Bristol-Myers, EMC Tap China Priorities With New Tie-Ups 趁中国政策导向东风 百时美施贵宝与EMC联姻本土企业
A couple of new tie-ups involving major foreign players in pharmaceuticals and computing provide an interesting glimpse at how multinationals are trying to target their China initiatives to be in sync with Beijing’s latest policy agendas. The strategy of working with a local partner isn’t all that new, but in this case what’s more interesting is the targeted approach these two new tie-ups are taking, the first aimed at taking advantage of China’s ongoing massive overhaul of its healthcare system and the second at Beijing’s push to become a leader in cloud computing. Let’s look at the pharmaceuticals deal first, which is seeing Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) teaming up with local drugmaker Simcere Pharmaceutical (NYSE: SCR) to make and sell a cardiovascular compound in China. (company announcement) The compound was developed by Bristol-Meyers Squibb, but Simcere will make and sell the drug in China, drawing on its strong connections to local regulators and other health care officials. This kind of deal is smart as it gives Bristol-Myers exposure to a coming boom for quality medicines as Beijing signs a series of multimillion-dollar deals to make those drugs available under its ongoing overhaul to make basic healthcare affordable for everyone. The second deal will see faded PC firm Great Wall Computer form a cloud computing joint venture with EMC (NYSE: EMC), the world’s biggest maker of data storage devices. (Chinese article) China has repeatedly said that cloud computing will be a major focus for development in the next few years, prompting a wide range of players to get in on the action, including Huawei and Alibaba. I see no reason why a big western name like EMC should try to get a piece of the action, and indeed, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) made a similar move last month with its own China-based R&D initiative in the space. (previous post) My only cause for concern with EMC is that Great Wall is hardly a big name in China anymore, and it also has a strong legacy as a state-run company, meaning it might not be the best partner for this kind of venture that calls for a more entrepreneurial approach. But that said, at least I have to credit EMC for being foresighted enough to get into this space while it’s still in the formative stages in China.
Bottom line: New China tie-ups between Bristol Myers-Squibb and EMC with partners in their respective sectors look like smart moves to take advantage of Beijing’s latest development priorities.
Related postings 相关文章:
◙ Microsoft Looks for Place in China Cloud 微软投身中国云计算大潮
◙ Merck Finds Potent China Partner in Simcere 默克牵手先声药业
◙ Growth-Addicted Huawei Looks to the Cloud 华为渴求增长上瘾 着眼云计算
