Chinese firms' visit a real talker

Some said they are engaged in "living creature chemical engineering." Others described themselves as "full of vigor and looking forward to creating a modern life with you," or promoting a corporate culture of "boldness and carefulness" and "loving is to love self."

They were Chinese companies, in Seattle recently as part of the country's push to "go global" by investing abroad. But when the business people introduced themselves here, much was lost in translation.

And their local hosts seemed unable to bridge the gap.

Representatives of 50 Chinese firms, from biotech ("living creature") to steel, rolled into town May 11 to learn about business opportunities. Many had never invested in the U.S. before.

"It's an unfamiliar world to a great number of Chinese companies," said Robert Kapp, the former head of the U.S.-China Business Council who now runs a Port Townsend consulting firm focused on China.

The interpreting confusion ran in both directions.

Former Gov. Gary Locke, in his welcoming remarks, joked that "the weather is modest like this all year around," a phrase translated to the audience without a trace of irony.

The speeches took so long to interpret that many of the 50 delegates left the room to make phone calls or try to network in the lobby. Others cut out to attend an event at Boeing.

One U.S. participant compared the event to "speed dating," but said if companies were interested in finding partners, they had no way to know who might be interested in them.

After the protracted speeches, local business people and Chinese delegates found themselves mingling in a roomful of strangers who didn't speak each others' language.

There was no one around to make introductions or guide discussion. This was obviously bewildering for the Chinese visitors, who are accustomed to getting to know potential partners over a banquet table.

By the time the cocktail reception was in full swing, most of those left standing were familiar faces from Seattle.

It was hard to know just where some of the Chinese companies might fit in Seattle's economy. Besides China's biggest steel producer and its major oil company, the group included a cotton producer; makers of medical equipment; electrical appliances and scaffolding; and three shoe manufacturers.

— Kristi Heim

Patients rally to back Dendreon

Dendreon's prostate cancer drug has its own fan club — and it's a powerful one, too.

A coalition of five nonprofits across the country plans to stage a gathering in Washington D.C., on June 4 to protest the recent delay of Provenge by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA's decision May 8 to require more data on Provenge means the drug might not hit the market until 2010. As a result, the stock took a big hit.

While the nonprofits say their goal is mainly to raise awareness about prostate cancer and the lack of treatment options available, their initiative is called Provenge Now and is detailed on a Web site by the same name (www.provengenow.org).

The group hopes several thousand prostate-cancer survivors, patients and their families from across the U.S. turn out.

"The level of attention to this particular FDA decision is unlike any I've seen," said analyst Paul Latta of McAdams Wright Ragen in Seattle.

Already, one of the nonprofits, Malecare (www.malecare.com), has compiled about 2,000 signatures on a letter of protest that it will send to the FDA at the end of the month.

The FDA's outside panel of experts voted in March to endorse the drug. But on May 8 the agency said it won't approve the drug until further data on its efficacy is gathered.

Coalition leaders, in their bid to convince the FDA that it made a bad choice, met with the head of the FDA, Andrew von Eschenbach.

One of the nonprofits in the campaign — Us TOO in Olympia — is participating even though its governing rules forbid endorsing a drug or a product, Chairman Jim Kiefert said.

Us TOO has to be careful about how it addresses the issue. For example, instead of telling von Eschenbach that the FDA should approve Provenge, Us TOO will ask him to "follow the recommendations of your advisory committee," Kiefert said.

— Kirsten Orsini-Meinhard

Infrastrux deals

One of the biggest leveraged buyouts in history has unplugged the biggest deal ever for Bellevue-based Infrastrux Group, a provider of outsourced utility services.

Infrastrux last summer inked a 10-year, $8.7 billion pact to take over Texas utility TXU's maintenance and construction operations, and about 2,000 employees. But after TXU announced it would go private in a $32 billion private-equity buyout, it disconnected the Infrastrux deal last month rather than contend with further questions from unions and delays from regulators. It was an expensive transaction — TXU said it will take an $11 million write-off for lawyers and such.

But Infrastrux wasn't done dealing. Late last year it acquired Hawkeye, a New York company with $200 million in revenue and 1,100 employees. Infrastrux alone did $450 million in business last year.

— Rami Grunbaum

Rami Grunbaum: rgrunbaum@seattletimes.com