Category News of China

BHP launches Shanghai app hub

City widely recognized as a global center for mobile application development

BHP Billiton Ltd, one of world’s largest mining companies by market capitalization, has launched its new Mobile Applications Hub in Shanghai, in order to help its global operations enhance their productivity, increase efficiency and reduce costs.

Diane Jurgens, BHP Billiton chief technology officer, said the new hub is one example of the potential for technology innovation to improve the way the company works and benefit people and the company.

BHP Billiton’s mobile apps hub in Shanghai will also support the company to work closely with its China partners, such as steelmakers, to improve visibility of the entire supply chain.

“About 70 percent of BHP Billiton’s iron ore is exported to the Chinese market, so it is important to stay connected with Chinese clients, particularly the visibility of supply chain, from pit to railway, from ports to yard. Now we have technology team in China and we can stay better connected to our marketing team to meet clients’ demands,” said Jurgens.

One of the key issues for enterprises that want to move up the value chain is to attract talent to develop automation and innovation to improve proficiency, she said.

The company’s $5 million apps hub will initially employ 50 technology applications designers. Shanghai is an ideal location for the hub as it is widely recognized as a global center for mobile apps development and has highly experienced, skilled workers and leading universities offering excellent programs in technology and engineering, she said.

Mobile apps in the field have helped the company reduce its costs.

A solution that allows files and data to be managed securely on a shared device in mines located in South America and Australia with 350 users sharing 85 devices and another 1,000 devices deployed to 5,000 workers will help BHP Billiton save $6.5 million.

Analysts said as prices of commodities such as iron ore and gasoline have been experiencing wild fluctuations in recent years, players in the resources sector have been making various efforts to reduce costs and improve productivity by using better technologies, a key move for companies to survive difficulties and grow.

“Many players have suspended investments to open new field. Instead, they seek to exploit potential by using better exploration technologies to increase productivities, or optimize the supply chain, manufacturing flows, or human resources deployment to reduce costs,” said a research note from Guolian Securities Co Ltd.

BHP Billiton has not approved new investment in iron ore since 2011, while resources will be deployed more extensively in copper mining, according to the company’s disclosure materials.

Jurgens said technologies will not only help reduce costs but also will significantly boost productivity, such as by using sensors to identify copper from waste in mines. Big data emerging from the process will help geoscientists better analyze information and improve exploration results.

Making money in the home property boom

Real estate agents in Hangzhou are reaping the benefits of a boom in existing home sales, turning their occupation into one of the best paid this summer.

During the first half of this year, 52,889 existing apartments were sold, up about two-thirds from a year earlier and almost equal to total sales for the whole of 2105. Property agents, who normally get bonuses when they complete a sale, are earning an average of 12,326 yuan ($1,852) a month nowadays, according to industry analysts.

“I work almost every day,” said Jason Huang, an agent in a real estate office in the Jianggan District. “I don’t take breaks because that can mean money slipping away from my pocket.”

In downtown areas, the average price of an existing apartment has risen to 19,652 yuan per square meter. In residential communities near sought-after primary and middle schools, prices have surpassed 20,000 yuan.

Brokerage fees vary according to the size of a transaction. Homebuyers typically have to pay 1-3 percent of the value of the apartment if a deal is concluded. On average, a real estate agent earns from 10,000-20,000 yuan on each flat sold.

“The income is much better than that of a typical white-collar office worker in Hangzhou,” said Huang, who declined to reveal his earnings. “However, I do have to sacrifice weekends and leisure time for my job.”

As a relative newcomer to the business, Huang said he has to familiarize himself with surrounding neighborhoods and find as many people as possible who want to sell their homes. He said he makes hundreds of calls every day to potential buys and sellers.

The most time-consuming part of his job is taking potential buyers to view apartments. On weekends, the number can triple from weekdays

“Sometimes, I take a buyer to visit a dozen flats in a day and all of them are rejected,” said Huang.

“Selling a flat can take months or even a year. But once you are successful, if means money in your pocket.”

Hangzhou’s real estate prices have been rising for 14 months, influenced perhaps by the city’s hosting of the G20 summit next month and the Asian Games in 2022.

Real estate activity in the Jianggan District has climbed 32 percent, according to Kanfang, a local real estate transaction website. That is followed by a 20 percent increase in Xiaoshan District and 19 percent in Yuhang.

In the Tier 3 city of Jiaxing in northern Zhejiang Province, the increase in real estate prices this month ranked first in the nation, according to the China Index Academy.

Veteran real estate agent Will Li said the ranking is not surprising.

Jiaxing sits at the border of Zhejiang and Shanghai, putting it only 30 minutes by bullet train from either city. In May, the government announced that Shanghai residents could use their housing accumulation funds to buy homes in Jiaxing.

“The new policy stimulated the local market,” Li said. “Many sellers called to tell me they wanted to raise their prices. That means potential brokerage fees also rise.”

Li owns a private real estate agency, operated out of a residential community. His track record in selling homes has made the agency popular with locals.

The boom in property is both gratifying and stressful for Li.

“It’s really labor-intensive work,” he said. “In addition to shuttling between houses, we have to deal with piles of contracts and sometimes resolve disputes between buyers and sellers. Yes, it means high incomes, but many of the younger agents burn out within three years.

Last month, two of his agents quit.

“More real estate agency chains are starting to open branches in the city, which means more competition and more stress for agents,” Li added.

For his part, Huang said he plans to leave his current job next year and return to his hometown of Lishui in western Zhejiang, where he will open his own real estate agency.

“Hangzhou is saturated with agencies at present, so newcomers like me have to go elsewhere if we want to strike out on our own,” he said. “However, the existing home market in Lishui is still full of potential. It’s a great chance for me.”

Huang is a young man with big dreams.

“I sell homes, but I can’t afford my own house yet,” he said. “I’m told that top agents can earn something like 600,000 yuan in just six months. I don’t know if that’s true or not. I am just saving my money to invest in my own business in Lishui.”

China’s 51job sees 10.2% revenue boost

Integrated HR services provider 51job, based in China, has seen revenues increase 10.2% amid “stable” growth in the country’s white-collar recruitment market.

The results were announced in unaudited financial results for the second quarter of 2016 ended 30 June 2016.

The results, published yesterday, reveal total revenues increased to RMB559.8m (£64.1m) on Q2 2015, with gross margin of 71.8% compared with 72.8% in Q2 2015.

Commenting on the results, Rick Yan, president and chief executive, said: “With the white-collar recruitment market exhibiting relatively stable, modest growth in this time of economic transition in China, our strategic focus remains on increasing online customer spend and improving cross-selling of our other value-added HR services.

“Our sales efforts to deepen customer engagement are bearing fruit as average revenue per unique online employer has increased on a year-over-year basis for five consecutive quarters.

“We will continue to execute our initiatives in a disciplined manner. We are making important investments to strengthen our sales and customer service infrastructure, expand our new targeted job seeker platforms and capture additional HR-related opportunities, all while maintaining a track record of sustained profitability.”

51job results at a glance:

Total revenues increased 10.2% on Q2 2015 to RMB559.8m
Online recruitment services revenues increased 11.2% over Q2 2015 to RMB373.1m
Other human resource related revenues increased 9.1% over Q2 2015 to RMB186.6m, which reflected the impact of a value-added tax policy change effective 1 May 2016
Gross margin of 71.8% compared with 72.8% in Q2 2015
Income from operations increased 4.7% over Q2 2015 to RMB128.2m
Fully diluted earnings per share were RMB2.9

Northern Gas & Power launches radio recruitment drive

Energy firm Northern Gas & Power has taken to the airwaves to launch a recruitment drive for business account managers.

Radio Airtime Media, the radio advertising division of Media Agency Group, has launched a new North-East campaign on Capital FM to promote working at Northern Gas & Power. The 30-second radio commercials can be heard this summer as the energy supplier seeks to expand its businesses across new global offices.

The Newcastle-focused radio ads are targeting potential account managers, who will be interested in working at NGP’s North-East office on Gateshead Quayside.

KPMG listens to graduates and changes hiring process

Streamlining its recruitment processes for millennials makes good business sense for KPMG, as it proves the professional services firm has listened to feedback, says a spokesperson.

The comments come after news that KPMG has cut back on its recruitment processes for millennials, as Recruiter reported earlier this week. The firm has condensed its traditional three-stage recruitment process of first interview, assessment centre and final interview into a single day.

KPMG’s new streamlined approach, known as Launch Pad, also enables students to gain new skills, network with existing KPMG staff and partners, as well as their peers.

The firm’s move follows research carried out with market research company High Fliers Research that showed millennials were frustrated by lengthy recruitment processes (34%) and poor communication from their potential employer (43%), with over half complaining they did not receive any feedback when applying for a role.

A KPMG spokesperson told Recruiter in a statement it made good business sense for the firm to listen to views and feedback about graduate recruitment, and transform its practices to show graduates of all ages the firm listens to their feedback and adapts processes.

This is especially important, the spokesperson added, due to the “fierce” competition for the very best graduates, “even more so now big businesses are competing with smaller start-ups as well as their traditional competitors”.

The spokesperson said the new process provides more certainty to candidates about what will happen and when.

“Successful candidates will receive a job offer more quickly so that they can then focus on their studies and university life without needing to attend further interviews.

“There’s also the opportunity to learn a new skill. This will help them to determine whether KPMG is the right fit for them.”

The programme is being rolled out now for 2017 graduate trainees, while the firm will be running Launch Pad recruitment events around the country from October 2016.

Uber China team to get 6 months base salary and equity vesting as bonus

After China’s ride-hailing market leader Didi Chuxing confirmed Monday that it will acquire Uber’s business in China, Uber China held a staff meeting in the evening, announcing that the company will pay a cash Close Bonus in recognition of Uber China team’s contribution, according to a report by technology media site tech.sina.com.cn,

The bonus will be valued at 6 months base salary and 6 months equity vesting that includes new hire grants, performance bonus and referral bonus.

The company said half of the bonus will be paid in cash within one week after the merger closes and the remaining half will be paid to employees one month after the closes.

Only employees who have worked with Didi or Uber for at least 30 days after the signing of the deal are qualified to receive the remaining half of the bonus.

Didi’s acquisition of Uber China’s business will give Uber a 5.89 percent stake in Didi, and Didi will also gain a stake valued at $68 billion in Uber’s global business.

Apart from Uber’s chief executive officer Travis Kalanick’s blog post, Uber China officials have not commented on the acquisition yet.

Low private investment, high debt weigh down growth

Beginning with the second quarter of the year, China will be in the do-or-die battle of its economic transition, according to Hong Kong-based researchers.

The country’s transition will undergo its most difficult stage, although it will probably maintain around 6 percent growth in GDP in the second half of the year, according to economists and financial analysts recently surveyed by China Daily.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the economy saw year-on-year growth of 6.7 percent in the second quarter, slightly above market expectations. The second quarter’s growth rate was the same as in the previous quarter.

The growth was powered by retail sales, industrial output and new loans directed to fixed-asset investment.

But several things are at the center of concern, said Sun Mingchun, senior partner and chief economist of China Broad Capital Co Ltd, including an excess of industrial capacity, a large total social financing and a high leverage ratio, meaning a high level of debt.

Private investment was 15.9 trillion yuan ($2.39 trillion) in the first half of 2016. Its annualized growth rate fell from 3.9 percent in the first five months to 2.8 percent in the first half of the year, which means there was quite a dip in June alone.

Private companies are not seeing encouraging returns from their investments in most industries. And they probably still will not see a good profit in the next two to three years, Sun said.

By contrast, the State sector investment rose an impressive 23.5 percent in the first half of the year, concentrating mostly on infrastructure development in the less-developed areas.

But so much investment is still not as powerful a driver of growth as consumer spending, especially that on services, said Fielding Chen, Asia economist for Bloomberg Intelligence. If investment sees a further decline in the second half of the year, which he expects, the economy’s growth engine will remain weak.

According to Cui Li, managing director and director of macroeconomic research at CCB International, the economy will be in its difficult period because it is facing an “unprecedented balancing risk”, including “weaker-than-ever global demand, need for a sharper-than-expected capacity cut for the industry, and a round of bond defaults that weigh on investor sentiment.”

Ding Shuang, head of China research at Standard Chartered Plc, said that although the hard landing scenario is less likely to happen, the mainland economic situation will remain complex, with questions about how to deal with its mounting debt and avoid the threat of capital outflow.

Ding expects that in the coming months of the year, China’s fiscal policy will keep expanding while its monetary policy will be neutral. Cutting the reserve requirement ratio for banks may be the best way to enlarge the credit supply. But before the RRR is cut, the government may use reverse repos and lower interest rates on the medium-term lending facility.

Debt is a particularly ugly spot, the researchers said. As measured by Fitch Ratings Inc’s Adjusted Measure of Total Social Financing, credit to companies, local governments and households rose as much as 15 percent in 2015 in the Chinese mainland, more than double its GDP growth.

Insurers, banks post sharp drops

Shanghai stocks ended nearly flat yesterday, with falls seen in financial and insurance firms.

The Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.1 percent to close at 2,994.32 points.

Banks were vulnerable following investor concerns that curbs on their investment in wealth-management products might restrict capital flow.

China Everbright Bank lost 1.55 percent to 3.82 yuan (57 US cents), and China Merchants Bank shed 1.32 percent to 17.14 yuan.

China Life Insurance Co fell 1.35 percent and Ping An Insurance Group lost 1.04 percent after the China Insurance Regulatory Commission said local insurers’ combined profits plunged more than 54 percent in the first half due to lower investment return despite growing premium income.

Airlines gained as oil prices declined, with China Eastern Airlines adding 1.29 percent to 7.01 yuan and China Southern Airlines jumping 1.85 percent to close at 8.54 yuan.

Yuan to join world’s top three currencies for payments

Key challenges persist in internationalization process, experts warn

The yuan is expected to become the third-largest payment currency after the U.S. dollar and the euro by 2018, an expert said during the 2016 International Monetary Forum in Beijing on Sunday, while noting that the currency’s internationalization still faces key challenges.

“The yuan is expected to surpass the Japanese yen and the British pound to become the third-largest payment currency,” said Xiang Songzuo, a vice director of the International Monetary Institute (IMI) under Renmin University of China.

The yuan’s internationalization has progressed steadily in recent years, according to the 2016 Renminbi Internationalization Report, which was released by the institute during the forum.

As of the end of 2015, the Renminbi Internationalization Index (RII) stood at 3.6, a year-on-year increase of 42.9 percent and an increase of more than 10-fold over the previous five years, said the report.

The RII is used by the institute to measure the internationalization of the yuan. It takes into account the currency’s status in international trade and finance and in official foreign reserves.

A currency’s internationalization can range from zero to 100.

The yuan ranked sixth in terms of payments as of June 2015, Chen Yulu, a vice president of the People’s Bank of China (PBC), the country’s central bank, told the forum on Sunday.

Chen noted that 36 countries and regions had signed currency swap agreements with China as of June this year, with a total volume of 3.3 trillion yuan ($494.3 billion).

The factors driving the yuan’s internationalization are the steady performance of China’s economy, its orderly pursuit of financial reform and its enhanced financial infrastructure and support mechanisms that are in line with international standards, the report said.

China’s GDP grew by 6.7 percent in the first half of 2016, after expanding 6.9 percent in 2015, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on July 16.

The yuan’s internationalization has moved forward in steps. For example, in October 2015, China launched the first phase of the yuan’s Cross-border Interbank Payment System, which provides clearing and settlement service to domestic and foreign financial institutions for cross-border and offshore yuan businesses, according to a statement on the PBC’s website at the time.

Then in November 2015, the IMF announced it would include the yuan in the basket of currencies for its Special Drawing Rights reserve unit.

That move is scheduled to take effect in October 2016.

However, the yuan’s internationalization still faces big challenges amid a complex, volatile and cloudy international monetary environment, Xiang warned.

One challenge is investors’ confidence in the country’s economy, Tu Yonghong, a professor who specializes in international currencies at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on the sidelines of the forum.

Since the global financial crisis in 2008, many structural obstacles have emerged in China’s economy.

These include weak innovation abilities, an unbalanced economic structure, difficulties in channeling finance to small and medium-sized companies, said the report.

Xia Le, chief economist for the Asia research department of Banco Bibao Vizcaya Argentaria, told the Global Times in an interview during the Beijing event that China may have to further liberalize the yuan’s exchange rate.

But he said this process should be slow, as it may lead to capital outflows if the yuan sharply depreciates.

The core task of China’s monetary authorities when it comes to macro financial management is to establish comprehensive, targeted strategies to achieve financial stability, concluded the report.

China should also communicate with private companies in Western countries including the US, the UK and Europe to understand how their policies are formulated, rather than communicating only on a government-to-government level, Alistair M. Michie, secretary-general of the British East Asia Council, told the Global Times in an interview on the sidelines of the financial forum.

“With the rapid pace of China’s economic upgrading and reform, the yuan’s inclusion in the SDR basket and the country’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiative, the yuan will be needed more by the market,” Chen said.

110 of nation’s firms on Fortune Global 500 list

A record 110 Chinese companies have squeezed onto the latest Fortune Global 500 list, 13 of which made their debut, including manufacturing powerhouse China Railway Rolling Stock Corp, e-commerce juggernaut JD.com, home appliance maker Midea and property developer Wanda.

Experts said that it is not surprising for more Chinese companies to be listed, because of the country’s relentless efforts to upgrade manufacturing, boost innovation and drive consumption.

“We will see the continued rise of Chinese companies to capture that tremendous growth of the local economy,” said Adam Xu, partner of Strategy&, which is PricewaterhouseCoopers’ strategy consulting business.

As more technology and commerce companies leverage and benefit from China’s tremendous market potential in e-commerce, entertainment and real estate segments, they will make the Fortune Global 500 list, Xu added.

Three of the top five companies on the list are from China. State Grid rose to second place from seventh last year, surpassing the State-owned energy giants China National Petroleum Corp and Sinopec Group.

State Grid, generating $329.6 billion in sales last year, attributed its performance to successful investment strategies and research and development input.

Among the 13 debut Fortune Global 500 companies from China, JD.com ranks at 366, with revenue reaching $28.85 billion last year.

“It is not a surprise, given how quickly China e-commerce has been growing and how advanced China is for digital and mobile commerce,” Xu said.

JD.com positions itself as a self-managing e-commerce giant. Alibaba acts more like a service provider to numerous online shops, which is why Alibaba’s revenue is not as huge as JD.com’s.

China Railway Rolling Stock Corp, which ranks 266, has grown into a leading global supplier of bullet trains and subway cars.

It is widely expected that China will become the largest e-commerce and consumption market and will nurture a new consumer-centric ecosystem, Xu said.

State-owned companies topped the Chinese companies on the list, because the ranking is based on the companies’ revenue instead of their profitability, said Han Xiaoping, an independent energy analyst.

“All State-owned energy enterprises are large enough to compete from a global perspective. But they are facing huge pressure when it comes to financial performance amid falling oil prices,” he said.

China Vanke debuted on the list at 356, with annual revenue of $29.33 billion, followed by real estate giants Dalian Wanda Group at 385 and Evergrande Real Estate Group at 496.

Wanda, headed by China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin, said after the list was released that this was the first time the conglomerate had registered for the Fortune Global 500, even though it could have secured a place before.

Factbox

Thirteen Chinese companies have appeared on the Fortune Global 500 list for the first time

102 China South Industries Group

266 CRRC

349 China State Shipbuilding

356 China Vanke

366 JD.com

381 China Aerospace Science and Industry

385 Dalian Wanda Group

408 China Electronics Technology Group

427 New China Life Insurance

473 CK Hutchison Holdings 481 Midea Group

495 WH Group

496 Evergrande Real Estate Group