China Direct

2011-12 British Business Climate Survey in China - Summary

 

[Images courtesy of www.cbbc.org and www.britishchamber.cn]

The CBI would like to thank our partners at the CBBC and British Chamber of Commerce in Beijing for sharing the findings of the 2011-12 British Business Climate Survey in China.

The results of the 2012 Business Climate Survey indicate increasing optimism about the outlook for revenue growth in 2012. The survey clearly demonstrates the growing importance of China to many companies as a driver of corporate growth, evidenced by plans to increase investments in China this year.

However, companies continue to acknowledge the complexity of the operating environment, especially in terms of rising labour costs, increasing local competition and the ongoing challenges of IPR & legal enforcement, protectionism and bureaucracy.

 Despite this, most UK companies remain confident about the outlook for their business in China.

 The key messages that arise from this survey are the following:

 

• Despite worries over the global economic outlook and rising domestic competition, performance in 2011 was generally positive with the majority of respondents seeing an increase in revenue.

 

• China remains a key market, with the majority of respondents planning an increase in investment and remaining positive in their expectations for the coming year.

 

• Human resource issues continue to be a substantial challenge for business, with members tackling increasing labour costs and problems attracting and retaining skilled staff.

 

• Whilst domestic competition still struggles to compete in terms of technical innovation and management expertise, they showed significant improvement in marketing and branding.

 

• The key business challenges facing those in the China market continue to be bureaucracy, securing licences and protecting intellectual property.

 

• Despite intellectual property rights being cited as an important factor in China operations, the number of infringements that actually harmed operations was relatively low.

 

To download the full survey please click below:

Download 2012_china_business_climate_survey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tesco's green China goals - every little helps

 

[Image courtesy of www.tesco.com]

With the support of China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), CBI member Tesco recently held its second Retail Sustainable Development Forum in China in Suzhou.

Tesco has set the target of becoming a zero carbon business by 2050. To meet that target, the retailer plans to halve the emissions from its stores by 2020 and in its distribution network by 2012/3. Tesco also aims to work with its suppliers to reduce the emissions in its supply chain by 30% by 2020.

In China, Tesco is actively supporting retailers in their efforts to go green, developing green and low carbon distribution networks, and advocating the concept of green consumption among customers.

As part of its sustainability efforts in the country, Tesco launched its first green logistics centre in China last year. Located in Jiashan in Zhejiang province, the 55,000 square metre facility features an integrated energy-efficient design, which incorporates an extensive range of green technologies that use renewable energy sources and reduce energy and water usage.

Employing over 26,000 people and serving over four million customers per week in China, Tesco currently has 110 hypermarkets across 11 provinces and 14 small trial express stores in Shanghai.

Please click here to read the speech delivered by Lucy Neville-Rolfe, CMG, Executive Director, Corporate and Legal Affairs at Tesco, at Tesco's Retail Sustainable Development Forum in China.  

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.  

Airbus flies high as it builds new logistics hub in Tianjin

 

[Image courtesy of www.airbus.com] 

CBI member Airbus recently opened Airbus (Tianjin) Logistics in the Tianjin Free Trade Zone Comprehensive Bonded Area in northeastern China.

Through the establishment of its new logistics company in Tianjin, Airbus aims to optimise all transport and logistics activities related to Airbus in China as part of its worldwide supply chain.

A number of Chinese companies are directly involved in manufacturing parts and components for Airbus aircraft. Located in different cities across China, including Harbin, Shenyang, Tianjin, Xi'an, Chengdu, and Shanghai, these companies each have separate supply chains. The new logistics company in Tianjin will help create a more harmonized and streamlined supply chain that will reduce logistics costs and increase the efficiency of the Airbus production lines.

Laurence Barron, Airbus China President, said, "Airbus (Tianjin) Logistics will provide strong support to all industrial exchanges between China and the rest of the world, which are needed as a result of our expanding industrial activities in China. The Airbus logistics centre in Tianjin is another step forward in our cooperation with Tianjin, where we already have the A320 Family Final Assembly Line and Delivery Centre. This improvement in our logistics set-up will also support the production of the A350 XWB, of which five percent of the airframe will be manufactured in China."

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

UK Retailer Tesco wins prestigious Green Award in China

 

[Image courtesy of www.tesco.com]

CBI member Tesco recently received the prestigious 'Green Supply Chain Award' from The Global Supply Chain Council in China.

The Global Supply Chain Council praised Tesco for demonstrating strong environmental leadership and a firm commitment to promoting green business in China.

Tesco's new 'green' logistics centre in eastern China's Zhejiang province received particular recognition for having "set and exceeded" its own high standards for environmental friendliness.

Launched in July this year, the 55,000 square metre facility forms an important part of Tesco's commitment to become a zero carbon business by 2050.

For example, the innovative design of Tesco's new logistics centre uses 45% less water and electricity in comparison to a normal warehouse, and carbon emissions have also been reduced by at least 35%.

Commenting on the award, Helen Fleming, Group Climate Change Director at Tesco, said, "We are extremely proud to have won this award in China. As one of the world's leading retailers, we recognise our responsibility to protect the environment and we have made great strides in reducing our emissions in China."

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

Amazon expands in China

 

[Image courtesy of www.amazon.com]

Leading global e-commerce company and CBI member Amazon.com, Inc. recently opened a new order-fulfillment centre in China.

Located near Shanghai in eastern China's Jiangsu province, the new centre is Amazon's largest fulfillment facility outside the U.S., occupying a space of more than 120,000 square metres.

Following the launch of the new centre, customers in Shanghai and the nearby provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui now enjoy access to a greater selection of products and faster delivery times.

Please read more here.

CBI Member Success Stories in China (Aug-Sept)

 

 

Kindly find more than 20 member success stories from the past two months below.

If we have missed out your company then please let China Direct know!

Please download the details below:

Download CBI China, Member Success Stories, August & September 2011  

Delivering growth in China - UPS continues to invest inland

 

 
[Image courtesy of www.ups.com]

Leading package delivery company  and CBI member UPS recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the local government in Zhengzhou, the capital of central China's Henan province, and agreed to open a new branch in the city.

China's express delivery industry is growing rapidly, with more than 10 million parcels delivered per day at the end of 2010, and the new Zhengzhou branch will help UPS further strengthen its position in the Chinese market.

Please read more here.

China's 12th 5 Year Plan - further opportunities for business

 

 
[Image courtesy of www.pamlin.net]

China Direct is delighted to share with its members an assessment of business opportunities for foreign companies in China's 12th 5 Year Plan. The briefings have been kindly provided by the Shanghai office of Dorsey and Whitney LLP.

Sectors covered include agribusiness, clean energy, financial services and life sciences.

For more information please contact Mr. Peter Corne, Managing Partner : corne.peter@dorsey.com

Please download sector information below:

Download China_5 Year Plan_Agribusiness

Download China_5 Year Plan_Enviro_Clean Energy

Download China_5 Year Plan_Financial Services

Download China_5 Year Plan_Life Sciences  

 

 

 

Steaming Ahead - CBI member Maersk's China-West African business

 
[Image courtesy of www.maersk.com]

Leading global shipping company and CBI member Maersk plans to increase the number of vessels deployed on its three trade routes between Asia and West Africa as regional trade flows continue to expand.

According to Keith Svendsen, head of Maersk's East China region, "Asian-West African trade has been one of the fastest-growing markets in the past few years, and it is expected to maintain 15-20% year-on-year growth over the next three years."

He went on to note, "One in three containers in the world serves China. We have seen significant trade flows from China to other emerging markets and Africa is an important part of the story."

Two of Maersk's shipping routes between Asia and West Africa serve major Chinese ports such as Shanghai, Ningbo and Hong Kong.

Maersk has ordered 22 new vessels with a capacity of 4,500 containers each to run on the Asian-West African trade routes. Six went into service earlier this year in May and an additional three are scheduled for delivery by the end of 2011. The remainder of the ordered vessels are still under construction.

Booming trade between China and Africa surpassed $120 billion in 2010.

Please read more here.

China Direct would like to thank CBI Beijing Policy Analyst Ben Cooper for this contribution.