Surprising Harbin - Rent a Granny
A Harbin resident, Ren, "rented" a British granny,
taking her on as a family member to improve his
daughter's English. Ren's daughter plans to study in
Britain in the fall after completing high school. But she
needs to improve her spoken English skills for an
upcoming IELTS exam. He decided to place an ad for
an English tutor and received a reply from an elderly
British woman in Beijing. The woman said that her son
works during the day, which left her feeling lonely at
her home.
She was immediately hired and traveled to Harbin for
her new "position". Since the family acquired a new
live-in granny, his daughter has improved her oral
English well worth the US$217 he is paying, according
to the Harbin Daily.
|
| |
Dear Friends:
We are in the process of establishing an American food
operation in China . . . a 500-seat food court. I
mention this because it is typical of everything that is
great about China investments, and all the challenges
of making the business cultures match. No doubt, it is
more complicated to create a business in China
because of differences in laws, tax policies, regulations,
language and culture. It is easy to see why the feint
of heart do not rise to the challenge, but it is more
obvious why the true entrepreneurs aggressively seek
the opportunities. For all the complications, the
rewards are enormous. Once you get past
the "learning curve", the American business leader will
find so many advantages. Taxes are much more
negotiable (if you know it). Liability laws are highly
favorable. Labor rates are low, but employee loyalty is
high. The regulatory excess that stifle so much of U.S.
business are almost non-existent in China.
My advice to American business is to develop a China
strategy and growth plan. Instead of being frustrated
by initial difficulties, or those ubiquitous misconceptions
spread by those without knowledge or experience, our
U.S. business leaders should seek out those, like the
Harbin Business Exchange, or even our firm, to provide
the guide map. Too many American business leaders
base their decisions on gossip from colleagues at the
country club instead of getting the facts from those
who know. This is especially true of the mid-sized
enterprises that desperately need to be involved in
China to survive. The global majors know how to get
there, but for the mid-sized enterprises it is a do or die
situation - and too many U.S. enterprises are choosing
surrender and die. We are not loosing manufacturing
jobs to China, we are giving them away. Have a
productive week. Larry Horist - President HBE
|
| |
| |
| |
| China Largest M & A | | | According to Donald Straszheim of Straszheim Global
Advisors, LLC, China is going to be the biggest M&A
boom in the history of the world over the next
decade. "Now, we're seeing the second-tier companies
go in. We expect this trend to reach down to small
firms as well." The influx can work against buyers.
Many Chinese managers know there is a limited number
of companies worth investing in and has negotiate for a
higher price. The number of mergers and acquisitions by overseas
companies in China this year increased 35 per cent, to
73, as of February 23, compared with the same period
in 2004, according to Bloomberg data. The value of the
deals doubled to US$1.9 billion. | | |
| Organic Food Cultivates Cash | | | As the most important grain-producing base in China,
Heilongjiang Province has come up with a plan to
develop its organic food industry to fatten the wallets
of its farmers. Statistics from the provincial Agriculture
Commission show that organic food account for almost
one-third of farmer's income last year. "The organic
food industry has already become an important way to
increase the income of farmers," Wang Zefu, deputy
director of the provincial Agriculture Commission. Organic food is seen as safe, being free of pollutants,
rich in nutrition and of good quality. Therefore it is sold
at a much higher price than regular food, and remains
popular. The demand for organic food in both the
domestic and international markets is still soaring. In
February, Heilongjiang Province set itself the goal of
expanding its organic food planting area to 1.87 million
hectares this year, covering nearly 20 per cent of its
total arable land. By 2010, the planting area of organic
food will reach 3.33 million hectares, according to the
plan. | | |
| Axis Needed to Boost Economy | | | With the central government stepping up regional
programming in its long-term development strategy,
eleven CPPCC members submitted a proposal that calls
for concrete regional programs to revitalize the nation's
old industrial bases in Northeast China. Economic
integration of Northeast China should be sped up as the
three provinces have already witnessed enhanced co-
operation in fields such as energy, transportation,
tourism, logistics and information, the proposal said. "Northeast China will never revive without a unified
regional economic zone," said Li Xiangping, vice-
president of the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences.
Li said that the three provinces in northeastern China
have unique industrial claims. But fragile inner economic
connections have led to weak regional co-operation. Li
noted that as neighbouring Japan and South Korea are
planning to shift some manufacturing industries out in a
move to focus on high-tech industries, Northeast China
has the potential to become a new manufacturing
base, thanks to its preferential geographic location,
rich resources and a large number of skilled but low-
cost workers. | | |
|
