Owning a bar in shanghai

Cuisine Greater Taipei Restaurants
1

I know this is not the place to be posting this but on the off chance that somebody might know something…

Are foreigners allowed to own bars in china? Did anybody ever live there before and know someone who has? Is there a China Forum or something where I can find info like this?

i tried looking on the net but havent been very successful yet so just though I’d see if anyone here knew.

TIA

2

[quote=“piwackit”]I know this is not the place to be posting this but on the off chance that somebody might know something…

Are foreigners allowed to own bars in China? Did anybody ever live there before and know someone who has? Is there a China Forum or something where I can find info like this?

I tried looking on the net but havent been very successful yet so just though I’d see if anyone here knew.

TIA[/quote]

There used to be a guy in Taipei (Craig?) who went to Shanghai and ran a place called Shanghai Sally’s. That was about 8 years ago. I think he was manager at the old Malibu down on Ren-Ai and Tun-Hua.

3

Talk to Nick and Jackie the owners of My Place.

4

Loads of foriegn owned and run bars in Shanghai. Although they are all working to some degree with local partners. I think the law requires 50% local ownership, but there may be some flexibility on this.

Whlie there is no shortage of bars in town, a well run place should still turn a good profit. Have been toying with the idea of setting something up myself actually.

You might want to check out shanghaiexpat.com and post your question there.

5

Are foreigners allowed to own bars in Taiwan?Seems like a pretty nice idea.Taoyuan has no good sportbars.Im not married to a Taiwanese so I dont think it will be possible.

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Chat to winopete. http://publish.pots.com.tw/english/WinoPetesPubNews/2004/04/23/306_23_winopete/

HG

7

in taoyuan, a western style bar (rodeo’s) is owned by a westerner and his wife.

in china? wanna do a joint venture with someone who has no idea what is “right” but has full power of the law/culture behind him? how millions did the western beer firms flush down into china’s gaping bureaucratic maw before they started getting some play? how deep are your financial resources?

8

The story is, my husband who owns Kama here, wants to buy a place in Shanghai called Guandii. He would like to put it in my name because he thinks there would be less of a hassle from police if the owner was a foreinger than a Taiwanese. He’s finding out some info now but just wanted to see if anyone here knew for sure.

PS…checked out shanghaiexpat.com and its a great resource, thanks! Not as happening as forumosa though!

9

I wont call rodeos in taoyuan a western bar.I dont know how anyone can stay in there for more than 20 minutes.Its so small and crowded.It suck.There no nice sportsbars in Taoyuan.A nice place where you can go watch rugby or cricket.I think we need something like that in Taoyuan.

10

Guandii in Shanghai is good for a “trance” club in Shanghai. It is right next to a nice park and across from the Park 97 disco/restaurant which packs the crowds in on weekends. DJ Paul Oakenfeld played there last month (Park 97 not Guandii).

He could probably make a fair amount of money but…

  1. As the other posters have stated, doing business, let alone a nightclub in China is very difficult/exhausting. You must have connections and I’m not talking above the board.
  2. Owning a club should only be undertaken as an investor and not a principle. There are too many expenses and invisible “hong baos”. The money trickles away fast.
  3. He will have to be on premises full time (are you ready to move and live there?)
  4. He can probably own 49 to 50% at most and won’t have a final say in how the business is run (although it will probably be a majority of his money that the property runs/lives on.)
  5. Depending on which country or how he is going to get the money out of the country, taxes can be a problem.

There are a lot more issues, but I would recommend to start slow as an investor and grow from there. Why not just take 10-20%? After he has lived there a while and really understands how China “operates” he can expand.

Every country has their own ways of doing business and China can be one of the most difficult. Just take a look at the number of Taiwanese business people that have gone bankrupt there and they already have the advantage of being Asian/Chinese/Taiwanese.

Anyway, if he goes for it and is successful, good on him. Guandii is a good club and has a good business. But be careful. If such a successful club wants to sell, why?

11

Was just about to post something similar, but Electronisk beat me to it.

I live in Shanghai, but have only been to Guandii once. Nice place. I end up at Park 97 a bit more, though neither place is really my scene. Park 97 seems to get more business, but Guandii obviously could be a lucrative investment.

But yeah, why are they selling?

I wouldn’t worry too much about the difficulties of doing business in China. Connections should be the job of the local party. Presumably your husband would be there to provide cash and fresh ideas?

As for Taiwanese owning nightspots in Shanghai, so far as I know they own a few (the restaurant business is crawling with Taiwanese). Shouldn’t be any major problems. Hong Kongers and westerners are prominent in the pub and club industry though.

12

They are selling Guandii because the owner wants to open a huge KTV and needs the extra cash.

We would like to own it 100% or not at all.

My husband knows lots of people from his bar here and they have inroduced him to people in Shanghai…above and under ground :wink:

We would be prepared to move there for a while. Now that Kama is doing well Dh would be prepared to leave it in the hands of his manager and move to China to take control of Guandii (and possibly set up other businesses)

If, however, it is not possible to own it 100% then I guess we will stay here and open something else in Taipei.

Anyways, he’s off again to Shanghai as I write so he’ll be able to sort this out now.

Thanks for your info :notworthy:

A.

13

I only moved back to Taiwan a few months ago and have been reading some old posts.
I remember Craig, nice guy always surrounded by pretty girls. I heard that he married one of them and moved back to the States, smart man!
Went back to Malibu last week for old times sake, not much changed still a cosy little bar, pool table, good food and cheap drink.The manager there, I forget her name told me that they were having Happy hour all night for the summer, smart move the place was packed.
:laughing: