Tag Archive for 'China'

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Sunrise over China?

Published on June 8, 2008 in Emerging Markets. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

China\'s Bright FutureIs all the negative publicity around China over the last few months truly justified? If you look above the surface the answer may be yes. However much change in happing in China below the surface as well. For example China is increasingly opening up to international media: BBC website ‘unblocked in China’.

Although this great initiative there is still a long way to go for complete freedom of speech in China: Stories China’s media could not write. Nevertheless, generation Y in China seems to have much more in common with generation Y in the West as initially thought by most Westerners: China and its Talent, and Modern China.

From a macroeconomic perspective China is well positioned to live upon its potential somewhere within a decade and half a century. Thus somewhere between the medium run (>1decade) and the long run (>half a century) source.

On the medium run the supply side (technology advancement, capital usage, labour force skill fullness) matters more then the demand side (consumer confidence, interest rates).Taking in account the aforementioned, the future seems to be bright cos of the entrepreneurial spirit of China’s generation Y: China’s young entrepreneurs.

China plc

Published on May 27, 2008 in Emerging Markets. 0 Comments Tags: .

China plcThe BBC wrote a great article on Chine plc. A must read if you’re interested in emerging markets at large and Chinese emerging giants and its challenges in specific.

Chinese companies remain in a hurry to expand abroad.

“Chinese firms are saying we want to be world-class and we want to do it tomorrow,” says Edward Tse, head of Booz Allen Hamilton’s Chinese management consultancy practice, who has been advising leading Chinese companies for 15 years.

But their hunger has not always been matched by their capacity to get what they want. Among the challenges that China plc needs to grasp, experts argue, is how to use “soft power” to its advantage.

PetroChina world’s most valuable company

Published on November 7, 2007 in International Finance. 1 Comment Tags: , , .

petrochina1And in a class all by itself, the US$1 trillion (1,000,000,000,000) club.

On Monday, the 4 billion A-share offering, priced at 16.7 yuan per share, finished its first day of trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange at 43.96 yuan, rising as high as 48 yuan intraday. At US$1.005 trillion, PetroChina’s market cap is more than twice that of its US peer, Exxon Mobil (USD $486 billion), even though Exxon Mobil generated four times as much revenue last year and trades at only a quarter of PetroChina’s price to earning ratio, 13 to PetroChina’s 55.

But the craziness doesn’t end there. The lofty market cap comes with an asterisk: US$1 trillion only if you go by PetroChina’s local valuation. Shares traded overseas (Hong Kong and New York) values the company at roughly US$400 billion. One HK share (H-share) confers equity holders the same amount of ownership as one A-share, and one share of ADR traded on the NYSE grants 100 times as much ownership.

While PetroChina’s A share closed up today at 43.96 yuan, its H-share finished down 8.2 percent at HKD $18, or 17.65 yuan (1 yuan=1.02 HKD). The gaping difference is a function of many factors: Beijing’s restriction on capital flow, lack of investment choices in China, and of course, out-of-control greed coupled with widespread ignorance on the part of Chinese retail investors.

In a related story, billionaire investor Warren Buffet sold his entire PetroChina stake several months ago, calling the price action in China “carried away.”

OMG Chinese Facebook Copycat

Published on November 4, 2007 in Emerging Markets. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Facebook China - Xiaonei

Yes, that was my reaction when I saw this webpage. The image above is just a Facebook clone, Xiaonei.com. It looks like the portal was started around 2005 (less than two years after Facebook was born), and since then, it has grown exponentially to cover around 2,000 university campuses in Greater China. They have just recently started to pan out their services to cover high schools and companies.

Facebook is about to enter the Chinese market will they be too late as Chinese fancy local stuff?

The future will tell.Thanks to a friend (since my Chinese is not sufficient) I am enrolled at Xiaonei.com! Now I am a proud student of Nanjing University. Add me! :)

New Tech Giants?

Published on September 17, 2007 in Emerging Markets. 0 Comments Tags: , .

New Tech Giants
Indian and Chinese Tech companies are in the running to see the limelight at the centre stage of the worlds most powerful tech giants! BusinessWeek has listed the up and coming ten new Tech Giants!

The new radar screen of VCs

Published on June 17, 2007 in Emerging Markets and International Finance. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

What’s currently on the radar screen of Venture Capitalists (VCs)? In short, finally, they are starting to look beyond China and India respectively: Central and Eastern Europe.

At the very moment, first, there is Central and Eastern Europe. At least $500 million is sitting in fund targeting the Central and Eastern European region and much more is foreseen. This growth is enabled by a few success stories such as Skype and Last.fm, and in turn, this has triggered a new wave of fresh and new European entrepreneurial spirit. Furthermore, the accession of ten new European Union members from Central and Easter European countries has spurred investments across the region. The previous locked up energetic talent in this region has now gained equal access – as their Western European counterparts – to European capital markets and legislative protection.

In addition, as BusinessWeek pointed out earlier VCs are even having their eyesight beyond the traditional BRIC and Next Eleven (N-11) countries for example out of all places, Colombia, Latin-America. A multitude of young, bright and entrepreneurial minded people is ready to take the country up on the economic ladder. BusinessWeek typified Colombia as an extreme emerging market. It take guts and political sensitivity to start investing there but it can reap endless possibilities.

Here you can find a list of the top 500 European hot growth companies. Another listing can be found here. The latest and greatest news on European Private Equity & venture capital can be found here.

Some more great webpages to keep you updated on any activity at the European VC front can be found here. European Venture Capital & Private Equity Journal; FT European Venture Capital Report; Venture Capital in Europe (Book); and Profitability of venture capital investment in Europe and the US (Research Paper).

The new World?

Published on March 16, 2007 in Emerging Markets. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

New World

Asian cities are in the race to build the boldest and biggest skyscrapers in the world. The region’s economic dynamism ensures the resources needed to make their mark in the 21st century architecture.

Case in point, Asia is already accommodating eleven out of the fifteen largest skyscrapers in the world. European and American architects have targeted Asia as their new playing field for architectural innovation and “wonders”. This movement is not likely to stop and will continue into the next decade since technological advances in construction materials, glass, and building bracings.

The build-up of various monster towers also highlights the rise of Asia’s new economic powerhouses at the capitalistic forefront. China is already putting up five skyscrapers in the current top ten largest buildings in the world.

So the question remains! Is there a casual relationship between the number and height of skyscrapers in a country and its stage of economic development? Are emerging economies using skyscrapers to put themselves on the map of capitalistic countries or as promotion tool in order to gain recognition from the West? All-in-all, I think, at least skyscrapers are providing a country and city more esteem and standing. Conventional wisdom regards stunning skylines as an impression of capitalism and a whirlpool of excitement.

What I know for sure! I love skyscrapers, fabulous skylines, architectural wonders, and Asian cities!

New World 2

China and its Talent

Published on February 22, 2007 in Emerging Markets. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

China Talent Loss


Lots have been written about China’s booming economy and its way forward. To stay on top of its high growth economic development process China has to undertake steps of improvement in various areas.

Especially if China’s economy is to go on growing and its base is to evolve from manufacturing to services, it will require a huge number of university educated people with an international mindset.

A perfect vehicle would be bringing back Chinese that are educated and residing abroad. However, according research conducted by the Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing about two-thirds of Chinese who have studied abroad since the 1980s have chosen not to go back home. Even more reason for China’s officials to research the rationale why they didn’t return home.

Today BBC news published a report on China’s threat of brain drain. The report gives room to four different stories from Chinese in different generations that have an education in the West in common.

More on the brain drain phenomenon can be found here. At this webpage you can find a scheme on how China is governed nowadays.

Rising Fashion Brand “Shanghai Tang”?

Published on February 4, 2007 in Emerging Markets. 0 Comments Tags: .

Shanghai Tang has learned from its past mistakes–and now it’s gunning to become China’s first great luxury brand. Forget about cheap socks and DVD players. This is the next battlefield for global competition. Continue reading on this webpage (New Window)!

BusinessWeek’s Podcasts

Published on July 25, 2006 in Emerging Markets and International Business. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Innovation Champions and Emerging Markets


Multinationals from China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Russia, and even Egypt are coming on strong. They’re hungry — and want your customers. They’re changing the global game.

Today I listened to the podcast of this week’s BusinessWeek cover story on emerging giants, the future multinationals not coming from the Western world but from emerging markets. Each with their own suprising business model. When emerging markets are in your field of interest, I highly recommend listening to this podcast and read up on the article. By clicking on this link you can download the audio file of this particular article.

 

Another very interesting podcast that I recommend is on Innovation Champions.