HongKong & Shanghai Bank, which has a major presence in China, feels investors should be cautious about pumping in funds into that country.
A senior manager of HSBC in Kolkata told a knowledge workshop on 'Legal and business environment & doing business in China', "China is a difficult market and it is better to invest judiciously as this will help one to get a feel of the situation, rather than to plunge in with a large chunk of investment."
Indian Chamber of Commerce organised the meeting.
He added, "It is better to trade with China than to invest in that country and Indian companies would do well in trade. There are problems like language and culture, lack of transparency of Chinese system, etc."
Some areas in China also lacked infrastructure. "Although there has been a lot of improvement in the legal and financial system in China recently, a lot more needs to be done," he said.
Banks from China were relatively less experienced when it came to issues relating to international trade and delayed payments of bills was a problem.