Icbccss&p500usd Discussion Threads

[robbb] 07/4/2005 11:16

Morgan Stanley produced a research note on the mining sector yesterday that was bullish due to the China effect. Does anyone here have it and would be willing to let me have a copy. I have spoken to them and they won't send it out to a private punter.

Cheers
Rob

[waldron] 06/4/2005 07:50

Global buyers spending more in China



Orders from foreign governments, international organizations and multinational giants have boosted China's exports. Multinationals bought less than 10 billion USD worth of goods in China in 2000. The value jumped to 55 billion USD in 2003 which accounted for 13 percent of total Chinese exports that year.

More and more multinationals have chosen Chinese suppliers for their global operation. Take retailing giants with global business as an example. IKEA has made China its most important source of raw materials and half processed products. Wal-Mart's bill in China inflated to 18 billion USD in 2004 after an annual rise of 3 billion USD since 2002.

In Shenzhen alone, multinational retailers, including IKEA, B&Q, OBI, TARGET and Wal-Mart, have or will set up their procurement centers for their regional, Asian or even global operation. The latest news is about the plan of AEON from Japan, the biggest retailer in Asia and the 13th in the world, for its global sourcing center in Shenzhen.

For Chinese producers, global sourcing provides new extensive possibilities for their exports and a reliable barometer of the world market. Their efforts on improving their quality for successful bidding will make them more competitive.

The prospect of global sourcing will also put spurs to China's logistics business. Logistic companies are not playing a big role in the trade in China.

Solely foreign funded export procurement centers are allowed in China now. Their export business enjoys the same treatment as their peers in the Chinese mainland, including tax rebates. The vision of rising sourcing centers will in turn add potential to logistics.

By People's Daily Online

[mcbeanburger] 05/4/2005 08:24

Merrill Lynch - The China Macro Monthly

[waldron] 03/4/2005 15:32

News

Framatome ANP and Alstom close to winning Chinese nuclear deals
01 April 2005
Engineering groups Framatome ANP and Alstom are reportedly close to securing contracts to supply nuclear equipment to China.

Framatome ANP, a joint venture with Areva and Siemens, has apparently won the tender process for a control centre equipment contract for two reactors to be built as part of the Ling Dong project, also referred to as Ling Ao Phase II. The contract is worth around 3% of the estimated $4 billion cost of the project, or close to $120 million.

Alstom, meanwhile, with China's Dong Fang Electric Group, is expected to win the tender for two turbo-alternators at the plant with an estimated cost of 15-20% of the project's total cost or around $800 million.

[waldron] 29/3/2005 05:35

China Gives Foreign Companies 5 Years To Pay New Taxes



By . Agence France-Presse


March 29, 2005 -- Foreign companies in China will get at least a five-year cushion period to adjust to new rules that will eventually make them pay the same tax rates as local rivals, state media reported March 28. The government may extend the period to six or even eight years as it unifies tax regimes for local and foreign companies, Xinhua news agency said, citing Jia Kang, head of the finance ministry's Institute of Fiscal Science.



This means that it could be halfway through the next decade -- or 14 years after China's entry into the World Trade Organization which originally forced the rule change -- before foreign and local companies pay the same rates.

Jin said last week the harmonized tax rate would likely be about 25% on all companies, compared with the current 15% corporate tax for foreign-invested companies and 33% for their domestic counterparts.


He said the new tax regime would not mean the end of preferential taxes for foreign invested companies, saying support for enterprises in compliance with industrial policies "would continue and may even improve." Although foreign companies officially appear to pay much lower rates than local enterprises, the real situation may be more complicated on the ground. Well-connected Chinese companies are widely believed to be paying rates considerably below the official level.

[grupo] 25/3/2005 15:09

BEIJING (AFX) - China plans to lighten the burden on its strained railways
by adding 10,000 kilometers of tracks by 2010, Xinhua news agency reported.
The five-year plan calls for more than 5,000 kilometers of new railways for
passenger transport and the laying of tracks alongside existing ones for at
least another 4,000 kilometers, Xinhua said.
The report did not specify what the extra 1,000 kilometers will be used for,
but crucial to the plan is the network's ability to carry more cargo and ease
existing transport bottlenecks.
In outlining the plan, the Ministry of Railways estimates the extended
network will be capable of hauling an additional 1.5 bln tons of coal.
China's creaking railways have been struggling to keep up with the rising
demand for cargo transportation, especially for coal, Agence France-Presse
reported.
Its inadequacies have clogged the country's ports and caused lengthy delays
in the delivery of commodities.
The system has been under increasingly heavy strain as the Chinese economy
has surged at annual growth rates of more than 9 pct.
By 2010 China expects to have 85,000 kilometers of railway lines, including
35,000 that are electrified.
bms/mp/hcw/swp

[maywillow] 25/3/2005 07:43

BEIJING (AFX) - The Chinese government will grant licenses to China Mobile,
China Netcom and China Telecom to operate third generation (3G) mobile telecom
networks for a price of 20 bln yuan each, the National Business Daily reported,
citing industry sources.
The newspaper said China Unicom, the country's second largest mobile
operator after China Mobile, will be split into two parts - a Global System for
Mobile Communications (GSM) network and a Code Division Multiple Accessnet
(CDMA) network.
They will be integrated, respectively, with China Telecom and China Netcom,
the source said.
"It's only a matter of time to take over China Unicom's CDMA network," an
unnamed official from China Netcom's Guangdong branch was quoted as saying,
adding that some Netcom executives have received training to operate the new
network.
When contacted by XFN-Asia, both the Ministry of Information Industry (MII)
and the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC)
declined to comment.
This follows rumors that the Chinese government will overhaul the telecom
industry due to concerns that issuing four 3G licenses to state-owned operators
would require excessive investment from the state.
Last month, Wang Xiaochu, China Telecom's chairman, said the company had
proposed to the MII and SASAC that it should be allowed to join with China
Netcom to buy one of Unicom's two mobile networks.
China Telecom is more interested in the older GSM network, Wang added.
China Unicom Corp, established in 1994, has a listed arm in Shanghai, China
United Telecommunications Corp Ltd (China Unicom) (SHA 600050) and an overseas
listed vehicle, China Unicom Ltd (HK 0762; NYSE CHU).
At the end of last year, China Unicom had a total of 112.08 mln mobile
subscribers, including 27.81 mln CDMA users and 84.27 mln GSM users, while China
Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd (HK 0941; NYSE CHL) recorded a total of 204.3 mln users.
China Telecom Corp Ltd (HK 0728; ADR CHA) and China Netcom Group Corp (Hong
Kong) (HK 0906) are China's largest fixed-line service providers.
(1 usd = 8.3 yuan)
[e-mail]
tom/jpb/dk

[mcbeanburger] 22/3/2005 19:16

China facts - 120 mln Internet users, 340 mln mobile users, 16 mln PCs shipped in 2004

China is expected to grow 28% this year to 120 mln, according to Xinhua news agency, which quotes an official with China's Ministry of Information Industry. In 2004 the number of Internet users grew 16% to 94 mln. IDC reports that China is the world's #2 PC market - it shipped nearly 16 mln units last year. That number is expected to grow by 13% in 2005. China is the world's biggest telecom market by number of subscribers, with 316 mln fixed-line users, and 340 mln mobile users as of January, according to Xinhua. China will have 402 mln mobile subscribers by the end of 2005.

[mcbeanburger] 22/3/2005 13:53

Yes some negatives coming out of China of late. I think China will do anything to ensure they get past the Olympics - face saving most important.

After that, save haven of your choice...

[biswell] 22/3/2005 13:50

The Next Global Super Power: 1.3 Billion People: "The World's Workshop" says Marc Faber

I think

''The World's biggest health hazzard'' would be better

[biswell] 22/3/2005 13:48

Hard landing in China within 18 months

Will cause world wide ripples....and a big drop in commodity prices when the first whiffs are smelt

[mcbeanburger] 22/3/2005 13:43

China's coal crisis hits Guangdong power plants

21 March 2005 - The Chinese region of Guangdong is set to lose 13 of its power plants due to a shortage of coal and a prolonged drought.

The power stations in question generate a total of 2.83 GW for the region. Six coal plants in the region have only enough reserves for one day while others have enough to last for just one week.

The southern power grid has been warned that it faces its toughest period of the year between now and the end of April. The load recorded on 9 March was ten per cent higher than the same period last year, despite the province having imposed initiatives to stagger use of power.

The continued dry weather in the region has further aggravated the power supply issue as low water levels in two major reservoirs have drastically reduced hydropower generation.

Cao Yushu, deputy secretary general of China's State Reform and Development Commission (SRDC), has said previously: "China faces overall power shortages of coal, oil and electricity, among which coal shortage will rise to be the first concern."

While coal production continues to rise in China, supply has continued to fail to meet demand. In March, production was up 15 per cent year on year, but most coal mines are at full capacity according to Zhu Hongren, an SRDC official, making increased production difficult and unlikely.

[mcbeanburger] 22/3/2005 13:29

Wave of Corruption Tarnishes China's Extraordinary Growth [NYT]

By DAVID BARBOZA
March 22, 2005

SHANGHAI, March 21 - China has been shaken by a series of large-scale bank robberies in recent years, but they are not the Bonnie-and-Clyde type.

These are inside jobs: top executives, branch managers, loan officers and thousands of everyday employees have been running off with billions in customers' money.

Consider what has happened in just the first two months of 2005. First, a branch manager at the Bank of China disappeared with more than $100 million in cash. A few weeks later, dozens of employees of another commercial bank were arrested for conspiring to steal nearly $1 billion. And then midlevel officials of the China Construction Bank fled with about $8 million.

There is no word yet whether any of the money has been recovered. But the chain of events underlines an ugly byproduct of China's aggressive embrace of a freewheeling, get-rich-quick form of capitalism: a long-running wave of corporate and government corruption scandals.

The financial scandal watch gained new prominence last week with news reports that Zhang Enzhao, the head of the China Construction Bank, resigned after a lawsuit accused him of having accepted a $1 million bribe from an American company, Alltel Information Services.

The bank later issued a statement saying he resigned for "personal reasons."

The scandals are by no means limited to banks. Since the early 1990's, China's modern robber barons have focused on all manner of state-run companies. Brokerage houses, government-controlled investment management firms and dozens of state-owned companies have been looted of billions, according to government investigators. The official media are filled with accounts of executives and public employees accused of embezzling money and sometimes gambling away those funds at border casinos.

With China awash in speculative money intended to fuel its economic boom, many corporate executives have turned greedy, and even low-level employees are engaging in self-dealing transactions and learning how to funnel millions of dollars into offshore accounts.

"Corruption is pervasive in China," said Larry Lang, a professor of finance at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. "A lot of state-owned companies have been simply stripped clean."

Few experts say that the scandals will slow China's roaring economic growth anytime soon. But economists and government officials worry that the glaring examples of fraud, bribery and embezzlement could badly hinder the development of the nation's banking and financial systems, which desperately need to be modernized for China to become a full-fledged economic superpower.

In the last four years, at least 25 government officials have been sentenced to death for accepting bribes and kickbacks. Hundreds more are serving lengthy prison terms.

But every month, the number of fraud cases seems to mushroom. Two weeks ago, the government announced that 58,000 people had been punished for misappropriating money or making unauthorized loans at just two of the big four state-owned banks. In 2003 alone, officials said that the equivalent of nearly $8 billion was pilfered from state-owned enterprises.

In many ways, the corruption scandals offer a telling glimpse into the darker side of China's remarkable ascent. Though the economy is soaring, incomes are rising (per-capita income grew to $1,100 in 2003, the last year figures are available) and foreign investment continues to flood into the coastal provinces, China's finances are in a mess.

The benchmark Shanghai stock index is down about 40 percent over the last four years. Nearly half the nation's 130 brokerage houses are insolvent. And the biggest banks are weighed down by enormous debts.

"The financing system that supports China's economic growth is very fragile," said Sun Lijian, a professor at Fudan University in Shanghai. "People are often impressed by the look of cities like Beijing and Shanghai, or with the G.D.P. growth every year. But without a strong financing system, China's economic growth is unhealthy."

Experts say that weak regulation and oversight, deep-seated government corruption and poor risk-management practices are to blame for allowing fraud artists and looters to run off long before investigators discover that anything is amiss.

"The incompleteness of the legal system provides an environment in which some people are willing and able to take chances to do illegal things," said Zhou Chunsheng, a Beijing University professor.

One industry plagued by scandal is also the one that holds everyone's cash: the state-run banks, which had bad loans valued around $204 billion last year, according to McKinsey & Company, the consultants.

Part of this results from greed at the top. In recent years, two high-ranking executives who worked at the Bank of China were sentenced to long prison terms for economic crimes. And in 2002, the Bank of China discovered that $500 million was missing from accounts after three of its bankers fled the country.

Hoping to prepare for foreign competition, some of the largest banks are trying to revamp their operations and tighten controls. The government helped by dipping into its huge foreign currency reserves last year to wipe out some $22.5 billion in bad loans at the Bank of China and the China Construction Bank.

Some of the worst-performing loans were taken over by state asset management companies. But they, too, are in trouble. In January, the government said four big state-run asset management companies engaged in illegal practices that involved $800 million.

Brokerage firms are in worse shape, with at least $20 billion in debt on their books. Many were poorly managed and undercapitalized when they began dealing in shares for investors in the 1990's, experts say. But for a while, those problems were masked by rising stock prices.

When prices began to fall in 2001, a lot of brokerage houses ran aground - accused of gambling with investors' funds, investing in pet real estate projects that devoured money, and siphoning off large amounts into private or offshore accounts. With lawsuits piling up, more than a dozen brokerage firms have been seized by regulators in the last two years.

Part of the problem, experts say, is the poor state of the stock markets, which many liken to casinos. The Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, where 1,300 companies are listed, most state-run, are just over a decade old. Traders and experts complain about ineffective regulations, trading restrictions, a lack of transparency with listed companies and a disconnection between corporate profits and stock prices.

"Here, earnings are irrelevant," said Song Fengming, a professor at Qinghua University in Beijing. "Even if the performance is the worst, the stock price can still go up. And vice versa. Investors think the market is an A.T.M. machine."

In the last year, regulators have pressed hard to shore up the flagging stock market. Nonetheless, over the last four years, the Shanghai Stock Exchange has the worst-performing major stock index in the world.

That the economy could be sizzling hot and the market sharply lower during much of the last few years is an oddity not lost on industry officials or small investors.

"Why is G.D.P. going up and the stock market going down?" asked an official at Gold State Securities who insisted on being identified only as Li. "That's why investors won't come here."

Few investors seem to trust public companies created out of state enterprises. In one of the latest examples of fraud, three senior executives, including the chairman and chief financial officer at the Yili Corporation, a big dairy company, were arrested on suspicion that they had embezzled $50 million.

Can fraud here compare to cases in the United States, like those of Enron or WorldCom? The American companies were bigger, but analysts say that corporate fraud in China is far more routine and pervasive than in the West. "The concept of an arm's-length transaction or arm's-length dealings are relatively new concepts in China," said Chen Zhiwu, a finance professor at the Yale School of Management.

According to a study conducted by Beijing University, about 16 percent of the companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges over the last decade were subjected enforcement actions like fines or trading suspensions compared with 2 percent in the United States.

Professor Song at Qinghua University said he abandoned a research project with Standard & Poor's to rate state-owned companies because so many financial statements were not believable. Until that changes, China will find it tough to join the economic front ranks.

"If China doesn't have a strong and stable financial system," said Din Jianping at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, "the economy of the entire country won't be very stable."

[maywillow] 21/3/2005 19:14

The 12th Asian Retailers Convention & Exhibition to be Held in Beijing in September

MARCH 21, 2005 -- BEIJING - The 12th Asia Retailers Convention & Exhibition (12th ARCE) and 2005 China Retail Trade Expo will be held September 6-10, 2005 in Beijing, China.

ARCE is organized by The Federation of Asian Retailers Association (FARA), whose members come from 17 countries and regions, including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Turkey. The convention is held in rotation in these countries/regions every two years.

It is expected that about 1,500 international retailers delegates from Asia Pacific regions and about 2,500 domestic retailer delegates from all sectors will attend the 12th ARCE. Delegates from enterprises and agencies from the U.S. and from European countries will also attend the event. Although it is the first time that ARCE is being held in Beijing, the scale and the number of participants is expected to be the largest ever.

Concurrent with the 12th ARCE, the Ministry of Commerce will organize 2005 China Retail Trade Expo at China International Exhibition Center, Beijing during September 8-10, 2005. With the theme "Cooperation & Development," the Expo will showcase the results attained by the opening up and development of retail industry in China. It will also serve as a unique platform for co-operation and business / technological exchange between Chinese and international industry players.

The Department of Commercial Reform and Development, Ministry of Commerce has invited the participation of retail enterprises, such as Carrefour, Wal-Mart, Metro, B&Q, Lotus Superstore, IKEA, Beijing GOME, Beijing New Yansha, Shanghai Brilliance and Shenzhen Causeway Group to participate in the Expo.

2005 is the first year that China fully opens up her retail industry to the world. In 2004, the retail sales volume in China reached US$6,385 billion, a 13% growth of 2003. On the first half of 2004, sales of the 10 major chain stores grew 29.7% over the same period in 2003. Besides, starting from December 11, 2004, the Chinese government has abolished the geographic, percentage of share and quantity restrictions about foreign investment on retail enterprises.

2005 China Retail Trade Expo scope of exhibits include large retail enterprises, retail equipment & technology, modern logistics, franchise / chain store cooperation, commercial real estate cooperation. Retail solutions and equipment is one of the major scopes and a special thematic zone will be staged in this aspect.

Adsale Exhibition Services is the overseas organizer of the 2005 China Retail Trade Expo. For further details on the Expo, contact Maizy Law of Adsale at 852-2516-3389.

[maywillow] 21/3/2005 16:36

Growth forecast for China economy increased to 8 per cent


THE Chinese economy will grow at a faster than expected annual rate over the next five years, according to a new report from a leading think-tank.

The new forecast from China's Development Research Centre says the economy of the world's most populous country will grow at an average annual rate of eight per cent from 2006 to 2010.

That exceeds the well established official view that long-term growth would average seven per cent. Last year, the Chinese economy grew by 9.5 per cent.

But the new forecast, reported by state media today, follows the Chinese government's decision to increase the growth forecast for 2005.

"China's economy will maintain average annual growth of eight per cent during the Eleventh Five Year plan period (2006-2010), boosting per capita GDP to $1700 (£890)," the China Securities Journal quoted a report by the think-tank as saying.

"That means China will achieve its goal of quadrupling its gross domestic product from 2000 to 2020 ahead of schedule," the centre's vice director Sun Xiaoyu told the China Daily.

[maywillow] 19/3/2005 10:51

16/03/05 - Air Liquide Engineering Grows in China
Emerging Asian countries, especially China, are fast growing geographies where the Air Liquide Group intends to boost its future development based on technological know-how and customer proximity. The Group is already present in high potential industrial areas and intends to invest around 500 million euros in China over the next five years.

Air Liquide Hangzhou (ALHZ), its Chinese Engineering centre, was founded in 1995 to design and manufacture cutting edge production plants for the Group and for third parties in China and abroad. In 2004, ALHZ, which now has more than 300 employees, signed many contracts with local and international customers for a total of about 150 million euros.

This success story was recently illustrated and reinforced by the signing of a new contract with Anshan Iron & Steel Group Corporation. Under the terms of this contract, Air Liquide which had previously been chosen by Anshan to provide three air separation plants, will supply another three new air separation units (ASUs) with a capacity of 35,000m3/h of oxygen each, at the Ying Kou site. Ying Kou is an important port North of Beijing, in the Liaoning Province. The commissioning of these units is due end 2006. These large volumes of oxygen will be injected in the blast furnaces and converters which enables faster combustion, higher temperatures and greater efficiency.

Steel production is rising rapidly, mostly in China which now represents 30% of worldwide steel production, making it a key country for the Group's success in this market. Anshan group is one of the leading state-owned steel manufacturers in China and ranks as the ninth largest steel producer worldwide.

"In total, Anshan has ordered six ASUs from Air Liquide within the last four years" said François Darchis, member of the Air Liquide Executive Committee. "We feel honoured by its ongoing confidence in the competence and dedication of our Hangzhou teams. Our Engineering Centre definitely proves to be a strong competitive advantage in our success in Asia at large and in China in particular."

In order to be closer to customers and more effectively meet local needs, Air Liquide has six Engineering & Construction centres worldwide : France, USA, Japan, Russia/Ukraine, India and China with a total of 1,200 employees. This activity generated consolidated sales of 277 million euros in 2004 representing growth of +11.8% compared to 2003.

Present in more than 70 countries, Air Liquide is the world leader in industrial and medical gases and related services. The Group offers innovative solutions based on constantly enhanced technologies. These solutions, which are in line with Air Liquide's commitment to sustainable development, help to protect life and enable our customers to manufacture many indispensable everyday products. Founded in 1902, Air Liquide has more than 36,000 employees. The Group has successfully developed a long-term relationship with its shareholders built on confidence and transparency and guided by the principles of corporate governance. Since the publication of its first consolidated financial statements in 1971, Air Liquide has posted strong and steady earnings growth. Sales in 2004 totaled 9,376 million euros, of which sales outside France accounted almost 80%. Air Liquide is listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange and is a component of the CAC 40 and EuroStoxx 50 indices (ISIN code FR 0000120073).

[maywillow] 18/3/2005 08:51

BEIJING (AFX) - Chinese consumers are getting more satisfied with current
price levels and more optimistic about future price movements, according to a
recent central bank survey.
In a statement on its website, the People's Bank of China said its first
quarter survey showed that 21.4 pct of sampled people thought current price
levels were unacceptably high, compared with 27.1 pct in the fourth quarter last
year.
The central bank said 13.2 pct of people believed current price levels were
satisfactory, 2.3 percentage points higher than that of the fourth quarter.
The survey showed that 29.1 pct of sampled people are expecting price levels
to go up in the future, compared with 41.5 pct in the previous quarter and 31.4
pct in the same period of last year.
Some 9.7 pct of participants expected price levels to fall in the future,
which is 2.6 percentage points higher than in the fourth quarter.
The central bank said the survey also showed that people are getting more
confident about their future income, with 30.8 pct expecting rising income,
compared with 23.2 pct in the fourth quarter.
The survey also showed that people still prefer savings to consuming, with
40.3 pct of surveyed people choosing to save their money, setting a new record
high.
The central bank said rising housing prices encouraged consumers to buy a
house. The survey showed that 22 pct of people are planning to buy a new house
in the coming three months, 0.8 percentage points higher than in the previous
quarter.
The central bank does the quarterly survey among a total of 20,000 people in
50 cities.
[e-mail]
al/dk

[maywillow] 18/3/2005 08:47

MNC in China not intending to change their head
Last Updated(Beijing Time):2005-03-18 15:51

The first quarters of these two years seem to be the ¡°fated periods¡±, during which the chief directors of the overseas multinationals in China have suffered being dismissed from their original posts. At this time of last year, Motorola, Nokia and Siemens, the top three mobile giants successively changed their chief directors in China. The storm of the chief leaders¡¯ dismissions becomes more violent this year. Wal-mart, Carrefour, P&G, B&Q, Sony and LG have replaced or promoted or demoted their head in China, which reveals the ups and downs of life and the inconstancy of human relationships.

Before, the basic process of the overseas multinational companies¡¯ personnel selection in China is that: first, the headquarters appoints a chief representative as the pioneer in the Chinese market; then, they recruit a number of talented Chinese natives; finally, after the market is expanded, the headquarters take over the company and the Chinese natives are kicked out. So in the personnel changes of many multinationals, chief directors from China always complain that the headquarters intentionally gets rid of them as soon as they have done their jobs, and the complaint is finally evolved into a nationalistic saying that ¡°Chinese have their ceiling in multinational companies¡±.

But presently, the more and more frequent personnel changes of the multinationals are not just simply originated from the companies¡¯ intention to get rid of someone as soon as he has done his job.

Generally speaking, the expansion of a multinational company in China consists of three stages, the first of which is mainly to settle down in China; the second is to seek more market shares and profits; and the third is the globalization stage.

From the industrial perspective, the multinationals with violent personnel changes mainly concentrate in the retailing and daily consumer goods industries, such as Wal-mart, Carrefour and P&G, etc. Because Chinese market for these industries opened up much earlier and the multinational companies of this kind have comparatively longer developing histories in China. As a result, foreign capital in these industries has already gotten through the first two phases and developed into the globalization phase.

In fact, the ¡°unspoken words¡± in the personnel changes in multinational companies is that changes in the Chinese market structure and their importance urge the multinational companies to bring it into their own globalization strategies.

Recent observation shows two basic characteristics of the personnel changes in the multinational companies. One is that chief leaders exchange their posts in the global range. For example, Luo Hongfei, the president of P&G Greater China returned to Europe in charge of the business in Western Europe, and his successor also came from Europe; the other is that the headquarters controls the business in China more strictly and directly, and the organization structure in China is also more ¡°verticalized¡±. For instance, after Zhang Jiasheng the president of Wal-mart China left his post, the position was cancelled. Thereafter, the business in China would be reported directly to Zhong Haowei, the president of Wal-mart Asia or even directly to the headquarters in some other multinational companies. This means that the Chinese market has been raised up to an important position, even as important as the headquarters.

Another delicate change is that multinational companies start to make the product line a major driving line of functions. The businesses are divided according to various products and industries and separately reported to the president of the Asian area or even the global president. The head of the Chinese area is then released from under the pressure of profits and the sale index. So they can focus more on the long-term strategy programming of the multinational company in China and the public relations with the government.

After Shi Rongle, the former general manager of Carrefour (China), was promoted to the chief executive officer of Carrefour China, he is mainly responsible for the public relations with the government and the strategy of the company in China, but not the specific business operations. Other typical examples include Sun Zhenyao, the president of HP Co. Ltd. China, and Zhou Weikun, the board chairman and chief executive officer of IBM Greater China, etc..

After all, ¡°relationship¡± is very important and sensitive in the Chinese market, which is as inevitable as the issues of the operation and the long-term strategic development of a company.

[waldron] 15/3/2005 10:23

CHINA: 2005 RETAIL SALES INCREASE 13.6%
China's retail sales rose 13.6% year-on-year in the first two months of this year, continuing an upward trend started in the fourth-quarter of 2004. Retail sales stood at 1.03trn yuan ($124.3bn) during the January-February period, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Peng Longyun, a senior economist at the Asian Development Bank, said the figures were encouraging, suggesting the country's consumer demand was growing. "Retail sales will continue to grow at a double digit growth in the remaining months of this year," he said. Qi Jingmei, a senior economist at the State Information Centre, said China's retail sales are expected to grow 13% during the first-quarter and the whole of 2005. Growing number of affluent people will continue to shift their consumption from small items such as washing machines and TVs to large items such as houses and cars, she said. "More spending is what the government wants to see, because it wants to increase consumption but curb over-investment," she said.

[waldron] 15/3/2005 06:57

BEIJING (AFX) - Swiss pharmaceutical firm Novartis AG will increase
investment in China in 2005 following recent strong sales on the mainland, the
official Xinhua news agency reported, citing Novartis China president Li Zhenfu.
This year Novartis will put six new patented medicines on the Chinese market
as well as establishing a training center and its first R&D center in China, the
company's sixth worldwide, Xinhua said, citing Li.
Li did not give any further details of the investment plan, Xinhua added.
Last month Novartis reported 2004 sales of 1.56 bln yuan in mainland China,
up 36.3 pct from a year earlier.
(1 usd = 8.3 yuan)
[e-mail]
wd/dk

[saddam bin laden] 13/3/2005 23:04

Folks for all things good in China, now may be a very good time to visit this thread.

Energyi, how about a link up on your header, me ole China?

[ariane] 06/3/2005 12:13

BEIJING (AFX) - Chinese authorities have found the carcinogenic dye Sudan I
in a food product made by a subsidiary of US' Heinz Company, Xinhua news agency
reported.
The red dye Sudan I has been found in a pepper sauce made by the Heinz
Meiweiyuan Food Co based in Guangzhou, capital of southern China's Guangdong
province, Xinhua said.
Following the discovery, the State Administration for Quality Supervision
and Inspection and Quarantine ordered the company to immediately recall all of
its products and ban its sale, it said.
Local inspectors were also dispatched to check restaurants and cafeterias to
ensure that Meiweiyuan pepper sauce products were not being used, it said.
The dye was found by the Food Standards Agency of Britain on February 18 in
a batch of chili powder made by Premier Foods, one of the largest food and
beverage companies in the UK.
The agency also found the dye in products of companies such as Schweppes,
Coca Cola and Unilever, Xinhua said.
Sudan-I is traditionally used for coloring solvents, oils, waxes, petrol and
shoe and floor polishes.
sai/mp/jah/rc

[energyi] 05/3/2005 16:39

FinancialSense, in this weeks Interview says:
+ The loss of the manufacturing sector in the USA is a big factor pointing to more inflation,

+ After a Dollar fall, the US is going to be importing good whose prices will no longer be falling, because the dollar will be weaker than the Chinese and Japanese currencies,

+ This will lead to a big jump in inflation, and a rise in interest rates to forestall inflation,

+ The US has lost control of its own currency, and is no longer self-sufficient in energy, nor in its own consumer goods

+ What does the US have that the rest of the world wants???

[ariane] 05/3/2005 15:55

BEIJING (AFX) - China's Premier Wen Jiabao set a target of about eight pct
growth in the gross domestic product for this year.
In his report to the opening session of parliament, the premier also said
that the rise in the consumer price index would not exceed four pct.
Wen also said that the government aimed to create 9 mln new jobs for urban
residents and keep unemployment at less than 4.6 pct.
sr/wk