https://www.scmp.com/rss/316955/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com China is building a $145 million “superconducting computer,” an unprecedented machine capable of developing new weapons, breaking codes and analyzing intelligence – and all for a fraction of the energy needed to power current supercomputers. The aim is to have a prototype of the machine up and running as early as 2022, according to a program quietly launched by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in November last year with a budget estimated to be as much as one billion yuan ($145 million). If... https://www.scmp.com/tech/china-invests-145-million-superconducting-computer-program/article/2161482?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/china-invests-145-million-superconducting-computer-program/article/2161482?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Aug 2018 11:00:00 +0000 Wealth management products, a main part of China’s shadow banking business, are suddenly hot again. The annual investment yield even exceeds 7 per cent at some big state-owned lenders, as they scramble to entice savers and hoard cash ahead of a crucial inspection by the central bank. But analysts say the yields, along with bank deposit rates, may reach their peak by the end of June, as the central bank is set to wrap up its review by month-end, after which the cash squeeze may ease. Tightened... https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/2097973/its-buyers-market-chinese-banks-scramble-cash-offer-7-pc-yields?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/2097973/its-buyers-market-chinese-banks-scramble-cash-offer-7-pc-yields?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Jun 2017 10:19:18 +0000 European firms operating in China face rising competition from private Chinese companies while continuing to confront limited market access and an uneven playing field in the country, an influential lobby group said on Wednesday The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said in its latest Business Confidence Survey that over half of respondents believe Chinese firms will close the innovation gap with European firms by 2020, most likely in the services sector, providing “a wake-up call to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2095749/eu-firms-want-china-ease-market-access-local-rivals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2095749/eu-firms-want-china-ease-market-access-local-rivals?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 May 2017 02:32:23 +0000 The European Union is hoping for progress on bilateral investment, steel overcapacity and infrastructure cooperation in top-level talks with China beginning on Friday, its ambassador to China says. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will lead a large delegation to Brussels for the China-EU Summit on June 2, with topics likely to be discussed ranging from industrial overcapacity to investment, trade and tourism. Reciprocity would be a major focus, EU ambassador to China Hans Dietmar Schweisgut told the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2096069/eu-seek-reciprocity-china-top-level-talks-week?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2096069/eu-seek-reciprocity-china-top-level-talks-week?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 May 2017 02:30:30 +0000 China’s capital outflows are likely to persist for the rest of this year, which will constrain the People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) monetary policy and lead to a more activist fiscal policy, if the government hopes to achieve its growth target, according to analysts. “[China’s] monetary (real loan rate) and fiscal policy was the loosest in 20 years before the current NPC (National People’s Congress),” said Sean Darby, chief global equity strategist for Jefferies in a recent report, adding that’s... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2078783/pbocs-hands-tied-because-sustained-capital-outflows?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2078783/pbocs-hands-tied-because-sustained-capital-outflows?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Mar 2017 09:51:32 +0000 Pulling a page from the playbook of previous years, China has instituted a series of Free Trade Zones to boost international investments and to serve as a test bed for economic reforms. The 100-square-kilometre-plus zones in Fujian, Guangdong and Tianjin are modelled on Shanghai’s free trade zone, which debuted in 2013. The Special Economic Zones of the past were designed “to encourage urbanisation and foreign direct investment, largely into sectors generating activity in China’s ballooning... https://www.scmp.com/native/topics/invest-china/article/1806783/china-pushes-ahead-plans-woo-international-investors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/native/topics/invest-china/article/1806783/china-pushes-ahead-plans-woo-international-investors?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 May 2015 02:14:54 +0000 When Chinese manufacturers entered the global hi-tech space, they were known for copying the designs of big companies from other countries. Fledgling manufacturers became notorious for Nokia and Motorola knock-offs in the early days, while Apple and Samsung became the main sources for replication later. Although as China’s hi-tech manufacturers evolved, their propensity for producing knock-offs transitioned into a driver for innovation and niche market adaption which has allowed them to compete... https://www.scmp.com/native/business/topics/invest-china/article/1802238/chinas-copycat-manufacturers-are-now-pushing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/native/business/topics/invest-china/article/1802238/chinas-copycat-manufacturers-are-now-pushing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 May 2015 02:09:38 +0000 China is growing old at an alarming rate, at an inopportune time. Projections estimate China’s elderly population will be larger than that of the United States by 2020, the surge coming at a time when family ties are weakening as urbanisation and all that it represents shifts the family dynamic. Senior care facilities are rare in China, and many that have heard of such facilities are not eager to move there. Yet, in late 2014, China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) and Ministry of Commerce... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1796323/china-offers-incentives-develop-elderly-care-face-alarming-population-ageing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1796323/china-offers-incentives-develop-elderly-care-face-alarming-population-ageing?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 May 2015 01:22:11 +0000 In the past decade, Shanghai has emerged as the centre of fashion design in China, Beijing as the heart of architecture and, more recently, Shenzhen as the home of graphic design. By giving these industrial powerhouses a sense of creative purpose, the central government hopes to show the world that China can innovate rather than merely imitate. Shenzhen is home to more than 6,000 design companies employing over 60,000 designers, not including fashion experts and architects. Yet, it has so far... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1788345/shekou-design-museum-leads-push-make-shenzhen-design-capital-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1788345/shekou-design-museum-leads-push-make-shenzhen-design-capital-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 May 2015 01:23:21 +0000 Known primarily as a hub of manufacturing, China has diversified into other sectors in an effort to maintain the country’s strong GDP growth and attract further investment. Whereas factories were once the focus of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows, services and people-focused sectors are now attracting greater attention from overseas investors. The numbers in the first quarter of 2015 bear this out. While FDI overall grew 11.3 per cent to US$34.88 billion, manufacturing investment fell 3.6... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1786520/shift-manufacturing-china-lures-foreign-investment-red-hot-services-sector?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1786520/shift-manufacturing-china-lures-foreign-investment-red-hot-services-sector?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2015 02:15:00 +0000 With solar energy production costs continuing to fall, the market is experiencing what many analysts are calling a boom. In many parts of the world, solar power is now cheaper than diesel oil, gas, coal or nuclear energy. China, as it rallies to clean up its increasingly polluted air, has raised its solar energy target for this year, declaring it will add almost 2.5 times the capacity that the United States added last year. China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) recently said more than 5GW... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1781627/coal-shunning-china-explores-solar-power-alternative-energy-solutions-beat-pollution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1781627/coal-shunning-china-explores-solar-power-alternative-energy-solutions-beat-pollution?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 May 2015 01:43:59 +0000 China remains a magnet for international workers from near and far, but the daily lives, motivations and compensation packages of today’s expatriate workers are all in flux. A recent study of private moving company data by Unigroup Relocation implies that the number of expat workers are slipping, with the company handling twice the number of moves out of China as it did into it last year. Because moving companies handle only the higher end of transfers, the data seems to indicate a change in the... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1775229/china-set-attract-younger-expats-looking-more-enjoyable-livelihoods?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1775229/china-set-attract-younger-expats-looking-more-enjoyable-livelihoods?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Apr 2015 02:00:45 +0000 For years, China has grown fat on a diet of low-cost manufacturing, exports, and investment, an economic regimen that pushed the country closer to becoming an economic powerhouse. Yet, today, its GDP growth rate “languishes” at 7.4 per cent, a number that would satisfy most countries. With Premier Li Keqiang saying at the start of China’s annual National People’s Congress meeting on March 4 that China would aim to grow its economy at 7 per cent, it is clear that the economic slowdown in China... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1774240/how-quality-life-will-become-chinas-most-valued-asset?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1774240/how-quality-life-will-become-chinas-most-valued-asset?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Apr 2015 07:25:44 +0000 Over the past few weeks, much has been made of the United States economy's resurgence and the mainland's slowing economic growth. Analysts say that future investment opportunities could come from developed markets such as the US that are seeing a rebound in their economic fortunes, rather than from China. Looking at the nation's overseas direct investment numbers compared to foreign direct investment growth, it is tempting to believe that this is the case. In 2014, mainland outbound investment... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1767640/beijing-easing-inward-investment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1767640/beijing-easing-inward-investment?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Apr 2015 03:45:45 +0000 Grassroots hardware innovators from around the world have been drawn to Shenzhen for one reason: its capacity to produce. Prototypes and products are easier and cheaper to develop and roll out here than anywhere else on the planet, and a vibrant international community of hardware innovators have formed around the city’s electronics markets, startup incubators, and factories. “It's become [the go-to place] for people who make hardware projects that they want to make into products,” says Mitch... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1765600/forget-silicon-valley-innovators-drawn-dream-city-shenzhen-make-things-happen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1765600/forget-silicon-valley-innovators-drawn-dream-city-shenzhen-make-things-happen?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Apr 2015 01:42:05 +0000 In January, Premier Li Keqiang went on a three-day inspection tour of Guangdong province under the banner of promoting reform and structural adjustment to counteract a slowing export market and a stagnating domestic economy. Along with visiting Qianhai Webank, the mainland's first virtual bank; Huawei Technologies, a rising domestic tech giant; and the new Guangdong Free Trade Zone, the premier also made two stops at less typical locations: the Chaihuo makerspace and Seeed Studios, a hardware... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1754120/lis-shenzhen-tour-gives-boost-chinas-innovators?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1754120/lis-shenzhen-tour-gives-boost-chinas-innovators?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Apr 2015 01:22:42 +0000 In 2014, there were 649 million internet users on mainland China, and 557 million of those were mobile users. Mobile app use is also growing extremely quickly across the border. Mobile games and messaging apps are making the biggest noise, with WeChat one of the most popular. Almost all mainland mobile users are using a messaging app. Mobile travel booking apps are the fastest-growing category, with their usage increasing 194.6 per cent. Due to the strong interest in the start-up and app market... https://www.scmp.com/article/1752282/mobile-apps-soar-china-games-and-messages-excite-investors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1752282/mobile-apps-soar-china-games-and-messages-excite-investors?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Apr 2015 02:05:48 +0000 For years, China’s sports industry has been dominated by basketball, tennis and badminton, driven by homegrown stars such as Yao Ming and Li Na and strong leagues. Yet the most lucrative sport of all – football – has lagged behind. With a previously weak domestic league, allegations of corruption, poor showings from the national teams and intellectual property issues surrounding merchandise, the market hasn’t taken off as it has in other developing football markets such as the United... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1746914/beautiful-game-finally-takes-china-foreign-clubs-eye-big-profits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1746914/beautiful-game-finally-takes-china-foreign-clubs-eye-big-profits?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2015 01:18:04 +0000 China has long been seen as the final frontier of new customers for Western companies, a place where the commercial wells are deep – 1.35 billion people deep, to be precise. Tapping this incredibly huge market has been an obsession for foreign companies since long before China’s reforms from the late ’70s to the early ’80s. Today, this hasn't changed at all. As China continues to evolve into a consumer-oriented economy with an ever-growing number of middle-class and upper-class consumers hungry... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1742769/why-white-wine-clothes-dryers-and-car-seats-all-flopped-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1742769/why-white-wine-clothes-dryers-and-car-seats-all-flopped-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2015 02:02:05 +0000 Jack Ma, founder and chairman of the Alibaba Group, is the face of China’s exploding e-commerce industry. But beneath the glittering surface of rock-star initial public offerings on Wall Street is a group of young Chinese, mostly men, whose work is essential to the industry’s success. They are the faceless foot soldiers in the battle for greater domestic consumption, delivering packages and collecting economic growth; they are China’s army of motorised tricycle express delivery boys. They buzz... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1739943/buzz-streets-keeps-e-commerce-business-running?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1739943/buzz-streets-keeps-e-commerce-business-running?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Mar 2015 01:41:49 +0000 Sales of electric vehicles across China are set to rise as Tesla Motors, a California-based EV design and manufacturing corporation, continues its march, as environmentally aware electric-vehicle (EV) consumers begin to reap government subsidies. It is predicted that EVs will account for at least 11 per cent of all new vehicles sold in China in the next decade, due to growing environmental awareness and stricter regulations, a recent survey states. The survey by global consultancy firm KPMG... https://www.scmp.com/article/1735132/subsidies-and-government-enthusiasm-raising-appeal-electric-cars-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1735132/subsidies-and-government-enthusiasm-raising-appeal-electric-cars-china?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Mar 2015 02:00:30 +0000 Shenzhen is known as the Silicon Valley of China for good reason: tech giants Tencent, BYD, Huawei and ZTE have their headquarters there, and the infrastructure, investment and government support enables the city in the Pearl River Delta to generate more hi-tech enterprises. Coolpad, Dingoo and G’Five International started in Shenzhen, and The Economist describes the city as the best place in the world to be a hardware innovator. Industry insiders estimate there are more than 2,000 design houses... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1733530/investing-chinas-start-ups-risky-business-can-reap-big-rewards?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1733530/investing-chinas-start-ups-risky-business-can-reap-big-rewards?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2015 01:45:07 +0000 Beijing legalised the sale of prescription drugs through online platforms in January. It is the next phase in a package designed to break hospitals’ grip over the country’s 1 trillion yuan (HK$1.24 trillion) pharmaceutical market, which has been beset by corruption and price manipulation. Last year, the bribery investigation into drug maker GlaxoSmithKline led to almost US$500 million in fines. By allowing e-retailers to sell directly to patients, the government aims to reduce the cost to... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1729153/china-removes-barriers-affordable-medicine-health-reform-gathers-pace?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1729153/china-removes-barriers-affordable-medicine-health-reform-gathers-pace?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2015 01:30:45 +0000 China is spending heavily to nurture start-up companies, as the central government hopes that the surge of money supporting private entrepreneurs can help to generate new growth opportunities for the slowing economy. The country now runs at least 1,500 incubators under the Ministry of Science and Technology’s 27-year-old Torch Programme, a nationwide initiative that provides policy, financing and consulting services for hi-tech firms. Beijing is growing that number by 15 per cent every year,... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1727504/china-nurturing-start-ups-cash-incentives-boost-economy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1727504/china-nurturing-start-ups-cash-incentives-boost-economy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2015 07:03:47 +0000 China dominated the world last year in clean energy investment, with total spending of US$89.5 billion, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. That’s a 32 per cent increase over 2013. The spending boom represents the country’s attempt to simultaneously mitigate its environmental impact while meeting its growing energy demands. Spending is expected to further increase on the heels of last year’s climate deal with the US, in which China agreed to derive at least 20 per cent of its electricity... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1716007/power-shift-china-boost-clean-energy-investment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1716007/power-shift-china-boost-clean-energy-investment?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2015 02:28:45 +0000 This year, brands selling into the Chinese market will increasingly be facing a new consumer dynamic. For the past decade, brand success was predicated in large part on the aggressive education of consumers and on presenting them with products that they had previously not had the funds or access to buy. But following a decade of strong retail growth, brands are now waking up to a retail environment in the mainland that still has a tremendous upside, but one that is significantly more challenging... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1715994/brands-must-revise-strategies-keep-savvy-chinese-customers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1715994/brands-must-revise-strategies-keep-savvy-chinese-customers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Feb 2015 06:45:00 +0000 As China transitions from an export to domestic consumption-based economy, many imported goods have gone from being rare and expensive to becoming readily available. Once the preserve of cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, it is now common to find imported food shops, foreign-food sections in supermarkets, and authentic international restaurants in third and fourth-tier cities. French milk, Swiss chocolate, New Zealand cheese and German beer can now be obtained easily. This availability of... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1710694/chinese-demand-new-tastes-driving-increase-food-and-drink-imports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1710694/chinese-demand-new-tastes-driving-increase-food-and-drink-imports?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Feb 2015 01:30:45 +0000 China’s efforts to create a more balanced economy built on sustainable growth are leading to changes that include allowing private investment in new sectors, experimenting with new policies in free-trade zones, easing investment through trade agreements and cutting red tape. “China has always been protective of what it labels as strategic centres [energy, telecommunications, utilities and finance] in the past”, says Albert Park, director of the Hong Kong University for Science and Technology,... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1700195/chinas-economic-reforms-will-give-boost-private-sector?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1700195/chinas-economic-reforms-will-give-boost-private-sector?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2015 06:29:15 +0000 China is seeking a legal reform that would fundamentally change the way foreign investment flows into the country. The central government is proposing an overhaul of the present foreign investment law. The draft law would unify regulations, reduce restrictions and tackle the variable interest entities structure that investors commonly use to circumvent ownership limits in a number of restricted industries such as education and the internet. The public is invited to offer feedback before February... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1700191/china-aims-overhaul-foreign-investment-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1700191/china-aims-overhaul-foreign-investment-law?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Feb 2015 01:45:59 +0000 Twenty years ago China’s roads were a sea of locally made vehicles, motorbikes and pedal bikes. The country’s car market has flourished since then, attracting huge investment from domestic and foreign firms. In the past decade, the number of cars sold has rocketed from around 2 million to nearly 20 million a year. While this boom was fuelled by sales of cheap local vehicles, the luxury car market has also taken off. Most of the major luxury brands see China as their fastest-growing – and often... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1694217/flourishing-luxury-car-market-edging-out-chinas-cheaper-domestic-brands?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1694217/flourishing-luxury-car-market-edging-out-chinas-cheaper-domestic-brands?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jan 2015 01:37:37 +0000 As competition for customers heats up in China, foreign and local brands need to rely more heavily on marketing to mainlanders travelling overseas to build brand awareness and loyalty, and drive spending abroad and in China. It is estimated that last year [2014], Chinese nationals made 115 million international trips, up from just 10 million in 2000. Just 5 per cent of the population hold passports and the number of overseas trips is expected to double over the next five years as China’s middle... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1689906/brands-need-think-global-appeal-savvy-chinese-consumers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1689906/brands-need-think-global-appeal-savvy-chinese-consumers?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Jan 2015 02:04:01 +0000 Some less than stellar indicators have prompted concern about the strength of the Chinese economy and the chances of engineering a soft landing in the months ahead. Weaker industrial output and lower fixed-asset investment have seen calls to cut this year’s (2015) GDP growth target to 7 per cent. Even that could prove unattainable if manufacturing demand remains sluggish, restructuring reforms stall, and initiatives to inject short-term liquidity fail to bite.  Many might worry, but the view... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1681843/chinas-economy-wavers-banks-and-investment-houses-focus-long-term-growth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1681843/chinas-economy-wavers-banks-and-investment-houses-focus-long-term-growth?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jan 2015 01:40:12 +0000 Chinese billionaire Jack Ma is changing the way we pay for things forever.  Ma’s home-grown online retail giant, Alibaba Group, which became the world’s largest initial public offering when it listed its shares in New York, is seeking to grow in the United States through its Alipay unit, part of Ma’s plan to be “bigger than Walmart”. Ma says he is interested in partnering with Apple in payments, which also jumped into phone-only payments in September last year with the launch of Apple... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1679895/way-we-pay-alibabas-electronic-payment-system-leading-transaction-revolution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1679895/way-we-pay-alibabas-electronic-payment-system-leading-transaction-revolution?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Jan 2015 01:30:45 +0000 There is an automation revolution in China. Factory owners are turning to robots amid rising labour costs, worker-protests and greater demand for quality. In 2013, the country overtook Japan as the world’s largest market for industrial robots, accounting for 20 per cent of global supply, according to the International Federation of Robotics, an industry group based in Germany. As robots march into Chinese factories, global automation companies are racing to invest. Demand is primarily driven by... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1677823/how-automation-firms-are-rushing-invest-chinese-factories?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1677823/how-automation-firms-are-rushing-invest-chinese-factories?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Jan 2015 08:45:45 +0000 The economic tides in China have shifted, and many who intended to keep riding the wave have had to change direction. Using their diverse backgrounds, many foreign small- and medium-sized business owners have leapt headlong into the newly invigorated consumer economy of China, and seen their themed establishments flourish in a country,  brimming with customers hungry for new products and food, foreign tastes and better quality. The 2008 global financial crisis demonstrated the instability of... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1672936/how-chinas-expat-business-owners-have-diversified-survive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1672936/how-chinas-expat-business-owners-have-diversified-survive?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jan 2015 01:19:52 +0000 Shenzhen Mayor Xu Qin helped cement Shenzhen’s reputation as an entrepreneurial hotbed when he noted earlier this summer at an investor forum that fully one third of China’s venture capital and private equity companies hail from his city. Smart money is chasing opportunity in Shenzhen, which has an entrepreneurial culture boosted by public and private support for emerging startups. It is no wonder the city has China’s highest ratio of business owners, coming in at 73.9 per 1,000 residents in... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1668583/smart-money-pouring-shenzhen-city-becomes-hotbed-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1668583/smart-money-pouring-shenzhen-city-becomes-hotbed-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Dec 2014 01:15:30 +0000 There was initial alarm in some quarters at China’s recent FDI drop, with a number of commentators suggesting that it showed the reduction in appeal of China’s market for investment, amid concerns over an economic slowdown and investigations into a number of foreign firms. FDI fell at its sharpest rate since the financial crisis, down to US$7.2 billion in August 2014 – the lowest monthly total since July 2010. This was 14 per cent lower than the same month in 2013. There are a number of reasons... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1663523/chinas-fdi-slowdown-just-blip-landscape-reshaped?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1663523/chinas-fdi-slowdown-just-blip-landscape-reshaped?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Dec 2014 01:15:13 +0000 When China’s State Council published its updated energy plans in mid-November, it targeted energy consumption growth to taper down to 3.5 per cent by 2020 even while non-fossil fuels rise to 15 percent of total energy, according to Xinhua. The plan further cements the emerging trend in China to use high technology and the knowledge gained via international partnerships to meet China’s growing energy demands while limiting carbon emissions, which are set to peak in 2030 per a recent agreement... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1660307/international-cooperation-helps-fuel-energy-boom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1660307/international-cooperation-helps-fuel-energy-boom?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Dec 2014 01:21:05 +0000 Major technology multinationals have been under the microscope in China but this issue has failed to hold back their development plans. Microsoft Corp and Qualcomm are being watched closely by China’s antimonopoly regulators while Apple’s iPhone was once branded a national security threat because of its ability to track users’ locations. However, the tech giants have largely brushed off these obstacles and appear to be taking a long-term view of China, where they continue to upgrade their... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1655570/microsoft-qualcomm-general-electric-among-multinationals-boosting-rd-investment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1655570/microsoft-qualcomm-general-electric-among-multinationals-boosting-rd-investment?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Dec 2014 01:35:31 +0000 Several new economic and development zones have been created across China. This means more options, a flood of reforms and new opportunities for investors as the country reorganises its economic strategy. However, is all of this development leading to a climate of inter-regional co-operation and mutual benefit, or competition and mutual loss? China now has 215 national-level economic and technical development zones in addition to special areas, such as Shanghai's Free Trade Zone, Suzhou's... https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1655566/chinas-glut-new-economic-zones-compete-each-other-and-fuel-buyers-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/topics/invest-china/1655566/chinas-glut-new-economic-zones-compete-each-other-and-fuel-buyers-market?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Dec 2014 01:30:45 +0000 For many years, companies selling to Chinese consumers have relied on raising prices and focusing on easily recognisable images to differentiate their brands and drive sales. While this worked well during the period of unfettered economic growth in first decade of the 21st century, China’s economic landscape has changed and this strategy is no longer a sure bet. Being high profile and more expensive is not always better. Instead, to be successful in China brands now need to work harder to... https://www.scmp.com/native/business/topics/invest-china/article/1655565/nike-and-coach-lead-branding-revolution-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/native/business/topics/invest-china/article/1655565/nike-and-coach-lead-branding-revolution-china?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Dec 2014 01:30:15 +0000