Archives 2009

SOE employment open for Taiwan students

For the first time that Taiwan students graduating from mainland universities are being allowed to work in state-owned enterprises.

The Fujian provincial government has issued a notice saying these students may apply for positions in state-owned enterprises. They will enjoy same salaries and benefits as mainland students.

So far, more than 1,000 universities on the mainland have accepted 30 thousand Taiwan students. Ten thousand remain in class. Most of them are in Fujian, Guangdong, Beijing and Shanghai.

Job market predicted to touch new low

EMPLOYMENT on China’s mainland for the third quarter will cool to a five-quarter low due to the impact of the global economic downturn, according to a quarterly survey released by Manpower Inc yesterday.

But expectations are falling more slowly than the previous quarter, thanks to the government’s fiscal stimulus package, said the report, based on interviews with 4,026 employers on the mainland.

Companies in the steel, automobile, finance and transport industries were likely to hire more employees in the coming months, in response to industry adjustments and revitalization plans issued by the State Council, the report said.

“There were some optimistic signs. But whether confidence in the whole labor market can be lifted depends on how the economy changes in the second half of this year,” said Wu Ruoxuan, Manpower Greater China’s managing director.

Eleven percent of HR respondents surveyed in 13 cities said they will expand head counts, while 9 percent said they would cut staff.

The report claimed 66 percent of employers said they would maintain current staffing plans – 10 percent higher than the previous quarter.

“The fact that more companies expect to keep current staff levels rather than cut them shows market confidence is becoming more stable,” said Zhu Yijuan, from Manpower.

Hiring in the service industry was the most robust. Finance and insurance, mining and construction and the transport industries also showed stronger hiring prospects compared to the previous quarter, but all had declined from the same period last year, the report said.

Pharma health means more jobs

Pharmaceutical company Lilly China will double its staff to 2,000 this year even as experts debate whether the economy has bottomed out.

“A large portion of the hires are in sales and distribution as we expect to do a better job reaching patients in central and western areas of China,” David Ricks, Lilly China president, told China Business Weekly late last month.

But he added Lilly China is growing in all aspects, so new employees will be needed in virtually every function from manufacturing and R&D to accounting and operations.

Lilly China is not the only pharmaceutical firm expanding recruitment in China even as global workforce numbers are stagnant or even dropping.

Swiss drug maker Novartis Pharmaceuticals expects to increase its 2,700 employees in China by 20 percent each year until at least 2013. The bulk of the new positions will be in sales, according to CEO Joseph Jimenez.

Amy Huang, vice-president and China director of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), said the company does not intend to cut its budget for China this year – instead it will invest more in developing new medicines and vaccines, including funds for expansion of human resources related to R&D. The UK-headquartered company announced in February it will cut 6,000 jobs this year globally.

The world’s second-largest generic medicine company Sandoz said it will recruit more people in China, not only in sales and manufacturing, but also managerial talent.

“The reason for the workforce enhancement in China is rapid expansion of these drug companies here,” said Peng Haizhu, pharmaceutical analyst of Huatai Securities.

Year-on-year sales of Lilly China grew around 30 percent in 2008, while its global business rose 9 percent. GSK achieved a 12 percent growth in sales in emerging markets.

China outperformed other emerging markets with a 22 percent increase in sales as global numbers fell by 3 percent. Sales by Novartis Pharmaceuticals in China jumped 29 percent year-on-year to 3.3 billion yuan in 2008, compared with its 6 percent global growth and the company is expecting a 30 percent rise in China this year. AstraZeneca’s figures were 25 percent and 7 percent in China and the world respectively.

Best performers

“In any global company, different regional operations are competing with each other for limited resources, so the best performers will get more support from headquarters,” said Wu Changqi, associate dean of Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management. “So, it’s understandable that the promising China branch can add workforce while other regions cut jobs.”

As well, surging demand in China stimulated pharmaceuticals to build new facilities that create job opportunities for locals.

It is estimated that more than 200 million households in China will earn over 40,000 yuan a year by 2025, with spending on private healthcare and medicines by urban consumers expected to record double digit growth every year in the coming two decades, according to a report of PricewaterhouseCoopers, an industry assurance, tax and advisory services provider.

Eli Lilly, eyeing the market potential, has pledged to inject $100 million in China for R&D from 2008 to 2012. In February, Pfizer set up a $60 million manufacturing facility in northeast China’s Dalian city, while Bayer announced plans to invest up to 100 million euros over the next five years for an R&D center in Beijing.

Peng pointed out that China’s three-year 850 billion yuan medical system reform package that aims to provide more accessible and affordable healthcare to the country’s 1.3 billion people provides new opportunities in smaller cities and rural areas, which in turn drives pharmaceuticals to recruit more employees to reach those regions.

Executives of foreign drug behemoths all admit that a large part of new recruits will be sales people who will be in charge of setting up distribution networks in China’s western and central areas and in county-level hospitals.

“Qualified people specialized in this kind of work are not easy to get,” said Peng, explaining that they should have pharmaceutical background, be familiar with medical systems and local cultures in underdeveloped areas – very different than in large cities – as well as have hard-working and easy-going personalities.

Ricks said campus recruitment is key to finding new employees who have a professional medical background. People who leave other sectors and turn to the pharmaceutical industry are also welcomed. Executive headhunting is used for managerial positions.

Peng of Huatai said finding and retaining talent is a real challenge for pharmaceutical companies because the number with medical backgrounds cannot keep pace with the surge of demand, resulting in ever-increasing competition among various companies.

Lilly China’s Ricks estimated that turnover is as high as 35 to 50 percent in local drug firms and 20 to 30 percent in multinational companies. In Lilly China, the figure is 5 to 10 percent.

“In finding and retaining good and skilled people our strategy is to build from within,” he said.

Peng attributed the relatively lower turnover to bigger salaries at multinationals.

“Multinationals are particularly attractive to R&D talent as their research facilities are usually world class and international communication is much more convenient and up to date.”

Wu of Peking University said companies that make efforts to recruit new talent and provide a professional, ethical corporate culture are smart.

“They are accumulating high-level human resources and preparing for the coming recovery,” he said, predicting that the emerging markets, including China, will still develop faster than developed economies when rising from the economic slowdown.

“Talent will be the most needed resource in the recovery – it is hard to cultivate in a short time,” he added.

Beijing seeks to attract talented overseas Chinese

Beijing is working to entice some of the talented Chinese people working overseas to return home.

The municipal government has established a program to assist overseas Chinese who are under 55 years of age, have obtained a PhD overseas, and can work in Beijing for more than six months a year.

Professors in famous overseas universities and research institutions and those who are employed as senior managers in well-known multi-national companies are the key targets of the program.

Beijing’s goal for 2009 is to attract between 30 and 50 of these types of people back from overseas.

University graduates earn less money

University graduates who left school in 2008 are earning less money than their classmates did one year ago. That’s according to a newly released Employment Report on China’s university graduates. As CCTV reporter finds out, salaries for graduates from major universities fell at a steeper rate than graduates of vocational schools.

The report shows that graduates from major universities earn on average about 2,500 yuan a month. That’s down 14 percent from the previous year. Meanwhile, monthly salaries for graduates of non-major universities fell to about 2000 yuan, on average. That down 11 percent. And the monthly salary on average for vocational school graduates is 1,600 yuan. That’s down only 5 percent.

Wang Boqing, professor of Southwestern Univ. of Finance & Economics, says, “when the economy is good, enterprises are willing to hire graduates from good universities. But when the economy is bad, they are more willing to hire students from ordinary schools to save costs.”

The report also says for graduates with bachelor degrees, engineering and business management majors have the highest employment prospects. But graduates with majors in law and philosophy have the lowest employment rate. As for vocational schools, students focusing on resource exploration and mapping have the easiest time finding jobs. But students studying tourism and cultural administration find the most difficulty in securing jobs.

The employment report also shows that more students in Yunnan, Jinli, Ningxia, Shanxi and Xijiang are willing to start their own business. But students in Shanghai, Hainan, Jiangsu, Fujian and Beijing are less willing to become entrepreneurs. This suggests that finding a good job is still the top choice for most university graduates. They seem to choose to start their own businesses, only if they can NOT, first, find a job.

China faces challenge as graduates seek jobs

This is a key period for college graduates looking for jobs. China is facing a great challenge to ensure millions of graduates nationwide find employment amid the economic slowdown.

In the northeastern province of Jilin, a series of job fairs are helping to address the issue. 17-thousand jobs are on offer at this job fair alone, which is free to both recruiters and job seekers.

So far nearly 50-thousand college graduates have secured jobs in Jilin Province, but that is only one third of the province’s total number of grads.

Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangdong Province, where many major universities are clustered, are encouraging graduate students to seek work in smaller cities where competition for jobs is not so severe.

Shenzhen employment market warms up

The employment market in south China’s major manufacturing hub of Shenzhen is heating up. According to the Shenzhen employment authority, the city requires 20-thousand more workers.

Workers are needed in sectors like printing, civil engineering, office maintenance, real estate and education.

Officials say the current labor shortage is due to both rising productivity of manufacturers and a massive return home of migrant workers in the last few months of 2008. But the employment situation has yet to return to its ideal past.

Before the global financial chaos there were 1.27 jobs available for every worker. Now that number has been reduced to only 1.04.

Strategies for Success in China Life Sciences

Daniel Marshak, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer and President, Greater China, PerkinElmer, Inc.
Drug Discovery & Development – June 09, 2009

China continues to emerge as a life sciences market with significant opportunity, despite the global economic downturn. For example, although pharmaceutical giant Novartis is decreasing its US investment, it is increasing its investment in China. Many other biopharmaceutical companies are following suit, and the life sciences tools community is close behind.

As China emerges as a primary market for advanced laboratory and research technologies in instruments, consumables, and services, several responsible factors in particular stand out. Above all, there is a growing realization within the industry that science in China, both in pharmaceuticals and in basic research, is quite sophisticated and has been for some time. This has resulted in Chinese demand for the same level of technology and support services as is present in the US and Europe, and will no doubt continue to grow as China emerges as a life sciences power in the coming years.

To meet this demand, tool providers have increased their investment in delivering advanced lab technologies and services despite the economic uncertainty. Companies that take the short-term view and downsize their Chinese operations are taking a serious risk. Only those who make the investments needed to initiate and maintain strong commitments to their customers, and to back them with highly trained and motivated staff, have a chance of winning.

One straightforward strategy for succeeding in this market is often the most undervalued or overlooked: increasing service capabilities, implementing resources and processes for lowering service response time, minimizing customer downtime, and maximizing first-time repair metrics. Research organizations in China are highly productivity-minded, and they will reward top-tier, highly responsive service following their investment. This is particularly true for laboratory automation workstations and detection systems for screening their growing compound libraries.

To ensure all this requires a strong local presence of experts, which means maintaining jobs, salaries, benefits, and bonuses, all investments worth making in the Chinese workforce. Initial installations will grow as our clients’ capabilities increase alongside China’s presence in the global market. Further investments must be made in language localization in every possible facet of a China operation. Stocking service parts and consumables locally, in addition to local expertise, are fundamental requirements for successful customer relationships in the region. Excellent local language at all levels of customer contact is an absolute necessity, going beyond the basics of user manuals into high-level, detailed scientific applications notes and even advanced software. For example, PerkinElmer has recently expanded its application labs in China, and also created a dedicated global development center for information technology that serves the region, as well as installed new software development initiatives based in China. To excel in these areas is a basic requirement of doing business in China today.

A guiding principle for life science tool makers in China is to ensure that their product portfolio matches the particular technology demands of local customers. For example, both local and global pharmaceutical companies in China place a high degree of emphasis on high-throughput screening (HTS) and high-content screening (HCS) in their research operations, as well as on biochemical assays that complement cellular assays and cellular image-based assays. In fact, most global pharmaceutical companies are moving much of their labor-intensive screening activities, and some assay-based development, to China. However, the latter trend of shifting labor-intensive research activities to Asia should not overshadow the increasing demand for sophisticated lab solutions for cutting-edge research. The ability to provide complete instrument, reagent consumables, software, services, and training capabilities to customers will be a key differentiator in the China market for years to come.

A key pitfall for vendors in the region is a lack of preparedness for advanced customer interactions in the introduction of new technologies. The importance of providing significant customer training opportunities, particularly in the use of cutting-edge techniques possible through their tools with regard to their specific applications, cannot be overstated. Furthermore, it is critical not only to invest in supporting current product portfolios, but also to keep customers in China abreast of new science being performed globally, as well as emerging technologies in the pipeline in the near future. Successful partners will not hesitate to dedicate their best staff and commit significant resources to maintaining a high degree of customer interactions, featuring frequent visits to various research and development and manufacturing sites in the region, continual technology demonstrations, and in-depth training and symposia, all of which are essential to keeping customers informed of the potential of their product investment in advancing their research and business goals.

Another important avenue for success in China is to have strong working relations with the central government as a partner, in both human health and environmental health. Government priorities in life sciences research, especially in testing technologies for food, water, air, and consumer products, have guided many regional advances in health and safety, and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. The common goal of the central government and the life sciences industry is unltimately to provide a healthier life to people and the environment in China.

Trends in the Chinese life sciences’ market clearly indicate not only growing innovation with global applicability, but also an increase in the scale and the depth of demand for new technologies and applications. Tool companies must acknowledge China’s sophistication and locally-originated–as well as globally-imported–advanced research requirements. Those who seek to serve these needs accordingly, and above all, make the necessary investments to do so, will meet with success. This demand can only be met by global players who make the necessary commitments to localization, in the form of smart investments in people and resources.

Biotech company Commonwealth Biotechnologies (CBI) expands in China

Chesterfield-based Commonwealth Biotechnologies (CBI) is planning to expand its presence in China by acquiring all outstanding shares of GL Biochem in Shanghai.

The companies have reached a purchase agreement for an undetermined price.
CBI itself does not develop drugs, but it out-sources research and laboratory support for companies that do.

According to CBI’s due diligence report, the Chinese biotech company had revenue of $13 million and an after-tax profit of $2 million in 2008.
The deal is pending regulatory and shareholder approval. CBI is publicly traded on NASDAQ and closed today at $0.56 a share, up 44 percent on the day.

“When you are merging a non-U.S. company into a U.S. NASDAQ-listed company, there are some challenges to reconcile,” said Richard Freer, co-founder and chief operating officer of CBI.

Freer said the company hopes to close on the deal within 90 days.

GL Biochem is a market leader for an area of biopharmaceuticals known as custom peptide synthesis, Freer said.

“We then become, by extension, a major player in the peptide pharmaceutical discovery business,” he said.

The product is primarily used in the development of vaccines.

This is not CBI’s first foray into China. Last year, the company entered a $1 million deal with Beijing-based Venturepharm Laboratories. Under that agreement, CBI sold 463,426 shares at $2.15 a piece in exchange for $500,000 cash and $500,000 worth of Venturepharm stock.

Freer said China is not only a good location for low-cost research centers, but also – with a population of 1.3 billion – a future growth market for vaccines.

China recruits college graduates for social jobs

China has launched its first social worker recruiting event for college graduates. Beijing is offering 2000 social worker posts for fresh college graduates this year.

Over 16,000 students are taking the qualification exam on Saturday. Around one third of the candidates have PhD and Masters degrees. The students will be competing for various positions, including jobs in community resident committees and community health care stations. It’s expected that the city will expand the program within the next 2 years.