English version translated by Xinyuan XU (Wayne)

Recently, Elisa WANG, Senior Partner of Shanghai LANDING Law Offices, was invited by the head office of Bank of Ningbo to deliver a keynote lecture on “Legal Practices and Common Legal Risks for the Investment in Mexico” for the bank’s clients planning to invest abroad. The event has attracted dozens of executives from enterprises that plan to go global in the Ningbo area.

At the beginning of the lecture, Elisa extended a warm welcome to all the attending business representatives. Combined with her years of experience in international trade and overseas investment in Latin America, Elisa expressed that the intention and purpose of the topic for this sharing session was to assist Chinese enterprises in effectively managing legal risks in the Latin American market and protecting their overseas interests during investment and trading.

Elisa’s sharing was mainly divided into four sections. Section One is the overview of the Latin America and the Mexican market. Elisa vividly presented Mexico’s industrial advantages and investment hotspots in the manufacturing and automotive industry through dynamic charts and detailed data.

Section Two is the legal practices related to investment and establishment of factories in Mexico. Combined with previous working experience, Elisa elaborated on the four most common and crucial concerns for clients when investing in Mexico. These concerns included the comparison and selection of company registration types during the establishment process, registration procedures, verification and confirmation of land types and properties in land and real estate transactions, requirements and procedures for real estate purchases, practical issues in customs and import/export permits such as importer qualification application, import license application, customs declaration, and tax payment, as well as tax incentive programs such as the IMMEX and PROSEC schemes.

Section Three is about the common legal risks and case analysis of the investment of Chinese enterprises in Mexico. Based on the compliance requirements of central state-owned enterprises for overseas operations, Elisa introduced the legal differences between China and Mexico, and common legal risks such as changes in local policies. Through the factory land disputes in Mexico encountered by her previous client, Elisa demonstrated the scenario how potential risks ultimately led to litigation.

Section Four is about the common misconceptions and recommendations for Chinese enterprises. Elisa reiterated the importance and role of Chinese foreign-related lawyers, particularly emphasizing the significance of foreign-related lawyers specializing in relatively niche markets like Latin America. She stressed the important role of foreign-related lawyers for Chinese enterprises in dealing with issues related to Latin America. Elisa pointed out that these lawyers should abandon some traditional notions and assist enterprises in making optimal choices based on a solid understanding of and grasp of the judicial systems, transaction customs, and policy environments of different Latin American countries. In the end, Elisa answered questions from the attending enterprise representatives respectively. The representatives highly praised the rich content and the professional and practical legal advice provided by the event.

In addition, in January 2024, Senior Partner Elisa Wang was appointed as the legal advisor by Bank of Ningbo Co., Ltd. for overseas business, and a memorandum of cooperation was reached regarding providing comprehensive services and support for the enterprise clients of the bank’s head office and domestic branches. These enterprises planned to invest overseas and were eager for cross-border legal services.

INTRODUCTION of the ASSOCIATE

Elisa WANG

Senior Partner of Shanghai LANDING Law Offices

Practice Areas:

International trade, Overseas trade, Supply Chain Compliance

Contacts:

elisa.wang@landinglawyer.com

13524205279