Archive for ‘China alert’

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11/09/2014

Can Jack Ma’s Alibaba Fortune Jump-Start Chinese Philanthropy? – Businessweek

Harvard just announced its largest-ever donation: a $350 million unrestricted gift to its School of Public Health. The donor is Hong Kong-based Morningside Foundation, led by two brothers who earned their fortunes in real estate, private equity, and venture capital. One brother, Gerald Chan, earned a graduate degree from Harvard. The school will be renamed in honor of their late father as the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Jack Ma on July 15

Greater China is home to 358 billionaires (including 64 Hong Kong billionaires), according to the 2014 Hurun Global Rich List. Yet with a few exceptions—including the Harvard gift and Chinese tech titans’ recent fondness for the ice bucket challenge—a culture of domestic philanthropy has been relatively slow to take root. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet hosted a lavish 2010 dinner in Beijing intended to encourage the Chinese elite to embrace philanthropy, but several tycoons snubbed the Americans’ invitations and declined to open their wallets.

Now, at last, China has a powerful homegrown evangelist for philanthropy: Jack Ma. As co-founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group, which filed paperwork last week to raise as much as  $21.2 billion in an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, he is one of China’s most respected and closely watched tycoons—and he’s publicly embracing a culture of giving.

Ma joined Alibaba co-founder Joe Tsai earlier this year in establishing a personal philanthropic trust to be “funded by share options granted by Alibaba … for approximately two percent (2%) of Alibaba’s equity,” according to a statement. The trust will focus on the “environment, medicine, education, and culture.” In Ma’s words, “Alibaba was founded 15 years ago with a mission ‘to make it easy to do business anywhere’ and a set of principles and values that emphasize our responsibility to society. Giving back to society is deeply embedded in Alibaba’s culture.”

The total value of the fund will depend on the performance of Alibaba’s upcoming IPO. If the company is valued at $120 billion, or more, the charitable trust will be worth at least $2.4 billion.

via Can Jack Ma’s Alibaba Fortune Jump-Start Chinese Philanthropy? – Businessweek.

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11/09/2014

The Change in China’s Hukou Policy Is Slow to Help Migrant Families – Businessweek

On July 30, China’s State Council announced plans to abolish the old residence registration permit—or hukou—that distinguished rural from urban households. The move was long overdue.

Young Chinese children attend a kindergarten set up for migrant workers in Beijing

The hukou system was enacted in 1958 as away to limit movement between the countryside and cities. At that time, the Chinese Communist Party was explicitly anti-urban and antibusiness. After economic reform began in 1978, the hukou became increasingly anachronistic as millions of migrant workers left farms and villages for new jobs in factories and private companies in the cities. Yet they were penalized because, without local household registration papers, these migrants were denied access to public health care, education, and other social services.

The new system, however, will be only a partial fix. Discrepancies between rural and urban tax collection will gradually be phased out, but access to services will still be linked to location. While smaller cities may be willing to accept newly registered residents, the governments of China’s leading metropolises—including Beijing and Shanghai—are overburdened and still actively trying to discourage new residents (other than wealthy arrivals) from putting down roots.

via The Change in China’s Hukou Policy Is Slow to Help Migrant Families – Businessweek.

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11/09/2014

Despite Sluggish Economy, China Has Yet Again More Millionaires – China Real Time Report – WSJ

Perhaps the Chinese economy is doing OK after all: The country’s ranks of the rich are growing slightly faster, according to a new report.

By slightly, we mean very: one percentage point.

Still, those who track the rich point to it as an optimistic signal. At the end of 2013, there were 1,090,000 people with a net worth of more than 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) and 67,000 with more than 100 million yuan, according to the Hurun Wealth Report 2014. That’s an increase of 4% for both categories. In the previous year, the growth rate was 3% and 2%, respectively, which represented the lowest increase over the six years Hurun has compiled the report.

Hurun, which also puts together an annual list of the richest people in China, said it came up with its headcount by two methods. First, it looked at the sales of high-end real estate and cars, as well as income tax returns and other data related to wealthy individuals. Then, it rounded out its headcount by taking into account macroeconomic data like gross domestic product growth and gross national product.

So who are the new rich? Mostly private business owners, said Hurun, who make up 55% of all millionaires (up from 50% last year). The report said the wealthy typically own a personal residence worth at least 2 million yuan, multiple cars worth more than 200,000 yuan as well as 1.7 million yuan in “investable assets.”

via Despite Sluggish Economy, China Has Yet Again More Millionaires – China Real Time Report – WSJ.

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11/09/2014

Tech factory workers strike in China over mooncakes, benefits | Reuters

About 16,000 workers at two subsidiaries of Taiwanese touch-screen maker Wintek Corp went on strike over holiday benefits this week in southern China in one of the biggest work stoppages this year, the Xinhua news agency reported.

A Wintek executive said the strikes started on Tuesday at subsidiary Dongguan Masstop Liquid Crystal Display Co Ltd and spread on Wednesday to Wintek (China) Technology Ltd. Each factory employs about 8,000 workers, said the executive who declined to be identified as he was not authorised to speak on behalf of the company.

The strikes ended on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, and the company did not expect production to be affected, the executive added. He did not say how many workers had participated.

Wintek is a long-time supplier to Apple Inc, but it was not immediately clear who the factories’ main customers were. A Wintek Corp facility in the eastern city of Suzhou, near Shanghai, is on the iPhone and iPad maker’s list of 2014 suppliers, but not the factories in Dongguan.

An Apple spokesman in California said the company generally did not comment on supplier relationships beyond the list.

Six police vehicles were parked in the rain outside the gates of the Wintek factory in an industrial estate in the southern city of Dongguan on Thursday, although there were no workers in sight.

A manager surnamed Wu said: “Things have been settled now. The workers are back to work.”

China has seen a surge in the number of strikes at its factories in recent years as the economy slowed and a worsening labor shortage has shifted the balance of power in labour relations. Smartphones and social media have also helped workers become more aware than ever of the changing environment.

The largest strike in decades took place in April when about 40,000 workers halted production at a shoe factory complex in Dongguan that supplies Nike Inc, Adidas AG and other major sneaker brands. Those workers were unhappy about insufficient social insurance payments.

Workers involved in the Wintek strike told Xinhua that recruitment advertisements had offered cash bonuses equal to half of their monthly base salary on three holidays: the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Spring Festival.

A worker surnamed Zhang told Xinhua they were only given 100 yuan, a piece of chicken and a banana for Mid-Autumn Festival, which was on Monday. Last year each staff member received 700 yuan ($114.17) in cash and a box of traditional mooncakes.

The workers returned to work after officials explained that the downgraded holiday benefits were a reflection of the company’s relatively weak performance so far this year, the Wintek official said. Wintek incurred a loss in the first half.

via Tech factory workers strike in China over mooncakes, benefits | Reuters.

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05/09/2014

Chinese woman wrongfully jailed for theft given apology and payout 25 years after | South China Morning Post

Twenty-five years after she was locked up behind bars, a Guangdong woman on Thursday received more than 650,000 yuan (HK$818,000) in compensation for being wrongfully imprisoned – in the latest case of corrective measures for miscarried justice in China.

suspect_ap.jpg

Bai Chunrong was sentenced to eight years in prison for theft on July 28, 1989, and served time until she was released in 1996, the Guangdong province newspaper New Express reported.

Bai filed an appeal in March 1990 but the Foshan Intermediate People’s Court upheld the conviction. There were no further details about her crime given in the court announcement.

The same court reopened the case in late March and the judge declared her innocent on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

Bai received the compensation from the Foshan court judge, who apologised to Bai for the wrongful conviction.

Bai, crying while kneeling on the floor and kowtowing to the magistrate, said: “I really thank the current court and judge for helping me get vindicated.”

Last month, in a rare acquittal, a court in southeastern Fujian province overturned the death penalty against a food hawker convicted of double murder.

via Chinese woman wrongfully jailed for theft given apology and payout 25 years after | South China Morning Post.

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05/09/2014

The U.S. Trade Deficit Shrinks—Except With China – Businessweek

The good news? The overall U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly shrank a bit less than 1 percent in July from June. It was the smallest gap in half a year, and exports broke a record. The bad news? The U.S. deficit in manufacturing set a monthly record, and the deficit in goods traded with China also broke a record.

China Shipping Container Lines containers sit stacked at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, California on April 8

Alan Tonelson, a trade analyst who blogs at RealityChek, dwelt on the negative in an interview today. “There’s no doubt that major barriers to U.S. exports remain,” he said. “China is case in point No. 1. It’s still one of the most protectionist economies in the world.”

Boston Consulting Group has argued in a series of reports that the U.S. has a bright future in manufacturing because the high productivity of American workers makes it an affordable location for production, while China is slowly pricing itself out of the market through rising labor costs. It calls the U.S. a “rising global star.”

But that stardom isn’t showing up yet in the trade data. Says Tonelson of Boston Consulting’s view: “If they’re just premature, they seem wildly premature.”

As reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the overall U.S. trade deficit in both goods and services was $40.5 billion in July—down from June, but up $1.1 billion from a year earlier. The July deficit with China in goods was $30.9 billion, vs. a previous high of $30.6 billion. The overall manufacturing deficit, at $67 billion in July, is running 11 percent ahead of last year’s record pace, Tonelson calculates.

via The U.S. Trade Deficit Shrinks—Except With China – Businessweek.

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05/09/2014

China’s ‘Birthplace of Kung Fu’ Hopes to Train CEOs to Meditate – Businessweek

The ancient Shaolin Temple, perched on a leafy mountaintop in eastern China, is widely recognized as the birthplace of kung fu. For at least 1,500 years, its resident monks have preserved the physical and psychological training regimen of the legendary martial work. Now they’re trying to master commercial arts, too.

A monk practicing kung fu at the Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, China

The temple is hiring a media director and social media editor, according to state-run Chinese newswire Xinhua. “The need arises from an internationalizing Shaolin,” a monk who works for the temple’s “Intangible Assets Management Center” told the newswire. The ideal candidate would be versed in China’s fast-growing social media platforms, especially Twitter (TWTR)-like Sina Weibo (SINA), as well as fluent in both Mandarin and English.

Shaolin already offers high-end, live-in meditation courses for chief executive officers willing to live on the mountain as martial arts apprentices for a month, as China Daily recently reported. For those with less time to spare, one-time sit-down sessions with the temple’s abbot are also available. Earlier this year, members of the elite China Entrepreneurs Club attended a private conference at the temple with the theme “self cultivation of entrepreneurs.”

Last year, about 800 foreign executives also came to study and train on the mountain. A marketing manager from Greece who came to Shaolin for a two-week course told the newspaper: “In business, you have to be flexible; you have to find new paths and change. You have to see a crisis and avoid it. Kung fu teaches you to be fluid, like water, because everything in kung fu flows, and stagnation is bad.”

Once its social media marketing team is in place, Shaolin hopes to expand outreach to overseas business leaders who seek to cultivate kung fu mindfulness. Its courses are a relative bargain compared to executive MBA programs, ranging from $800 to $10,000.

via China’s ‘Birthplace of Kung Fu’ Hopes to Train CEOs to Meditate – Businessweek.

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05/09/2014

U.S. South Draws Global Manufacturers With Low Taxes, Cheap Labor – Businessweek

Just before the recession hit in 2007, Electrolux (ELUXA:SS), the Swedish home-appliance maker, was trying to decide what to do about an aging plant outside Montreal. The building was more than 100 years old and the line of high-end stoves and ovens produced there needed a refresh. The factory’s 1,300 union workers earned around $20 an hour.

Rather than sink more money into the old plant, Electrolux decided to move where it could operate more cheaply. In Europe, it was shifting work from Sweden, England, and Denmark, to Hungary, Poland, and Thailand, where workers are paid less. In North America, Electrolux settled on another low-cost region: the American South.

Alabama, North Carolina, and Tennessee—along with Mexico—all competed for the plant, offering generous incentive packages. The winner was Tennessee, which together with the city of Memphis and Shelby County, assembled an offer that, according to Electrolux, was worth $182 million, including public infrastructure funds, tax breaks, and, crucially, worker training. The company committed $100 million to build the plant. In December 2010, Electrolux announced that a site just eight miles from Graceland would be home to its most advanced factory. “We don’t just grab at every project that comes through here,” says Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. “But this one was particularly appealing.”

Manufacturing is slowly returning to the U.S.—and much of the action has been below the Mason-Dixon line. With its low tax rates and rules that discourage unionization, the South has for decades been seen as business-friendly, which helped the region attract service companies that rely on low-skilled workers, such as call centers and warehouses. Now industries such as autos and aerospace are moving in. According to Southern Business & Development (SB&D) magazine, which tracks commercial projects valued at more than $30 million, manufacturing made up 68 percent of investments announced last year. The number of projects totaled 410, the most in 20 years.

Changing conditions in the oil market and China have a lot to do with manufacturing’s resurgence in the South. In 2001, when China joined the World Trade Organization, the price of oil was $20 a barrel and the hourly manufacturing wage in China’s Yangtze River Delta was 82¢ an hour. Oil is now more than $100 a barrel and workers in the Yangtze make $4.93 an hour. The once enormous manufacturing advantage of the People’s Republic has in some cases vanished.

An April 2014 study by Boston Consulting Group found that the U.S. now ranks second only to China in manufacturing competitiveness among the top 10 exporting countries. Three years ago, BCG Managing Director Harold Sirkin, co-author of the report, forecast that states such as South Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee would become “among the least expensive production sites in the industrialized world.” That’s especially true for companies making things for sale in the U.S. The South “has become the cheapest place to make things inside the largest economy in the world,” says Michael Randle, publisher of SB&D.

via U.S. South Draws Global Manufacturers With Low Taxes, Cheap Labor – Businessweek.

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05/09/2014

Alibaba’s Taobao, Tmall Transform Shopping in China’s Small Cities – Businessweek

Li Yuxin remembers when she had to travel from Zhangjiekou, her northern Chinese home town, to visit her half-sister in Beijing so she could buy the right clothes. Sure, Zhangjiekou has large shopping malls full of cheap t-shirts and baggy jackets, but not stores where the aspiring fashionista could purchase accessories from such foreign luxury brands as Prada (1913:HK) or even popular Western sportswear made by Nike (NKE) and Adidas (ADS:GR).

Checking deliveries from online marketplaces Tmall and Taobao at an express delivery company in Beijing

But since she started ordering clothes from Taobao and Tmall—websites owned by Alibaba Group—her options and her wardrobe have dramatically expanded. “Maybe I spend too much money now, but I have to catch up with Li Zhu,” her half-sister who lives in China’s capital, she says.

E-commerce has quickly changed the face of shopping and consumer marketing in China. Mirroring the rise of Amazon (AMZN) in the U.S., the ascendance of Alibaba in China has greatly accelerated this trend and turned China into the world’s second-largest e-commerce market.

via Alibaba’s Taobao, Tmall Transform Shopping in China’s Small Cities – Businessweek.

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05/09/2014

China warns again of dark side of the mooncakes | Reuters

China’s crackdown on corruption, a scourge Communist Party leaders fear threatens their hold on power, is likely to last at least another five years, an official said, warning also against the mid-autumn tradition of handing out mooncakes as gifts.

Freshly-baked mooncakes pass along a conveyor belt at a mooncakes factory in Shanghai September 12, 2013. REUTERS/Aly Song

Wang Qishan, secretary of China’s anti-corruption watchdog, was quoted as saying the government’s “campaign against extravagance and corruption” would continue for at least five years, the official China Daily said.

Wang’s comments, also reported on television on Thursday, were made in August at a meeting in Beijing.

President Xi Jinping has promised to go after “tigers and flies” in rooting out rampant graft, a campaign that has brought down politicians and company executives in industries including oil, cars and healthcare.

The campaign has also dragged down sales of high-end products from the fiery sorghum-based liquor, baijiu, to mooncakes, both traditional popular gifts for smoothing business and official ties.

Wang criticized the tradition of giving mooncakes as presents around the Mid-Autumn Festival, adding that the practice created opportunities for graft, the China Daily said.

Mooncake sales have taken a steep hit ahead of this month’s festival. In key production regions, sales were half the level of last year, the China Daily said, citing the Wuchuan Association of Mooncakes.

via China warns again of dark side of the mooncakes | Reuters.

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