建立具有中国特色的调查行业
"Role of China in International Investigations”
跨国调查在中国
Ponno Kalastree

作者介绍:
Maj (ret) Ponno Kalastree is the Managing Director of Mainguard Security Services (S) Pte Ltd – a licensed security and private investigations firm which he established over 30 years ago when he left the Singapore Armed Forces.

Today， Mainguard is a leading player in the private security and investigations industry， specializing in corporate investigations in the South East Asia region. His clientele include some of the largest insurance companies， law firms and multinationals from the USA and Europe.

Ponno was Chairman (2002-2003) and President (2001-2002) of the Council of International Investigators (CII)， which is an elite organization comprising of top investigators from over 40 countries. He was formerly an recipient of the International Investigators of the Year Award.

Maj (ret) Ponno Kalastree can be reached at:
Tel: +65-6296 5881
Fax: +65-6296 1171 or
Email: p.kalastree@mainguard-intl.com.sg
mainguard@mainguard-intl.com.sg

Ponno Kalastree 现任新加坡Maiguard安全服务有限公司总经理。该公司是在30多年前他从新加坡武装部队时成立并注册的。
今天，Maingaurd已成为私人安全及调查行业的佼佼者，专门从事东南亚地区的企业调查业务。他的委托人包括许多欧美的大型保险公司，律师事务所和跨国公司。
Ponno任国际调查员协会（CII）主席（2002-2003）和总裁（2001-2002），该机构由来自世界上40多个国家的精英调查员组成。他曾是国际调查员协会年度奖项的获得者。
CII全称国际调查员协会（Council of International Investigators）1955年成立现在拥有会员284单位，来自四十多个国家，总部设在美国西雅图。

In the last 10 years， China has boomed into one of the most important economic markets in the global marketplace. China is able to manufacture almost anything at a much cheaper rate than any other country in the world.

With China’s entry into the World Trade Organisation and the host of Olympics 2008， China is in the international league of the world’s major trading partners， and there is a need to conform to trade practices.

Despite China’s open door policy and westernization of China over the past 15 years，
the business practices and culture remains a barrier for many business sectors from the West to conduct business in China. The West are interested to solve their problems first.
Their concerns include the abundance of counterfeit goods， parallel import practices， shipping and other commercial fraud cases.

Investigators in China need to understand problems of the Western world in order to seize the opportunities in a growing niche market – commercial investigations. The areas of commercial investigations cover due diligence， fraud investigations， intellectual property breaches.

Chinese investigators need to take the proactive step towards professionalism， and also build bridges for business development with the West through strategic alliances.

"International Investigations in China”
by Major (ret) Ponno Kalastree
Mainguard (Singapore)

Globalisation of Investigations Business

Over the decade， we have seen the tidal force of globalisation sweep across all industries throughout the world. With advancement in technology and communications， the world has become a much smaller place. Business is becoming borderless.

The private investigations business has also evolved， with its embrace of technology. There are more sophisticated gadgets for fieldwork. Research is less laborious with the use of computers and databases.

Ironically， crime has also become more sophisticated and harder to detect， especially if it crosses international boundaries.

The work of private investigators has also extended beyond the matrimonial assignments. There are more and more work for private investigators to specialize in commercial investigations， especially in China’s booming economy. Commercial investigations are often international in scope， making it an exciting and dynamic new field in investigations.

Commercial Investigations

Commercial or corporate investigations refer to assignments where the objective of investigations is to provide information for a business decision to be made. It involves:

? Pre-employment Screening - includes employment history， background checks.

? Corporate Investigation - analyzing company’s ownership， nature of business activities， financial status of directors， media reports on the company and other

information.

? Due Diligence - corporate and individual. Includes court searches， surveillance， property asset searches， verifying family circumstances and relationships.

? Employee Fraud Investigations – verifying business situation， the subject’s character， background， existing financial circumstances， work activities and relationships and other legal evidence required.

? Intellectual Property Investigations – includes test purchase and gathering legal evidence

? Commercial Fraud Investigations includes tracking shipment of missing cargo， verifying transactions that should have occurred， corporate and personal due diligence， and other legal evidence required.

? Financial Investigations - verifying the financial status of a company and/or an individual such as bankruptcy records， assets and liabilities information

? Forensic Accounting services - an audit and analysis of the balance sheet， profit and loss statements against reported business activities.

? Insurance Claims Verification - confirm identity and location of beneficiary， verify claimant’s eligibility for payout.

? Competitive Intelligence – market survey on competitors’ activities， analyzing and interpreting information on a specific product or market.

? Asset Tracing – establish assets of indivuals living within the country and overseas， and analyse the information to track the movement of funds.

? Verification of information – this can include death verification， verification of sale

transaction， verification for shipping documents and others.

Most of the business for commercial investigations comes from the West， mainly USA and Europe. Investigations is an acceptable business practice before any decisions on investments， and even employment are made as part of their risk management strategy.

With globalisation， many USA and European companies have business interests in Asia. As they are less familiar with the culture and practices in Asia， they have a greater need to conduct investigations prior to decision making on employment， investments or should a breach of contract be suspected.

China’s Boom

For more than a decade since China opened its doors， she was viewed as an emerging great power. The economic potential stems from the sheer size of China’s massive land area， its population of over a billion people， and the Chinese government’s pro-investment policy.

Today， China is already a dominant power as a major trading partner in the world， with her entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Her prominence is also seen with her winning the bid to host the 2008 Olympics， and a re-nomination to host Miss World pageant.

In the last 10 years， China has boomed into one of the most important economic markets in the global marketplace. China is able to manufacture almost anything at a much cheaper rate than any other country in the world.

Manufacturing companies from the West flock to China to open up factories to reduce their production costs. China’s industrialization has opened up opportunities for other support services sectors including property， communications， information technology， education and legal services and others. Hence， China has seen a phenomenal growth in foreign investments from the West.

Opportunities in China for International Investigations

Foreign investments from the West will create commercial investigations opportunities for private investigators in China. For example， the Western joint venture partners may wish to conduct due diligence of their local Chinese partners or vice versa. They may wish to have pre-employment screening before they hire staff for certain key positions

In a dispute in foreign ventures， private investigators may be engaged to conduct verification， fraud investigations， asset tracing， financial investigations， and provide forensic accounting services.

Furthermore， with China’s WTO status， there is a need to conform to trade practices. The concerns of Western investors in China include the abundance of counterfeit goods， parallel import practices， intellectual propery breaches， shipping and other commercial fraud cases. Thus， there are opportunities for Chinese investigators to work on assignments combating these activities.

Western Perception of China

Despite China’s open door policy and westernization of China over the past 15 years，
the business practices and culture remains a barrier for many business sectors from the West to conduct business in China.

Over the past 30 years， I was privileged and fortunate to have traveled to many parts of the world. From my travels， I found that many people in the West still do not have much knowledge on Asia including China.

The West’s perception of Asia is often limited to their experience with the migrant Asian community in their countries. Or they remember Asia as it was during the post-war period. Or they get their impression of Asia from the media – on the news and lifestyle programmes.
There are two groups – the first， those who consider Asia a “heaven on earth” filled with

exotic women， tropical islands， vibrant nightlife and delicious food. The second are those who regard Asia as “hell on earth” - dirty， polluted and a place where you contract food poisoning or become a victim of petty theft.

Many in the West do not know that each province and village in China may speak a different language and there are some slight cultural variations. Many people from the Western world do not know that Chinese cities have skyscrapers and highways as they do in the American and European cities.

Hence the barriers between the Chinese and the West are both psychological and real.

To succeed in the West， the Chinese will require intermediaries who are able to communicate both in English and Mandarin， and understand the business cultures of both the Chinese and West. They will require intermediaries who have the trust and confidence of Western businessmen. Both Singapore and Hong Kong are important gateways to China for many Western businesses. Similarly， both these two cities can also act as a platform for Chinese companies who are keen to build the business with the West.

China and South East Asia

The opportunities for international investigations are not just limited to the West. Many Asian countries are increasingly affluent， and they are equally active in the trade with China. When there is trade， there is always a scope for commercial investigations.

China’s growing ties with Asean represent a major confidence-building step towards South east Asia. It follows the country’s 2001 proposal for a China-Asean free trade area and its active financial support for Thailand and Indonesia during the 1997 to 1998 Asian financial crisis. Negotiations are underway to create the world’s most populous free trade zone by year 2010.

As for South Asian countries， China has a positive relationship with India. There is a huge potential that remains to be explored for both Chinese and Indian companies in each other’s countries. For example， Indian software giant， Infosys is looking at establishing its manufacturing facility in China. It is cheaper for them to be based in China than in India because of China’s competitive production capabilities.

Both the Chinese and Indian parties will need to understand their respective differences and similiarities， and they can work through an intermediary counterpart from a country such as Singapore who will have an understanding of both the Chinese and Indian cultures.

Growth Opportunities for Chinese Investigators

To develop the international investigations business， Chinese investigators need to take the proactive step towards professionalism and networking.

Professionalism is achieved through education and interaction with fellow counterparts. Conferences are a conducive platform for both learning， and business networking to explore potential opportunities. Interaction with peers through professional membership associations is another avenue for business development. Participation at conferences and associations should be both at local and international level. One has to have some credibility within your country that you can leverage on to promote your business internationally.

As part of professional upgrading， investigators should continually attend specialized training workshops to improve their skills in technical know-how， research， analysis， communication and others.

To lay a foundation for a strong network， “bridges” should be built to facilitate information sharing. In international investigations， such bridges should be built across countries spanning over the various continents. However， before the international bridge is built， Chinese investigators should build bridges within China itself. This cohesiveness is

necessary as the firms will benefit from having a span of value-added connections since the investigations business is about accessibility to information.

As for external bridges， Chinese investigators will also benefit from establishing alliances regionally in gateways cities such as Hong Kong， Singapore， and also strategic business partners in Japan and India where there are mutual trade opportunities that can be developed.

To build bridges with the West， strategic alliances can be established in gateway cities with partners who already have strong connections with western partners. Hence， the barriers in language and culture between China and the West can be overcome through its partnerships.

Strategic partnerships should be established with both fellow industry players， and also support industry players in the investigations business such as the information brokers， the legal firms， accounting firms and even client organizations such as insurance firms， multinational corporations.

Success in the Investigations Business

I believe the key ingredients for success in the investigations business is:

1) Vision
Like all businesses， it is important that the leader has a goal. He or she must have a dream to be achieved， and guide the rest of the organization working towards the vision.

2) Passion
Generally， most private investigators are not in the business because of the profits that can be reaped， but because of the passion for uncovering the truth. There is a genuine interest in the work.

3) Trained and Motivated Team
Successful investigations depends on a team who shares the same passion in their work， and

they are motivated because of their interests. At the same time， the investigations team should be constantly upgrading themselves to build their skills and technical knowledge.

4) Connections
As investigations is about sharing information， the more well-connected the investigator is across all industry sectors and in different countries， he or she is in a better position to provide value-added service to the client.

My presentation is not to teach you how to run your business， but to share with you on how to explore the countless potential in international investigations.

Private investigations is a dynamic and exciting field. It is inevitable that investigations have taken a global turn over the last few years and this trend is set to continue. The opportunities remain abundant both in the East and West and they will continue to grow， as the Asian region and China progresses.

Thus， it is crucial that as industry players that we start forging links and building bridges between the East and West so that we can seize and benefit from the opportunities.