Archives August 2008

China’s outsourcing market up to £41bn by year end

The HR outsourcing market in China is expected to be worth more than £41bn at the end of this year, according to a new study.

Outsourcing provider EquaTerra said the Chinese market was experiencing rapid growth and would expand by at least 25% by the end of 2009. Five years ago, the market was valued at only £8bn.

EquaTerra spoke to 15 leading China-based HR directors of foreign businesses. They cited several reasons for not outsourcing HR to China, including concerns about data security and loss of management control.

But they acknowledged that a significant proportion of HR administration functions would be outsourced in the next three to five years, with payroll and recruitment leading the way.

However, the report warned that China still does not have enough skilled manpower to meet the growing demands of the HR outsourcing market.

EquaTerra said this would lead to wage acceleration for providers, margin erosion and talent shortages.

“Ultimately, the dominant players will be those companies that can obtain and retain quality delivery people,” the report said.

To read the full report, download the Human Resources Outsourcing in China pdf

Mike Berry (About this Author)

51job Chinese Recruiter Lowered

51job Inc.’s (JOBS) financial results for the second quarter showed a lower net profit margin due to higher sales and marketing expenses and a higher tax rate. Both its revenue and EPS missed the market consensus.

Although 51job continues to have the highest brand recognition in the online and offline recruiting markets in China, the leading position hasn’t gained any competitive advantage for 51job to improve its profit margin. Therefore, we are downgrading the stock from Buy to Hold.

China has 253 million internet users as of the end of June 2008. It has approximately 750 million workers now and more and more companies of different size begin to use low-cost online recruiting. This is a very positive tail wind environment in which to operate. Additionally, it is estimated that revenue of online recruiting services in China will reach RMB 2.63 billion in 2011. According to estimates, revenue of online recruiting services will amount for 45.3% of the total recruiting market in 2010.

Through a targeted sales and marketing strategy, 51job has been focusing on further building the ’51job’ brand as the ‘one-stop’ human resource services provider. Now 51job is the most famous brand in the recruiting market in China and this position has helped the company enter more profitable second-tier cities in China.

Using a P/E multiple of 18.2x our fiscal year 2009 earnings per ADS estimate of $0.70 yields a target price of $12.75, which can reflect company’s great growth prospects, in our view.

Top China economist Hong Liang quits Goldman Sachs

HONG KONG, Aug 26 (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs’ senior China economist, Hong Liang, has resigned amid reports saying she plans to join a mainland Chinese competitor.

A source at the investment bank (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Tuesday that Liang had a disagreement with the bank’s management and wants to move into capital markets. Liang could not be reached for comment. A Goldman Sachs spokesman said Liang, a Hong Kong-based executive director of Asia economic research at the bank, resigned last week.

According to the South China Morning Post newspaper, she is likely to join Beijing-based investment bank China International Capital Corp (CICC), which is partly owned by Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). CICC could not be reached for comment.

The Goldman Sachs spokesman denied a report in the South China Morning Post that professor Song Guoqing, a senior economist at Peking University, had also resigned as an adviser at Goldman’s China joint venture, Gaohua Securities. (Reporting by Alan Wheatley and Susan Fenton, Editing by Ken Wills)

Claims Fall As Firms Slow Pace of Job Cuts

INITIAL jobless claims in the United States fell for a third straight week, a sign companies may be slowing the pace of job cuts.

The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits decreased by 10,000 to 425,000 in the week ended last Saturday, from a revised 435,000 the prior week. The number of people staying on rolls rose to 3.423 million, the highest since November 2003.

Companies are trimming staff and freezing hiring plans as demand softens, forcing workers to stay on government assistance. Rising unemployment heightens job-security concerns and contributes to a slowdown in consumer spending.

“The job situation still looks bleak to many,” Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors Inc in Pennsylvania, said before the report. “Falling home prices and job losses are still hanging over consumer spending, and it is unlikely to change in the near term.”

Economists had forecast claims would fall to 425,000 from a previously reported 432,000 in the prior week, according to the median of 41 projections in a Bloomberg News survey. The four-week moving average of initial claims, a less volatile measure than the weekly figure, dropped to 440,250 from 446,250, the report showed.

So far this year, weekly claims have averaged 375,400, compared with 321,000 for all of 2007.

The jump in claims that began in mid-July is due to the extension of jobless benefits under the spending bill signed by President George W. Bush in June.

Official:Post-Olympic employment to remain stable

Growth in employment should stay stable after the Olympics. This is according to the Vice Minister of Labor and Social Security, who made the announcement on Friday.

Hu Xiaoyi says close to 10 million more people have been employed every year in urban areas over the last few years, with the figure rising to 12 million last year. Hu Xiaoyi also says the Olympics has promoted industrial development thus far, but that any boost from the Games will only have a temporary effect. He stressed that development in the employment sector should be judged in the context of the overall economic situation.

For example, wild fluctuations in the global economy has cut down on job-creation in some industries. But, even so, figures show new jobs for up to 6.4 million people in urban areas for the first half of the year. That’s 64 percent of the projected 10 million for the whole of 2008.

Migrant workers facing job losses in Shenzhen

Millions of unskilled migrant workers could be forced to leave this southern boomtown in the face of its continuing industrial restructuring, a local statistician has said.

The lacking skills and general know-how of migrant farmers-turned-workers could make companies unwilling to employ them, Kong Ailing, chief of Shenzhen statistics team of National Bureau of Statistics, said.

Barely half of the more than 8 million of Shenzhen’s total 12 million population who come from other areas only finished junior middle school education, and the working background of 56 percent was in the electronics, machinery, furniture, garment, toy, catering and services sectors, according to a recent survey by the statistics team.

Only one percent of this sizable social group in the booming city, the forerunner of the country’s reform and opening-up, were actually skilled workers, the survey concluded.

“Workers’ poor education could be seen as hampering companies’ innovation potential in a city where knowledge and technologies become more and more important,” Kong said.

The municipal government allocate resources toward training its migrant workers and also cooperate with some corporations and the communities to satisfy the demands of high-end industries, she said.

“Migrant workers, if better trained and educated, will promote the city’s economic growth,” senior researcher with Shenzhen Academy of Social Sciences, Yang Lixun, said.

Since setting up its first free training school for migrant workers earlier this year, the local government has set itself the target of training 1 million unskilled workers over the next five years.

Senior Merchandiser- Food (mkt254sh)

Job Title: Senior Merchandiser- Food
Job Description:
Company introduction:
Our client belongs to world famous retailer groups’ Union specialized in different kinds of store products. Our client is one of the world’s largest sourcing organizations, serving some of the largest retailers in the world. Based on what they are good at, they consciously make strategies that continue to build, maintain and utilize their unique competences and capabilities to ensure sustainable growth.
They set up their Asia sourcing centre in Shanghai, and their office here is in charge of sourcing & quality control of the suppliers. They are now looking for a senior merchandiser for their textile department who is directly report to their Asia Sourcing director who comes from France.
Location: Shanghai
Responsibilities:
1. Oversee all the activities of the company in terms of buying and selling. Develop his/ her own category of products by sourcing.
2. Search and source the required product in China. Negotiate price and import process with suppliers
3. Pre-evaluation suppliers based on commercial, administrative and production terms. Communication between buyers and suppliers. Works and build a good relationship with Suppliers and Buyers for smooth operations.
4. Search and Analyzes the market information, situation and condition. Studies new products to determine specific needs, arranges for required samples.
5. Establishes implements, evaluates, and modifies sourcing strategies and procedures. Determines suppliers from whom purchases will be made; regarding purchase requirements, prices, trade and cash discounts, deliveries, current product development for the buyers.
6. Follows up on deliveries and shipments. Maintains data, documents, reports and records. Acts as the single point of contact for all the related parties (Suppliers, Buyers and Asia Food Purchase Manager)
7. Maintains professional, team relationship with co-workers and customers. Travel and Visit local and overseas Suppliers and attend trade fairs.
8. Carry out business trip and file asking by each category. Is the link between supplier and each category
9. Make sure all testing and control plan required are applied by the factories
10. Strength of suggestions for products, suppliers and packaging. Factories and fairs visit have to be plan
11. Keep update knowledge about costing, product, market and process
12. In charge of his or her own turnover and have to goal his or her quantitative and qualitative targets.
Requirements:
1. Bachelor degree or above.
2. Minimum 5 years work experience in sourcing or purchasing, familiar with International purchasing.
3. Familiar with International Trading Process, prefer to food.
4. Strong with pricing and negotiating skills. Initiative, creative, flexibility and willing to work under pressure.
5. Excellent at communication and interpersonal skills
6. Fluency in English, both in oral and written.
7. Able to work under pressure.
* Please send us your complete resume (both in Chinese and in English to: ‘topjob_mkt254sh@dacare.com'(Please replace “#” with “@”)
* In the email subject MUST you plus the position name ?in either En or Ch ?

Laboratory Manager (eo151sh)

Job Title: Laboratory Manager
Job Description:
Location: Shanghai
We are looking for an experienced Laboratory Manager to join the Research team in CNIBR. This person will be responsible for overall operations of the CNIBR research labs and liaison with site support functions. This individual will:
1. Responsibilities:
1. Provide overall management of laboratory operations including:
a) Primary vendor contact & coordinator for purchase & maintenance of capital equipment and general lab supplies (media, serum, chemical supplies, etc)
b) Ongoing assessment & management of lab space allocation for optimal functionality of laboratory
2. Provide financial support by:
a) Assisting the Head of Research Operations in the preparation & maintenance of the research related aspects of the departmental budget
b) Assisting the Lab Heads with the preparation & processing of CARs with Finance
3. Serve as the internal point person & departmental representative for site service functions:
a) HSE (safety: radiation & biological)
b) Facilities renovation
The candidate should have an advanced degree in a scientific field and a minimum of 3 years experience as an operations manager of a research laboratory, ideally in biotech or pharmaceutical industry. Strong detail orientation and excellent skills in verbal and written communications in English is a must. Experience involving internal and external communications is preferred..

* Please send us your complete resume (both in Chinese and in English to: ‘topjob_eo151sh@dacare.com'(Please replace “#” with “@”)
* In the email subject MUST you plus the position name ?in either En or Ch ?

China loans more to small businesses to boost employment

SHANGHAI (AFP) — China’s central bank has more than doubled the amount entrepreneurs and small businesses can borrow as part of efforts to boost employment, officials said.

The maximum amount that can be loaned to individuals for business purposes was raised to 50,000 yuan (7,300 dollars) from 20,000 yuan, the People’s Bank of China said in a statement posted on its website late Monday.

The limit on loans to labour-intensive small businesses was doubled to two million yuan from one million yuan, according to the notice distributed to local authorities and banks earlier this month.

“(We) need to enhance the policy support for labour-intensive small enterprises, prompt them to hire more jobless people,” the central bank said.

Some small businesses in China have been forced to shut down after being hit by slowing export growth and the government’s tighter credit conditions aimed at fighting inflation.

The large number of small businesses going bankrupt — many of them focused on labour-intensive products for export like textile and toys — has raised unemployment and concerns about possible social instability.

Beijing has long said the official unemployment rate remains below five percent.

C&B Manager (hr112sh)

Job Title: C&B Manager
Job Description:
Company introduction:
Our company is one of the leading liner shipping companies in the world, serving customers all over the globe.
With a fleet numbering more than 500 container vessels and more than 1,900,000 containers, we ensure reliable and comprehensive worldwide coverage.
Report To: Director of HR
Location: Shanghai
Responsibilities:
1. Develop and maintain HR policy & procedure to support the business strategy
2. Develop local guideline to ensure the effective implementation of global policy, procedure and program
3. Ensure compliance and alignment with the government policy & regulation
4. Ensure timely and effective communication on company policy
5. Develop local guideline on expatriate/expatriation management which is aligned with global policy and local business strategy
6. Focal point with corporate HR and regional HR for MCN/HKG expatriation related issues
7. Support C&B head on develop and implement compensation & benefits structure & program
8. Ensure compliance and alignment with legal standards
9. Ensure timely and effective communication on C&B programs.
Requirements:
1. More than five years HR experience with solid C&B knowledge and skills
2. Good understanding of government policy and regulation
3. Strong analytical skills with process-oriented mentality
4. Ability to work with different people and exert good organization impact with confidence
5. Strong problem solving skills with flexibility to assess situations from different angles
6. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
7. Excellent Chinese and English writing and speaking capability
* Please send us your complete resume (both in Chinese and in English to: ‘topjob_hr112sh@dacare.com'(Please replace “#” with “@”)
* In the email subject MUST you plus the position name ?in either En or Ch ?