CSFB is not the first to draw heat from Beijing over government policy. Jardine Matheson spent years trying to work its way back into Beijing's good books after a 1992 abstention by one of the conglomerate's directors from a vote on democratic reform in the Legislative Council. In May this year, the China Daily reported that Boeing was rapidly losing ground in the mainland to European rival Airbus Industrie. This followed the collision between a United States reconnaissance plane and a Chinese fighter jet off the Hainan coast and the subsequent chilling of Sino-US relations. Coming between the mainland and Taiwan can also prove costly to governments, as France found out in 1993 when it won a bid to supply the Taiwanese with 60 Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets. Beijing's anger resulted in the temporary closure of France's Guangzhou consulate while many French firms lost out on a number of business deals as a result of the proposed sale. Finally, Giordano International's China expansion policy was stalled after key shareholder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying's Next Magazine insulted a top Beijing official. The company continued to suffer mainland setbacks even after Mr Lai sold out of the group. Today, China is one of Giordano's main growth areas while Mr Lai has left Hong Kong to shake up Taiwan's tabloid media.
