UTStarcom’s Crash Shows Pitfalls of Doing Business in China

UTStarcom went public in 2000, and for a time was seen as a smart way to play the China telecom boom. But it's become an example of what corporate lawyers can face when trying to square business practices common in China -- such as paying bribes and recognizing income before it's actually in company coffers -- with the corporate disclosures required by U.S. regulators. More than $300 million in revenue has come off the books, and the company has admitted to backdating stock options for executives.