Game On – Cold War Revisited

Cashed up Chinese banks are taking full advantage of their new found bounty of post-listed funds by embarking on a global shopping spree of depressed financial assets.

Yet locally things are more sinister it seems with head of UK spy agency MI5, Jonathan Evans, issuing a confidential warning to 300 British bank, accountant and legal firm chief executives and security bosses this week, alerting them to a real risk being posed by Chinese cyber hackers.

In many sports there are two strategies – a strategy for attack and a strategy for defence.

As Chinese banks go on the offensive acquisition trail globally, inside China it seems the Chinese defence (pardon the pun) is stepping outside what many countries would deem fair play in international business.

While Chinese banks and financial institutions, the latest being Ping An Insurance and CITIC Bank, make purchases and conduct due diligence on groups overseas, when it comes to foreign groups showing an interest inside China there are apparently no rules.

If burningpants related group in Australia, CoreData, felt it came under threat during the Federal election when its minipoll software came under sustained attack from individuals seemingly operating on behalf of the various political parties then this amounts to nothing in comparison to the bleak Orwellian landscape painted by Evans inside China.

According to Evans, sophisticated cyber hackers allegedly operating on behalf of some Government agencies inside China are targeting British companies doing business on the mainland and are using the internet to steal confidential commercial information.

For anyone who’s done or tried to do business in China, they will understand that even on a level playing field the Chinese are very adept at business negotiations – so news that some organisations are being assisted by Government agencies seriously places outsiders at an unfair disadvantage.

Some of the claims stemming from the leaked MI5 warning were that some businesses were trying to ascertain what foreign groups were willing to pay for assets away from the negotiating table.

When you’re playing poker with someone who is competent this additional alleged leg-up smarts of playing your hand in open view of the opposition.

Some argue however that with Evan’s letter, MI5 is merely seeking to stir up a diplomatic argument to justify greater funding for the agency.