Review and forecast: How execs view industry and China's economy

How Jit Lim, managing director and head of China, Performance Improvement Practice, Alvarez and Marsal

Q1: How do you evaluate your company's performance in China as well as in the global market in 2021?

Alvarez and Marsal has experienced tremendous growth in China and globally. The private equity market is sitting on a very robust deal cycle and we continue to help clients with operations and financial due diligence work. As the market transitions to a new normal, we are also helping corporate clients transform their businesses to emerge stronger and capture the upside in their sector compared to their peers. We are also seeing growing demand for interim management roles where we assume interim CEO or CFO positions to run and transform businesses.

Q2: Do you plan to deepen your company's footprint in China next year? If so, how?

We intend to triple or quadruple the size of our practice in 2022. The growing market appetite for leadership in business transformation has translated into a significant rise in demand for our hands-on, results-driven consulting services, across all sectors.

Q3: How do you rate China's economic performance in 2021?

China's economy has been resilient on the whole. China successfully contained the pandemic and business and economic activities suffered minimal disruption from lockdown periods, supply chain and freight issues, raw material shortages etc compared to other markets. This enabled China to maintain robust levels of economic activity and to outperform other markets.

Q4: What are your views on the improvements in China's business environment in 2021, and what are your expectations for further reform and opening-up?

Across sectors, including manufacturing, industrials, consumer products, retail, and FMGC, Chinese corporates have continued to focus on driving efficiencies and are constantly innovating to capture new opportunities. We expect to see that trend continue in coming years.

Q5: What are your forecasts of China and the global economic performance in 2022?

As COVID-19 and trade relations continue to disrupt China's and other global economies, we are expecting further transformation. Geopolitical factors will be determinant. Companies that are able to adapt to new developments in a quick and agile manner will enjoy the upside.