China Direct

Marks & Spencer continues to grow in China

 

[Image courtesy of www.marksandspencer.com]

CBI member Marks & Spencer (M&S) recently released its results for the year ended 31 March 2012, reporting international sales up 5.8%. The U.K. retailer's key priority markets of India, China, and Hong Kong saw strong growth, driven by good like-for-like growth and new space. 

In China, its Shanghai stores continued to perform strongly, and M&S currently has seven stores in the city, having opened three new ones this year. Its Hong Kong stores also continued to perform well, and the retailer opened one new store in the city.

Please click here to read the full annual results for M&S.

Celebrating CBI Member Success in China May 2012

 

Please find attached our monthly briefing “Celebrating CBI member success in China” for May, covering 42 members.

Members covered include:

   

• ABB
• Airbus
• Alliance Boots
• ANZ
• Arup
• Atkins
• Benoy
• Boeing
• Burson-Marsteller
• Cardiff University
• Clifford Chance
• The Coca-Cola Company
• DHL
• Everything Everywhere
• Ford Motor Company
• Foster + Partners
• Fuji Xerox
• Gatwick Airport
• GE
• GKN
• GSK
• Herbert Smith
• HSBC
• IHG
• Jones Lang LaSalle
• King’s College London
• London Stock Exchange
• M&S
• Mott MacDonald
• Newcastle University
• News Corporation
• Nottingham Trent University
• Pfizer
• Philips
• Pinsent Masons
• Rio Tinto
• RBS
• Shell
• Siemens

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

 

 

 

Benoy opens Hong Kong 'Pop Corn' development

 

[Image courtesy of www.benoy.com]

CBI member Benoy recently announced the opening of the 'Pop Corn' development, a new joint venture by Sun Hung Kai and MTR Corporation in Hong Kong.

Pop Corn, short for 'Popular Corner', is a 160,000 square metre mixed-use development, comprised of retail, entertainment, hotel, and residential space, which is designed to create a new central focal point for the heart of East Hong Kong.

Benoy was involved in the design concept to the construction stages of the project.

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

Alliance Boots announces China growth for 2011-12

 

[Image courtesy of www.allianceboots.com]

CBI member Alliance Boots recently released its preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2012, reporting revenue up 18.4% to £23 billion and underlying profit after tax up 10.2% to £693 million.

Alliance Boots continued to grow strongly in China as Guangzhou Pharmaceuticals Corporation, its joint venture in the country, made several acquisitions during the year to strengthen its position in key regional provinces. The joint venture performed well with good revenue growth, margin management, and control over costs, enabling the business to significantly improve profitability.

Commenting on Alliance Boots' preliminary results, Stefano Pessina, Executive Chairman, said, "Alliance Boots has again delivered double digit growth in trading profit while at the same time generating a strong operating cash flow to fund investment in growth and substantially reduce net borrowings. This performance, which reflects the excellent work of our teams, has been achieved through a combination of organic growth and benefits from the previous year's acquisitions, is particularly encouraging given the challenging economic environment.

"In the coming year, we expect the economic environment to remain difficult with continuing pressure on both consumer and governmental expenditure. This will generate both challenges and new opportunities for us.

"We are confident about our future prospects and ability to pursue profitable growth, both organically and through further international expansion. This will be supported by our strong operating cash flow and secure funding arrangements, which will enable us to continue to invest while at the same time reducing net borrowings. The development of new and existing partnerships will be a key component of our future growth."

Please click here to read the full results for Alliance Boots.

Nottingham Trent & Chongqing University in China partnership

 

[Image courtesy of www.ntu.ac.uk]

CBI member Nottingham Trent University and Chongqing University in southwestern China recently formed a new partnership for collaborative research and staff and student visits.

The agreement was arranged through Nottingham Trent University's School of Education, and three professors from Chongqing University recently visited Nottingham to finalise the partnership.

Rob Dransfield, Senior Lecturer at the School of Education, said, "This partnership has huge potential, involving not only on-going collaboration in research projects but also visits by staff and students from Chongqing University to identify approaches to carrying out this research. There is also scope for reciprocal visits from Nottingham Trent University academics to advise on research projects."

Dr. Gill Scott, Dean of the School of Education, said, "This agreement will further develop an already successful relationship with Chongqing University, an important Chinese university with a growing reputation for first-class research. It will offer an additional international dimension to the experiences of staff and students at both universities."

Professor Hong Hu from Chongqing University said, "Chongqing University is an international university which is looking outwards to develop research collaborations. We're looking forward to working closely with academics at Nottingham Trent University, and we're particularly interested in the research currently being carried out in the fields of sports education and sports science, which fits closely with some of the issues we are currently exploring in relation to nutrition, exercise, and intellectual development in children and young people."

Please click here to read the full press release by Nottingham Trent University.

Jones Lang LaSalle announce Guangzhou city's largest retail mall transaction

 

 

[Image courtesy of www.joneslanglasalle.com]

 CBI member Jones Lang LaSalle recently facilitated Guangzhou's largest shopping mall transaction when China Overseas' Everbright Mall, for which Jones Lang LaSalle is the Sole Leasing Agent and Retail Asset Manager, was sold to Pramerica Real Estate Investors for US$318 million.

Located in Guangzhou's Haizhu District, Everbright Mall serves approximately 300,000 local residents, and is comprised of high-end retail space as well as a supermarket, a cinema, and restaurants.

Jex Ng, Managing Director of Jones Lang LaSalle Guangzhou and Shenzhen, said, "The historic deal was concluded after more than one year of negotiations. It is the largest retail mall transaction ever recorded in Guangzhou as well as the city's first investment acquisition of commercial real estate by a foreign institutional investor."

Tom Liu, Head of Investment at Jones Lang LaSalle Guangzhou, said, "This transaction reinforces the positive outlook of Guangzhou's retail sector. We believe the investment market is still in its infancy, Guangzhou will continue to attract more foreign investors into its fast-growing commercial real estate sector."

Click here to read the full press release by Jones Lang LaSalle.

GKN driving growth in NE China

 

[Image courtesy of www.gkn.com]

CBI member GKN Driveline has continued to expand its manufacturing footprint in China, highlighted by the recent opening of its seventh production facility in the country.

The new 13,900 square metre plant in Changchun will have the capacity to build one million sideshafts per year, and a new 10,000 square metre expansion of the plant will increase its capacity to four million sideshafts within the next five years.

Forecasting vehicle production in China to reach 15 million units by 2014, GKN Driveline continues to regard China as a key growth market. The company's production capacity for constant velocity joint (CVJ) systems and all-wheel-drive (AWD) systems in China is expected to grow by 50% in the next three years.

GKN is also investing RMB 94 million to expand its research and development centre in Shanghai, which will lead to the development of prototyping facilities, as well as a materials and metrology capability, to allow products to be developed for the Chinese market.

Marc Vuarchex, Managing Director of GKN Driveline Asia Pacific, said, "China is a key market for our overall growth strategy. With our CVJ and AWD systems production along with our industry-leading electric-vehicle technology and plans to produce new, low-cost systems for China's small-car market, we will increase our number of employees by over 30% in China over the next four years."

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

Rio Tinto and Chinese Partner Chinalco in African Simandou project

 

[Image courtesy of www.riotinto.com]

CBI member Rio Tinto and Chinalco's listed subsidiary Chalco recently completed the formation of their joint venture to develop and operate the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, following the completion of all Chinese regulatory approvals.

A consortium led by Chalco made an earn-in payment of US$1.35 billion, in line with an agreement reached with Rio Tinto in March 2010. Rio Tinto and the Chalco consortium now hold a 53% and 47% interest, respectively, in the joint venture, which translates into a 50.53% and 44.65% interest in the Simandou project. The International Finance Corporation holds the remaining 5%. The Government of Guinea retains its options for participation in the project, and is expected to take up its first share in the near future.

Please read more here.

The University of Leeds and China's Sinochem Group sign research deal

 

[Image courtesy of www.leeds.ac.uk]

CBI member The University of Leeds recently signed a £3 million collaborative research deal with Sinochem Group, a leading Chinese state-backed company whose core businesses cover energy, agriculture, chemicals, real estate, and financial services.

The money will be used to fund six new research projects in colour science, semiconductor research, polymer development, and plant science covering transgenic technology, new materials, and anti-counterfeit technologies. The research will be carried out in the Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences and the Faculty of Biological Sciences.

Professor Mike Wilson, Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, said, "This is a significant commitment to collaborative research and personnel training in science and technology from a state-backed Chinese company to a British higher education institution. We are honoured that science at Leeds is held in such high regard."

Professor Li Bin, Vice President at Sinochem, said, "I believe that through the concerted efforts of both Sinochem and Leeds, we will be able to achieve our objectives of the development of advanced, commercialisable technologies. At the same time, through the Sinochem-Leeds collaboration platform, we will also be able to establish a team of leading scientists as well as a team of strong researchers."

Long Lin, Professor of Colour and Polymer Science at Leeds, said, "This deal will also help create closer relationships with highly respected colleagues in Chinese research institutes such as the Sinochem Shenyang Research Institute of Chemical Industry and the Sinochem Zhejiang Research Institute of Chemical Industry."

Please click here to read the full press release by The University of Leeds.

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.