bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Mark O'Neill

Despite having just two confirmed cases and no deaths, the Sars outbreak is taking its toll on Shanghai.

Retail sales are down, music promotions have been cancelled and business travel has plummeted. Companies with connections to Beijing - the worst-hit city with 1,636 confirmed cases and 91 deaths - are suffering the most.

Sony Music Entertainment's chief China representative, Andrew Wu, says his business has been hit from three directions.

'In our business, all audio-visual products have to be censured for content,' he said.

'There is a department for this in the Ministry of Culture in Beijing, which subcontracts some work to outside experts.

'In Beijing, the ministries are taking the lead in the fight against Sars. This means that buildings are being disinfected and official activities are no longer normal, with a slowing down of whatever needs to go through them. The experts who go into the ministry buildings need to be screened.'

Mr Wu said Sony's music sales had plunged by more than 30 per cent and some shops had been shut because of Sars quarantine rules.

'There is a drastic decrease in demand, with people not shopping and browsing in music stores. This is going on in all major cities, most noticeably in Beijing,' he said.

The third impact was on Sony's promotions, often done in concert with commercial firms, he said.

'Many have been cancelled in Shanghai and Beijing and such activities are being discouraged by the government,' he said.

Sars has also caused a virtual halt in business travel to Shanghai.

Jane Smith is a buyer for a big American chain store, who selects garments made in China.

Ms Smith said her company sends quality control staff to China before approving shipments from the mainland.

'But it has banned travel by its employees to China so it cannot take any shipments. It has told us that it is preparing to make purchases from suppliers other than China,' she said.

Bruce Lindsay, who works for a firm specialising in industrial design for factories, said many foreigners had cancelled their business trips.

'Initially, we communicate with a foreign client by e-mail, fax and telephone, presenting him with information about our company and designs we have done,' Mr Lindsay said.

'But, when he narrows the choice down, he must come in person and see the site we have chosen and the people we are going to use. But foreigners refuse to come now, so the projects are delayed. Probably, the deals are not lost.'

Xiao Shuangguan, who is employed by Beijing Wurun Information Technology, which imports Unix servers and sells them to customers on the mainland, said the firm was facing massive delays because of the outbreak.

'Normally, we find the client and persuade him to take the server. Then we send technicians to install and maintain it,' he said. But we cannot do this now, since our staff cannot leave Beijing.

'In our business, this personal contact is extremely important. You must wine and dine the client.'



Shanghai entrepreneurs start to feel the pinch