Dezan Shira & Associates Announces Commitment to Grow India Practice; Founder / Senior Partner Devonshire-Ellis Relocates to Mumbai to Direct Legal, Tax, Compliance
Mumbai, India, July 14, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Dezan Shira & Associates, a multi-office provider of legal, accounting, compliance and other business services based in China, announced today that it plans to significantly expand its practice in India and that Chris Devonshire-Ellis, the firm’s Founder and Senior Partner, has relocated to offices here.
Dezan Shira is a 17 year old firm with 16 offices strategically located in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and India. Devonshire-Ellis will directly oversee the growth of Dezan Shira’s five India offices from the principal location in Mumbai.
“India is where the growth opportunities are now for a business like ours. China will continue to do well, but at a lower rate of growth. After all, it has had 15 fantastic years of foreign direct investment and infrastructural improvement. However, things always change and new opportunities present themselves. Now it is India’s turn,” said Devonshire-Ellis.
Devonshire-Ellis is highly optimistic about business opportunities in India for Dezan Shira, which is categorized as a specialist foreign direct investment practice. The firm solely concentrates on providing legal, incorporation, due diligence, tax, accounting and compliance work to U.S., European and other multinational corporations investing in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and India.
The majority of the firm’s India clients are component manufacturers, infrastructure and project developers as well as related third party suppliers, both targeting India as a manufacturing base to service other destinations, yet increasingly also those selling into the domestic India market.
“One also has to understand the shift of fundamentals in India to understand the opportunities,” Devonshire-Ellis said.
“First, changes in regulations that govern businesses such as ours, with our investments in both professional services and media are becoming more favorable to foreign investors. Secondly, the country has enjoyed a mini domestic boom for several years now, and the Indian business community is confident and well educated. Thirdly, and perhaps this has been the missing component, India now has a government in place with a true mandate to reform and change,” he added.
Devonshire-Ellis believes the election of the Congress Party with a de facto majority to push through reform has the potential to do for India what Deng Xiaoping’s reforms did for China in the early 1990s.
Finally, Devonshire-Ellis noted, is the increasing bilateral trade volume between China and India.
“We feel our presence in India can also leverage this recent phenomenon. With trade between the two countries running at US$60 billion in 2008, and increasing in leaps and bounds, a presence in both countries will help us plug into that and generate business” he said.
Devonshire-Ellis said Dezan Shira is well positioned to participate in this economic shift.
“We set up five small offices across India three years ago, in different cities, to evaluate how they would perform and to learn about the dynamics of each specific location. These were in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata. We also handled some early client work, often in partnership with local firms, to further learn about the market conditions.
“Dezan Shira is now making a significant investment in Mumbai, while retaining the other four offices. We have plans to increase the size and scope of each of those offices, as well, over the next two to three years,” said Devonshire-Ellis.
Devonshire-Ellis established Dezan Shira in 1992. Prior to establishing Dezan Shira, Devonshire-Ellis was employed by Mossack Fonseca & Co (Hong Kong), a specialist law firm administering and establishing offshore jurisdictions, and with Asia Law & Practice, now part of Euromoney. Devonshire-Ellis was elected to the Business Advisory Council for the United Nations Development Programme for the Greater Tumen Initiative, which includes North-East China, earlier in 2009, and has authored and contributed to numerous books about China and Regional Asian business.
He also is the founder of Asia Briefing Media Ltd, a business publishing house that produces magazine, book and blog titles under the brands "China Briefing,” "India Briefing," "Vietnam Briefing" and "2point6billion" - the latter title being derived from the combined population of China and India, and showcasing business developments in Emerging Asia. The ten year old Asia Briefing publishing house is based from Hong Kong.
Dezan Shira & Associates is a member of The Leading Edge Alliance based in Chicago. More information about Dezan Shira can be found at http://www.dezshira.com.
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Dezan Shira is a 17 year old firm with 16 offices strategically located in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and India. Devonshire-Ellis will directly oversee the growth of Dezan Shira’s five India offices from the principal location in Mumbai.
“India is where the growth opportunities are now for a business like ours. China will continue to do well, but at a lower rate of growth. After all, it has had 15 fantastic years of foreign direct investment and infrastructural improvement. However, things always change and new opportunities present themselves. Now it is India’s turn,” said Devonshire-Ellis.
Devonshire-Ellis is highly optimistic about business opportunities in India for Dezan Shira, which is categorized as a specialist foreign direct investment practice. The firm solely concentrates on providing legal, incorporation, due diligence, tax, accounting and compliance work to U.S., European and other multinational corporations investing in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and India.
The majority of the firm’s India clients are component manufacturers, infrastructure and project developers as well as related third party suppliers, both targeting India as a manufacturing base to service other destinations, yet increasingly also those selling into the domestic India market.
“One also has to understand the shift of fundamentals in India to understand the opportunities,” Devonshire-Ellis said.
“First, changes in regulations that govern businesses such as ours, with our investments in both professional services and media are becoming more favorable to foreign investors. Secondly, the country has enjoyed a mini domestic boom for several years now, and the Indian business community is confident and well educated. Thirdly, and perhaps this has been the missing component, India now has a government in place with a true mandate to reform and change,” he added.
Devonshire-Ellis believes the election of the Congress Party with a de facto majority to push through reform has the potential to do for India what Deng Xiaoping’s reforms did for China in the early 1990s.
Finally, Devonshire-Ellis noted, is the increasing bilateral trade volume between China and India.
“We feel our presence in India can also leverage this recent phenomenon. With trade between the two countries running at US$60 billion in 2008, and increasing in leaps and bounds, a presence in both countries will help us plug into that and generate business” he said.
Devonshire-Ellis said Dezan Shira is well positioned to participate in this economic shift.
“We set up five small offices across India three years ago, in different cities, to evaluate how they would perform and to learn about the dynamics of each specific location. These were in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata. We also handled some early client work, often in partnership with local firms, to further learn about the market conditions.
“Dezan Shira is now making a significant investment in Mumbai, while retaining the other four offices. We have plans to increase the size and scope of each of those offices, as well, over the next two to three years,” said Devonshire-Ellis.
Devonshire-Ellis established Dezan Shira in 1992. Prior to establishing Dezan Shira, Devonshire-Ellis was employed by Mossack Fonseca & Co (Hong Kong), a specialist law firm administering and establishing offshore jurisdictions, and with Asia Law & Practice, now part of Euromoney. Devonshire-Ellis was elected to the Business Advisory Council for the United Nations Development Programme for the Greater Tumen Initiative, which includes North-East China, earlier in 2009, and has authored and contributed to numerous books about China and Regional Asian business.
He also is the founder of Asia Briefing Media Ltd, a business publishing house that produces magazine, book and blog titles under the brands "China Briefing,” "India Briefing," "Vietnam Briefing" and "2point6billion" - the latter title being derived from the combined population of China and India, and showcasing business developments in Emerging Asia. The ten year old Asia Briefing publishing house is based from Hong Kong.
Dezan Shira & Associates is a member of The Leading Edge Alliance based in Chicago. More information about Dezan Shira can be found at http://www.dezshira.com.
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Minkus & Pearlman
Raymond Minkus
2245331030
www.dezshira.com
Raymond Minkus
2245331030
www.dezshira.com
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