Mr China

Mr China, the true account of how the Chinese market, politics and people had an impact on foreign investment. Particularly the money pumped in by Wall Street’s investment bankers. It’s written by Tim Clissold, a Brit who was in partnership with an American investment banker. Joining them was an ex-Red Guard. It’s about how the $400 million that was invested doesn’t end up showing the expected spectacular results inspite of the upcoming economy. On the contrary, so much of it is lost or gets squandered in the midst of Chinese politics. The narrator of the story is Clissold himself, a Mandarin speaking investment banker. He tells the story in a clear, often humourous manner. The incidents narrated happened in the ’90s. The book gives so much insight on China, their business, their idiosyncracies and the like. It was quite an engaging read. Makes you think about how different life can be either in terms of being in China or in terms of being an investment banker. An eye opener really!

The article in Time about it here.  An interview with Clissold here.