China General Interest
In this issue of China Now we introduce you to one of the NZCTA's longstanding Executive Committee members, Richard Fyers of Fyers Joyce.
Fyers Joyce is a business law firm based in Auckland. Its practice areas include all commercial, financial and regulatory issues that affect businesses especially those operating internationally. Fyers Joyce has special and in depth experience of private equity transactions including acquisitions, divestments, management buy outs and private capital placements. It is also recognised for its expertise in doing business in China.
Senior partner, Richard Fyers, first worked in Beijing with the Chinese law firm King and Wood in 1993. At that time Fyers was a partner in the national law firm Buddle Findlay and received an Asia 2000 fellowship to assist King and Wood which was one of the first, and is now the largest, law firm in China.
Since then he has advised on many projects in China, including developments, trading, joint ventures, manufacturing arrangements and due diligence investigations. He continues to work closely with King and Wood, now Asia’s largest law firm and to provide advice to entities trading with and investing in China.
Phillip Joyce was formerly in house legal counsel for Frucor Beverages and joined Fyer’s legal practice in 2002. Joyce has worked in London and has extensive experience providing mid sized and larger companies with comprehensive business law advice especially commercial agreements. Joyce’s clients include health food, fresh produce, retailing, property investment, and manufacturing businesses operating in multiple jurisdictions.
Fyers is also a director with Graeme Wickham of an investment bank, Fyers Wickham. In 1998 Fyers Wickham with Pacific Equity Partners and others acquired Frucor Beverages. Fyers was a director and was involved in the management of acquisitions and the international distribution of the energy drink “V”. Fyers Wickham led the acquisition of Maxwell Marine Limited in 2002 and helped govern it until it was sold to a Dutch marine group in 2008. Maxwell Marine is an internationally leading manufacturer of anchor windlasses and boat hatches.
Fyers has been involved in the sale and purchase by private equity of a number of businesses in Australia and New Zealand. He is currently a director of Freshmax Pty Limited (an Australasian fresh produce importer exporter and distributor) and Southern Travel Holdings Limited (an NZAX listed travel company) as well as other private companies. With Wickham, he is a director of KTA Capital (New Zealand) Limited which is a joint venture with a New York investment bank.
He also helped establish World TV and remains a founding shareholder. World TV broadcasts eight channels of Asian television from the Sky satellite and has a free-to-air Chinese TV channel and a radio station.
Fyers is currently deputy chairman of the New Zealand China Trade Association, chaired it for a time and has been a member of the executive for many years. He travels to China frequently and attended the FTA signing ceremony in Beijing in April last year.
As convener of the NZCTA trade mission committee, Fyers led a horticultural trade mission to Beijing, Shandong and Shanghai in 2007. He is an active lover of the arts and is considering another mission this year focused on art and architecture.
NZCTA invites anyone, with an interest in the arts and architecture, and who would like to keep in touch with plans for this mission is invited to lodge a no obligation expression of interest by emailing director@nzcta.co.nz.
Feb 4, 2009