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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Penguin China sells Paul French bestseller for adaptation to TV mini-series

 

[Image courtesy of www.penguin.com.cn]

CBI member Penguin announced the sale of the television serial rights to Midnight in Peking by Paul French to Kudos Television for adaptation into a major international TV mini-series.

Already a #1 bestseller in Asia, Midnight in Peking will be published by Penguin in the U.S. on 21 April 2012 and in the U.K. on 31 May.

Please download the full press release by Penguin below.

Download Midnight in Peking Television Rights PR April 2012

CBI Member Success Stories March 2012

 

[Image courtesy of www.cbi.org.uk]

A number of CBI members were busy raising their profile in China in March, engaging in many exciting activities across a wide range of industries.

Members covered include: 

• 3i
• ABB
• Atkins
• Bentley
• Boeing
• BNY Mellon
• BP
• Burson-Marsteller
• Clifford Chance
• Diageo
• Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
• Fuji Xerox
• GKN
• HSBC
• INEOS
• InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG)
• Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)
• Jones Lang LaSalle
• J.P. Morgan
• Nike
• Pearson
• Penguin
• Pinsent Masons
• Procter & Gamble
• Research in Motion (RIM)
• Shell
• Siemens
• Simmons & Simmons
• Thales
• Unilever
• University of Nottingham
• Willis

Please click here to access our latest briefing, which highlights the recent successes of 32 CBI members.

The briefing can also be accessed below:

Download CBI China, Celebrating CBI member success in China, March 2012

Pearson & Penguin report strong China growth

 

 

 

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


CBI member Pearson recently announced its preliminary results for 2011, reporting sales up 6% at CER and adjusted operating profit up 12%, reaching £942 million, with growth in all businesses. In developing markets, Pearson reported revenues of US$1 billion, up 24% and now accounting for 11% of Pearson's sales.

In China, Pearson's international education business continued to make significant organic investments in expanding the footprint of Wall Street English. Student enrolments at Pearson's Wall Street English centres in China increased 25% to 53,000, boosted by strong underlying demand and the launch of 11 new centres. Pearson's students continued to rapidly acquire high-level English language skills, with average grade levels achieved by its students rising 11% during 2011.

In December 2011, Pearson also acquired Global Education and Technology Group, a leading provider of test preparation services for students in China who are learning English, for US$155 million in cash. Global Education has approximately 450 (115 owned and 335 franchised) learning centres in 150 cities across China.

CBI member Penguin, a division of parent company Pearson, achieved record profits despite the toughest trading conditions in a generation, reporting sales of £1.062 billion and operating profit of £113 million, representing underlying growth of 1% and 8%, respectively.

Penguin Chairman and CEO John Makinson said, "This is the most turbulent book market that anyone can remember. In spite of this, we have increased both our sales and our profits. This remarkable achievement has been driven by excellent publishing around the globe, demonstrated by market share growth in our three biggest markets, and innovation in every aspect of our digital publishing."

In China, Penguin launched a new English-language publishing programme in China and achieved its first number one bestseller in English with Midnight in Peking. Through its joint venture partnership with 99 Readers, Penguin published 20 classics in Chinese. In 2012, Penguin will publish its first major acquisition of a title for Chinese publication, international tennis star Li Na's autobiography.

Please click here and here to read the full annual results for Pearson and Penguin, respectively. 

CBI Member China Successes in Dec 2011

 

[Image courtesy of www.cbi.org.uk]

Kindly find attached more than 19 CBI member success stories that China Direct collected in December 2011.

Ranging from education to engineering and airports to AstraZeneca this snapshot of the best of CBI business shows just how commercially successful our membership has been throughout 2011.

China Direct looks forward to sharing even more success stories from its members in the fast approaching Year of the Dragon.

 Please download the full list of CBI successes below:

 Download CBI China, Celebrating member success in China, December 2011

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.

Celebrating UK and international CBI member success in China: Nov 2011

[Image courtesy of www.cbi.org.uk]

Dear China Direct readers, 

Kindly find more than 25 examples of UK and international CBI member companies that are celebrating business success in China in November 2011.

Download CBI China, Celebrating member success in China, November 2011

This will mark the 300th entry since China Direct went live back in June 2009.

Please let the CBI team in Beijing (ben.cooper@cbi.org.uk tel: 00 86 10 85253100) know if your company would like to share your China business news with the CBI's international member network.

Many thanks.

Pearson makes major acquisition to boost China business

 

[Image courtesy of www.pearson.com]

 

CBI member Pearson announced yesterday that it has agreed to acquire Global Education and Technology Group, a leading provider of test preparation services for students in China who are learning English, for $155 million.

Global Education, which helps Chinese students and professionals prepare for internationally-recognised English language assessments, has a network of approximately 450 test preparation and training centres in 60 cities across China. Pearson estimates that around 500,000 Chinese students take these tests each year, a four-fold increase over the past five years, which has produced rapid growth in spending on related teaching and preparation services.

The acquisition will combine Global Education with Pearson's English teaching resources and technologies and its existing networks of English language centres for professionals (Wall Street English) and children (Longman Schools) in China. Pearson will see its reach in China expand from eight cities to 60, and will also enjoy a platform to develop beyond English language teaching.

John Fallon, Chief Executive of Pearson's international education business, said, "We are already helping to meet the huge demand in China to learn English by teaching growing numbers of professionals and younger children. This acquisition gives us the opportunity to help high school graduates gain the English qualifications they need to progress to university and achieve their own personal goals.

Through organic investment and complementary acquisitions, we're learning a lot about the very significant growth opportunities we see in China and about the value of combining our content and technology with high-quality school networks.

We are impressed by Global Education's commitment to its students and working together we can enhance further the quality of the teaching. It also significantly extends our scale, geographic breadth and range of education in the fastest-growing English language teaching market in the world."

Please click here to read the full press release by Pearson and here for additional media coverage.

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.

CBI Member China Success Stories Oct 2011

[Image courtesy of www.cbi.org.uk]

The CBI has tracked more than 15 CBI member companies and their successes in China for October 2011.

Kindly refer to the attachment below for more information.

If we have missed out your company then my apologies - please let CBI China know of your latest news and we will circulate it via our member network in China and internationally.

Thank you very much for your ongoing support of China Direct.

Download CBI China, Member Success Stories, October 2011