(Reuters) – U.S. tech research and advisory firm Forrester Research has decided to close its office in mainland China after the country’s government increased scrutiny on western consultancies.
A company spokesperson said on Thursday the closure was part of a broader global restructuring plan, with the majority in the U.S., driven by an unsteady economy.
Overseas business lobbies in China have said they were unnerved by a sweeping crackdown on consultancies and due diligence firms that is damaging investor confidence in the world’s second-largest economy.
China state media has described the crackdown as “intensifying” law enforcement aimed at protecting national security, and a broadening of legislation that criminalizes the transfer of information and data.
The crackdowns “send a worrying signal and heighten the uncertainty felt by foreign companies operating in China”, the EU’s Chamber of Commerce in China said earlier this month.
Forrester Research has begun to let go of employees and plans to lay off most of its analysts in the country, the South China Morning Post reported earlier on Thursday, citing a person with knowledge on the matter.
The Financial Times has also reported, citing sources, on the firm’s plans to lay off the majority of its China analysts due to Beijing’s intensified scrutiny of western consultancies in the country.
(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
