China Direct

Jaguar Land Rover announce highest ever China sales

 

[Image courtesy of www.jaguarlandrover.com]

CBI member Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) recently announced its highest-ever quarterly sales in China, with 17,997 vehicles delivered in the first three months this year, up 110% over the same period last year.

Jaguar delivered 2,098 units in the first quarter, up 156%, while Land Rover delivered 15,899 units, up 105%. The exceptional first quarter sales figures contributed to the conclusion of a successful fiscal year (April 2011—March 2012), which saw deliveries of 52,032 units, up 76% over the fiscal year of 2010/2011.

JLR will be an active participant in the upcoming Beijing Auto Show, which will feature the global debut of a new XJ model and the China debut of the Jaguar C-X16 Concept as well as the world premiere of the Range Rover Evoque Victoria Beckham Edition.

Commenting on JLR's impressive performance in the first quarter, Bob Grace, President of JLR China, said, "This year's promising start has strengthened our resolve to carry our superb sales forward by relentlessly bringing the finest brand experience possible to our Chinese customers. At the upcoming Beijing Auto Show, Jaguar Land Rover will showcase a breathtaking model line-up that further demonstrates the rich brand connotations of our unique British heritage. We will endeavour to continue bringing more smaller-engine models to this highly valuable market—to satisfy the demands of our discerning Chinese customers."

JLR remains strongly committed to sustainable development in China, focusing on new technology, environmental protection, humanitarian aid, and education. With a total China fund amounting to nearly £7.75 million, JLR's CO₂ Offset Programme has 17 out of its 50 environmental projects located in China. In support of education, JLR recently established its second "Apprentice Training Programme" in Shanghai following the successful launch of the programme in Beijing last year. In addition, JLR recently sponsored the "Sport for All Programme" in partnership with the Shanghai Rugby Football Club, which promotes the healthy growth and development of children through physical exercise. 

Please click here to read the full press release by JLR

UK Company Pinsent Masons advises Chinese sportswear group on AIM IPO

 

[Image courtesy of www.pinsentmasons.com]

CBI member Pinsent Masons recently announced that it had advised Chinese sportswear group Naibu Global International Company on its AIM IPO with a market capitalisation of £68 million and raising £6 million of new money for the expansion of the group. Naibu is the first consumer brand from China to float in London, and its AIM IPO enables the group to strengthen its manufacturing capability.

Huoyan Lin, Naibu's Executive Chairman, said, "Our successful admission to AIM represents an important platform for the Company, and the Board believes that we can build substantially from our current position with the aim of growing the business further. We are delighted to have worked with Pinsent Masons as part of our IPO team."

Sean Page, Corporate Finance Partner at Pinsent Masons, said, "We are very pleased to have advised Naibu on its IPO in London. It is an exciting and fast growing business which operates at pace, through its strong brand presence in China and its highly developed distribution network."

Please click here to read the full press release by Pinsent Masons.

National People's Congress 2012 - an analysis

 

[Image courtesy of www.apcoworldwide.com/china]

China Direct would like to thank CBI member APCO for kindly providing the following analysis of the recently convened annual National People's Congress in Beijing.

For more information and analysis please download below.

Download NPC_2012

Thank you.

Blame it on Rio - CBI member HSBC takes Chinese investors to Brazil

 

CBI member HSBC led a business delegation of major Chinese companies to Brazil for a five-day visit in December last year. HSBC plays a significant role in facilitating the rise of trade and investment flows between China and Latin America, two of the world's fastest-growing emerging market regions.

The delegation, consisting of senior executives from both private and state-owned Chinese companies in energy, resources, motorcycles, construction, and other industries, met with local  entrepreneurs and potential business partners to gain insights into Brazil's and Latin America's economic and business environments.

In 2010, HSBC launched a China Desk in Brazil, which is managed by experienced bankers seconded from China to provide on-the-ground support for Chinese companies expanding in Latin America. HSBC also has a Latin America Desk in China, which is managed by seasoned bankers from HSBC Brazil and provides support for companies from Latin America doing business in China and Chinese companies looking to do business in Latin America.

Montgomery Ho, Managing Director and Head of Commercial Banking at HSBC China, said, "While South-South trade is set to become a mainstay and key driver of the global economy, China and Brazil, as well as other Latin America markets, are leading the way with strong domestic growth and increasing bilateral trade and investments. Today, we connect Chinese corporates with Brazil's business community and facilitate their dialogues to help them understand each other’s markets and explore business opportunities. This is a very good demonstration of how HSBC leverages our global connectivity to help our customers capitalise on cross-border trade and investment flows."

Magnus Montan, Head of International Business at HSBC China, said, "Closer economic ties have been generating stronger needs worldwide for cross-border financial services in the past decades. Looking forward, we expect Chinese companies to continue to expand their footprint across global markets and Latin American companies to have greater appetite for doing business with China.

HSBC is the largest foreign bank in China and one of the leading international banks in Latin America. Our strong presence and local knowledge in both China and Latin America position us in a central role in assisting companies' growing trade and investment flows between the world's two rising economic powerhouses through our global connectivity and international banking services, including RMB trade services."

Please click here for further information. 

 

UK company Pearson secures Huawei certification business

 

 

[Images courtesy of www.pearson.com and www.huawei.com ]

CBI member Huawei announced that it has chosen fellow CBI member Pearson VUE as its sole testing provider to deliver its global certification testing programme, the Huawei Certifications System.

Huawei Certification is a three-level certification in four areas: IP Technology, LTE Technology, Transmission Network Technology, and Cloud Computing Technology. The following Huawei IP certifications are currently available: Huawei Certified Datacom Associate (HCDA), Huawei Certified Datacom Professional (HCDP), and Huawei Certified Internetwork Expert (HCIE). The rest of the certifications will be released beginning at the end of 2011.

Effective 16 December 2011, all Huawei exams are being delivered globally through the Pearson VUE Authorised Test Centre network, which comprises more than 4,500 sites in 165 countries.

Fu Shiguang, Vice President of GTS, Huawei, said, "Moving our exams to Pearson VUE is an important decision for Huawei, desiring to grow our programme with the support of the world-leading testing company to expand coverage, utilise cutting-edge technology, enhance security, and bring up our service level.

"Pearson VUE's advanced technology, more secure and wider testing network, and its comprehensive testing solutions impressed us very much. We are confident that Pearson VUE's professionalism and expertise will serve us well as we expand Huawei's certification programme to meet an increasing marketing demand."

Please click here to read the full press release by Pearson.

Chinese investment into UK infrastructure " a win win" solution for all

 

 

China Investment Corporation (CIC), the country's main sovereign wealth fund, is keen to invest in the infrastructure of developed countries, particularly the UK.

Lou Jiwei, chairman and chief executive officer of CIC, recently wrote an article in the Financial Times in which he emphasised the interest of CIC in participating in the upgrading of the UK's infrastructure.

According to Mr. Lou, CIC, "is keen to team up with fund managers or participate in public-private-partnerships (PPP) in the UK infrastructure sector as an equity investor." 

Mr. Lou went on to note that, "CIC believes that such an investment, guided by commercial principles, offers the chance of a 'win-win' solution for all."

The UK government is increasingly looking to upgrade the country's infrastructure in a bid to boost economic growth, and Chinese investment could play an important role in helping achieve such aims.  In October, UK Prime Minister David Cameron pledged an "all-out" mission to help launch infrastructure projects.

Please read more here and here.  

UK based CBI Member Huawei announces London Design Centre

 

[Image courtesy of www.huawei.com]

CBI member Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology provider, announced last week that it will open a dedicated European design centre for its Mobile Device business in London.

Expected to be launched in the first quarter of 2012, Huawei's new London Design Centre (LDC) will be lead by Huawei Device UK and Ireland Executive Vice President Mark Mitchinson, who will be supported by Huawei Device Creative Director for ID Europe Andy Davey.

Huawei will recruit a team of world leading designers to drive new product conception, design, and development in order to deliver highly innovative design thinking and solutions to the European smartphone market.

Huawei's LDC will play a critical role in helping drive growth of the company's market share in smartphones across Europe.

Commenting on Huawei's LDC, Richard Ren, Huawei Device President of West Europe, said, "The Huawei LDC demonstrates we are absolutely committed to the UK and Europe for the launch of our new smartphone products and brand. The LDC will enable us to grow smartphone market share in Europe through customer insight, focus, and collaboration. Through Mark’s leadership, creativity, and know-how, Huawei will attract the best talent in design from around the globe to our LDC."

Mark Mitchinson, Huawei Device UK and Ireland Executive Vice President, said, "The Huawei LDC will give us clear differentiation in a fiercely competitive European market as we launch new and innovative smartphones and build a compelling brand story. The LDC will enable us to better serve all of our customers in the years ahead, without compromise. Great design spans borders but a local market driven focus and understanding is critical to our future success."

Please click here to read the full press release by Huawei.

UK luxury auto company Bentley secures UK R&D grant - for China growth

[Image courtesy of www.bentleymotors.com]

CBI member Bentley recently secured a conditional grant allocation of £3 million from the UK Department for Business Regional Growth Fund (RGF), marking the second time this year that the British luxury automaker was successful in securing funding from the RGF.

The new grant funding will help support the development of a new powertrain application, which will enable Bentley to exploit new export markets such as China.

Bentley undertakes all its activities from design and engineering to production, sales, and customer service at its historic Crewe site in Cheshire in the UK. Bentley is the third largest R&D investor in the UK's automotive sector, and ranks in the top 20 of all companies investing in R&D in the UK.

Commenting on the new grant, Wolfgang Dürheimer, Bentley Chairman and Chief Executive, said, "This is a real boost for Bentley which has one of the most highly skilled automotive workforces in the country and, uniquely, has now been awarded two RGF grants. It shows that the Government recognises the importance of Bentley and the contribution we make to high value manufacturing and UK exports.

"Our customers expect the very best in terms of exclusivity, technology, quality and engineering excellence which requires significant ongoing investment in R&D. This is why we retain such a strong engineering capability exclusively for Bentley here in the UK. This grant will help safeguard those operations as we look to develop new powertrains which appeal to new markets and new customers."

With customers in emerging markets such as China increasingly showing interest in the new two-door Continental GT and GTC, the RGF grant will help Bentley develop new powertrains for these future markets.

Bentley's global sales to September 2011 increased 30% compared to the same period one year earlier, with 4,759 vehicles delivered to customers. In China, Bentley's sales surged 84%, and the number of vehicles sold exceeded 1,000 units for the first time ever. China is the second biggest global market for the British automaker.

Please click here to read the full press release by Bentley.

UK-China 2011Trade Statistics - room for improvement

[Image courtesy of www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk]

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) in Beijing has kindly prepared an overview of the latest UK-China trade and investment statistics.

Highlights include:

UK imports of goods from China (Jan-Aug 2011): £18.6 billion.

UK exports of goods to China: £5.5 billion.

Total trade volume of goods between China and the UK: £24.1 billion. 

Total 2010 UK-China trade volume in services: £3.374 billion.

The UK exported £2.131 billion worth of services to China.

China exported £1.243 billion worth of services to the UK.

UK was China's top source of foreign direct investment (FDI) from the EU in 2010.

The UK's FDI into China reached $1.62 billion in 2010, up 10% over the previous year. 

The UK was the fourth largest destination for China's direct investment in the EU in 2010.

China's outbound foreign direct investment in the UK reached  $330.33 million in 2010.

As of the end of August 2011, there were eight Chinese companies listed on the LSE main market, with a total market value of £15.6 billion.

There were 43 Chinese companies listed on the LSE AIM, with a total market capitalisation of £3.5 billion.

Please click here to read the full overview by UKTI.