Trade and economic cooperation between China and the Netherlands has grown rapidly in the last years. Since the end of the'80s, China has experienced a spectacular economic growth of almost 10 percent per year, due to economic reforms. Thanks to this economic growth and reforms, trade between China and the Netherlands has also increased tremendously. At present, almost 8 percent of Dutch imports originate from China, two-thirds of which is re-exported immediately. Increasing Chinese exports to Europe have strengthened the role of the Netherlands as a key European distribution centre.
Progressively more and more Chinese companies come to the Netherlands to do business, including setting-up their European Headquarters in the Netherlands. The Chinese economy is expected to continue its rapid expansion. Over the next four years, Chinese exports are likely to double. With this backdrop, CMS Derks Start Busmann has a China Desk.
The CMS Derks Star Busmann China Desk assists both Chinese companies planning to trade with or invest in the Netherlands or the rest of Europe, and Dutch and other foreign companies planning on doing business with or in China.
Our China Desk offers you specific expertise in this field from our CMS offices in Europe and Shanghai and Beijing, where Chinese lawyers work alongside European lawyers. We also work in the Netherlands with native speakers who are equally at home in the Chinese and European culture. We advise on and assist in all areas of the law, from flotations to distribution agreements, from mergers and acquisitions to intellectual property right protection, from labour law issues to tax planning and etc.. We have an extensive network with governmental agencies, banks and accountants in the Netherlands as well as in China. Our China Desk views itself as a bridge between China and Europe, offering experienced and skilled contact partners to both Chinese and European investors.
The team is headed by Mark Ziekman and Dolf Segaar, both corporate partners. The other mebers of the team are: Jochem de Koning, tax partner, Chuqing Chen, a native Chinese speaker with law degrees from China and Australia, and Jurjen Groot, associate Corporate Finance and is posted on behalf of our China Desk to Shanghai from January 1st 2009.
Central to all our legal services is a solid commercial insight into your business, organisation and sector. We guarantee high-quality legal services where quality, speed and customer focus are paramount. We also set ourselves apart with our highly competitive rates.
Contacts
Mark Ziekman is co-chair of our China Desk, a corporate partner who is specialised in cross-border and national transactions, such as mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and others. He also has considerable experience with general corporate and commercial law, general contact law and litigation (including arbitration). Due to the nature of his work he also closely cooperates with professionals in the following areas: Corporate Finance, Equity Markets, Finance & Securities law, Real Estate and Tax.
Dolf Segaar is a corporate partner and co-chair of our China Desk. He is a member of the Board and as from April 2008 chairman of the Board of CMS Derks Star Busmann. Dolf has 18 years of experience in the area of corporate law. He is specialized in corporate litigation, mergers and takeovers, corporate governance and foundations, cooperatives and associations.
Jochem de Koning is a tax partner specialized in Dutch and international tax planning for companies. He advises on international tax structuring and all kinds of Dutch tax issues for companies including the use of the participation exemption. He frequently assists in mergers and takeovers. As from April 2008 he is member of the Board of CMS Derks Star Busmann.
Chuqing Chen is a Chinese national and native speaker with L.L.B in China and L.L.M and Ph.D. Candidate in Australia. She has extensive experience researching, solving and advising on complex problems with international business, media and legal institutions in China. Over the last 16 years, she has gained extensive network and considerable experience with political, civil and legal issues by working with the Fujian Supreme People's Court and United Nations.
Jurjen Groot works for the China Desk in Shanghai in the office of the international CMS alliance, where he will be the direct local point of contact for our Dutch clients in China. Jurjen is associate in the practice group Corporate Finance and he specializes in corporate law. Jurjen has ample experience both in advising in a wide range of corporate law transactions and in corporate litigation. He publishes on a regular base.
