Deloitte chairman: Doing business 'needs to be easier'

Lawrence Chia, CEO of Deloitte China, shares his idea at the sideline of of the Boao Forum for Asia on March 26, 2015 in Hainan province. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

Both agreed, however, that a lot more need to be done to make the business environment more business friendly and appealing to overseas investors.

On top of that list, they said, are cutting regulations and red tape, making the system less bureaucratic and making the renminbi fully convertible. They said there are still too many sectors that are effectively off-limits to foreign business.

They both think, too, that not enough is being done to make life easier for domestic entrepreneurs. "Bureaucracy and regulations make it much harder for small and medium-sized enterprises to grow, to land more contracts and create jobs," Almond said, adding that this is also the case in many other countries.

Everywhere in the world, including China, companies moving from slow-growing developed markets to fast-expanding emerging markets must change their strategies.

"There is a need for those companies to build their own ecosystem, to forge partnership and cooperation, and to navigate the regulatory issues, and understand local consumers and tailor their offerings as well."

Asked if China's slowdown concerns Deloitte's clients, Almond said it really depends on specific sectors.

"In the past China's huge infrastructure and capital expenditure programs have been attractive to outside investors who have expertise and a track record in these areas.

"Similarly the massive growth in low-end manufacturing has lured Western companies to outsource factories here for cost reasons－however that's quite frankly coming to an end," he said.

"But within the country's economic rebalancing, high-quality consumer service sectors such as healthcare, travel and education, China is still a hugely attractive market. A 7 percent annual growth still provides a lot of opportunities," he said.

Chia noted, too, that the slowdown might actually provide opportunities, as the government continues to relax conditions for market entry in certain areas and encourages consolidation.

In general, for manufacturing firms, one strategy is to move into areas that are closer to consumer demand. The general slowdown won't alter the very positive growth outlook for certain sectors such as healthcare, travel and education.