China Direct

Thyssenkrupp moving business for China Southern

 

 

CBI member, Thyssenkrupp has won a major order to supply 155 elevators and 22 escalators to the new Beijing Daxing Airport. The company will be the sole supplier to China Southern Airlines, one of the key developers of Daxing Airport. At approximately 7.5 million square feet in area, Beijing Daxing Airport will be the biggest terminal in the world when complete, boasting the largest air traffic control centre, aircraft hanger and airline catering centre in Asia.

Peter Walker, CEO of Thyssenkrupp Elevator said:” [Thyssenkrupp] are proud to be among the preferred suppliers for this mega project. China Southern Airlines is one of the most important players in China’s airlines industry, and it is critical to deliver market-leading premium mobility solutions that enable the airline to keep its promise to customers.”

Thyssenkrupp will deliver a mobility solution for the airport that means, despite the tremendous scale of the main terminal, it will take les than 8 minutes to travel from security to the further gates.

To read the full press release, please follow the link.

Arup design - building bridges and brands across Asia

CBI member, Arup has published its 2019 edition of The Arup Journal. The journal contains two key features that may be of interest to China Direct readers.

Arup played a key role in designing the Hong Kong – Zhuhai – Macau Bridge, the world’s longest sea crossing, connecting over 70 million across China’s Greater Bay Area. The construction consultancy also recently completed a new headquarters for one of South Korea’s biggest cosmetics labels, Amorepacific.

Case study: Strengthening connections: Hong Kong – Zhuhai – Macau Bridge

 On 23 October 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping opened the world’s longest sea crossing, the 55km Hong Kong-Zhuhai- Macao Bridge. Until then, travelling between Hong Kong and Macao/Zhuhai involved either a one-hour ferry ride (sometimes through bad weather conditions) or a four-hour detour over the Humen Bridge, a crossing to the north of the Pearl River Delta. With the opening of the Hong Kong – Zhuhai – Macau Bridge (HZMB), it is now possible to make the journey by car in a mere 40 minutes.

Arup performed a range of roles on the project, including creating and developing the concept and preliminary design for the main bridge and tunnel, and proposing environmentally friendly reclamation solutions for artificial island construction. Arup also worked on roads, tunnels, viaducts and other associated infrastructure. Along the way, the firm had to be mindful of the scheme’s impact on the surrounding environment and wildlife, the effect of extreme weather conditions on the programme and design, and the logistical challenges of coordinating and completing such a large and ambitious scheme – the HZMB took nine years to construct.

A detailed case study can be found here on page 5.

Case study: Beauty & Innovation: A sustainable modern building that draws on traditional Korean design for one of Asia’s largest cosmetics companies

Arup has delivered a new headquarters for one of the largest beauty and cosmetics companies in South Korea, Amorepacific. The new building is an elegant 110m tall cube centred around a courtyard, part of which is glazed to provide natural light into the atrium below. With its striking outer façade of vertical fins, the building is a distinctive and innovative take on office accommodation.

Inspired by references to traditional Korean courtyard architecture and with energy efficiency and wellbeing at the centre of its design, the building is punctuated by three large openings on the 5th, 11th and 17th floors. These are landscaped with gardens and terraces, and open onto an inner central courtyard that features a reflecting pool. The openings allow natural light and ventilation to enter the heart of the building, and frame dramatic views across Seoul.

Read more about this ground-breaking project here on page 51.

Foster + Partners reveals Shenzhen skyscraper for China Merchants Bank

 

CBI member, Foster + Partners has unveiled its design for a 350-metre-tall skyscraper in Shenzhen that will serve as the headquarters for China Merchants Bank. The tower will be the first building in the city’s new ‘Super Headquarters District’, a new economic hub being built in the city to help it reach its goal, as set out in the 13^th Five-Year Plan, of becoming a ‘super economic centre’ housing 13,000 banking staff.

Foster + Partners’ design features a tower with structural supports running along the outside on the east and west sides, meaning that every office floor – together amounting to 310,000 square metres – will be open and column free.

Grant Brooker, head of studio at Foster + Partners said: “The tower’s design represents a significant step in the evolution of the workplace, which we have evolved in close partnership with the client to create a highly flexible floorplate that can be adjusted to their fast-changing needs and provide an excellent working environment for their staff. The building will be a symbol of the bank’s premier status in the industry, embodying its strong legacy while looking firmly towards the future.”

Foster + Partners’ design also features a quadruple height glazed atrium at the top of the building, which will be open to customers of the bank, and will house a gallery, event spaces, meeting rooms and dining areas. A separate art gallery and fitness facility for employees will be included in the building’s lower levels.

The design firm is also designed an accompanying 180-metre high hotel and office tower, along with shops and other amenities close to the China Merchants Bank Tower.

Young Wei-Yang Chiu, partner at Foster + Partners said: “The tower forms part of a new complex that will connect with the next phase of the Shenzhen Bay development, featuring a well-connected urban square linked with the metro, retail, cultural spaces and Shenzhen Bay’s amazing waterfront.”

 

CBI members on track in 1,000th F1 Grand Prix in China

The best of British automotive engineering was on show this weekend, as Formula One held its 1,000^th Grand Prix in Shanghai. 50 years after the first world championship race was held at the Silverstone race track in the UK, it was all eyes on China - in a demonstration of how a sport that was born out racing around disused British airfields after the Second World War, has grown to take on the world! In a further sign of the sport’s growing popularity and potential in the Asia-Pacific, the British Business Group Vietnam announced on Friday that construction had begun on the Hanoi Grand Prix racetrack, scheduled for March 2020.

Formula One has become a key marketing platform for British businesses seeking to appeal to petrol heads. CBI members, BP, ExxonMobil and Shell went head-to-head this weekend in Shanghai, powering the majority of the main competitors in the race, including Aston Martin Red Bull Racing.

Diageo was on hand to ensure that the drinks flowed, and Tata Communications kept track of the position of the cars as they rocketed around the track. Be it big business or small, Formula One provides huge opportunity for exposure on the world stage, and provides a solid customer base for British manufacturing SMEs, such as Shropshire-based ACE Engineering, who use the racing series as a platform to sell their high-performance engine components.

Motorsport is big business for the UK. Eight of the current 11 F1 teams are based in the UK, availing of an expert supply chain, comprising more than 40,000 people, that earns £6 billion in sales a year. Much of the UK’s motorsports expertise is located close to the Silverstone racetrack in Northamptonshire, where it is possible to find a diverse range of specialist suppliers providing a specialist manufacturing capability to the big marques, such as Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz, as part of an intricate international supply chain exporting parts in support of races all around the world.

The majority of Formula One’s logistics is managed by CBI member, DHL who will soon need to add Vietnam to their calendar, following the announcement that ground breaking on the new Hanoi grand prix track took place last Friday. The new racetrack features the longest straight in the F1 calendar and will see cars reach speeds of over 200 mph. The event is due to take place in March 2020, and will be sponsored by HSBC.

To read more about the involvement of British Business in F1 Hanoi, please follow the link.

Airbus takes to the skies with major China aviation order

 

CBI member, Airbus has announced that it has agreed a €30 billion deal with China to sell a package of 300 aircraft to the country. The order was one of 15 commercial deals signed by the two sides during President Xi’s visit to France this week.

President Xi’s state visit to France comes one week after the European Commission labelled China a ‘Systematic Competitor’, and announced that it was considering steps to ‘develop a new arsenal [of trade defence instruments] to fight aggressive trade tactics’ –- French President Emmanuel Macron has been particularly vocal on the need for the EU to be more robust in its trade negotiations with China.

President Macron reportedly told President Xi after their meeting at the Elysée palace in Paris, where the trade deal was signed, that ‘[France] needs more access for our companies in China, the conclusion of a big contract for Airbus is a significant move forward and an excellent signal.’

The agreement, between China’s Aviation Supplies Holding Company and Airbus, covers 290 Airbus A320 aircraft and 10 A350 XWB jets.

Guillaume Faury, president of Airbus’ commercial aircraft division, said: ‘[Airbus is honoured to support the growth of China’s civil aviation with our leading aircraft families – single-aisle and wide-bodies. [Airbus’s] expanding footprint in China demonstrates our lasting confidence in the Chinese market and our lasting commitment to China and to our partners.’

China is a key market for Airbus, with the company predicting that it will become the world’s biggest aviation market by early next decade. Airbus on Monday said that its latest market forecast to 2037 predicted that China would need some 7,400 new passenger and freight aircraft over the next 20 years – representing more than 19% of the world total demand for aircraft.

As of the end of January 2019, Chinese airlines had some 1,730 Airbus aircraft in operation, according to the company.

 

Jaguar Land Rover roars and wins Chinese copycat legal battle

CBI member, Jaguar Land Rover has won a legal case to prevent Chinese car manufacturer, JiangLing Motor Corporation from selling a copycat vehicle, ending a three-year court battle.

On Friday, the Beijing Chaoyang District Court ruled that five major features of JiangLing Motor’s Land Wind X7 sport utility vehicle had been copied from Jaguar Land Rover’s Range Rover Evoque model. JiangLing motors was ordered to cease production, sales and marketing of the vehicle.

Jaguar Land Rover is also seeking RMB 1.5 million (£170,000) in costs and lost business, a sum which may rise in the future.

Keith Benjamin, Jaguar Land Rover global head of legal said: “This ruling is a clear sign of the law being implemented appropriately to protect consumers and uphold their rights so that they are not confused or misled, whilst protecting business investment in design and innovation. [Jaguar Land Rover] welcomes this decision of the Beijing court, which further strengthens our confidence in investing in China and in the fairness of intellectual property adjudication in the Chinese courts.”

The new Range Rover Evoque will be launched in China next month.

To find out more, please follow the link.

Showcasing the NE of England - international investment opportunities

 

Dear International CBI Members and Partners,

The CBI's Newcastle office would like to share with you a series of dynamic showcase videos highlighting the importance and attractiveness of the NE to foreign investment. Please click on the links in the attachment below to learn more.

Kindly note that sector specific content will be released on the following dates:

• Digital and Tech – Monday 25th February 2019
• Energy – Monday 4th March 2019
• Advanced Manufacturing – Monday 11th March 2019
• Business Services – Monday 18th March 2019
• Life Sciences – Monday 25th March 2019

China Direct would like to thank Invest Northeast England for providing the videos and related content.

Download North East England Works Showcase Overview Video - Comms Pack

Pinsent Mason powers brand along the Belt & Road

The multinational law firm and CBI member, Pinsent Masons has announced that it advised on a major $530 million Belt & Road power station deal in Pakistan. Pinsent Masons worked in cooperation with the Chinese engineering SOE, China Machinery Engineering Corporation, and provided counsel on brokerage and international trade and arbitration. This involved Pinsent Masons acting on behalf of Thar Energy Limited, one of Pakistan’s biggest power stations developers, on the ground in Pakistan.

Subsequently, Pinsent Masons managed to secure the financing of the power station, which will provide a power generation output of 300MW and will be coal-fired. The power station is positioned as an integral part of China’s Belt & Road, Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Pinsent Masons has played an active role in securing funding for initiatives involving Chinese partners along the Pakistan Economic Corridor since 2015. In the first instance, the law firm advised on the initial $700 million financing of a coal mine that was commissioned to provide resources for energy production and a $821 million power station that would take these resources and guarantee energy along the route.

The fact that Pinsent Masons was then asked to advise on a second power station highlights the fact that opportunities exist along the BRI for foreign firms which are able to provide specialist advise and support to Chinese companies operating an international setting.

The deal was negotiated and delivered by a cross border team working from Pinsent Masons’ offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai. David Platt, lead partner said, “We are proud to have been an integral part of this project from the beginning. Not only is it extremely significant as part of the wider Belt & Road Initiative, it will help Pakistan’s energy landscape and resource.”

The transaction was signed in front of members of the China Pakistan Economic Cooperation Corridor Joint Committee. and China Machinery Engineering Corporation.

Marsh launches BRI China desk in Dubai

 

CBI member, Marsh has launched a China desk in Dubai to benefit from the commercial links developing between the two countries as a result of the Belt & Road Initiative.

One of the world’s largest insurance brokers and risk advisers, Marsh aims to use its new Dubai-based China desk to act as a conduit for regional business emerging from China’s BRI. According to Christos Adamantiadis, Middle East and Africa chief executive, “Marsh has already picked up deals related to infrastructure projects [in Dubai], there is exponential growth, but it’s starting from a low base. […] Our main focus is China and Chinese contractors and principles.”

Africa and the Middle East are an important part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt & Road Initiative, which turned five in 2018 but whilst received heavy criticism. China hopes that the $126 billion initiative will bring about a network of infrastructure projects connecting China by land and sea to Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

However, at fifth-anniversary celebrations and a high-level diplomatic gathering of African leaders in Beijing in 2018, the project came under fire from both Chinese citizens and those living along the BRI alike.

Foreign companies in China are now increasingly reporting that they are finding opportunities in supporting Chinese state-owned enterprises along the BRI. These opportunities predominantly concern providing consultancy services on establishing best practise guidelines, and facilitating international cooperation in market.

HSBC, Standard Chartered and Citigroup all already have China desks in the emirate as a result.

A key factor in Marsh choosing to join these companies in Dubai, rather than establish itself in one of the other emirates, is the fact that Dubai has attracted significantly more attention than any of the other emirates within the UAE. The number of Chinese visitors to Dubai last year was up by almost 10%, and the emirate received Xi Jinping for a state visit in August.

Rio Tinto in partnership with China and Mongolia

CBI member, Rio Tinto has announced that it will continue to work with its three Chinese partners and the Government of Mongolia in cooperation over the Mongolian Oyu Tolgoi copper & gold mine.

The Oyu Tolgoi mine, which is situated on Mongolia’s southern border with China, is a core part of Rio Tinto’s efforts to shift its portfolio from iron ore. Rio Tinto owns a 33.5% in-direct stake in the mine, sharing equity with the Government of Mongolia.

Rio Tinto has been the manager of the Oyu Tolgoi mine since 2010, and expects it to be fully operational by 2020. The mine contains reserves that make it one of the world’s largest known copper and gold deposits. Rio Tinto expects that with the reserves currently identified, Oyu Tolgoi will remain operational for over 50 years.

In July 2018, Rio Tinto brought three of its Chinese partners onto the project (China Machinery Engineering Corporation, Harbin Electric International Company Ltd. and Power Construction Corporation of China), by signing an agreement relating to the design and delivery of a power station to independently supply electricity to the Oyu Tolgoi mine. The profitability of the mine was under question, since the Mongolian Government currently pays China $150 million a year for electricity.

Last week, Rio Tinto announced that it has extended its agreement with the Government of Mongolia to supply Oyu Tolgoi with independent electricity, and will also supply electricity to an extension of the copper mine at the site.

Analysts have welcomed these deals in the knowledge that Rio Tinto is literally sitting on a gold mine. Furthermore, Oyu Tolgoi is already demonstrating its potential. Despite not yet being fully operational, extractions have been taking place there since 2001. By December 2015, total shipments had reached 1.5 million tonnes of concentrate, the majority of which was transported to China. The Oyu Tolgoi mine has the capacity to process both copper and gold ore on site.

According to Rio Tinto Copper & Diamonds chief executive, Arnaud Soirat, “The power agreement is a positive step forward for Oyu Tolgoi and outlines a path to secure reliable, long-term power for the operation […] which will help ensure that the operation reaches its full potential to the benefit of all shareholders.”

Please read more about Rio Tinto’s operations at Oyu Tolgoi here.