China's emerging markets.

Ten years ago, investors in Taiwan endured a lack of transparency and rampant market manipulation. Taiwan's market still has something of a casino mentality, but foreign capital now accounts for 20% of the market, and its economy thrives on technology. China, facing many of the same challenges as Taiwan did a decade ago, in November borrowed a page from the island nation's capital-market playbook. It may not seem like a big deal yet, but just wait. "…

…will have merger and acquisition implications. Buyers will see opportunities. "Foreign companies strong in Industry X will see this as a chance to buy a company in same industry in China," says Eugene Cha, a Beijing lawyer who works with overseas business in that city. But following the changes in China's economy and its joining the World Trade Organization, negotiating power has gradually shifted to the foreign side, thus opening up room for workable deals.