At the moment, the Italian-headquartered firm's client portfolio is more composed of multinational companies but Jenna says the company is working for a 50-50 balance.

Sources from the China Consulting Industry Association say there were about 30,000 consulting institutions, both domestic and foreign, registered in China by the end of last year.

They are engaged in diversified industries such as IT, corporate management, public relations, human resources, and marketing and the number of firms has been rising at a double digital growth annually.

"We don't look too much at the competition, we are more about having a clear direction of what we want to do and working well for our clients," says Jenna. He says that the consulting market in China is growing at probably 20 to 30 percent annually now and will do so for the next five years at least, so there is room for more.

And he says Value Partners' real challenge is to distinguish itself from competitors.

Last year, Value Partners helped Eurizon Financial Group S.P.A., the top financial group in Italy and third largest in Europe, acquire a 19.9 percent stake in Beijing-based Union Life Insurance Co Ltd for 800 million euros and to buy a 49 percent stake in Shenzhen Penghua Fund Management Co Ltd, one of China's top 10 fund managers.

It did strategy design and investment consultancy for Eurizon, which helps Eurizon's investment grow more than 100 percent so far and establish it as a significant presence in China's financial industry.

The case of Pirelli, an Italy-based large tire manufacturer, demonstrates Value Partners' technique of aiding multinational companies entering China.

When Pirelli came to China in 2005, it decided to find a local partner and the consulting firm helped it invest in Lutong company in Shandong province, which initially manufactured only truck tires.

"Most of the work we have done is improving the performance of the joint venture, because Lutong was mainly around Shandong, not around China, and the products' quality is relatively poor and Lutong is a relatively poor brand," recalls Jenna.

Then Value Partner designed the strategy to improve the distribution, selected the best distributors in every province, improved market share, and introduced better quality products with the Pirelli brand. It resulted in a 100 percent sales increase in the first six months after the distribution restructuring.

Jenna says Value Partners' internal communications is another plus. "The connections between different offices in order to have the best resources available is our strong point," Jenna stresses.

(China Daily August 4, 2008)