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Sales and marketing jobs in demand

The Chinese central government’s call to boost domestic consumption has helped to make sales and marketing positions hot in the job market, according to Kelly Services’ Salary Guide Greater China 2013 report released in late February.

Although tense competition in the Chinese market has restricted growth of many organizations, the report found that workers who remain in sales and marketing positions can expect to receive a 5 to 10 percent salary increase in 2013. Those changing jobs can expect to receive a 20 to 30 percent salary increase.

In the retail sector, sales, marketing, merchandising, store management, and operations positions remain in demand, although some headcounts were frozen in the first quarter of this year.

The human resources sector is equally promising. Top HR candidates with proven experience across all disciplines are in demand. Candidates who change positions can expect to receive a 20 to 30 percent increase in salary while the average increase for candidates remaining with their firms is over 10 percent.

Meanwhile, positive growth trends of the US automotive industry will be a boon for the Chinese market, which is expected to grow at a steady 8 to 10 percent clip this year. Top candidates will be needed in the industry in R&D positions, which are important for localizing manufacturing and product development.

While some information technology companies’ hiring plans will be frozen in 2013 due to the economic downturn, the Chinese IT industry is nevertheless expected to face a shortage of 2 to 5 million workers in the next 10 years. Positions pertaining to the 3G platform, cellphone operating systems and e-commerce are expected to remain in high demand.

“We are happy to report that in spite of some concerns, we are not seeing any significant slowdown in the China labor market,” said Nick Lesser, general manager of Professional & Technical Division at Kelly Services, China Operations.

“In fact, we are finding that in addition to steady demand for resources in tier-one cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, clients are expressing increased interest in expanding their operations all around China,” Lesser said.

“The salary ranges in our guide are based on actual transactions between employers and employees, and represent an accurate reflection of the marketplace,” he said. “Market-driven salaries are of course crucial, but only by creating a meaningful employer-of-choice culture is it possible to attract and retain talented staff.”

Pacific Online Limited Announces Full Year 2012 Earnings Results

HONG KONG, March 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Pacific Online Ltd. (HKSE: 543) (“Pacific Online,” the “Company,” or the “Group”), a leading internet content provider in China, today announced its financial results for the full year ended December 31, 2012. The Group will host a conference call to discuss these results at 9:00AM Hong Kong time on Wednesday, March 27, 2013. Dial-in details are provided at the bottom of this release.

Year Ended December 31, 2012 Financial Highlights
* Total revenues increased 11.8% year-over-year to RMB715.6 million
* Net profit increased 3.3% year-over-year to RMB 236.5 million
* Proposed final cash dividend of RMB15.26 cents per ordinary share

“For the full year 2012, we are pleased to report an 11.8% increase in revenues and a rise of 3.3% in net profit,” stated Mr. Waiyan Lam , Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Online Limited. “These results demonstrate the cautious, yet profitable approach we have taken to grow our business, despite the uncertain macroeconomic conditions in China, pressure from competition, and increases in operating costs.”

“PCauto, our largest vertical portal in terms of revenue, delivered revenue growth of 17.3% in 2012. The portal benefitted from the across the board increases seen in the advertising budgets of automobile manufacturers due to intensified competition in the retail market. However, we also saw increased competition from both vertical and diversified portals. Our auto business was temporarily affected during the second half of the year as a result of the dispute between the Chinese and Japanese governments. This caused a brief decrease in marketing spending by some manufacturers, though the impact was temporary as advertiser spending quickly returned to pre-dispute levels. To successfully navigate through these challenges, we worked to strengthen the quality of our content, which helped us increase user stickiness and brand equity, and remain relevant for our users.”

“PConline, our IT portal, continued its stable development in 2012 thanks in part to relatively steady advertising spending in the IT sector amid intensified competition. The political dispute between China and Japan last year also had a minor temporary impact on our IT business. We were able to marginally expand by shifting our advertising product mix to adapt to the market. With more spending coming from mobile device manufacturers and other similar areas, we will continue to devote resources to this important segment as demand for consumer electronic devices in China continues to expand in line with the rising middle class.”

“Revenue from our female-focused PClady portal increased 13.9% in 2012. As more and more women move online to research and purchase luxury and brand name products, we are devoting resources to this area in order to attract traffic from users who start their shopping experience with our portal. In addition, we have re-aligned our editorial team in order to strengthen our content, developed a variety of brand-building opportunities, and strengthened cooperation with e-commerce companies both online and offline.”

“Our other vertical portals, including PCgames, PCbaby, and PChouse, continued to improve content and attract users during 2012 as they gradually build scale. While these brands remain relatively small, their user bases remain robust and continue to grow as new features and content are added. We expect that the revenue contribution from these portals will increase in the coming years.”

“Last year, we continued to invest in the development of mobile applications for each of our vertical portals. We also launched our third free online magazine for PClady on Apple’s iPad which mirrors and expands on the content that is already available on the portal. Our online magazines generated a significant buzz in the market last year and garnered positive feedback. In particular, our PChouse magazine was named one of the Products of the Year by Apple’s Mac App store in China. With the increased viewership that we attracted in 2012 along with continued development of our brand, we believe we are bettered positioned to capture the rapidly growing mobile internet market in 2013.”

“In anticipation of the changing competitive environment, we believe that we have taken the right measures to address current and potential challenges. We are committed to our long-term strategy and will continue to invest more on marketing to increase our brand value, strengthen our management team, and improve the quality of our content to increase user stickiness. This will help to ensure the success of Pacific Online Limited over the long-term.”

Proposed Final Dividend

The Board has recommended the payment of a final cash dividend of RMB15.26 cents per ordinary share for the year ended December 31, 2012 (2011: RMB14.78 cents), subject to the shareholders’ approval at the Company’s forthcoming annual general meeting to be held on Monday, May 20, 2013. The Proposed Final Dividend will be paid in cash on June 6, 2013 to shareholders whose names appear on the register of members of the Company at the close of business on May 29, 2013.

Full year 2012 Financial Results

Revenue

Revenue increased 11.8% from RMB640.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 to RMB715.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2012.

In 2012, the Ministry of Finance in China launched a pilot program to gradually transition the taxation system from a business tax (“BT”) to a value- added tax (“VAT”). Pursuant to this program, the Group’s advertising revenue in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou is now fully subject to VAT. For purposes of comparison, our reported revenue growth for 2012 would have been 15.8% had the BT remained applicable to our business during the year.

Revenue for PCauto, the Group’s automobile portal, increased 17.3% from RMB293.9 million in 2011 to RMB344.6 million in 2012. According to statistics from the China Passenger Car Association, passenger car sales in China grew 6.8 percent to 14.68 million vehicles in 2012. PCauto was able to outperform car industry growth because automobile advertisers continued to allocate more of their marketing budgets to digital media.

Revenue for PConline, the Group’s IT and consumer electronics portal, increased 3.3% from RMB257.5 million in 2011 to RMB266.1 million in 2012. The increase in revenue from PConline was mainly due to the overall increase in advertising spending from IT sector customers, including smartphone and tablet manufacturers.

Revenue for PClady, the Group’s lady and fashion portal, increased 13.9% from RMB51.8 million in 2011 to RMB59.0 million in 2012. The rise in revenue mainly reflected increased demand in the women’s segment, especially for luxury and fashion goods.

Revenue for other operations, including the PCgames, PCbaby and PChouse portals, increased by 24.3% from RMB37.0 million in 2011 to RMB45.9 million in 2012. Revenue from these segments increased significantly due to advertisers increasingly look to the internet as an effective platform to promote and market their products and brands.

As a percentage of total revenue, PCauto accounted for 45.9% in 2011 and 48.2% in 2012, whereas PConline accounted for 40.2% in 2011 and 37.2% in 2012, PClady accounted for 8.1% in 2011 and 8.2% in 2012 and other operations accounted for 5.8% in 2011 and 6.4% in 2012. The Group continued to diversify its revenue base across the different industry segments.

Cost of Revenue

Cost of revenue increased 5.0% from RMB197.9 million in 2011 to RMB207.7 million in 2012. The gross profit margin was 69.1% in 2011 and 71.0% in 2012.

The slight increase in cost of revenue was due to increases in personnel related expenses, higher sales commissions and increases in branch operating expenses during the year. This was partially offset by lower business tax charges through the implementation of the business tax/value-added tax reform policy, fully applied to us in late 2012.

Selling and Marketing Costs

Selling and marketing costs increased 32.5% from RMB86.3 million in 2011 to RMB114.4 million in 2012. The increase was mainly due to increases in staff costs and marketing expenses.

Administrative Expenses

Administrative expenses increased by 37.6% from RMB48.7 million in 2011 to RMB67.1 million in 2012. The increase in administrative expenses was primarily due to increases in hiring and salary, traveling expenses and higher provisions for the impairment of trade receivables during the full year 2012.

Product Development Expenses

Product development expenses increased by 38.3% from RMB28.7 million in 2011 to RMB39.7 million in 2012. The increase was primarily due to greater staff recruitment in research and development.

Operating Profit before Share-based Compensation Expenses (non-GAAP)

Operating profit before share-based compensation expenses (non-GAAP) was RMB297.9 million in 2012, representing 3.0% increase from RMB289.2 million in 2011.

Finance Income and Cost

Net finance income was RMB5.3 million in 2011 and RMB4.7 million in 2012. The decrease in net finance income was mainly due to lower interest income on bank deposits.

Income Tax Expense

Income tax expenses increased 2.6% from RMB58.5 million in 2011 to RMB60.0 million in 2012. The increase in income tax expense was primarily due to a modest increase in operating profit during the year.

Net Profit

Net profit increased 3.3% from RMB228.9 million in 2011 to RMB236.5 million in 2012.

Liquidity and Financial Resources

As of December 31, 2012, the Group had short-term deposits and cash totaling RMB439.9 million, compared with RMB432.2 million as of December 31, 2011.

In 2012, net cash flow from operating activities was RMB199.4 million, net cash used in investing activities was RMB23.3 million, net cash used in financing activities was RMB168.0 million. The Group had a net increase in cash and cash equivalents of RMB8.1 million for the year 2012.

In 2011, net cash flow from operating activities was RMB218.2 million, net cash used in investing activities was RMB84.7 million, net cash used in financing activities was RMB134.5 million. The Group had a net increase in cash and cash equivalents of RMB168.4 million for the year 2011.

The Company had no external debt as of December 31, 2012 and 2011.

Business Outlook

Looking ahead, the Group will continue to adapt to current trends and technologies in order to ensure that it is keeping up with the changing needs of its operating environment. In view of the government’s policy on expanding domestic consumption through urbanization in the coming years, and the continual growth of the online advertising market, the Group is confident that the potential for future business opportunities remains strong. The Group is devoted to enhancing and developing the content on its existing vertical portals, and to improving its brand recognition in order to strengthen competitiveness and provide business growth potential. The Group will also continue to invest in mobile applications, with the aim of enhancing long-term shareholder value.

Conference Call

Management will host a conference call to discuss the results at 9:00 AM Hong Kong time on March 27, 2013 (9:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time on Tuesday, March 26, 2013). Mr. Lam Wai Yan , Chairman and CEO, and Mr. Wang Ta-Hsing , Chief Financial Officer, will discuss the results and take questions following the prepared remarks.

The dial-in details for the live conference call are as follows:

– Hong Kong Toll Free Number:
+852 3027 5500

– Mainland China Toll Free Number:
8008 0361 03

– U.S. Toll Free Number:
+1 866 978 9970

– International dial-in number:
+852 3027 5500
Passcode: 928856 #

A live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available on the investor relations section of the Group’s website at: http://corp.pconline.com.cn.

A telephone replay of the call will be available for thirty days after the conclusion of the conference call. The dial-in details for the replay are as follows:

– Hong Kong Number
+852 3027 5520

– U.S. Toll Free Number:
+1 866 753 0743

– International dial-in number:
+852 3005 5520
Passcode: 149653 #

About Pacific Online Ltd. (corp.pconline.com.cn)

Pacific Online is one of the leading Internet content providers in the PRC in terms of total advertising revenue. The Company operates six vertically-integrated portals, which, according to industry practice, are portals that focus on specific content. Among the Company’s portals are PConline, one of the largest portals in the PRC specializing in IT product-related content, and PCauto, one of the largest portals in the PRC specializing in automobile-related content.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements which are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those discussed in the press release. In addition, any projections about the Company’s future performance represent management’s estimates as of today March 26, 2013. The Company assumes no obligation to update these projections in the future as business and market conditions change.

For further information, please contact:

Pacific Online Ltd.

Hudson Wong
Company Secretary
Tel: +852 2121 0634
Email: hudson.wong@pconline.com.cn

Christensen Investor Relations

Tip Fleming
Tel: +852-9212-0684
Email: tfleming@christensenir.com

For the full financial statements, please visit the Group’s website at corp.pconline.com.cn

SOURCE Pacific Online Ltd.

160 SOEs disclose executive pay

More than 160 State-run companies in Jing’an district have started to disclose the salaries of high-level executives to their employees, the Laodong Daily reported.

The government-sponsored disclosure is part of an effort to narrow the salary gap between executives and rank-and-file employees, and increase transparency at State-run enterprises.

The measure applies to anyone at the companies who receives an annual salary, including board members and top-level managers, said Lu Yanghong, a senior director from the Jing’an District Labor Union. The companies will tell employees about the salaries through their employee congresses.

Several government agencies, including the discipline inspection and State-run assets authorities ordered the companies to make the disclosure, Lu said.

Lu called Jing’an district a pioneer in executive pay disclosure. “No other district in Shanghai has made such a large step,” he told the Global Times.

Asking the State-run enterprises to expose executive pay could push them to increase the salaries of ordinary employees in an effort to head off complaints about a salary gap, Lu said. “There will be complaints if a senior manager is making 500,000 yuan ($80,492) while an ordinary employee is getting 20,000 yuan a year,” Lu said.

When asked whether companies will disclose other executive benefits, such as payment cards, Lu said that few companies provide executives with payment cards these days. He did not address any of the other perks executives have received in the past.

About 99 percent of the State-run companies in Jing’an district have already started to make the disclosures, Lu said.

Chinese salaries set to increase in 2013

It appears that salaries in China will be getting a boost in 2013 due to a steady growth in gross domestic product, according to London-based recruitment consultancy Robert Walters Plc.

In general, workers who chose to switch jobs will see their salaries increase by 15 to 25%, according to a survey conducted by the company. Those who are riding it out in jobs they already have will only see salary increases of approximately 8%.

In a report published in January by Global Times, business owners expressed concern about raising salaries. According to Feng Lijuan, chief consultant at 51job.com, a NASDAQ-listed human resources service provider, “Business owners are more concerned about a salary hike in 2013, as most of them have seen a worsening business performance, and feel uncertainty about whether the Chinese economy will get better this year.” In the fourth quarter of 2012, approximately 65% of small to medium size businesses didn’t increase salaries of their employees. This was an attempt to survive slow economic times by limiting labor costs.

The banking and financial services industries have felt the greatest impact from the global economic recession. This sector faced the challenge of trying to increase profitability and hire sales professionals, while simultaneously minimizing expenditures.

However, as China’s economy stabilizes, multinational banks are becoming increasingly interested in exploring areas of China beyond the traditional financial centers of Shanghai and Beijing. Such corporations are looking for employees with knowledge of the broader Chinese market.

According to Arthur Wang, managing director of Robert Walters China, “Candidates who could develop strong relationships with local clientele and possessed both overseas and local experience were particularly sought after and generally received average salary increases of 10 to 20 percent when moving jobs. Meanwhile, as Chinese financial institutions continue to increase their presence within the local market, we expect to see continued demand for local candidates with Mandarin skills.”

China’s Alibaba Names Jonathan Lu as Next CEO

HONG KONG—Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. named Jonathan Lu to succeed founder Jack Ma as chief executive amid growing expectations that the Chinese e-commerce company is gearing up for a potential multibillion-dollar initial public offering.

The company portrayed Mr. Lu as a Mr. Fix It—an experienced manager put in place to run Alibaba’s growing operations. Alibaba on its website emphasized Mr. Lu’s operational abilities and said he “shuns the spotlight,” putting him in contrast with Mr. Ma, who long has been an outsize figure on China’s Internet scene. Though Mr. Ma has been stepping back from the day-to-day operations of Alibaba over the past year, many analysts expect him to maintain a strong influence over the company’s strategic direction.

Mr. Lu’s background as an executive vice president running important Alibaba units will be put to the test in his new role. The company faces increasing challenges from logistical complexities and competition from companies such as Beijing Jingdong Century Trading Co., which runs the 360buy.com site. Bankers say Alibaba is likely contemplating an IPO as early as this year, although the company hasn’t specified a time.

One of the tasks for Mr. Lu will be to make use of the massive amounts of data Alibaba collects on transactions and users. He also will need to expand beyond Alibaba’s command of e-commerce via personal computers to attract China’s growing number of smartphone users to the company’s mobile services.

“Serving as Alibaba Group CEO is an extremely challenging and difficult job, especially succeeding a founder CEO like me,” Mr. Ma said in an email to employees Monday. “Jonathan has impressed with his curiosity and ability to grasp new ideas, his judgment and decisiveness, and his strong execution capabilities.”

Alibaba said Mr. Lu, who takes his new position May 10, wasn’t available for comment.

Alibaba said in January that Mr. Ma, 48 years old, would step down as day-to-day chief of the company he founded but would remain chairman. With no background in business or technology, the former English teacher founded from his apartment in 1999 what is now China’s largest e-commerce company by sales. The Hangzhou-based company has more than 23,000 employees.

Last year the company took private Alibaba.com, which had been listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, in a move that many analysts saw as a way to consolidate control ahead of a group IPO. Alibaba Group in May struck a roughly $7 billion deal to buy back around half of Yahoo Inc.’s YHOO +1.75% 40% stake in the group. The agreement created an incentive for Alibaba to list its shares before December 2015.

Mr. Lu, 43, has been the group’s chief data officer since last year, overseeing the company’s Aliyun smartphone operating software, a source of conflict with U.S.-based Google Inc. GOOG -0.12% When Taiwanese PC maker Acer Inc. 2353.TW 0.00% tried to introduce a smartphone using Aliyun last year, the U.S. company objected, saying that Alibaba created its system by making changes to Google’s Android operating system. Alibaba disputed Google’s allegation, though the phone wasn’t released.

Mr. Lu’s appointment comes as Alibaba has taken steps in the past year to streamline management of the company. Alibaba in January unveiled a reorganization that aimed to boost efficiency and give more independence to business units.

“With this appointment, Jack will be freed up to focus on maintaining the company’s good relationship with the government,” said Duncan Clark, chairman of BDA China, an investment advisory firm specializing in the Internet and e-commerce. He said Alibaba needs to ensure that the government won’t raise issues with the dominant market share held by Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall shopping sites.

Taobao accounts for the vast majority of transactions among Chinese online shopping sites, similar to eBay Inc.’s EBAY +0.66% site, that cater largely to small merchants, mostly offering inexpensive, nonbranded goods and novelties. Tmall hosts online storefronts for branded products, including for U.S.-based Gap Inc. GPS +0.68% Taobao and Tmall last year surpassed one trillion yuan, or roughly $160 billion, in transactions, from which the sites generated revenue from advertising, services and commissions, the company said.

In the past decade, Alibaba took market share from eBay’s Chinese unit, mainly by undercutting the U.S.-based company on commissions. Ebay largely withdrew from China in 2006.

Tech and execs see least talent movement in China

China’s technical workers in IT and engineering roles saw the lowest rate of people changing jobs in 2012 of any business function, at 18% and 24% respectively, followed by board-level staff at 27%.

The highest degree of movement was seen in government affairs (55%), construction (50%) and production (42%), according to Chinese recruitment firm RMG Selection.

A survey from the company of 2,000 Chinese workers shows that for 2013, 61% of IT workers have a greater desire to change jobs. Engineers (52%) were also seeing renewed keenness to move, as were production workers (57%) and supply chain professionals (52%).

Multinationals flock to Shanghai

Multinational companies continue to set up China and Asia-Pacific regional headquarters in Shanghai, according to the city’s Municipal Commission of Commerce.

The commission reported that by the end of 2012, 403 multinationals had established regional headquarters in Shanghai, 95 of which serve as both China and Asia-Pacific headquarters.

“We were aware of this trend as early as 2000, when we entered the China market, but it has clearly increased in the past two years,” said Sergio Picarelli, chief sales officer and member of the Executive Committee of Adecco Group.

He added: “A lot of companies are moving from Singapore or Hong Kong or directly setting up their headquarters for Asia Pacific in Shanghai. It will probably further increase in the next five years.”

In Picarelli’s view, Shanghai is China’s foremost commercial hub and a key center for logistics, making it an ideal city for a multinational firm to base its China operations.

A joint venture may give a multinational company an edge in the China market, such as in the case of the Adecco Group, Picarelli said.

“Globally Adecco works with over 100,000 clients every day. Many of them are very interested in the opportunities offered by the Chinese market and want to fully understand the HR situation on the ground here. We can support them with our local know-how and our full range of services,” he said.

Adecco has created an expert team and offers a special platform that supports multinational companies exploring the Chinese and Asia-Pacific markets as well as assisting Chinese firms going overseas.

“Outbound Chinese companies will have the same difficulties that multinational companies have when they come to China. They have to discover a new world and a new way of doing business,” Picarelli said.

“We support them in their efforts to recruit good people. Once you have good people, you have a good organization,” he said.

China job seekers can expect more of the same

Prospects for job seekers on the Chinese mainland are expected to remain favorable in the second quarter of this year, according to the Q2 2013 Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released on March 12.

Among the 4,023 interviewed employers, 21 percent expect to increase their staffing levels in the second quarter, while only 3 percent plan to decrease the number of employees. And 41 percent of Chinese employers plan to “wait and see,” with no intentions to change hiring levels in the quarter ahead.

The Manpower Group research reveals Chinese employers expect to grow staffing levels in all six industry sectors and all nine regions. Opportunities for job seekers are expected to improve by modest margins for the second consecutive quarter and China’s net employment outlook of more than 18 percent is 3 percentage points stronger on a quarterly basis and remains relatively stable year-on-year.

“China’s recovery remains on track, but we’re not seeing clear signs that the current growth is on solid footing. The momentum of the current labor market is partly driven by increased infrastructure construction,” said Zhang Jinrong, managing director of Manpower Group China. “For instance, the Ministry of Railways will invest 650 billion yuan ($104.39 billion) in 2013.”

“But we’re also seeing other signals that sustainable growth is being aggressively pursued. For instance, many enterprises in the coastal regions continue to search for the skills they need, and many are moving their search inland for management-level talent and technicians,” he said. “A moderate recovery brings opportunities for companies to develop business and renew their search for talent. Also, it is probably a good time for companies to recalibrate their human resource practices to cope with the disappearing demographic dividend.”

For instance, companies should consider implementing improved training systems and explore ways to increase employees’ working productivity to prolong the demographic dividend and drive long-term stable development, he said.

Globally, Manpower Group’s hiring confidence index reveals that second-quarter hiring plans are strongest in Brazil, Taiwan, Turkey, India and Panama while those in Italy, Spain, Greece and the Netherlands are the weakest worldwide.

Within the Asia Pacific region, employers in Taiwan report the most aggressive hiring plans while those in Australia have the most cautious.

Fear of the axe

In China, working at a multinational company (MNC) used to be seen as an ideal choice, offering job stability as well as a high salary and decent benefits.

But in recent months many MNC workers have become victims of layoff plans by their well-known foreign employers.

US-based Motorola Mobility, a hardware unit acquired by Google Inc in May 2012, announced a cut of 1,200 jobs worldwide earlier this month, and the cuts will be mainly in China, the US and India, media reports said.

Motorola Mobility China said on March 8 that “the new job cuts are a continuation of the reductions announced last summer,” but did not reveal how many employees will be laid off in China.

A previous round of business restructuring at the company in August 2012 resulted in 4,000 layoffs globally, and an engineer at the Beijing office said that the company had closed all its other operations in China apart from the Beijing office, which currently has 700 employees. The firm has around 12,000 employees worldwide.

Media reports said that after the new round of job cuts, only 200 jobs will be saved in China, mainly in the areas of marketing and sales.

However, Motorola Mobility is not the only overseas firm downsizing its China workforce.

Who is firing?

Finnish mobile phone producer Nokia Corp cut about 100 staff at its Dongguan factory in South China’s Guangdong Province in October, following job cuts at its Beijing-based research center and consolidation of its Chinese distribution centers in July.

US chip producer AMD laid off 15 percent of the staff at its Shanghai branch in November.

Also in November, Japanese electronics firm Panasonic Corp merged its Shanghai plasma display panel television plant with its liquid crystal display television factory in East China’s Shandong Province, and shut down the Shanghai factory.

Some foreign supermarket chains such as Wal-Mart and CP Lotus have also reportedly cut jobs recently.

Past layoffs by large foreign firms have tended to focus on other countries, but the recent job cuts have been taking place in China too, and affecting higher-level positions such as in research and development (R&D) rather than sales and administrative jobs, Xing Zhiming, a business director of Beijing-based recruitment firm Career International Consulting Ltd, told the Global Times Friday.

“The mobile phone and chip firms decided to cut jobs because their industries have seen faster transformation cycles and more intense competition, resulting in losses at firms that are slower in adjusting to the market,” Xing said.

Supermarket chains cut jobs due to excessively rapid expansion in China, but job cuts are a normal phenomenon and a way to adjust strategy for the market, he noted.

Most of the laid-off employees at these MNCs have been reemployed either at their competitors or at domestic private firms, which are aiming to learn standardized management from the MNCs, Xing said. “For example, some employees laid off from a foreign chip producer’s server department now work at Chinese server providers or downstream producers.”

Motorola Mobility closed its Nanjing R&D center in August, and some of the laid-off employees from the center have relocated to Shanghai or to Motorola’s headquarters in the US, but most now still work in Nanjing at other software enterprises such as Lenovo and Samsung, a former employee at the center told the Global Times Saturday.

Who is hiring?

According to a survey of more than 1,000 firms in 12 key industries in China released by Career International on January 15, 2013, 58.8 percent of respondents said they would be hiring new staff in 2013, with only 26.1 percent planning for job cuts.

Owing to high costs and falling profits, just 46.5 percent of companies in the energy and chemical sectors said they would hire more staff in 2013, while 47.1 percent of machinery manufacturing firms planned for job increases in 2013 due to the sluggish global economy, the lowest two among the 12 industries, the survey found.

In contrast, 75.7 percent of the country’s auto firms have plans to hire more staff, thanks to expanded production capacity and the need for more production and R&D staff, the survey said.

Foreign auto producers have strong confidence in the Chinese market and are also expanding and recruiting. German auto firm Volkswagen announced in November it would invest 14 billion euros ($18.3 billion) in China by 2016.

Domestic auto brands are also expanding into overseas markets, which will offer opportunities for marketing and sales personnel in these areas in 2013, the report said.

The second most confident industry in the survey was real estate, with 70.4 percent of respondents planning to recruit more employees this year, thanks to a rebound in the property sector in the second half of 2012 and good expectations for the sector in 2013, especially for commercial property projects, the report said.

Although the survey found that companies in first-tier cities are more willing to recruit new staff than those in smaller cities, some manufacturing enterprises have relocated to or expanded their recruitment in smaller cities such as Wuhan in Central China’s Hubei Province, Chengdu in Southwest China’s Sichuan Province and Xi’an in Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, Xing said, as a result of rising labor costs in coastal cities and production workers’ increasing desire to work near home.

As China’s State-owned enterprises and private firms have gained a more solid foundation in the market, their hiring is also increasing, Xing noted.

MNCs in China plan to recruit fewer employees than their Chinese peers, according to the Career International report, which found that 54.1 percent of MNCs have plans to increase jobs, compared with 61.7 percent of private Chinese firms and 62.4 percent of State-owned enterprises.

The hiring market in China is still strong, Jonathan Edwards, a partner at the Shanghai office of recruitment firm Antal International, told the Global Times Friday. Around 65 percent of Antal’s clients are planning to hire staff in 2013, Edwards said.

“Occasionally companies might have a hiring freeze, but this tends to be short-term and due to organizational restructuring rather than other reasons. Most MNCs have a long-term plan for their business in China and the hiring of key staff remains an important component of this plan,” Edwards said.

“We see strong pockets of demand in many industries, as diverse as healthcare and retail,” he noted, predicting that consumer-led industries such as autos would continue to grow.

Job forecast bright for retail sector: think tank

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Roughly 41,000 job opportunities, including 31,000 full-time positions as well as 10,000 part-time jobs in the nation’s retail enterprises, will open up this March, according to a survey conducted by 104 Job Bank.

The labor think tank released their March 2013 Recruitment in Local Enterprises survey yesterday, which showed the retail industry enjoying the most job growth compared to other sectors.

The retail industry has been quickly expanding over the past five years, according to the report, offering positions with monthly salaries ranging from NT$50,000 to NT$70,000.

Despite the abundance of jobs opening up in the sector, the report warns job seekers that positions in retail are known for tough requirements, and work-performance evaluations are often tied directly to sales goals.

Previously, the job bank said that local demand for new employees would increase after the Chinese New Year holidays. The statistics showed that demand for labor supplies was expected to increase in March, a month marked by the start of recruitment on college campuses.

According to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS), the unemployment rate in January this year was 4.16 percent, the lowest in the last six months.

Overall, strong demand for labor has been increasing since February as the job market has seen an expansion since the New Year holidays, said the DGBAS said.

The job bank said 24.5 percent of local enterprises are optimistic about the economy for March, while 17.2 percent of the enterprises surveyed are pessimistic over a possible economic recovery.

According to the report, 32.9 percent of enterprises are planning to take on new employees in March, while 44.6 percent of local enterprises will freeze hiring, and 9.7 percent will decrease their recruitment. Nearly 13 percent remain uncertain.