Weblog with daily updates of the news on a harmonious, socialist society, from the perspective of internet entrepreneur, new media advisor and president of the China Speakers Bureau Fons Tuinstra
Around 25 Chinese tourists have been robbed in Amsterdam over the past few months, a number that is increasing very fast, Dutch media report. Many of the tourists take cash in stead of credit cards often to buy diamonds and criminals have discovered those easy targets. China's ambassador to the Netherlands Zhang Jun has asked the local authorities to look into the matter and - following a Dutch tradition - a steering group has started to look into the problem. The larger number of tourist tour Europe on a fast track, doing many countries in a short time, and are mostly in Amsterdam for less than one day, visiting the diamond center Gazan and having dinner at a famous Chinese restaurant at the Jodenbreestraat. While the trips are often low-budget tours in touring cars, many tourist use the opportunity to buy some high-value items. Not all robberies seem to have been reported, because most Chinese tourists speak only Chinese and the tour operators have no time for lengthy delays.
China's advertising market might see an abrupt decline after decades of relentless growth, Charles Chao, Sina.com's CEO said on the World Economic Forum in Davos, Reuters writes. Double digit growth was common in this industry that only came into existence in the 1980s and in 2008 growth was 15 percent. Lack of transparency - most of China's media are not independently audited - had not stopped a growth that was always higher than the national GDP. But the current economic crisis has changed all that, said Chao, who is leading one of China's largest online players. Sina's rated had been downgraded after its purchase of Focus Media Ltd, a leading playing in the booming LCD-business. Chao remained optimistic about his own firm:
"Collectively, we're going to have predominant market share in the new media advertising in China," Chao said. "I think the new media no doubt will take more market share in advertising this year and going forward."
An official of the Bank of China has tried to dispel fears that China's economic rescue packages might cause an increased percentage of bad loans or - as expressed by experts like Victor Shih - a return of China's banks to the old days of a planned economy. At Reuters:
Zhu Min, executive vice president of Bank of China (601988.SS), acknowledged that bad debt was likely to rise across the banking sector as economic growth slows. The economy grew by 9 percent in 2008, the weakest pace in seven years. "Yes, you will see some NPL increase, but it's not coming back in a big way. It's manageable, it will not cause a big financial impact for the major banks," Zhu told Reuters on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.
Zhu said the Chinese banks would not become the old-style government counters for passing on money, but maintain a strict risk management process. He could not exclude that some lenders would not be able to pay back, but stressed the process would be manageable.
Commercial At the China Speakers Bureau some of our speakers are at the key of the debate on what is going to happen with China's economy. Take for example Victo
Image by Getty Images via DaylifeProfessor Fan Gang, a member of the monetary policy committee of the People's Bank of China, expects China's growth will be limited to seven percent of its GDP or even less, unless drastic reforms are being taken, writes Reuters, based on an academic paper. A focus on domestic consumption is more important than external factors like export, Fan Gang and two other authors write. When that reform is successful, China could maintain an annual growth of nine percent till 2020.
Image by mtlp via FlickrReal estate in China is expected to rebound over the coming twelve months as the central government is reversing its policies, writes real estate guru Sam Crispin in a newly released CPIM report.
CPIM expect most of the government measures brought in to control the property market since 2004 to be reversed in stages. Despite a number of negative factors and declines forecast not all sectors, segments and locations are behaving in the same way. In the Bohai Bay Area of China some cities are seeing half the number of buyers in while in others transactions are only 11% down. Tianjin and Beijing prices almost unchanged over the full year in 2008. Average land prices closed at Rmb1,380 per sq.m in Tianjin, almost 42.5% down from the previous year.
Other regions in southern parts of China showed a more negative trend, the report says.
Overall, government intervention to support the market give CPIM cause for optimism. ‘It isn’t everything, but government support in the socialist market economy counts for an awful lot, municipal governments are already moving to mop up some of the surplus inventory’ commented Mr Crispin who has been working in China real estate since 1994. At the very least Chinese banks are still standing and still lending is a key point of difference with many other markets around the world.
Commercial Sam Crispin is a leading voice on China's real estate and a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him at your conference, do get in touch.Sam Crispin by Fons1 via Flickr
Image by Fons1 via FlickrShaun Rein of the China Market Research Group (CMR) explains to the newswire Bloomberg why he remains cautiously optimistic about consumer spending in China, although the number of optimists in China dropped from 70 percent in December to 60 percent now. While big ticket items like real estate and cars might still see huge problems, Rein list a group of industries, including cheaper restaurants, online games and e-commerce who might actually benefit from the current economic downturn.
Shaun Rein by Fons1 via FlickrThe year of the ox is going to be the year of the Chinese consumer, and their confidence in the future of their economy. As the export is seeking new lows every month, both the central government and China's companies look at domestic consumption - next to investments in infrastructure - as a possible solution to outspend the current downturn. But is that strategy working? Early signals show that part of the urban white collar workers are reducing their expenditures, fearing the future. In some parts of China government policies seem to work and in national figures consumer spending seems to be on track. But can we trust those figures? In December 2008 China's consumers still seemed to be spending, but will the same also happen in February when sales typically stall after Chinese New Year? In February the China Speakers Bureau is going to address some of those questions in a first Global China Chat with Shaun Rein of the China Market Research Group (CMR) in Shanghai, and one of the leading voices on China's consumers, moderated by Maria Korolov. CMR has been monitoring consumer confidence in China and Shaun Rein will answer some of your questions on how China's consumers are reacting and whether consumer spending will save it's economy. The exact date will be published later, but we intend to take a time that will make it possible for most timezones to participate in this live online discussion. The most likely schedule:
Beijing: 11 -12 PM Brussels: 4 - 5PM New York: 9-10 AM Los Angeles: 8-9 AM
Times might change depending on the interest we note from you. Are you interested in participating or do you have already questions to ask Shaun Rein, Maria Korolov by Fons1 via Flickr When you pre-register we make sure that you will get a timely updates on the event and privileged access to get your questions answered. Do send us an email with "Global China Chat" in the subject line or register for our newsletter.
Deng Xiaoping would be upset via WikipediaFor a long time, and up to not so long ago, making use of your bloodlines was not done for descendants of Communist celebrities, writes Victor Shih at his weblog. But the princelings - as they are called - now make full use of their parents credential, wishing the Chinese happy new year at the front pages of the People's Daily.
You see interviews with princelings recounting their memories of their fathers displayed prominently on the website. Even Mao Xinyu, the grandson of Chairman Mao (left), is trotted out frequently. The latest item goes too far, I think. First of all, instead of "princelings," they are now called "red descendants." Eh, doesn't that sound a bit like the "blood line theory," which dominated early Red Guard discourse back in the Cultural Revolution (slogan: father a hero, son good man; father reactionary, son turtle's egg). These "red descendants" are collectively wishing the Chinese people happy new year. Great! So now it's officially okay to admit that "red descendants" is a coherent social group, one that is to be admired by the people.
Back in the 1980s those people would have gotten into trouble with former leader Deng Xiaoping and princelings would have to actually hide their connections, writes Shih.
Even Bo Xicheng, Bo Xilai's elusive brother, makes an appearance. Look, this looks suspiciously like the princelings' play at building up more legitimacy for themselves in preparation of Xi Jinping's takeover. It is sad to see because Chen Yun and even Xi Zhongxun himself would never have allowed such abuse of these ties in the public discourse. Where is Song Ping when you need him?
Image by chooyutshing via FlickrEvery animal in the Chinese zodiac seems to have a hang-up. Is it the year of the rat or - because of the perceived evilness in the West of the rat - should it be rather called the year of the mouse? The new year has a similar problem. Is it the Year of the Ox, or should the economically inclined call it the Year of the Bull. Guess, the Year of the Bull gives a nice positive outlook, that is very much needed, so I will stick to the bull for the time being. Happy Chinese New Year!
Image by Fons1 via FlickrChina's State Council announced on Wednesday it would invest 850 billion Renminbi (85 billion euro) into its defunct health care in an effort to set up universal health care for all 1.3 billion Chinese, many media have reported. That sounds like a good idea, since the current health care is in a very poor shape, but just because of those structural shortcomings the question who is going to profit from this investment is an important one. Say, 800 renminbi per person is not a lot, but as long as the Chinese citizens do got get sick all together now to cash in, it might be a nice start. Actually, the system will only kick in for 90 percent of the population by 2011 who are getting only 120 according to Xinhua dispatches. That again is pretty low according to any standard, and people are already wondering where the rest of the money goes to. Corruption might be a problem in many Chinese industries, but is most structural in the health care. I guess that a few health care professionals are already trying to get a part of the action. More details on the plan would be very useful.
Commercial Are you wondering where China is heading? Do you need one of the leading voices at the China Speakers Bureau for your conference or meeting? Do get in touch.Jeremy Goldkorn by Fons1 via Flickr
Image by Getty Images via DaylifeThe future of the third-generation telecommunication (3G) in China has kept many busy, as the now announced deployment will free billions of investments, both for domestic and foreign telecom suppliers. ChinaBizGovern (follow that weblog!) points at a set of support actions by the government for China Mobile that might change the relations between telecommunication providers profoundly. Key in the recent years was the development of TD-SCDMA, China's home grown standard for 3G that got much political support, but was during the test not that well. On top of that it was nowhere else in the world deployed, unlike its American and European competitors. When China Mobile got the privilege of deploying the TD-SCDMA it was perceived as a way to curtail China's largest telecom company, who had earned many enemies in its short history. Its competitors China Telecom and China Unicom/Netcom could go ahead with the US and European technologies, CDMA2000 and WCDMA. But the new support measures published yesterday by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) might push the balance again to the favor of China Mobile. Only the fact that China Mobile get much more bandwidth than its two competitors might define the market structure in favor of Goliath.
Marc van der Chijs by Fons1 via FlickrCrisis or no crisis, online games are moving fast, explains Spil Games Asia CEO Marc van der Chijs to Pacific Epoch how his company uses China as a testing ground for the world. The free games, that play for free for up to one hour, are tremendous popular in China.
The business model we have is focused on advertising revenue. We also work on a revenue-share basis to promote webgames and MMORPGs. I use China as a testing ground for new things. I think China is ahead of the rest of the world in terms of games. In-game items and the free-to-play model all originally came from China. Our first mobile gaming site worldwide was part of the Chinese website here. We also recently started a webgame portal. We run these games ourselves with our own payment systems and everything. Before, our portals were only advertising-based but now we use the pay-for-item model as well for our webgames.
Van de Chijs is very critical about the advertisement agencies, he mostly qualifies as "lazy". Spil's business model depends mostly on advertising and revenue sharing with other games and very limited in-game ads. Marc van der Chijs:
We do have in-game ads, but it is very limited still. In China, it is very difficult to find in-game advertisers because the advertising agencies are too lazy to sell these things. It's a small market for sure and they would need to invest a lot of time to do it. Even online ads are difficult in China because agencies just don’t want to sell them to their customers; it's easier for them to keep working with TV ads.
Commercial Marc van der Chijs is also co-founder of the popular video-hosting company Tudou.com and speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him to explain how to do business in China, do get in touch.
Rupert Hoogewerf by Getty Images via DaylifeThirty years ago has opened its economy, but for entrepreneurs the main problem is still the same, access to capital, says China's rich list maker Rupert Hoogewerf in an interview with the leading German newspaper Die Sueddeutsche. "All rich in China have founded their own firms," Hoogewerf says. "Unlike Europe and the US where you would have family firms that have existed for generations. And most of them started to collect money at home in ten-yuan pieces (euro 0.90), the largest denomination at the time. Access to capital is still very important to start a business in China, as important as having a smart business idea. Innovation is going to be one of the key success factors for the future, he adds. "Copy cats are no longer enough in the future."
Commercial Rupert Hoogewerf is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you are interested in having him at your conference, meeting or panel, do get in touch.
Andrew K.P. Leung by Fons1 via FlickrProfessor Andrew K.P. Leung from London is one of the latest celebrity speakers who joined the China Speakers Bureau. His resounding resume reflects a 40-year career in international business, diplomacy and trade. At the China Speakers Bureau we gladly welcome professor Leung in our stable of prestigious speakers on China.
Shaun Rein by Fons1 via FlickrThe French publication Caradisiac comes with an interesting analysis on the strategy of China's car companies for entering Europe, called "A Trojan horse in Italy". Chinese companies do envision to enter both Europe and the US in the future, but they mostly use business in developing nations to prepare themselves for that just, as explained here by Shaun Rein. Jiangling Motors is already operating from Italy, after its Landwind SUV got into trouble in other past of Europe. Great Wall is selling their SUV's since 2006 in Italy. Chery started in Italy, as will do Lifan and Changhe.
Commercial China's companies are developing strategies to go global. At the China Speakers Bureau we have leading voices explaining their strategy. Do you need their input, let us know.
Image via Wikipedia![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=ac837a67-808f-456d-a8f9-f9b871c0cfae)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=79072a65-6ed2-480e-a75c-828110132ed4)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=8cfcfcb8-4973-4617-b661-0df10658580d)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=e3321558-6c97-4229-9b6e-2910dcbdcffd)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=c5d62b7c-d107-4c21-8120-efb1acb72a16)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=82fb5bc3-3e92-48be-ac49-580e5b87202b)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=d5b59319-91bb-4119-b126-a5ec11369da9)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=0bd61cd0-86d0-4c02-998b-bb6cf95c8f7d)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=0698e1a5-57dc-4217-b556-f32b15f20f9e)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=132ec72c-759a-4298-94e4-327885951940)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=02223bd6-31e2-4eb6-a3ce-74530f530b85)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=10f93045-ae8d-4aa1-89df-326755d8fabc)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=3b7c1823-f2d3-4ccf-92dd-6b19be48541f)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=1effa0b7-078d-4dc1-a07d-b4a9f2a8eecb)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=ca9279ff-51ba-4735-9341-91ff2b165e3e)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=29633160-1e2c-47f1-b2e4-de4ffc10d839)