Episode #6
How to Win in China : Market, Real Estate, Network, Business
n this episode of ABROAD STAGE, we sit down with Bjarne Bauer, Managing Partner at NAI Sofia Group Shanghai and one of the most experienced voices in China’s commercial and industrial real estate industry.It began with an interest in martial arts and a few Mandarin classes, then he went on to build his own company, join the global NAI network, advise international manufacturers entering China and work on transactions of millions of dollars.Bjarne explains why choosing a cheap factory can become an extremely expensive mistake. A factory might have lower rent, but if it is too far from talent, suppliers, customers and transportation infrastructure, the company may eventually be forced to relocate again. Sometimes moving a container across China can cost almost as much as shipping it from Shanghai to Europe or the United States.We also discuss China’s property crisis, ghost cities, industrial parks, apartment investments and why factories and logistics properties may offer very different opportunities from residential real estate.He's one of the best networkers I have ever met and his philosophy is simple: you harvest what you sow. Bjarne connects people, shares information and creates opportunities for others. Over time, this puts him at the centre of a network built on trust, generosity and long term relationships.On his Youtube channel you can find more info on properties and buildings in China. And as promised, here is the video on the BEST CITY in China according to Bjarne: • China's Possibly Best City and Province Best parts of the episode: How a 1 year China plan became a 22-year journey Building an industrial real estate company from scratch Why foreign companies are still investing in China The truth about China’s property market correction Renting versus building a factory in China The hidden costs of choosing the wrong location How foreign brands fail when they refuse to localise High context versus low context business cultures German and Chinese approaches to relationships and contracts Why apartments may be a questionable investment in China What outsiders misunderstand about modern China Undergoing open brain surgery while awake in Shanghai Why young professionals should experience living abroadThis is a conversation about China, entrepreneurship, industrial real estate, cultural intelligence, networking, trust and what happens when one more year becomes an entire life.If you are considering building a company in China, opening a factory, developing an international career or simply want to understand how business really works on the ground, this episode is for you.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ GET IN CONTACT WITH BJARNE BAUER LinkedIn:linkedin.com/in/bjarne-bauer-sior-44513329▶️ YouTube: / @crazybuildingscre Email:bjarne@sofiagroup.com━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ABOUT ABROAD STAGEABROAD STAGE is about people who stepped outside their comfort zone and built extraordinary lives around the world.Every episode explores international careers, entrepreneurship, personal growth, identity and the lessons learned from living abroad.Subscribe for new episodes twice a month.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━⏱ CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 01:21 How Bjarne Ended Up in China 07:18 Building His Own Real Estate Company 12:07 Are Foreign Companies Still Coming to China? 15:41 Should Companies Rent or Build Factories? 18:16 The Hidden Cost of Cheap Factory Locations 28:08 How He Built a Powerful Network 31:29 The Biggest Mistake Foreign Companies Make 36:03 China’s Best, Worst and Ghost Buildings 39:04 Is Chinese Real Estate Still a Good Investment? 47:08 High-Context vs. Low-Context Cultures 50:03 Skills Needed for Industrial Real Estate 53:10 China’s Economy Explained Through One Building 56:50 Having Open Brain Surgery in China 1:02:16 How Living Abroad Changes Your Worldview 1:03:49 Books That Shaped His Thinking 1:04:51 Where to Find Bjarne
