Category Opinion and View

Antal assess new trends in oil and gas market

According to Antal China, the oil and gas sector is about to experience significant growth thanks to the growth of the Chinese economy. The company state that since 2011, the two China oil giants CNPC and Sinopec, have been pushing the wholesale prices down at a minimum, while increasing the prices of the retailed refined oil, thereby delivering high profits. However this year, at a time when the price difference between retailed and wholesaled oil has reached RMB 300/ton, foreign and private retail stations are facing a serious lack of oil source. For this reason some oil companies are now setting up their own depot – a move which has been recorded and supported by recruiting firm Antal China. In part, these new ventures ensure the companies retain enough oil reserve, but they also help companies to respond to price fluctuation which remain a clear feature of the Chinese market.

Antal have also perceived that deep-sea oil and gas field Exploration and Production (E&P) is becoming a greater focus in the region. However, this area of business requires higher quality of equipment, technology and talent. There are clearly new opportunities here for foreign companies who wish to supply this kind of technology to the region and alongside this there will be a higher demand for skilled personnel in deep sea development, project management, sales and application.

Antal have already been working in this area, recruiting for a foreign company who specialise in high-end sub-sea products. The company concerned set up a new office in Shenzhen in order to supply the deep-sea E&P development.

China is claimed as the number one growth market for interim executive headhunting

China tops the list of countries that top UK head-hunters predict will demand more senior executives in 2011.

Furthermore, the InterExec report also revealed that emerging markets, China and Brazil, are both set to demand more senior executives than the USA this year. More below…

Top 5 markets that will be demanding more senior executives in 2011

1) China

2) United Kingdom

3) Hong Kong

4) Brazil

5) USA

Kit Scott-Brown, managing director of InterExec, commented: “It is perhaps not surprising that the Chinese and Brazilian senior executive markets are expected to seek more senior executives as the rate of growth in the past decade mirrors that of the industrial revolution. It is interesting to see that despite the recent economic downturn, our research indicates that the UK senior executive market maintains its position as one of the strongest in the world.”

Hire a Great Chinese Engineer by Impressing His Girlfriend’s Mom

I thought hiring good engineers would be easy when I launched my startup, Julu Mobile, in Shanghai in early 2011. After all, China produces 600,000 engineering graduates each year, and as a former Google product manager I thought knew how to attract them.

However, I soon learned that hiring the best and brightest would be a lot harder than I thought. In my Silicon Valley experience, the best engineers look for audacious challenges, because the bigger the challenge, the greater their chance to prove themselves and reap the correspondingly larger rewards. Joining a startup company early is an exciting opportunity and potential path to glory for them.

In China, I have found that a different mindset dominates. When I started recruiting talent for my new company, before candidates asked about our strategy, they asked how much money we had. They wanted to know what my plans were for IPO. One candidate told me that he expected “a seven-figure package” (in US dollars). While there was some interest in our plans for China’s mobile market, their primary concerns were economic and reputational: how could I prove to them that they would become rich, and that our company would be famous? I don’t blame them for being skeptical of my tiny start-up, but I was struck by how much more risk-averse my prospects were than those engineers I’d worked with in Silicon Valley. Over the next months, I began to understand why.

Chinese young professionals today were born after the reform period of Deng Xiaoping, and have spent their entire lives in an economy that has grown 8 to 12 percent annually. They have seen astonishing growth in wealth around them, and expect the same for themselves. They are the legacy of China’s one child policy, sometimes referred to as the “six pocket” generation, since they grew up with two parents and four grandparents (six pockets of money) focused on their educational and career success. Blessed with nearly unlimited resources from their elders, those who have succeeded in school join top International and foreign companies where they can expect rapid promotion and income growth.

However, this unprecedented opportunity has also generated high expectations from the elders and potential spouses of this new professional class. In China’s family-centered culture, older generations depend on their offspring to provide for a significant part of their retirement, placing a strong expectation on these young professionals to do well financially.

Then there is the challenge of finding a spouse and starting their own families. On the Friday before one of my key hires, with an impressive background from a top global technology company, was scheduled to start work, I got a nervous sounding call from him. He hesitantly explained that he would not be able to join as agreed — his girlfriend’s mother had decided that my company was too risky a proposition, and that he should keep his “safe” job. I was shocked. Shocked that he would make a decision on this basis, and shocked that he thought it was a sufficient explanation to reverse his decision.

However, for a young man in China, having a steady income and accumulating assets like an apartment is often a prerequisite for marriage, and even for dating. China’s population has developed a significant gender imbalance, with 119 boys for every 100 girls.. This means that women increasingly have their pick, and they tend to choose men who are stable and successful — those who already own an apartment. This cultural emphasis on stability is at odds with the mindset often needed in an entrepreneurial environment. Young women in China don’t face pressure to own an apartment like the males, but they do face pressure to find an affluent spouse. (Unfortunately, in China as in so many other places, there’s a dearth of women in the engineering fields, so I encountered few female candidates in my recruitment efforts.)

In spite of rising affluence, accumulating assets has become increasingly difficult, as China’s economic growth has also resulted in the runaway growth of prices. In a country where owning an apartment is a symbol of success, the ratio of real estate price to annual income is among the highest in the world. For example, in Beijing the price of an apartment has tripled since 2005, averaging 27 times the average annual household income, five times the international average. Those who do buy apartments typically do so with the considerable help from their “six pocket” families, increasing the pressure for financial success.

Unfortunately for entrepreneurs like me, it is hard to show prospective employees examples of local companies that have created extraordinary wealth for their employees. Even successful Internet companies like Baidu, Tencent, and Alibaba are closely held and most of the gains from their IPOs went to the top managers. For smaller companies like mine, there is less of a track record of acquisitions that would make employees optimistic that they would see an exit for themselves.

To overcome these factors, I learned to pay a lot more attention to the personal and family dynamics of hiring. I spent more time explaining how employees would benefit financially if we succeeded. We offer generous housing fund benefits to help employees save for their down payments, and invite girlfriends and significant others to all company events. I have also found ways to target candidates who have more interest taking on technical challenges than making money.

China is full of talent, and as there are more entrepreneurial success stories for the employees of startup companies, I suspect it will be easier to attract the best.

Posts by Doug Raymond(Doug Raymond is the founder and former CEO of Julu Mobile, a mobile advertising technology company based in Shanghai.)

High Turnover Keeps Haunting Chinese Employment Market

Salaries will grow 9.1% while turnover will remain high at 18.9% this year in China, according to a report released by Aon Corp, a London-based provider of risk management services and human capital consulting.

In the top four cities, Guangzhou will lead the way in manufacturing salary growth with 10.1%, followed by 9.8% in both Shanghai and Beijing and 8.9% in Shenzhen. Beijing’s 9.5% will be the fastest when it comes to non-manufacturing salary growth, followed by 9.3% in Shanghai, 9.1% in Guangzhou and 8.9% in Shenzhen, the report says.

Salaries of manufacturing workers in second and third-tier cities are catching up with those in the top four cities, with the average difference narrowing to less than 5%. The report warns that employment risks are surging in smaller cities as local turnover keep running high. Turnover in Chongqing and Nanjing, two leading second-tier cities, is expected to be 22.3% and 19.4% respectively, well above 9.6% and 7.3% in 2006.

Spiraling living costs in coastal China have prompted plenty of manufacturers to move to the inland, causing regional labor shortages and higher salaries, according to Aon China vice president Zhang Hong.

In terms of industries, the highest turnovers are seen in retail (31%), hi-tech manufacturing (26.6%), fast moving consumer goods (19.5%) and healthcare (19.2%), which can expect faster salary growths of 9.1%, 9.6%, 9.7% and 9.5% respectively. The four industries are undergoing structural changes in the labor market, Zhang argues.

The Aon report is based on a survey of more than 4,000 firms across China engaged in the real estate, finance, healthcare, hi-tech, retail, chemical, logistics and manufacturing industries.

China fulfills annual employment targets early

BEIJING – In the first 11 months of this year, 12.02 million new jobs were created in China, surpassing the goal of 9 million new jobs, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS) said Tuesday.

The urban registered unemployment rate stood at 4.1 percent at the end of September, below the annual target of 4.6 percent, said Minister Yin Weimin.

The employment situation has been better than expected this year amid the backdrop of slowing global economic recovery and downward pressures weighing on the domestic economy, Yin said while addressing a national human resources and social security work conference.

Zhou Tianyong, a professor with the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), said the double-digit economic growth in China’s central and western regions has been a major engine for creating job opportunities.

In the first half of 2012, the newly increased employed population in cities located in the country’s central and western regions expanded 9 percent and 14 percent, respectively, according to the ministry.

Meanwhile, massive layoffs have also been rare this year, as a continuous labor shortage left employers more prudent about staff cuts, Zhou added.

Yin also said at the Tuesday conference that in 2013, China will not let go of its goals to create at least 9 million new urban jobs and keep unemployment below 4.6 percent.

The focus of next year’s work, according to Yin, will still be employment for college graduates, an expanding population that has hit 6.8 million this year.

China will carry out and improve policies in support of the employment and entrepreneurship of college graduates, expand their employment areas and introduce public recruitment services to campuses, Yin said.

During a recent two-day conference held to set the tone for next year’s economic work, the central government pledged to give more attention to stabilizing and expanding employment, especially in terms of creating jobs for college graduates.

To boost employment, the government also vowed to support the development of small and micro enterprises and strengthen social responsibility among large enterprises at the conference held on December 15 and 16.

China’s total urban population in search of employment reached 25 million in 2012, far exceeding the 12 million new jobs created annually in recent years, data show.

Analysts have pointed out that in addition to the pressure to create more jobs, there is a notable gap between the skills of the unemployed and the skills required for certain positions.

Most industries in China are currently facing a serious shortage of skilled workers. The manufacturing sector alone, according to the MHRSS, is in need of about 4 million senior technicians.

“China has to step up education for skilled workers and provide a large pool of talent with experience, superb skills and creativity,” said Cai Jiming, director of Tsinghua University’s Political Economy Research Center.

Conversely, public posts and positions with State-owned enterprises are enjoying increasing popularity. In late November, about 1.12 million candidates sat the National Public Servant Exam, which means one in every 53 candidates will get posts as public servants, on average.

In response to the trend of graduates flocking to public posts, Renmin University Professor Zheng Gongcheng said China has to narrow gaps between industries, between the rural and the urban, as well as those in incomes, benefits and social security in order to mobilize its talents.

“To fulfill the employment targets for 2013, China has to thoroughly implement a more proactive employment policy,” said Yin.

Fewer satisfied with their lives in 2012

Fewer people were satisfied with their quality of life in 2012 amid rising living costs and changing social values, according to a report compiled by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The report found 44.7 percent of people polled nationwide were satisfied in 2012, a decrease of 2.3 percentage points from the previous year.

Even among those who said they were satisfied with their lives, their satisfaction index decreased from 3.46 to 3.41 on a scale of zero to five points.

According to the report, 12.3 percent of those surveyed said they were dissatisfied.

The report, which was released on Monday, was based on data and surveys provided by the livelihood index research group under the National People’s Congress and filed by researchers from the academy.

Wang Junxiu, a sociologist at the academy and leading author of the report, said price rises and growing employment pressures were some of the biggest factors contributing to the increasingly gloomy mood.

“The survey was conducted while prices were rising, and this definitely has a role to play in the decline in the satisfaction index,” he said.

But he added that the decline was also related to psychological factors.

“If someone just had a pay raise, the satisfaction that accompanied it may disappear very quickly. But the inner demand for an improved quality of life is constantly on the rise,” he said.

The decline in the satisfaction index was seen among people in a wide range of professions, ranging from those in leading positions at State-owned enterprises and government bodies to farmers and workers in the service sector.

The report also found higher levels of satisfaction among rural residents and residents in western regions of China. People who live in rented accommodations are generally less happy than those who own their own homes.

Another report conducted by researchers from the academy showed that people had a lower level of social trust than in previous years.

The study divided social trust into two categories: people’s trust in society and their trust in personal connections.
The report, which examined the trust levels of residents of seven cities, found people had a very low level of trust in businesses, scoring 51.8 points out of 100.

It revealed that the catering, tourism, pharmaceutical and real estate sectors were among the least trusted.

The report also found a lower level of trust in interpersonal relationships. Only 20 to 30 percent of the respondents said that they would trust strangers, while distrust has also increased among different social groups.

“There is distrust between the authorities, police and residents, doctors and patients, and customers and businesspeople,” the report said.

The study also found that trust in personal relationships increasingly outweighed trust in society among Chinese people.
“In modern society, people’s trust in society generally outweighs trust in personal connections. However, in China, people seem to show more faith in their own personal connections,” said Yang Yiyin, a social psychology researcher from the academy.

“The government now faces a difficult task in restoring that trust. It can only be restored through stronger punishment of dishonest behavior and the cultivation of civic awareness,” she said.

China’s university graduates stumped over jobs, life and politics

Employment prospects are looking increasingly grim amongst many “post-80s and 90s” university graduates and students across the country according to a recent report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The CASS Blue Book of China’s Society revealed that only 76 per cent of 2012 graduates had been able to find jobs, Caijing reported on Monday.

The CASS conducted a survey on 2,000 students and graduates from 12 colleges and universities across China.

When asked about their outlook on jobs, only 30 per cent of university students felt they would be able to find work successfully and most students said they lacked confidence in the job market.

Even among those who have found work, job satisfaction has been low, with about two-thirds of 2011 graduates claiming to have worked at least 1 to 2 different jobs since graduation. Job hopping has become commonplace, according to the report. Only 1.6 per cent of university graduates felt satisfied with their employment situation.

Analysts believe satisfaction among graduates is linked to home ownership and marriage, as those in this category reported higher levels of personal satisfaction.

Meanwhile, as out-of-reach property prices make homeownership increasingly difficult, more than 70 per cent of college students now feel they belong to the “lower” or “lower-middle” class demographic.

A dismal outlook on employment and life among post-80s and 90s youths tied in rather fittingly with an increase in sociopolitical awareness.

More than half of all those polled in the CASS survey said they were “interested in political affairs” and about two-thirds of university students and university graduates felt they “had the ability to participate in public affairs decision making”. A similar number felt they were “qualified to evaluate government actions”.

Social security and private property also appear to be of high importance to Chinese youths. The survey showed 64 per cent of university students and 70 per cent of university graduates “strongly favouring” private property over state-owned property. The number of students and graduates who agreed that “sacrificing personal interests for state interests was outdated” was split evenly with those who disagreed.

According to the Ministry of Education, Chinese universities produced 6.8 million university graduates in 2012, all vying for work in an increasingly competitive job market.

Recent figures published by the Chinese Household Finance Survey also revealed a 16.4 per cent urban unemployment rate amongst youths aged 21 to 25.

High Turnover Keeps Haunting Chinese Employment Market

Salaries will grow 9.1% while turnover will remain high at 18.9% this year in China, according to a report released by Aon Corp, a London-based provider of risk management services and human capital consulting.

In the top four cities, Guangzhou will lead the way in manufacturing salary growth with 10.1%, followed by 9.8% in both Shanghai and Beijing and 8.9% in Shenzhen. Beijing’s 9.5% will be the fastest when it comes to non-manufacturing salary growth, followed by 9.3% in Shanghai, 9.1% in Guangzhou and 8.9% in Shenzhen, the report says.

Salaries of manufacturing workers in second and third-tier cities are catching up with those in the top four cities, with the average difference narrowing to less than 5%. The report warns that employment risks are surging in smaller cities as local turnover keep running high. Turnover in Chongqing and Nanjing, two leading second-tier cities, is expected to be 22.3% and 19.4% respectively, well above 9.6% and 7.3% in 2006.

Spiraling living costs in coastal China have prompted plenty of manufacturers to move to the inland, causing regional labor shortages and higher salaries, according to Aon China vice president Zhang Hong.

In terms of industries, the highest turnovers are seen in retail (31%), hi-tech manufacturing (26.6%), fast moving consumer goods (19.5%) and healthcare (19.2%), which can expect faster salary growths of 9.1%, 9.6%, 9.7% and 9.5% respectively. The four industries are undergoing structural changes in the labor market, Zhang argues.

The Aon report is based on a survey of more than 4,000 firms across China engaged in the real estate, finance, healthcare, hi-tech, retail, chemical, logistics and manufacturing industries.

Chinese students joining Communist Party for job-hunt perks

BEIJING–A growing number of Chinese college students are joining the Communist Party of China, attracted by the preferential treatment given to party members in finding employment and gaining promotions.

“Young people are joining the party because they are having difficulties finding jobs,” said a 23-year-old female worker in Beijing. “Many students want to work at stable state-owned companies.”

The woman said she joined the party while she was a university student. She said she had an advantage because of her membership when she worked at a state-owned enterprise.

A 24-year-old female worker at a private company in Shanghai also joined the party during her college days.

She was concerned that party membership may work against her acquiring visas, but she eventually joined the party because she thought that membership would be proof of her abilities.

Some government offices and public institutions require job applicants to be party members.

According to a survey by a staffing agency, many companies also give priority to party members when recruiting.

China is said to be in an “ice age for employment,” where 1.5 million college students annually fail to find jobs after graduation. In such a harsh hiring climate, the preferential treatment associated with party membership has attracted an increasing number of students applying to become members.

According to Xinhua News Agency and other sources, the Communist Party accepted only 14 percent of applicants for membership in 2010. But members age 35 and under are increasing by more than 1 million each year, and they now account for a quarter of all memberships.

At the end of 2011, 82.6 million people were party members.

Bai Zhili, associate professor of personnel management at Peking University, conducted a survey with other researchers from 2008-2009 to investigate why people joined the Communist Party. The researchers received replies from 823 people.

The results showed that 51 percent of respondents age 50 and older cited that they support “the idea of communism” as a reason, compared with 21 percent of those in their 20s.

Respondents who replied that they joined for “self-realization” or achieving successful careers, accounted for 18 percent of people in their 20s, compared with only 5 percent of those age 50 and over.

“Young people are joining the Communist Party as if to get admission tickets to enter a competition for jobs,” said another faculty member at Peking University.

China’s wealth gap widening

Fresh data shows how China’s income gap is worsening, an issue new leader Xi Jinping has resolved to tackle.

While decades of strong economic growth have lifted hundreds of millions of Chinese off the poverty line, the country’s wealth gap has widened to the point where it is among the world’s most unequal nations.

China’s Gini coefficient, which is commonly used to gauge inequality in income or wealth, stood at 61 in 2010, according to a study by the Survey and Research Centre for China Household Finance.

The Gini coefficient measures the wealth gap on a scale of 0 to 100. A reading above 40 usually marks strong inequality in wealth and income.

The coefficient of all countries monitored by the World Bank averaged 44 for 2010. Ireland’s Gini coefficient in 2010 was 33.2, according to Eurostat, a sharply worse reading than in 2009, when it was 28.8.

The Gini data is extremely sensitive in China, and the government has not released an official figure since 2000, when it stood at 41.2.

‘ Rare ’

Gan Li, chief researcher and a professor at the research centre, which is part of the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu, said the reading was “rare in the world” and the gap was wide in both urban and rural areas.

But he said the reading was not “dreadful” because a wide gap between rich and poor was common in a fast-developing country.

One option would be to raise the minimum wage, but that would also hurt employment, he said. “We hope the government could spend more on improving people’s social welfare,” said Mr Gan.

Research earlier this year from the think tank showed that 10 per cent of Chinese households held up to 57 per cent of all disposable income.

The domestic east-west divide was stark, too. The combined income of all households in eastern provinces was about 2.7 times that of the west and central regions.