Random question, but leading-on from Sony regional purchasing NetEase music arm, can't Sony buy NetEase and break into China a little easier/integrate NE's publishing etc? Why work with proxy's?
Netease is a huge company, one of the biggest tech Chinese companies. Big tech companies are strategical and key for national interests, so normally governments protect them from being acquired by foreigners. So pretty likely, even if in theory Sony could buy it, the government could block it.
In the same way that USA would protect a foreign acquisition of Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon or Meta. Or in case of Japan the foreign acquisition of companies like Sony.
And well, to buy the whole Netease would be insanely expensive. It has a market cap of $69B, buying it with a premium of 40%, the average in recent big tech acquisitions, would mean a $97B acquisition. Not realistic for Sony.
In any case, if you're interested in their gaming branch Sony for Sony's future gaming expansion in Asia via mobile+PC, they already have a partnership deal with them for gaming. Same as with Tencent, MiHoyo, NCSoft, Cygames+Kadokawa, Akatsuki+Koei Tecmo etc.
Other than this, as a protective measure the Chinese government forces foreign companies to operate there via local companies or subsidiaries to double check they don't fuck them and apply local regulations.
Dude every big conglomerate in china has a family member who is a member of the ccp politburo, how do you think the conglomerate came to be in place. The whole country is the most glorious advertisement for crony capitalism with rampant corruption from grassroots to the highest level. For the first time I think America should take a page out of the Indians and just ban chinese corporations outright from operating state side.
In China the CCP is the equivalent to our political class: every big company has a family member somewhat related to politicians either at a national, regional, provincial or city level.
In our case, all main political parties are funded by the economical elites and defend their interests. Independently if the party A or B wins on our countries, doesn't matter because the main politics will always follow the agenda set by these economical elites.
Sme in China, with the difference that they vote individuals instead of parties, and their political class is ruled by their government instead of the western economical elite.
