Chinese Battery Factory Plans Halted in Belgian Countryside
Quick Look
- Plans for a large Chinese battery factory in Belgium, expected to create 2,000 jobs, have stalled.
- The unnamed company allegedly failed to conduct a proper feasibility study, relying on superficial information from European legal firms instead of commissioning a full report.
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Why It Matters
Plans were underway to construct a large battery factory in the Belgian countryside, which would have created an estimated 2,000 local jobs and served as a key facility for a Chinese company expanding into Europe.
Not long ago, plans were in motion to build an enormous battery factory in the Belgian countryside. If completed, it would have created an estimated 2,000 jobs for the local economy and served as a flagship facility for a Chinese company expanding into the European market.
The company, which has not been named due to the sensitivity of the matter, likely made the error by trying to cut corners: it did not hire a law firm to do a proper report, according to Xiufang Tu, a partner and head of the China desk at the Brussels-based Daldewolf law firm.
Rather than commission a full study, many Chinese companies simply set up meetings with a string of European legal firms and then piece together a basic feasibility report from the titbits of information they glean, Tu said.
“After that, once the leadership signs off, the decision is made,” she said. “But in this situation, the information you collect – if you’re not paying for it – is very basic and quite superficial.”
Open Questions
- What is the name of the Chinese company involved?
- What specific legal firms were consulted?
- What are the exact reasons for the decision to halt plans?
- Will the company attempt to build elsewhere in Europe?
