Valuing Technology in a Joint Venture

A principle of technology valuation is that the optimum value of a technology transferred (in/out) is a fair percentage of the cash flow generated by the competitive advantage of the technology (sold/purchased). Of course, what is fair, how to estimate cash flow and how to measure competitive advantage are vexing issues. Not to mention defining the technology being considered. For a good discussion of this topic, see this article from PLI by Mark A. Peterson.

Key Risks of Doing Business in China

"In this eport [from Deloitte & Touche], we examine seven key risks of doing business in China:

-Financial system
-Currency revaluation
-Overheating economy
-Faltering economy
-Transition from state-ownership to privatization
-Trade conflicts
-Income disparities"

Establishing a Records Retention Program

"There is no cookie-cutter approach to creating an effective document retention program. A sound policy must be tailored to fit the specific needs of the business involved and should have legitimate business purposes at its core...The...program must be tailored to and result from the legitimate business needs of the company to retain certain documents. Second, the legal and other regulatory requirements of the industry and jurisdiction in which the business (or particular business unit) operates must be reviewed and incorporated into the records retention schedules. Indeed, documents should not be retained for periods beyond their usefulness to the company or beyond the legal requirements for their retention."

Read more in this comprehensive article from Vedder Price on the subject of establishing a record retention program found via this Strategic HR Lawyer post.

Private Equity Investment Regulatory and Tax Issues

"The private equity industry has grown tremendously during the past 15 years and is expected to continue growing at a steady pace for the next 10. Growth will likely be fueled both in the United States and Europe by a narrowing in the perceived risk differential between private and public equity investments, easier access to private equity funds for investors and premium performance over investments in public equities.

The object of this article [from VC Experts] is to provide an overview of the regulatory and tax issues arising from structuring, and investing in, US sponsored private equity funds. Private equity funds typically are structured to invest in equity interests of portfolio companies that are not publicly traded. This is in contrast to the investment strategies of hedge funds, which generally invest in publicly traded securities. The securities and tax issues of hedge funds are somewhat different from those relating to private equity funds and will not be covered in this article."