; Nicolas, 2009). Our
research on Italy confirms that the main motivations for Chinese investments
in the country are the search for new markets and other trade-related
activities (market-seeking), and the search for strategic assets.

Market-seeking investments

With regard to market-seeking investments, since Italy is the seventh largest

economy in the world, it represents an important market for foreign investors.
For instance, in a sector such as telecommunications, Italy boasts one of the
highest rates of mobile penetration in Europe. Huawei has established three
subsidiaries in Italy: in Rome, Milan and Turin, where a centre for product
design, development and testing has recently been established. The size and
potential of the market has been highlighted as the most important factor
affecting Huawei’s decision to invest in Italy.

Beyond the size of the market, Chinese companies consider Italian

consumers to be demanding and particularly sophisticated. Therefore, in
sectors such as home appliances the Italian market is seen as a test market
for products adapted to European tastes. The location in Italy is strategic in
terms of taste and feedback on products.

The predominance of market-seeking investments is confirmed by Table 4,

which shows that 38 projects are in market-related activities, such as trade-
supporting services or marketing offices. Some of these investments have
been established to serve customers better and to strengthen loyalty, in other

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words ‘following trade’. This is the case for the state owned trading company,
Temax, which opened an import-export office in Milan in 1991.

The ‘trade-following’ category includes more recent investments such as the

opening in 2008 of a sales office in Milan by Suntech Power Holdings, the
world's largest photovoltaic module manufacturer. One year after entering the
European market by establishing a headquarters in the UK, Suntech invested
in Italy. It was motivated by the large growth potential offered by the Italian
market, sustained by the economic incentives provided by government.
Similarly, Hisense, a large company producing home appliances, invested in
Italy to strengthen the company’s position in Europe, improve product image
and promote the brand.

Some important investments in the logistic sectors are also aimed at

supporting trade. With the rise in Chinese exports, the main logistic
companies have begun to invest in Europe, initially searching for joint
ventures and strategic alliances with local enterprises, while establishing
representative offices through greenfield investments. Having acquired new
capabilities and market power, Chinese companies are keen to strengthen
their positions by acquiring European companies and investing in new
infrastructure projects (Hay et al., 2009). This pattern applies to Chinese
investments in the Italian logistics sector: COSCO (China Ocean Shipping
Group) and China Shipping Company, both of which are in the top ten world
shipping companies, have invested heavily in Italy.

Haier’s and China’s interest in Italian industrial districts

The case of Haier in the white goods sector is of particular interest because of
its multiple investments in Italy, driven by market-seeking and strategic asset-
seeking motivations. Haier is the world’s second largest producer after
Whirlpool, and first entered the Western market as an own equipment
manufacture (OEM) exporter; in 2000 Haier Europe was established in
Varese to coordinate the sales and marketing of Haier products across 13
European countries (Duysters et al., 2009). In 2003, Haier made its first
acquisition in Europe buying Meneghetti, a refrigerator producer in Padua and
in 2009 it acquired Elba, which produces cooking appliances in Veneto.
These acquisitions were motivated on the one hand by the need to overcome
EU tariff barriers and on the other by the requirement to improve the capacity
to design, develop and manufacture products suitable for the European
market, and for the high end of the Chinese import market (Liu and Li, 2002).
The intention to acquire knowledge and managerial capacity was behind the
decision to locate its headquarters in Varese, given the area’s strong tradition

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in white goods manufacture. Varese is home to important companies such as

Philips and Whirlpool, and many other firms specialized in components and
intermediary phases. The agglomeration of many specialized firms generates
positive externalities, arising from the presence of a pool of specialized
workers and suppliers and by specialized knowledge on markets and
technologies. These agglomeration advantages attracted Haier and
influenced its decision to establish its European headquarters there. This is
confirmed by Bonaglia et al. (2007), according to whom one of the lessons
emerging from leading white goods manufacturers is that success depends
as much on firms’ internal resources as it does on the collective efficiency of
the clusters in which they operate and are embedded. In fact the choice of an
off-shore location is driven both by demand and cost considerations, and by
the presence of suppliers of specialized components.

Huawei followed a similar pattern to Haier, although Italy is less central in its
European strategy. Having started out as a distributor for global MNEs in the
Chinese market, Huawei based its globalization strategy first on neighbouring
countries before entry into Russia and Africa. It extension to more
sophisticated markets is designed to raise its international profile (Simmons,
2008). Since 2000, the company has set up several high value-added
activities including R&D, training and design, in several European countries
including Sweden, the Netherlands, France and Germany, and has
established its regional headquarters in the UK. In Italy, Huawei has invested
for market-seeking reasons, to raise its profile and strengthen its brand, and
also with the aim of conducting research and product development activities
in its recently established research centre in Turin.

Chinese FDI in the automotive sector and the search for design and
technological competences

China is investing intensively in the automotive industry, in which Italy has a

long tradition. Thanks to rapidly increasing internal demand and to technology
transferred from the world’s leading manufacturers, producing in China and
subcontracting parts and components to domestic suppliers, the Chinese
automotive sector has grown very rapidly although it has still to achieve full
technological maturity (Amighini, 2008). Chinese automobile manufacturers
have begun to produce vehicles under their own brands, strengthening their
capabilities through specialization in niche markets where they do not feel
threatened by competitive pressure from large Western players (Altenburg et
al., 2008). Some Chinese car makers have also started to invest overseas by
acquiring control in established companies (Noble, 2006). An example is the
acquisition of MG Rover by Nanjing, and there are other examples of

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acquisitions in the European market, especially in the UK (Burghart and

Rossi, 2009).

Italy has been targeted by Chinese companies in their search for advanced
technologies and other key competences. The area of Turin, where there is a
specialized automotive cluster concentrating all different phases of the
production process from design to production, has attracted the attention of
two important Chinese companies: Jac Anhui Janghuai and Changan. In
2004 and 2005, the two companies established R&D and design centres in
Turin, where Chinese researchers are working together with their Italian
counterparts in close collaboration with other local specialized firms and local
research institutions. In both cases, the aim is to improve technical know-how,
with a particular emphasis on design skills. Both companies are ‘newcomers’
to the global automotive market and see investment in Italy as a rapid and
efficient way to improve their capabilities in design and product development.
Compared to other possible locations such as Germany or the UK, the Turin
cluster offers the advantages of excellent design skills and a pool of
specialized suppliers for outsourcing a wide range of activities including
engineering, modelling, prototyping and mathematical analysis and
calculation.

Among the motivations for investing in Italy, the companies interviewed

stressed the need to escape the rising competitive pressure in the Chinese
market, which has become overcrowded, given the presence of numerous
global players. Chinese car makers share 25 per cent of their home market,
and have started looking abroad – first exporting, then producing in
developing countries (e.g. in Latin America and East Asia) and, more recently
trying to acquire new strategic assets by investing in more sophisticated
markets. This, however, does not mean that they plan to produce for the
European market in the short run, but rather that they are looking for new
competences to catch up with the global players or pursue specialization in
niche markets.

Brand-seeking FDI

Other relevant strategic asset-seeking investments are those aimed at the

acquisition of well-known brands. This is a strategy followed by many
emerging country MNEs, given the unfamiliarity of their home brands in
foreign countries (Makino et al., 2002). Because of their specialization in the
lowest value-added activities in global value chains, ‘becoming original design
manufacturers (ODMs) and further progressing into original brand
manufacturers (OBMs), either through the firm’s own efforts or through brand

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acquisitions from incumbents, is … the most difficult phase for any latecomer
or newcomer MNE’ (Bonaglia et al., 2007: 8). The best known example of this
strategy is the acquisition of the personal computer division of IBM by Lenovo
in 2004. In Italy, some investments have been aimed at acquiring recognized
brands. In 2005, the Quianjiang Group, China's largest scooter manufacturer,
acquired Benelli, an established motorcycle producer which, at the time of the
acquisition, was in serious financial trouble. Besides the willingness to acquire
a historic brand, the deal aimed at the acquisition of Benelli’s manufacturing
and R&D facilities, and made Quianjiang’s European the R&D centre for the
production of high-quality production.

Similar activities have occurred in other sectors such as the footwear industry.
Wilson was acquired by Wenzhou Hazan, one of the main footwear producers
in China, which has maintained design and production in Italy to produce
shoes for export to the Chinese market. Other examples are Elios, an Italian
company producing electrical items such as lamp holders, which was
acquired in 2006 by Feidiao; and Omas, a producer of luxury pens since 1925
in Bologna, and acquired in 2007 by the Xinyu Hengdeli Group, a trading
company linked to the international LVMH group and selling luxury goods in
the Asian market.

The recent internationalization of medium-sized Chinese companies

Brand acquisitions are evidence of an increasing interest by Chinese

companies in Italian SMEs. The average small size of Italian companies has
been seen as a constraint on attracting the interest of large Chinese
companies, which so far have been the leading actors in the international
expansion of Chinese firms. According to some of our Chinese informants,
this trend is changing because medium-sized Chinese companies that are
more keen to invest in small enterprises are now entering the international
market. These small acquisitions will be facilitated in the future by the recent
changes to Chinese regulation of FDI, aimed at extending the facilitation of
the ‘Go Global’ policy beyond large companies.

According to some of our key informants, one area of competence that

Chinese medium-sized companies are seeking abroad is managerial
experience. Most Chinese companies are run by managers with no
international experience, who sometimes find it hard to deal with Western
management models. An example here is the Hengdian Group (HG), a
family-owned business established in 1975 in the Zhejiang region, which has
opened its first European subsidiary in Milan. According to the managing
director, although HG ranks third among private enterprises in China with a

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very diversified business in industries such as electronics, pharmaceutical,

film and entertainment, it is still a very local firm with little experience of even
the Chinese market beyond its region, and no international experience. The
reason for opening a European branch is to gradually learn the marketing
skills required to export, and to identify potential new areas for investment,
particularly related to post sales assistance and customer care. The Italian
managing director, who has established a personal, long-term, relationship
with the son of the founder of HG, is playing a key role in transferring Western
management culture to the Chinese managers in the group, who lack
international experience.

The analysis of Chinese investments in Italy confirms the relevance of

market- and strategic asset-seeking motivations. What is attracting Chinese
companies to Italy is a combination of factors: the size and the sophistication
of the domestic market as well as the skills in design, product development,
technology, marketing and management in sectors of Italy’s traditional
specialization and in areas where China is investing to upgrade in the value
chain.

5 Conclusions
Chinese FDI in Italy is a recent and limited phenomenon, but shows some
interesting features. It is expected to increase in the immediate future. As the
empirical evidence in this paper has shown, the evolution of the Chinese
pattern of entry in Italy is generally in line with the model followed by Chinese
firms in other European countries: starting from small-scale operations in
trade-related activities, they are evolving towards the acquisition of tangible
and intangible resources that are deemed necessary to improve China’s
presence in international markets and to upgrade its technological and
production capacities.

In addition, however, Chinese investments in Italy appear to reflect a reverse

‘Marco Polo’ effect. Chinese companies are increasingly targeting the
acquisition of technological capabilities and of design skills and brands to tap
local competences available in specialized manufacturing clusters in sectors
such as automotive and home appliances. The main industries of
specialization of Chinese FDI in Italy reflect this approach and appear to be
related to China’s strategy of increasing the sophistication of its exports and
moving away from standardized commodities and intermediate manufactures
and components. Italy is considered a key market for investment because of
its size and, especially, sophisticated demand. Gaining knowledge about how

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to satisfy very demanding customers in terms of design, style, branding,

marketing and post-sales assistance is what Chinese companies are keen to
learn from their activities in Italy and, particularly, in Italian industrial districts
known globally for their production and design excellence.

Notwithstanding some difficulties related to ‘doing business’ in Italy faced by

Chinese FDI, there are some very successful examples, such as the cases of
the specialized automotive cluster in Turin and the home appliances district in
Varese, where Chinese companies have established R&D and design centres
and headquarters to improve their technical know-how, especially in design
skills, and to benefit from the pool of specialized suppliers to outsource a wide
range of activities ranging from engineering to modelling and prototyping.

To conclude, it appears from our analysis that the peculiarities of the Italian
model of specialization, in terms of both sectors and size of firms, may be
important attractors for Chinese investments and represent a new true ‘Marco
Polo’ effect. The most important question behind this rise in Chinese FDI is
whether foreign acquisitions should be considered a threat to the domestic
economy or an opportunity. This paper does not directly address this issue,
but suggests that Chinese companies’ overseas operations may offer some
advantages in so far as they induce domestic firms to focus on their
competitive advantages, and complement rather than replace the latter’s
activities. Moreover, FDI by Chinese companies are providing their Italian and
European partners with fresh capital, solid and wide sale networks and direct
access to the huge and rapidly expanding Asian market. These are all
interesting potential advantages.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Carlo Pietrobelli is Senior Economist at the Inter-American Development
Bank (IADB), Washington D.C. and Professor of Economics at CREI,
University of Roma Tre.

Roberta Rabellotti is Associate Professor at the Department of Economics,

Università del Piemonte Orientale.

Marco Sanfilippo is Research Assistant at the Robert Schuman Centre for

Advanced Studies, European University Institute, Florence.

The paper has greatly benefited from comments from Lin Liu, Martin
Chrisney, and participants at the conference on ‘Emerging Multinationals’ at
the Copenhagen Business School, 2008, the 2009 Asialics conference at the
Hong Kong Science and Technology University, as well as Chatham House
and CASCC research seminars in London, September 2008 and January
2009, and in Brussels, June 2009.

The authors gratefully acknowledge the collaboration of Thomas Rosenthal of

Fondazione Italia Cina who provided useful contacts with Chinese enterprises
in Italy, the assistance of Marta Farina with the Chinese-language
translations, as well as the support of the MOFCOM branch in Milan, the
Bank of China and the Association of Chinese Firms in Italy during the
fieldwork. The authors are particularly grateful to the people interviewed for
their time and knowledge. Financial support from Compagnia di San Paolo,
CASCC (Centro Alti Studi sulla Cina) and PRIN 2007 is gratefully
acknowledged.

This paper forms part of a collaborative research project between Chatham

House and CASCC, the Centre of Advanced Studies on Contemporary China,
at the University of Turin. This innovative project brings together researchers,
market practitioners and policy-makers to counter exaggerated media
reactions and explore how far the EU economy is really benefiting from, or
being buffeted by, the current rise in Chinese outward direct investment. It
sheds light on the decision-making process in China, and considers longer-
term consequences for the European economy, and possible EU policy
responses. The project includes in-depth case studies of the UK, France,
Italy, Spain, Belgium and other European countries.

www.chathamhouse.org.uk 24