All posts by ChinaJob

China triggered “global job boom”

10 million opportunities created ¡ª Xinhua

BOAO (Hainan): China has created some 10 million job opportunities for the world over the past five years, said Vice President Zeng Qinghong here on Saturday.

China had also been importing nearly $500 billion worth of goods annually since its entry into the World Trade Organisation in 2001, Mr. Zeng said. He was giving a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Meeting 2006.

Highlighting the opportunities of development China has brought to the world over the past years, he said imports from Asian countries and areas increased 20 per cent year-on-year to hit $440 billion in 2005, accounting for 67 per cent of China’s total volume of imports.

Beneficial cooperation

Overseas investment by Chinese companies has increased by over 20 per cent annually, with 80 per cent of it made in Asia.

China will “unswervingly” pursue peaceful development and pay more attention to friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation with the world, especially with Asian countries and regions, Mr. Zeng said.

He said China’s smooth and fast development would provide more opportunities for regional cooperation in Asia. He said 2006 was the first year of China’s 11th Five-Year (2006-2010) plan.

In the coming five years, China would improve its mode of economic growth and focus attention on environment protection and resource-conserving to maintain a stable and relatively fast development.

By 2010, Mr. Zeng said China’s GDP would exceed $3 trillion, and the annual import volume will surpass $1 trillion. The energy consumption per unit would be reduced by 20 per cent, and the emission of pollutants would be cut by 10 per cent.

Hyundai builds 2nd China plant

Apr. 18, 2006. 07:32 AM
ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEOUL ¡ª Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s top vehicle maker, said Tuesday it has begun construction on its second auto plant in China, a project involving a total investment of $1 billion (U.S.).

The Beijing plant, which will also include a new research centre, will have an annual capacity of 300,000 vehicles as Hyundai expands its presence in the world’s fastest-growing auto market, the Seoul-based company said in a statement.

“Through continuing growth in China, which is an important center of our global strategy, we will establish our firm position as a global auto maker,” Hyundai chairman Chung Mong-Koo said in the statement.

Once construction is completed in 2007, Beijing Hyundai Motor Co., a 50-50 joint venture with between Hyundai and Beijing Automobile Investment, will have an annual production capacity of 600,000 vehicles a year from 2008, the statement said.

Hyundai Motor already has a plant in Beijing with an annual capacity of around 300,000 vehicles.

The new plant will create about 3,200 jobs and will add five new models in China, on top of five models that are currently being produced at Hyundai’s existing plant.

Beijing Hyundai Motor sold 66,814 vehicles this year through March from a 2006 sales target of 300,000 vehicles. In 2005, Beijing Hyundai sold 233,668 vehicles.

Hyundai, along with its affiliate Kia Motors Corp., aims to become the world’s sixth-largest carmaker by 2010 and is aggressively expanding overseas production to meet the goal.

Last month, Hyundai announced that it will build a plant in the Czech Republic, while Kia will build a plant in the U.S. state of Georgia.

Hyundai has four overseas production bases in China, India, Turkey and the U.S.

Lloyd’s Names Faragher China Re COO

April 25, 2006

Lloyd’s has announced that Ian Faragher has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of its new Chinese onshore reinsurance operation in Shanghai, Lloyd’s Reinsurance Company (China) Ltd., effective May 15.

“Ian has over 25 years insurance experience and has worked for a number of years in China, Hong Kong and Thailand. He was previously responsible for the Liberty Mutual and Chubb operations in China,” said the bulletin.

Director of Worldwide Markets, Julian James welcomed the appointment, commenting: “Ian brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge of the Asian insurance market which will be crucial as we continue our work with the Chinese authorities to get the new operation up and running in the autumn. We look forward to him joining on 15th May”

Paul Swain, Chairman of Lloyd’s China Strategic Steering Group noted: “I am delighted that Ian has agreed to join Lloyd’s as our new Chief Operating Officer in China. In Ian we have a strong leader with first-hand knowledge of China and experience of establishing and running operations there.”

Sony Ericsson To Increase China R&D Staff

Sony Ericsson plans to increase the staff at its China R&D center to 350 by 2008, Shanghai Youth Daily reports. The company’s China R&D center was founded in 2004. On April 10 Sony Ericsson released the Z530c handset, the company’s first handset model to be designed and produced entirely in China.

Executives see China as place to boost career

Dallas Morning News, The (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) DALLAS

Bobby Carter shows all the symptoms of China fever.

Each week, he meets with a private tutor to learn Mandarin. On airplanes, he listens to language tapes. And in his spare time, he reads books about the Asian powerhouse and blogs written by expatriates living there.

China “is really intriguing to me. I want to experience it,” said Carter, 44, UPS’ international sales and marketing manager for the Southwest region.

Although he’s traveled in the region for his job, now he wants to work full time in China, for at least a few years.

“Who would think in our lifetime we would have the opportunity to be pioneers in anything?” he said.

As China evolves into an increasingly important market for many U.S. companies, a growing number of Americans are eager to work there, despite potentially formidable obstacles of language and culture.

Interest in China extends beyond multinational corporations. Increasingly, managers at small- and mid-size businesses are volunteering for forays in China, seeking excitement, riches and a career boost.

“It’s not a hardship,” said Louisa Wong-Rousseau, managing director of China for Stanton Chase International, an executive search firm. “People see going to China as a career advancement.”

Though many in China prefer to hire locals, a shortage of skilled executives means expatriates remain in demand, said Lisa Johnson, director of consulting services for Cendant Mobility, a large relocation company.

Many companies award assignments in China to their rising stars, she said. “It’s where a lot of companies’ future is.”

According to a Cendant Mobility study conducted last year, people moving to China for business reasons are typically married men in their early 40s.

Shanghai, China’s most cosmopolitan city, ranks as the top destination for expatriates. But a growing number of them are headed to less well-known places such as Chengdu, Dalian and Tianjin.

For example, Dallas attorney Ryan Greene recently accepted a job with EnterHealth China LLC, which manages two hospitals in the Chongqing area. The firm aims to become a leading provider of health care services in China.

Greene, 34, already has an apartment leased and furnished for him in Chongqing. Initially, he plans to spend half his time in the southwestern Chinese city and the remainder in Dallas.

After three trips to China, he has developed an admiration for the Chinese people’s work ethic and culture. “In the next five to 10 years, everyone is going to be going over there,” he said. “I want to be on the leading edge of that transition.

“What’s happening there is so amazing,” he added. “It’s the industrial revolution in early 19th-century America all over again.”

Americans who have taken the plunge and moved to China often find the experience an eye-opener.

In November 2004, Nokia Oyj employee Ron Davenport sold his house and two cars in Grapevine and moved to a gated community in Beijing.

Now, he is helping develop low-cost phones at Nokia’s product creation center in Beijing.

“The pace is quite frantic,” Davenport, 41, said of the Chinese business environment. “But I am much more sensitive to growth in other parts of the world.”

For Mark Abe, living in China became a necessity. The 40-year-old executive for Plano, Texas-based Electronic Data Systems Corp. arrived in Beijing three months ago to help his company win information technology services contracts from Chinese airlines, airports and other air services providers.

“It’s very hard to build those relationships when you’re flying in and out,” he said.

The expatriate from Orange County, Calif., quickly learned that conducting business in China requires forming personal relationships, not just making sales calls.

“The business models that are prevalent here in China are different from ones in other parts of the world,” he said, referring to the nation’s many state-owned firms.

“Don’t wait,” he advised others considering working in China. “The country is changing so fast. Jump in with both feet and don’t look back.”

Taking on a China assignment does involve some challenges and adjustments.

Chief among them is finding health care that meets U.S. standards, according to the Cendant Mobility study.

China eases capital, forex curbs for banks

SHANGHAI, Apr 18 (AFP)

China issued rules today that allows its banks to invest capital overseas on behalf of their clients, a move that brings the nation a small step closer to full convertibility of its currency.

The relaxation of forex controls came as Chinese President Hu Jintao was scheduled to leave for the United States where discussions with President George W Bush are expected to focus on currency and trade issues.
“The approval aims to meet domestic demand for overseas investments, and to effectively promote balanced international payments,” the central bank said in a statement on its website.

“It is also meant to further open the financial markets to the outside world and is an important step in promoting the gradual convertibility of the yuan.”
The US accuses China of moving far too slowly on reforms to its tightly controlled currency, and has threatened punitive tariffs if the Asian giant does not make greater efforts to loosen the unit.

Today the central bank said the measures were necessary to meet increased demand from Chinese companies for a wider choice of investment channels.
The announcement issued jointly by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), further clarifies last week’s limited reforms to the capital account.

Last Friday the central bank said qualified local banks would be allowed to pool capital from institutions and individuals and buy as yet unspecified amounts of foreign exchange for investment in fixed-income assets overseas.
Domestic fund management firms and securities companies are also permitted to invest institutions’ and individuals’ foreign exchange, again in yet unspecified amounts, in foreign securities, including stock markets.

Mercer launches insurance JV in China

Maggie Zhang
2006-04-26

MERCER Human Resource Consulting, the world’s biggest insurance broker, launched a joint venture in China yesterday.

The venture, Shanghai Mercer Insurance Brokers Co Ltd, offers health-care benefits and advisory services to organizations in China. Mercer refused to identify its JV partner, saying it is awaiting the Chinese firm’s approval to disclose the information.

“We are ambitious and optimistic about the market and our business will grow rapidly,” said Edouard Merette, Asia-Pacific president of Mercer. “The potential is enormous as it’s still in the initial stages of the market in China.”

China’s insurance premiums topped 493 billion yuan (US$62 billion) last year. Premiums collected from the country’ insurance brokers were at about 10 billion yuan, accounting for a mere 2 percent of the total.

Considering the 2 percent figure, the insurance broker sector enjoys big growth potential, said Rosaline Chow Koo, regional business leader of Mercer Health & Benefits Asia. She also said China will be the fastest-growing market for the company.

The venture has 10 employees to start. But Merette said it will grow into the “thousands” in a fairly short period.

The US-based company holds a 24.9 percent stake of the venture, just under the 25 percent maximum a single foreign investor is allowed by regulators in the insurance sector. Its unidentified Chinese partner holds the remainder.

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission granted the license for the venture late last year with registered capital of 10 million yuan.

China is boosting its commercial insurance sector to partly absorb the nation’s US$1.8 trillion in household savings. Authorities want to increase combined insurance assets to 5 trillion yuan by 2010 from 1.6 trillion yuan at the end of March.

Suppliers must move soon in China

April 4, 2006
BY JUSTIN HYDE

U.S. auto-parts makers struggling to survive in an industry clogged with bankrupt companies can find a foothold in the future in China — but only if they act now.

That’s the message several experts and supplier executives brought to suppliers Monday on the opening day of the Society of Automotive Engineers 2006 World Congress at Cobo Hall in Detroit.

Suppliers and automakers have been making multibillion-dollar moves into China, lured by the possibility of cutting their costs as much as 50%.

They also hope to snag a piece of the booming Chinese economy, which is on track to pass Japan as the world’s second-largest market for new cars and trucks by the end of the decade.

“It’s a market you ignore at your own peril,” said Mustafa Mohatarem, General Motors’ chief economist.

Jack Perkowski, CEO of ASIMCO International Technologies, a Beijing-based auto-parts maker, said it was not too late for suppliers to jump into China, but the door is closing as Chinese suppliers increase their own abilities.

“If you’re not there by 2010, you’re too late,” Perkowski said. “The center of gravity for technological innovation is going to move to China. It’s going to be the fastest-growing market in the world.”

Last year, automakers in China built 6 million vehicles, a 20% increase. For the first time, China exported more cars and trucks than it imported.

Automakers have pushed suppliers to lower costs by building in China, and exports of Chinese-made parts to the United States have been rising at roughly 30% a year, heading toward $12.8 billion in 2007 according to PRTM Management Consultants.

Yet according to a survey of suppliers by the firm, most companies find it far more expensive to do business in China than they had planned. One big reason: Counterfeiting runs rampant in China for many goods including auto parts.

Andreas Mai, a consultant at PRTM, said companies should take several steps to protect their goods from copying, ranging from spreading contracts among several suppliers to keeping their key innovations out of the country entirely.

Mai estimated that auto-parts companies building in China need to save at least 20% in costs to make up for the higher overhead of shipping, quality control and guarding their intellectual property.

With Delphi Corp. and other large U.S. auto parts makers in bankruptcy, some attendees asked what kind of future the U.S. industry could have when faced with such stiff competition.

“There will still be a very vibrant, active industry here … it will just look different,” Perkowski said, citing automakers’ need for parts close to assembly plants. “Every one of the businesses here will have some sort of China strategy.”

Tips for doing business in China

Some advice from experts for auto suppliers who want to set up shop in China:

Have a presence in China — workers who can make decisions about the business. Trying to manage by remote control often leads to problems.

It takes a critical mass of business — $10 million — to generate real savings and an understanding of the country.

Avoid handing out unnecessary information that could be used to copy your products, and break up work among several suppliers.

Beware of logistical problems, such as bottlenecks at ports.

¡°China Rocks!¡± says Boeing¡¯s chief executive

Apr. 21, 2006 (China Knowledge) ¨C ¡°China Rocks!¡± said Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Alan Mulally as he closed the proceedings of Chinese President Hu Jintao¡¯s speech at Boeing¡¯s Everett plant.

While Hu displayed goodwill of friendship and healthy working relation at Microsoft, the usually reserved president showed the affectionate side of him that amazed both Americans and his people at home.

Not only did Hu, in a celebrity-like gesture, put on a Boeing cap offered by one of Boeing¡¯s veteran staff Paul Dernier, he also gave the latter two hugs and several pats on the back as a sign of camaraderie and appreciation.

This came after a well-received speech from Hu. Commenting on Boeing¡¯s relations with China, Hu said, ¡°Boeing’s cooperation with China is a living example of the mutually beneficial cooperation and win-win outcome that China and the United States have achieved from trade with each other.”

“This clearly points to a bright tomorrow for future cooperation between Boeing and China,” Hu added.

Although several other Boeing workers remain apprehensive about this ¡°bright tomorrow¡± which might threaten their employment as China rises in economic terms, Dernier, who received Hu¡¯s public display of affection said the close ties between Boeing and China ¡±helps keep our factory open¡±, according to Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

In his speech, Hu shared a way by which China can help to keep their factory open: ¡°I hope the American companies will seize opportunities, aggressively expand their share of China’s market and continue to enhance their business ties with China.”

Partner (Head of China Operation)

Company introduction:

Our client is the leader in operational and financial internal audit services, which is also the firm who set the benchmark for internal audit partnering. Our client has a physical presence in over 130 locations and alliances worldwide. Their goal is always to establish a long-term and mutually beneficial relationship, with both our clients and our workforce. For the increased demands by their US based clients who have operations within China, they are looking for a partner in China.

Responsibilities:

1 Leading China business unit
2.Developing business by contracting with new customers consistent with the company’s business strategy.
3.Hiring consultants to support the development of business.
4.Oversight and follow-up for each client assigned to you.
5.Overseeing billing and collections.
6.Managing the relationship between staff and customers.
7.Reporting to your Principal about the progress of each project, and information relating to the continuation of each project.
8.Coordinating the management of each client assigned to you.

Requirements:

1.BA/BS in accounting or related field.
2.Well versed in GAAP accounting rules.
3.Strong orientation toward internal control, risk assessment and operational auditing.
4.10+ years internal audit experience in public accounting and / or private industry with either manufacturing, retail and distribution, banking, insurance/health care asset-based lending, food/consumer products, telecommunications and MIS.
5.Attainment of Senior Internal Audit designation.
6.Line operations experience and a demonstrated, innovative approach to internal audit as a consultative service is a distinct plus.
7.Adept at the use of technology (MS Word, Excel, Visio and PowerPoint; ACL & MS Access a plus).
8.Prefer CPA, MBA, CIA, CISA, or CFE.
9.Strong oral and written communication skills.
10.Commitment to exceptional client service.
11.Creative problem-solving ability and a consultancy mindset.
12.Flexible, self started possessing intellectual curiosity.
13.Ability to interact with various levels of client and company management.
14.Fluent in English and either Mandarin or Cantonese ¨C both written and verbal
15. Big 4 experience is definitely a big plus

Very competitive package offered to capable candidates.

Please send your resume to topjob_fi093sh@dacare.com