Archives 2007

Investment approval for firms eases

CHINA eased the approval process for state-owned companies investing abroad as the government tries to narrow the surplus of incoming payments from overseas.

State-owned companies investing less than US$30 million in overseas resource-exploration projects may apply directly to the central government’s National Development and Reform Commission, the agency said on its Website yesterday. Other types of cross-border investments have a threshold of US$10 million. Approval previously had to go through local-level affiliates of the agency.

So You Want To Be A China Lawyer?

An interesting article from China Law Blog:

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Sponsor Link: DaCare Legal Search (China)
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Nearly every week, I get a couple e-mails and/or calls from earnest law students seeking pearls of wisdom regarding how to break into international law or China law. I usually talk about the need to learn as many languages as possible and about the benefits of having lived overseas. A couple years ago, I gave a speech on international law careers at Indiana University School of Law and I am scheduled to be on a international law career panel at Seattle University Law School later this month. I am an expert on these issues only to the extent that I am in the business and I have very definite ideas as to what it takes.

I have no idea if my ideas on this would hold up to analysis, but I at least now know my views are part of the mainstream. Chris Carr over at the CalPolyMBA Blog just did a post, entitled “Critical Success Qualities for Expat Managers in China,” summarizing what CEOs look for in choosing their China managers. This list comes from the book China CEO: Voices of Experience from 20 International Business Leaders (of which I have heard many good things and I have just started it). Interestingly (but not surprisingly) the traits these CEOs seek in their ex-pat managers for China are pretty much the exact same traits I find necessary to be a good international lawyer. Here is the list, with my comments in italics.

1. Technical and Corporate Expertise: Select people with a rock-solid professional background and an excellent knowledge of the company.

Yes. In the legal arena, this means get smart people.

2. International Expertise: A posting in China becomes vastly more manageable after an assignment either in an Asian location or another developing market, or both.

Absolutely. The key here is that the person who has spent time in another country tends to be better equipped to deal with other countries, including those countries to which he or she has never been. I have seen this time and again with both lawyers and clients. We have many clients who when their business dried up in one country moved nearly effortlessly to another country. We also see domestic companies that simply cannot make the leap to go international at all, when they really should. What you learn in one country (but obviously not everything) does help you in another.

3. Multicultural Mindset: When selecting an executive for an overseas posting, look for someone with an adventurous spirit, a sense of humor, and an open mind.
I completely agree and this applies to lawyers as much as to anyone else. In an article I wrote a long long time ago on doing business in emerging market countries, I stressed (and stressed again …. so I was repetitive back then):

Doing business in an emerging market means taking nothing for granted. I have a mantra for my own legal work in these countries that translates well to the business world: “Assume nothing, but assume that you are assuming things without even realizing you are doing so.”
Things will be different. Very different. Things you take for granted in your home country might not exist in the emerging market country. Things you take for granted in your home country might be the exact opposite in the emerging market country. Things you think will be totally different in the emerging market country may be exactly the same. Things you thought you knew about emerging market countries based on what you know from another emerging market country may be completely different in a neighboring country, or even in another region within the same country.

The principle, one more time: Keep an open mind, and assume nothing.
4. Commitment to Learn: Learn from those around you. Listen to your employees, JV partners, clients, and customers.

Of course.

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Sponsor Link: DaCare Legal Search (China)
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5. Humility: Be humble and avoid using an authoritarian style. Influencing and coaching is the way to get the best out of your Chinese employees.
Yes. This is also the way to get the best out of the lawyers in other countries with whom you will be working.

6. Strength: Be unyielding in defending core corporate values and culture.

Yes. And in the legal context this means doing things by the law, even if you see others around you not doing so.

7. Patience: Be patient; use a step-by-step approach in China, not a Big Bang approach.

I will borrow again from my emerging markets article:

Exercise Extreme Patience. This principle stems from the maxim that everything takes twice as long as you think it will. If it takes twice as long in the West, triple that in emerging market countries. You’ll go in both as a businessperson and a teacher—and in both roles, the learning curve of your partner will almost certainly take way more time to deal with than you think.

For example, many emerging market countries have a history where “bad business” meant “thinking long-term.” A year or two after the fall of Soviet communism, I was involved in a matter where an investor put $250,000 into a Russian joint venture. The business very quickly was making good money and all indicators pointed towards steadily increasing profitability. But, quite quickly, the Russian company stole the $250,000. Was it so irrational for him to think so short term in a country where the government and tax systems had such a history of unpredictability?
8. Speed: Be flexible and quick. Stay well informed; the business environment in China is in a constant and rapid flux, probably much more so than in other markets.

This is true of international law as well, and if one is going to practice in this area, one has to enjoy and thrive on constant change and even constant uncertainty. I was talking the other day with my friend, Dan Hull, lawyer extraordinaire at Hull McGuire, and he was telling me how he has abandoned all pretext of what he calls “PCness” and he now just tells potential hires there that they had better be prepared to work tirelessly just to keep up. I can certainly vouch for Dan being right when it comes to practicing international law.

9. Guanxi-building: Build your guanxi not only internally (with subordinates, peers and superiors) but also externally with clients, suppliers and government officials). A strong guanxi network is a fundamental element of your success in China.

As a lawyer, both you and your practice will benefit by your doing more than just staying in your office poring over law books. Get to know your clients, your fellow lawyers, good people in the industries in which you are working, and treat them with respect. I see this as basic good business for anyone.

So you want to be an international (or China) lawyer? Conform to this list.

China Career Builder Corp.’s Subsidiary Asian Career Company Ltd. Retains Smart-Info Ltd. to Design Its Job Search Engine Website www.Jobs28.com

HONG KONG, June 5, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) — China Career Builder Corp. (“The Company”) (Pink Sheets:CCBX), a Delaware Corporation, is focused on outsourcing human resource services and staffing services in Hong Kong, China. The company is pleased to announce that Asian Career Company Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of China Career Builder Corp., has retained Smart-Info Ltd. to complete the webpage design and database design for its job search engine website www.Jobs28.com. The beta version of the job search engine website is expected to be ready for testing within the next two (2) weeks. The company will make further announcements about the official launch date for the job search engine website in coming weeks. For further information about Smart-Info Ltd., please visit their website at www.smartinfo.com.hk.

Sr. Business relations manager

Job responsibilities:
1.To manage the relationship of the organization with the corporate sector and obtain their support and sponsorship for the company’s work in China and to work as the regional thematic lead in business relations area
2.Design, implement and monitor company strategy on business relations management. Secure and develop sponsorship/ funding agreements for agreed company activities within strategic framework. Lead on national/ regional deals wherever applicable
3.Lead discussions to agree achievable targets for sponsorship and other types of funding with line manager and project/ budget managers and lead on development of sponsorship/ funding plans for each activity
4.Maintain a strong network of corporate contacts and proactively market company activity and opportunities for collaboration to these contacts through formal presentations, face-to-face meetings, and attendance at commercial events
5.Manage implementation of sponsorship/funding contracts for all company activities with commercial support. For China-wide contracts secured in Beijing, co-ordinate implementation of the agreement with the business relations colleagues in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Hong Kong office 
6.Maintain strong communications with the main company’s commercial section and business sector
7.Brief and train company staff on general sponsorship/fundraising issues, and on developments relating to sponsorship and funding opportunities, usually at country team meetings
Education: Bachelor and above
Salary Range: Negotiable, based on experience and capabilities

* Please send us your complete resume (both in Chinese and in English) to:
‘topjob_eo104bj#dacare.com'(Please replace “#” with “@”)

Freelancers admit uncertainty

A LOWER than expected income and a high level of uncertainty are the biggest problems facing freelance workers, according to a recent survey.

ChinaHR.com, a leading Web-based headhunter, asked more than 2,200 freelancers, including writers, artists and designers, about their attitudes towards their job, payment and future career plans.

More than 75 percent of the respondents said that they expected to earn a minimum payment of 3,000 yuan (US$392) a month, with 31 percent saying they hoped to earn 10,000 yuan or more.

Only about 40 percent actually earn 3,000 yuan a month, with about nine percent making more than 8,000 yuan, according to the survey.

“Most freelancers are young people with strong educational background and outstanding competence that makes them very confident about their own ability and the modern ‘small office, home office’ work model,” said Zhang Tingwen, a human resources specialist at ChinaHR.

About half of the surveyed freelancers said they are satisfied with their income, while about 20 percent said they are barely able to eke out a living.

“My income is so-so, but the biggest problem is that you might earn several thousand yuan today and then sit idle for the rest of the month,” said Zhu Jie, a freelancer who teaches Chinese to foreigners.

Zhu is not alone. The survey suggested that unsteady income was the biggest headache for freelancers, followed by a lack of career development prospect.

While freelancers have a great deal of freedom, more than 53 percent of respondents said they are confronted with high mental and financial pressure.

IT Manager

Location: Shanghai
Purpose & general responsibilities of the position:
1.Lead the IT team for CRM system development and ongoing maintenance
2.Provide guideline and oversee IT Administrators.
3.Evaluate and develop business requirements for existing system or for new client that can improve system efficiency, accuracy.

Specific responsibilities of the position:
Development of Applications
1.Establish and develop value-adding / cost-effective business applications system for clients or other office¡¯s client
2.Ensure close cooperation with business function or other office¡¯s client and write up and understand business requirements from the end clients.
3.Ensure mapping and documentation of existing application usage, and identify gaps and overlaps that can be avoided or minimized.
4.Develop and implement of applications that improve customer service levels.
5.Systems Implementation and Deployment
6.Ensure quality of all technical aspects of systems deployment, pro-actively ensuring that all considerations are made from business and client.
7.Formulate business requirements and translate into functional and technical specification.
8.Ensure that operational data and operational processes are gathered in order to optimize the use of the system.
9.Provide training and IT support to all relevant staff in the office or client both in deployment stage as well as on-going phases.
10.IT Infrastructure Build up
11.Build up qualified IT teams and infrastructure; purchase and maintain hardware / software / network resources.
12.Guide IT Administrator to provide company users with desk help and maintain users¡¯ PCs with respect to application problems; upgrade of existing machines / software where necessary.
13.Manage IT team to monitor and minimize security risks and comply with IT governance.

Learning opportunities in the position:
1.System programming know-how and CRM & Loyalty marketing knowledge.
2.Strategic thinking of the overall business application development.
3.Technical know-how on pricing strategies
Implementation and project management skills.

Specific requirements for the position:
Essential
1.5 Years in leading programmer team experience
2.Open and positive with strong communication skills
3.Result-oriented self-starter with initiative and strong execution drive
4.Good command of both oral and written English.
5.Good commercial awareness
6.Good skills in negotiation, presentation, analysis
7.Project management skills
8.Execution skills
9.Analytical skills
10.Innovative thinking

Preferred
Understand JAVA or PHP full development cycle. Knowing Coldfusion will be a huge plus
Excellent interpersonal skills
Excellent knowledge of the China business and luxury market

* Please send us your complete resume (both in Chinese and in English) to:
‘topjob_it110sh#dacare.com'(Please replace “#” with “@”)

GF Securities president resigns amid scandal

THE president of GF Securities Co has resigned after China’s stock regulator found irregularities during the broker’s proposed backdoor listing amid a get-tough crackdown on stock-related crimes.

Dong Zhengqing, who was in charge of GF’s daily operation, tendered his resignation letter on Friday and the board approved his quit on Saturday, the Shenzhen-based broker said yesterday.

Li Jianyong, former deputy president at the broker, will take over Dong’s post temporarily. Dong left because regulators discovered irregularities during the broker’s backdoor issuance, “which has cast negative influence on the broker,” GF said.

China’s stock-market watchdog said late last month that it plans to punish a raft of companies and executives involved in the listing of GF after it found improper disclosures and insider trading in the process.

GF, China’s fourth biggest broker by 2006 revenue, in September proposed to acquire Yan Bian Highway Construction Co via a stock swap for the purpose of a back-door listing.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission said it would punish Yan Bian and one of its shareholders Jilin Aodong Medicine Industry Group as well as several people involved for improper information disclosures.

Earlier media reports said Li’s brother made a profit of nearly 100 million yuan (US$13.1 million) by trading Yan Bian’s shares through acquiring the information in advance.

GF yesterday denied any wrongdoing involving its executives and declined to comment further.

China’s financial authorities are encouraging the country’s biggest brokerages to seek public funds for expansion before the nation opens the fledgling industry to overseas competitors.

However, the CSRC is taking tougher actions to combat insider dealings and market manipulation as stock prices of companies involved in the back-door issues fluctuated even before the plans were made public.
China’s mainland stock bourses only have two publicly traded brokers ¨C Citic Securities Co and Hong Yuan Securities Co.

GF, which is still awaiting approval for its listing, is set to become the third mainland-traded brokerage.

The resignation of its president won’t hinder the broker’s back-door issuance, GF said yesterday. It didn’t give an estimate on when it would likely gain regulatory green light for the listing.

A slew of other Chinese giant brokerage houses including Haitong Securities Co and Northeast Securities Co have announced proposals for back-door listings, which were believed to be easier for firms to go public than initial public offerings.

The CSRC requires IPO candidates to post profit for three years in a row. Brokers including Orient Securities and Everbright Securities Co have said they would like to pursue IPOs as early as next year when they can meet the threshold.

legal Counsel/ Paralegal

Job Description:
Location: Shanghai
Report to:China General Counsel in Shanghai
Provide Legal Counsel/paralegal and clerical support on various legal proceedings conducted by the business and assisting with Company Secretarial Services.
1.Manage comprehensive records and files of all company legal documents for each legal entity;
2.Maintenance of statutory company records and preparing minutes of meetings;
3.Assist in drafting routine agreements,
4.Administration of trademark registrations including liaison with patent attorney;
5.Administration of patent register;
6.Administration and registration of business names;
7.Administration of new country expansions and business establishment requirements;
8.Completion and lodgement of statutory returns and product disclosure statement notices;
9.Investigation of insurance claims;
10.Responding to shareholder queries;
11.Responding to police queries/warrants;
12.Prepare standard contractors agreements for professional services work.

Job Requirements:
1.Bachelor degree or above and major in Law (Preferably with overseas education or qualification)
2.More than 3 years experience working in various capacity in foreign companies or law firms (domestic or international) preferred
3.Experienced in legal research and report writing in English and Chinese and liaise with government authorities within China and overseas
4.Has the ability to interpret legal requirements and apply these to relevant business operations.
5.Has the ability to effectively priorities and manage a number of concurrent tasks.
6.Attention to detail and a high level of accuracy.

* Please send us your complete resume (both in Chinese and in English) to:
‘topjob_la008sh#dacare.com'(Please replace “#” with “@”)

Japan’s fall in jobless boost Asian markets

ASIAN stocks advanced for a second day yesterday after reports in Japan showed an unexpected drop in unemployment and a rise in household spending, Bloomberg News reported.

Mizuho Financial Group Inc climbed to a three-month high, on speculation the improving economy will allow the Bank of Japan to lift interest rates, widening lenders’ profit margins.

“The positive economic data from Japan is helping sentiment for the rest of the region,” said Leslie Phang, who helps manage about US$1 billion at Commonwealth Private Bank in Singapore.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index added 0.7 percent to 149.26 at 8:01pm in Tokyo. Technology stocks rose after Sanyo Electric Co forecast its first annual profit in four years and CJ Investment & Securities Co said earnings at LG.Philips LCD Co will improve. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.5 percent to 17,672.56, while the broader Topix index gained 0.8 percent. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd advanced after UBS AG reaffirmed its bullish stance on shipping companies.

BHP Billiton Ltd led mining stocks higher in Australia as prices of metals including copper advanced and on speculation of takeovers within the industry. Coles Group Ltd dropped after US buyout company Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co abandoned its nine-month pursuit of the Australian retailer.

Benchmarks rose, except in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Thailand was little changed.

Mizuho, Japan’s second-largest lender by assets, rose 2.3 percent to 864,000 yen (US$7,100), its highest close since February 23. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc, the third largest, advanced 1.7 percent to 1.18 million yen.

Sanyo, the world’s largest maker of rechargeable batteries, jumped 10 percent to 213 yen.

BHP Billiton, the world’s biggest mining company, gained 1.8 percent to A$31.70 (US$25.98). Rio Tinto Group, the third largest, climbed 2.4 percent to A$96.36.

China Shop Manager

Company Introduction:
Our client is a leading international instruments provider, whose parents company is listed on Fortune 500. In China, there are 12 offices at present.

Location: Beijing

Job responsibilities:
This position is responsible for leading a team in the management of Shop business selling the company’s low-end products. This may include managing sales, marketing, merchandise, store management, customer liaison and relationship, organization development and training.
1. Overall shop business strategy to support the fast growing business;
2. Be responsible for the BU’s P&L in China;
3. Process review, improvement and implementation;
4. Review of Operation status with customers & management on a timely and regular basis.
5. Manage and Develop the entire team which may include; Staff training plan, Recruitment of operations staff, Staff development activity and Ensure efficient communication between inter-departments;
6. Strategy linkages between Manufacturing / Business / Marketing / Supply Chain/Finance.
7. Maintain good working relationships with sales team, marketing team and finance team in headquarters.
Knowledge/Skills/Experience Required:
1. Bachelor’s degree required (Masters or MBA is preferred);
2. At least 12 years sales/marketing/store management experience in industrial goods, especially have over 5 years in management level;
3. Should have proven track record of sales;
4. Ability to influence others through effective communications and working relationships with diverse functional areas within Company while understanding the implication to our external customers.
5. Must be highly motivated to drive operational excellence and deliver results.
6. English language, both in writing as verbal, must be outstanding

Salary Range: Basic 800K+

* Please send us your complete resume (both in Chinese and in English) to:
‘topjob_eo103bj#dacare.com'(Please replace “#” with “@”)