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Ticker
erman Chamber
01 | 2013
February – March
Business Journal of the German Chamber of Commerce in China
www.china.ahk.de
Consumption
The Uncertain Marks which Define the Lifecycle of a Product.
In Dialogue with Mr. Clas Neumann
About Adaptation and Innovation
China's Steel Industry
Two Lows and Two Highs
Annual Compliance Review
Chance rather than a Burden
montfort advertising – klaus | ruggell | chicago | shanghai
Experience. Erfahrung. 经验 .
Essential for 2013, in any language.
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Ms. Alexandra Voss
German Chamber of Commerce in China l North China
Executive Director
Delegation of German Industry & Commerce Beijing
Delegate & Chief Representative
Shifting Attitude in China’s
Consumer Industry
China’s consumer industry experienced a steady growth over the last years. In the first three quarters
of 2012 consumption contributed over half (55%) of China's growth, exceeding the contribution
from investment. Although the Chinese consumption level is still far behind Western countries, its
recent increase lets the industry hope for a promising future.
Chinese consumers have long been a mystery to many Western companies. Only slowly lifts the
fog, and foreign companies gradually discover Chinese buying habits and spending behavior. Along
with the growing affluence China’s consumer market is recently undergoing major changes. Chinese
consumers are adopting patterns that are very similar to those in the Western countries and tend
to become more individualistic and loyal to brands. The majority of consumers in China, however, is
still new to the world of consumption similar to the west. Located in lower-tier-cities, they are often
still displaying typical Chinese consumer behavior, such as high price sensitivity and reliance on
peers’ advice while purchasing. A huge gap is rapidly growing between these two consumer groups,
requiring clearly differentiated market approaches.
German companies benefit from the increasing Chinese consumption in their own way. Sophisticated
high end products manufactured in Germany, for example household goods or professional tools,
are rapidly gaining market share. Retailers, especially online, see their turnover explode and logistics
as well as production have to keep up with skyrocketing demand. This encourages healthy future
development for German companies in different parts of the value chain. In order to succeed in
the Chinese market German companies will have to think out of the box and develop innovative
products as well as marketing strategies that meet the taste of the Chinese consumer. How to do
this successfully will be one of the most relevant future questions.
We hope you enjoy reading our magazine and continue to send us your comments and feedback.
Yours truly and best wishes for the Chinese year of the snake,
Alexandra Voss
4
February - March 2013
CONTENT
Business
8 China News
Cover Story:
China’s Retail and
Consumer Goods
p. 15
Cover Story: Consumption
11 Meet the Chinese Consumer of 2020 15 China’s Retail and Consumer Goods
19 Brick-and-mortar Retail’s Real Competitor Is Itself
23 Co-Creating with the Chinese Consumer
26 Quality and Proximity – Rightly Understood
29 Bigger. Richer. Greener.
In the Spotlight:
33 Mr. Clas Neumann, Senior Vice President of SAP
and Global Head of the SAP Labs Network
Features
36 China’s Steel Industry 38 The Annual Compliance Review in China
40 Litigation in China
42 Blending in, Giving back and Doing Business in China
Regional News
Beijing
44 Member Affairs 50 Chamber Affairs
54 The Leaning Archer is Aiming for Economic Growth
55 Providing More than Education
56 German Companies Gain Crucial Advantages by Deploying
Green Technologies
Features:
China’s Steel Industry
p. 36
Chamber Affairs:
Sino-German Industrial
Upgrade Forum
p. 95
6
Shanghai
62 Member Affairs
82 Chamber Affairs
88 GCC Shanghai Donates RMB 200.000 to Pfrang Association
South & Southwest China
90 Member Affairs
94 Chamber Affairs
In Person:
47 Dr. Matthias Kühnrich, Executive Director,
SWJ Engineering GmbH
66 Dr. Guohong Ye, President, ZF (China) Investment Co., Ltd.
76 Mr. Witold Orlowski, Regional Director Asia Pacific,
Schoeller Arca Systems
78 Mr. Huang Kong Wei, Deputy General Manager, Baosteel
Group Real Estate Management, Shanghai Baoland Co., Ltd.
100 GCC Boards
101 About us
BUSINESS | China News
China’s Demand for Oil is Predicted to Increase by 3.4% in 2013
Demand for oil in China will increase by 3.4%
year-on-year, as predicted by global bank
giant Deutsche Bank in its recent report.
Although this growth rate is lower than in
previous years, it makes China the biggest
contributor to oil need worldwide on an
increasing basis. According to the report,
China’s consumption amounts to 40% of oil
consumption worldwide.
the increase of private investment not only
reflects an economic recovery in Zhejiang
province, but also provides new incentives for
structural adjustment.
an increase of USD 3.5bn from the end
of October 2012. Combined with forward
contracts, Hong Kong’s foreign currency
reserves added up to USD 306.8bn.
Total Production of the Chinese
Beverage Industry Reaches
120mn tonnes
Total Net Profit of Market-listed
Companies Amounted to RMB 1.5tn
According to data from the China Industrial
Information Issuing Center, the production of
the Chinese beverage industry rose from 14.9mn
tonnes in the year 2000 to 120mn tonnes in
2011. The average yearly increase came to
20.7%. In the first three quarters of this year the
beverage industry’s growth rate decreased, due
to the influence of the global recession.
In 2011 1.42mn Chinese Students
Studied Abroad
China’s Petroleum Resources
Worldwide on Rrank 9
The Swiss Bank has recently published
a petroleum status report and a current
ranking list of the top ten petroleum reserve
countries. The top ten countries are SaudiArabia with 36.2bn tonnes, Canada with
184 billion tonnes, Iran with 18.1bn tonnes,
Iraq with15.7bn tonnes, Kuwait with 138bn
tonnes, the United Arab Emirates with 12.6bn
tonnes, Venezuela with 10.9bn tonnes, Russia
with 8.2bn tonnes, China with 6bn tonnes
and Libya with 5.4bn tonnes.
China Allocated RMB 13bn for the
Expansion of the Solar Industry
According to the Chinese Finance ministry,
the central government has provided an
additional RMB 7bn in order to support the
solar industry. China has invested a total of
RMB 13bn in this sector.
In 2011 340,000 Chinese students began
their studies overseas, making a total of
1.42mn Chinese students studying abroad.
The most popular destinations for Chinese
students include the USA, Germany, Great
Britain, Japan, Australia and other countries.
96% of the students pay for their studies by
themselves, while 4% of the students study
at the government’s expense. In contrast,
290,000 foreigners started their exchange
study in China in 2011.
Total National Sales of Retail
Medicine Market Amounts to
RMB 230bn
In the first three quarters of 2012, the total
revenue of China’s retail medicine market
amounted to 168.6 billion RMB, an increase
of 12.4% over the same period last year.
The estimated total sales in 2012 total RMB
230bn, an increase of 12.5%. Compared to
2011, the growth rate of the retail medicine
market will increase by 4.4%.
8
More than 60% of Luxury Goods
Bought by Chinese Are Not
Purchased in Mainland China
More and more Chinese are purchasing
luxury goods in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan
and abroad. According to a recent research
report concerning the luxury market in
China published by Bain & Company, over
60% of this year‘s luxury goods consumed
by Chinese were not purchased in Mainland
China. The main reason for the decline in
domestic consumption is the 40% difference
in the price of luxury goods between China
and Europe. The expansion rate of the luxury
market in China dropped from 30% in 2011
to 7% in this year.
High Speed Rail Beijing-Guangzhou
Investment Acceleration in
Zhejiang Province
According to recent statistics, investment has
accelerated in Zhejiang province since June.
Over the last four consecutive months the
province realized an investment expansion
rate of 23%. Private investments amounted
to RMB 772.4bn, an increase of 26%, and
accounting for 63.3% of total investment.
Wang Jie, the census bureau’s deputy
director of Zheijiang province, believes that
The third quarterly period report in 2012 of
market-listed companies was published on
the 31st of October. According to statistics
from the China Securities Journal’s data
centre, the 2493 market-listed companies
achieved an entire gross income of RMB
17.74tn. This is an increase of 6% over the
same period last year. The entire net profit
totaled RMB 1500bn, a reduction of 2.07%.
The average profit per share increased to 0.39
RMB.
Hong Kong’s Foreign Currency
Reserves Came to USD 305.2bn
Hong Kong’s Monetary Authority announced
on 7th December that Hong Kong’s foreign
currency reserves came to USD 305.2 billion
at the end of November 2012, which is
One of the longest high speed railway lines
in the world is ready to begin operation in
China: The 2200km journey from Beijing
to Guangzhou has been shortened from 21
hours to only eight hours in duration. With
the addition of the line between Beijing and
Guangzhou China now posseses the biggest
high speed railway network in the world: it is
larger than all comparable networks anywhere
else in the put world together. China‘s vast
land mass, booming middle-class and very
high population density in many areas demand
www.china.ahk.de
high-speed railways as an effective way to
transport many people. The new high speed
railway line between Beijing and Guangzhou
is the latest step in the development of the
countrywide high speed rail network, from
which many people will benefit.
China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing, the
China Public Procurement Network has gone
online. It is expected that the annual transaction
volume will exceed RMB 400bn, and that
this platform will become the biggest public
electronic purchasing and trading platform
globally. Around RMB 7.5bn have been invested
in this project.
More than 70mn Trips Abroad
Average Income By Region For Urban Households
RMB
14,000
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
Food and Beverage Industry is the
Most Profitable Industry in China
According to statistics, the net profit of
market-listed companies in the food and
beverage industry increased in the first
three quarters of this year by more than
50%. During this time period the food and
beverage industry was the industry with the
best business performance. Market-listed
companies in the iron and steel industry
recorded an overall loss of more than RMB
3bn. The net profit achieved by listed banks
demonstrated a share of more than 50% of
the entire net profit of all listed companies.
Shanghai: Third-best Shopping Option in the Asian-Pacific Region
Shanghai is the third-best shopping option
in the Asian-Pacific region, according
to a survey done by Global Blue and the
Economist Intelligence Unit. In first and
second place rank were Hongkong and Kuala
Lumpur, while Beijing occupied the fourth
place. According to a recently carried-out
survey, Shanghai was ranked third of the best
shopping options in the Asian-Pacific region.
However, high prices present a problem for
tourists who shop in the city.
China Public Procurement
Network is Online
At the instigation of the research centre for the
development of the state council as well as the
Every Chinese Tourist Spent an
Average of USD 874 while Abroad
According to a recent report, Hongkong,
the USA, France, Japan and Italy are the top
five shopping paradises for Chinese tourists.
Chinese tourists spent on average USD 874
being abroad, or RMB 5547. In comparison,
Japanese tourists spent on average USD 723,
and Australian tourists laid out USD 668 on
average. By estimates of the World Tourism
Organization more than 100mn Chinese
tourists will travel abroad by 2020.
Food and Beverage Revenues in
China Amounted to RMB 2.0996tn
Be
iji
ng
Tia
nj
Sh in
an
gh
ai
Jia
ng
su
Gu
an
gd
o
Ch ng
on
gq
ing
Sh
aa
nx
i
Source: National Bureau of Statistics
Imports and Exports January – August 2012
3
2.5
(USD Trillions)
Airlines were told by the civil aeronautics
government agency that, from the first of November, prices of jet fuel produced domestically
will be lowered from 7929 RMB/t in October to
RMB 7758/t, a decrease of RMB 171/t.
0
2.49762
2
1.30911
1.5
1.18851
1
0.5
0
Total
Exports
Imports
Source: China National Bureau of Statistics
Manufacturing PMI 2012
54
50% = No changes m/m
Jet fuel Price Decreased by RMB
171 per tonne
Despite extensive restrictions and huge
amounts of paperwork more and more Chinese
are choosing to travel abroad. According to
governmental authorities more than 70mn
international trips were made in 2011. For
Chinese from the Mainland, international
journeys are still something special and exciting.
Compared to 2001, when Chinese citizens were
only allowed to visit 18 countries, 146 countries
and regions are now recommended officially as
tourism destination to citizens by the central
government.
53
52
51
50
49
48
In this year‘s first eleven months the food
and beverage industry in China reported RMB
2.0996tn in revenue, an increase of 13.4%.
Since August a slight ascending trend is
observable. According to a survey, 56% of
the Top 100 Catering companies own more
than five sub-brands. The Chinese food and
beverage sector is confronted with many risks
and challenges, including staff shortages,
increasing costs and stiff competition.
47
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Source: China National Bureau of Statistics
Consumer Confidence Index 2012
108
106
104
102
100
98
96
94
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
Source: National Bureau of Statistics
9
BUSINESS | Cover Story
10
www.china.ahk.de
Meet the Chinese
Consumer of 2020
by Yuval Atsmon and Max Magni
Most large consumer-facing companies realize
that they will need China to power their growth
in the next decade. But to keep pace, these
companies will also need to understand the
economic, societal, and demographic changes
shaping the profiles of consumers and the way
they spend. This is no easy task, not only because
of the fast pace of growth and subsequent
changes in the Chinese way of life, but also
because of the vast economic and demographic
differences across the country. These differences
are set to become more marked, with significant
implications for companies that fail to grasp
them. Since 2005, McKinsey has conducted
annual consumer surveys in China, interviewing
a total of more than 60,000 people in upward
of 60 cities. Its surveys have tracked the growth
of incomes, shifting patterns of expenditure,
rising expectations—sometimes in line with
those of the respondents’ Western counterparts
and sometimes not—and the development of
many different consumer segments. They now
provide insights to help companies to focus on
the future. Of course, predicting the future with
any certainty is dificult, and external shocks
might confound any forecast. But McKinsey’s
understanding of consumer trends to date,
coupled with an analysis of the economic and
demographic factors that will further shape
them in the next decade, serve as a useful lens
for contemplating the profile of the Chinese
consumer in 2020.
© shutterstock.com
© dreamstime.com
Changing Demographics
Many of the changes taking place in
Chi na are common features of rapid
industrialization: rising incomes, urban living,
better education, postponed life stages, and
greater mobility. Japan saw similar changes
in the 1950s and 1960s, as did South
Korea and Taiwan in the 1980s. But some
unique factors are also at work, such as the
government’s one-child policy and the marked
economic imbalances among regions. Our
analysis reveals important insights into the
likely demographic and socio-demographic
profiles of Chinese consumers at the end of
this decade. Changes in economic profiles
have been and will continue to be the most
important trend shaping the consumer
landscape. The Chinese are certainly getting
richer fast: the per-household disposable
income of urban consumers will double
between 2010 and 2020, from about USD
4,000 to about USD 8,000. That will be close
to South Korea’s current standard of living
but still a long way from the standard of
living in some developed countries, such as
the United States (about USD 35,000) and
Japan (about USD 26,000). The current vast
differences in income levels will persist,
however, although the numbers at each level
will shift dramatically. At present, the great
majority of the population consists of “value”
consumers—those living in households with
annual disposable incomes between USD
6,000 and USD 16,000 (equivalent to RMB
37,000 to 106,000), just enough to cover
basic needs. “Mainstream” consumers,
relatively well-to-do households with annual
disposable income of between USD 16,000
and USD 34,000 (equivalent to RMB 106,000
to 229,000), form a very small group in
comparison. China has fewer than 14mn
such households, representing only 6% of the
urban population. A tiny group of “affluent”
consumers, whose household income exceeds
USD 34,000, accounts for only 2% of the
urban population, or 4.26mn households.
Back to Top
Until now, these divergences have presented
multinational companies operating in China
with a choice: to target only mainstream and
11
affluent consumers or to stretch the brand to
serve the value segment. Those that took the
first course could more or less maintain the
same business model they applied in other
parts of the world, without needing to deengineer their products. But in taking that
approach, they limited themselves to a target
market of 18mn households. Companies that
chose to serve the value category benefitted
from a much bigger market to play in—184mn
households—but their products had to be
cheaper, they were forced to adapt their
business models, and profitability was lower.
This situation is changing. Because the wealth
of so many consumers is rising so rapidly,
many people in the value category will have
joined the mainstream group by 2020. Indeed,
mainstream consumers will then account for
51% of the urban population. Their absolute
level of wealth will remain quite low compared
with that of consumers in developed countries.
Yet this group, comprising 167mn households
(close to 400mn people), will become the
standard setters for consumption, capable of
affording family cars and small luxury items.
Companies will be able to respond by
introducing better products to a vast group of
new consumers, thus differentiating themselves
from competitors and earning higher profits.
Nevertheless, value consumers, whose ranks will
fall to 36% of urban households in 2020 from
82% in 2010, will still represent an enormous
market for cheaper products: 116mn households,
or 307mn consumers. Affluent consumers will
remain an elite minority, making up only 6% of
the population in 2020. (In the United States in
2010, more than half of the population earned
at least USD 34,000.) But that 6% will translate
into about 21mn affluent households, with
60mn consumers. While income is expected
to rise across China, some cities and regions
are already significantly wealthier than others.
Understanding these variations in the rate of
development is important because they will
affect which categories of goods and services
grow most rapidly, and where. Today, about
85% of mainstream consumers live in the 100
wealthiest cities; in the next 300 wealthiest,
only 10% of consumers are mainstream, but
that percentage will rise to nearly 30% by 2020.
At that point, many families in these cities will
be able to afford a range of goods and services
(such as flat-screen televisions and overseas
travel) that are now largely confined to the
wealthiest urban areas.
New Spending Patterns
An understanding of China’s changing
economics and its impact on the profiles
of consumers helps to identify some key
12
trends in spending patterns over the next
decade. We discuss three: high growth in
discretionary categories, the tendency to
trade up as consumers spend some of their
discretionary income on better goods and
services, and the emergence of a senior
market.
Higher discretionary spending
Bigger incomes and government efforts
to increase consumption will benefit all
consumer-facing companies, though to
varying degrees depending on their product
portfolios. Discretionary categories will
show the strongest overall growth with
13.4% between 2010 and 2020, as these
goods become affordable to growing
numbers of consumers. Next come seminecessities (10.9% growth) followed by
necessities (7.2%). These average figures
will of course vary significantly by region
and city. Of course, the wealthiest people
— those in our affluent segment — will be
the main consumers of discretionary items.
Less obvious is the extent to which they
will be able to afford more such items in
2020, compared with people in other income
groups, as their numbers and wealth grow.
Our consumption model suggests that in
2010, average household spending for
value, mainstream, and affluent consumers
was about USD 2,000, USD 4,000, and USD
12,000, respectively. These figures will
jump to USD 3,000, USD 6,000, and USD
21,000, respectively, by 2020. So although
all consumers will increase their spending,
the gaps between different income groups
will widen significantly. Stark disparities in
standards of living are emerging in China.
Aspirational trading up
The second noticeable trend in spending is a
propensity to trade up, driven increasingly by
consumers aspiring to improve themselves,
the way they live, and their perceived social
standing. Many Chinese, like their Western
counterparts, judge themselves and others
by what they buy. Strong early growth
in developing markets comes when large
numbers of consumers try products for the
first time. As markets mature, growth relies
on consumers who buy more goods and
services more frequently and trade up to
buy pricier versions of items they already
have. This pattern explains why some
basic-necessity categories have little room
for growth: many consumers can already
afford such items and probably won’t buy a
great deal more of them. But that does not
mean no growth at all. Take the market for
sauces and condiments. Most people can
already afford to buy as much as they need
of these items. But the increased attention
now paid to health and well-being shows
that even here, companies have trading-up
opportunities. Such opportunities also exist
within semi-necessity categories, such as
apparel, health care, and household products:
more consumers will be able to afford
different outfits for different occasions,
for instance, or to buy additional branded
products. As a consequence, brands focused
on mass-market consumers might need to be
repositioned to suit their rising aspirations,
while newer, younger brands may be able
to leapfrog more established competitors by
offering premium products and crafting a
premium brand image. But it is the top end
of the market that will benefit most from
trading up: growth at the high end of some
consumer goods categories already outpaces
average growth for those categories as a
whole. Sales of premium skin care products,
for instance, rose by more than 20% a
year in the past decade while the industry
average was 10%. Annual volume growth
rates of more than 20% are foreseeable for
luxury SUV cars, compared with around 10%
for basic family models. China had already
become a leading luxury market by 2010 and
could overtake Japan to become the biggest
such market by 2015.
Emerging senior market
The aging of China means that as a share
of the total population, it will have five
percentage points more people above the age
of 65 in 2020 than it has today. That is an
extra 126.5mn citizens, clearly an important
consumer segment. What is equally
important is the way that the spending
patterns of older people in 2020 will differ
from those of older people now. The elderly
were more inclined to save and less willing to
spend on discretionary items such as travel,
leisure, and nice clothes. These tendencies
will probably be much less apparent in
2020. Most people in China over the age of
55 experienced the harsh conditions of the
Cultural Revolution, in the late 1960s and
early 1970s. Not surprisingly, they think it
important not to spend frivolously. Among
residents of tier-one cities, 55- to 65-yearolds allocate half of their spending to food
and little to discretionary categories: only
7% goes toward apparel, for example. People
who are ten years younger devote only 38%
of their spending to food but 13% to apparel.
Athough today’s older consumers behave
very differently from younger ones, today’s
45- to 54-year-olds — the older generation
www.china.ahk.de
come 2020 — have spending patterns similar
to those of 34- to 45-year-olds (who allocate
34% of their spending to food and 14% to
apparel). This implies that companies will
have to rethink their ideas about what older
Chinese consumers want.
Implications for Companies
The biggest challenge is building and
sustaining a leading position in China,
and, for multinationals, using it to drive
global growth. In fact, as the country with
the world’s largest group of mainstream
consumers, it could be an excellent test
bed for companies that serve this consumer
segment. Huge variations in the growth
rates of companies operating in China come
2020 are likely, depending on the product
category, consumer segment, and geography.
A second challenge is that China is so vast
and its regions so diverse it should be treated
almost as a collection of separate countries.
Companies should redefine the roles of
their regional divisions and headquarters,
delegating more decision-making power to
the former. Many companies already operate
with three, five, or even more regional bases,
but these tend to function only as sales
offices, executing instructions from the top.
Consumer needs could become so varied
across China’s regions that local insight and
strategic decision-making power will be vital.
Regional offices should therefore receive
full responsibility for their own profit-andloss accounts, strategic planning, consumer
research, innovations, portfolios, route-tomarket models, and marketing. The corporate
center should have a redefined role — serving
the individual units and safeguarding the
company’s brands — with less power and
at a lower overhead cost. A third challenge
stems from the fact that undifferentiated
mass consumption and the rising cost of ads
made the scale of a brand or product crucial
to its success in the past decade. Companies
provided the same value proposition—usually
framed around a product’s functional
benefits — to all types of consumers, while
stretching brands across product categories
and price tiers to leverage scale and garner
market share. Over the next decade, the
game will change to take account of
the emergence of different categories of
consumers and their own sense of their
differences and individuality. Companies
will need the crispest value propositions to
connect with each group and to stand out
from competitors. By 2020, they will have
to position brands (or sub-brands) to target
narrower consumer segments and offer more
tailored value propositions. Brands extended
across too many consumer segments and
price points may struggle to defend their
market position. Hard though the transition
could be, at some point companies that
have focused on maximizing their brands’
scale will have to adopt a model based on
a portfolio of more targeted brands or subbrands to connect with different consumer
segments. No doubt China and its consumers’
behavior will take some unexpected turns
over the next decade. To be sure of taking
part in that journey, companies in the market
should start making the acquaintance of
China’s 2020 consumers today.
Mr. Max Magni is a partner in McKinsey’s
Hong Kong office. Mr. Yuval Atsmon is
a partner in McKinsey’s London office.
Read Meet the 2020 Chinese consumer,
the full report on which this article is
based, on the McKinsey Greater China
Web site at http://www.mckinseychina.
com/2012/03/07/meet-the-2020chinese-consumer/
13
© shutterstock.com
14
www.china.ahk.de
China's Retail and
Consumer Goods
Sector outlook for 2013
by Dr. Florian Hackelberg
Faced with the struggling development of the US economy and the
instability of the Euro zone, the outlook for the world economy once
again remains uncertain. In contrast to that of the west, China’s
economic outlook is still comparatively positive. Although China’s
growth rates have slowed down lately, they are still much higher than
the growth rates in most countries: not only developed nations in the
Western hemisphere (average annual growth rate of 1.5% between
2011 and 2015), but also most of the emerging countries in Asia
(average annual growth rate of almost 6% between 2011 and 2015).
In its current 12th five-year plan, the Chinese government has set the
new annual GDP target at around 7% over the next five years, with
many experts expecting the Chinese economy to exceed these targets.
This continued expansion will mainly be driven by government
efforts to shift towards a more consumption-led model of growth
in order to be less dependant on its exports. This includes policies to
boost incomes, tightening of the labor market, and more sustainable
economic growth.
These prospects continue to attract increased attention from
multinational retail and consumer products firms. As a result, in 2013
China is expected to overtake the US as the world’s largest retail
market (see chart).
Although China remains the main engine of Asia’s growth, other
Global retail sales (in US$ trillion)
6
China
5
North America
4
3
2
Japan
India
Taiwan
Hong Kong
1
0
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit
developing markets in the region, such as Thailand and India, also
show promising trends, while Japan continues to face difficult
conditions.
This article contains a short overview of the retail as well as the
consumer goods sector in China, and their sub-sectors: food and
general retail, fashion and apparel and online retailing as well as fastmoving consumer goods (FMCG), luxury brands, durable consumer
goods and electronics. Insights on China’s performance in comparison
with other Asian countries are considered as well.
Retail
In most Asian countries competition from traditionally small local
retailers is already high. Since local market participants worry about
their sustainability, foreign investments are creating concerns. While
this is especially true in countries such as India, Vietnam or Thailand,
the Chinese retail market is also very fragmented. As a result foreign
investors still face numerous of challenges and restrictions in their
business.
Food and general retail
Despite these restrictions, some foreign retailers, such as Wal-Mart
(US) and Carrefour (France) are planning to continually expand
in the coming years, mainly in China. While investments in China
are becoming more difficult – wages are rising dramatically, and
commercial rents are increasing very quickly – future prospective
remain promising. While China has only 2.4 hypermarkets per million
people, South Korea has 7.6, and the US more than 12. It is expected
that Chinese consumer expenditure on food, beverages and tobacco in
value terms will more than double from 2011 to 2015, reaching USD
1.4tn, partly driven by fast increases in food prices. However, these
rises will be outpaced by increases in income. Consequently, the share
of household income spent on food will decline from 32% in 2012 to
28.8% in 2015.
Fashion and apparel
In China – by far Asia’s largest market for fashion and apparel goods
– overall demand for clothing is forecasted to grow rapidly through
the period of 2011 to 2015. Starting from a relatively low level in
2011 due to high inflation and rising prices, expenditure on clothing
will almost double by 2015. Demand will be driven by rising personal
disposable income levels and an increased focus on fashion apparel,
especially in the major cities. There are already a good number of
international foreign apparel brands in China, which will spread from
wealthier cities into fast-growing second-and-third-tier cities in the
next few years.
15
Consumer Goods
Clothing market demand (in US$ billion)
100
China
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
Japan
20
India
10
0
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Hong Kong
Taiwan
2015
In addition, foreign casual wear and sportswear brands are expected
to continue to expand rapidly. Both Nike (US) and Adidas (Germany)
have big ambitions in China. Nike intends to have increased its sales
in 2015 to USD 4bn, while Adidas aims to have opened 2,500 new
stores by then.
Online retailing
Online sales in Asia are overall expected to rise by an average of
20% a year in the short run. In some markets, such as Japan, they
are expected to rise by as much as 40% annually. This is the result
of improvements in telecommunication infrastructure, payment and
security systems, as well as consumers’ willingness to shop online.
Even today E-commerce is a lot more common in China than it is
in Europe. For example, the internet retail website Tmall, which is
already used by international brands, and the online marketplace
Taobao (both part of Alibaba Group) set a record for highest singleday transaction volume during a special promotion, selling goods
of a total value of USD 3.1bn (RMB19.1bn) on the day of November
11, 2012. With more than 800mn product listings and more than
500mn registered users, Taobao is not only the most popular
consumer-to-consumer (C2C) online marketplace in China, but also
one of the world’s top 20 most visited websites. According to the
China e-Business Research Centre and CNZZ Data Centre Chinese
e-commerce transactions grew to approximately USD 1,027bn (RMB
6.4tn) in 2012. Large growth opportunities are available, as the
market is still unsaturated. With more than 500mn internet users
in China, the internet penetration rate was only at around 38%
in 2012, as opposed to more than 70% in Japan and South Korea.
Given the rapid growth of smart-phone usage in emerging markets,
m-commerce may become the leading form of e-commerce in the
future. Promising opportunities are also coming from Hong Kong,
given a high internet penetration of 68.5% and a very concentrated
population. However, the preference for hands-on shopping, as well
as bargaining, ensures that there will be a high amount of offline
shopping in the coming years. Foreign companies are also still
struggling to adapt to local habits. For example, the usage of credit
cards is still very uncommon, especially in rural areas. Therefore,
different methods of payment should be offered as options. In
this respect, local companies naturally have a better feel for their
markets and are innovating accordingly.
16
Fast-moving consumer goods
Fast moving consumer goods, or FMCG, are goods that are used on
a daily basis, such as groceries, body care and cleaning products.
China’s rising wealth will promote the growth for FMCG firms over the
next several years. The recent strong growth rates - even higher than
expected some years ago – have shown the country’s potential in this
sector, but growth is expected to be moderate until 2015. Whereas the
Indian market is mainly ruled by domestic companies whose products
are based on ayurveda – which fits local traditions and appeal to
consumers – the situation in China is completely different. Nine out of
the ten leading health and beauty firms are foreign. Nevertheless, the
importance of adapting products to local needs and preferences will
rise as future growth will be based on the young, urban, increasingly
prosperous Asian consumer. Whether or not foreign companies will
benefit from increasing income also depends on if the government
decides to reduce taxes on luxury products in order to boost domestic
consumption. A major beneficiary would be the cosmetics sector,
which is among the most popular purchases made by Chinese tourists
abroad, mainly in Hong Kong. Entering an Asian consumer market is
not always easy for a foreign company. Success depends on several
factors, including pricing. The income level of the Chinese middle-class
is much lower than that of the middle class in developed countries in
the West. Sales processes also have to be adapted because of the size
of the country. Although there may be some downturns and obstacles,
the overall prognosis for FMCG is highly positive.
Luxury brands
According to the World Luxury Association, overseas buying still
accounts for 56% of total luxury consumption in China. This is
the result of the relatively high taxes and import duties on and
the perpetual risk of counterfeits of luxury products in mainland
China. Yet luxury sales within mainland China already amounted
to USD 15.5bn in 2011, rising at an expected growth rate of 25Soaps and cleaners: Market demand growth (% real change pa)
20%
15%
10%
5%
0
-5%
2008
China
2009
2010
Hong Kong
2011
India
2012
Japan
2013
2014
2015
Taiwan
30% annually. At the same time, worldwide growth rates are at
about 5-8%. This is why emerging markets, and notably China, are
seen as the main global drivers of this sector. While so far the US
remains the world’s largest market for luxury goods, China will be
the top contributor to global growth. The Chinese middle class is
very brand orientated and willing to pay a premium for brand-name
products. This is especially true for western brands that come with
the promise of high quality and prestige. Given this forecast, it is not
www.china.ahk.de
very surprising that many luxury brands view China as a key region.
For example, the Italian fashion label Gucci owns 59 stores in China,
having started with only four in 1997, and French brand Louis Vuitton
has more than 40 stores in first-and-second-tier cities. In Japan,
which used to be the world’s biggest luxury goods buyer but is now in
third place, luxury sales have declined, but are expected to stabilize
and recover to around USD 22bn.
Durable consumer goods and electronics
As the world’s largest consumer of cars, televisions and mobile
phones, the sales of electrical appliances and houseware products
in China rose more than 13% in 2011. This is even more remarkable
considering the fact that prices also rose. However, this can be easily
explained by the increasing affluence among the middle-class. Since
2011 onward the fastest sales growth has taken place in secondto-fourth-tier cities, as people there have begun to have money to
spend on consumer goods. With the strong local presence of chains
like Sunning or Gome as well as very low margins, foreign companies
are struggling to enter this business sector in China. Best Buy closed
their stores all over China in February 2011, without prior notice to
customers or media. The latest media reports indicate that Media
Markt, Europe’s biggest retailer for electric devices, is also planning
its withdrawal from the Chinese market. Chinese companies have
begun to expand in foreign countries, too. In this context price is a
key competitive factor: Chinese appliances often are around 20%
cheaper than the comparable multinational brands. Another factor is
the recently concluded free trade agreement (FTA) between China and
ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) that came into force
in 2010.
The road ahead
Developed markets are struggling at the moment with faltering
growth, loss of consumer confidence and overall saturated markets.
China could not present a greater contrast, with its rebounding
economies, booming cities, crowded shopping malls, huge highpotential markets and millions of consumers with ever more money to
spend. Established multinational consumer goods firms and retailers
are entering China with many advantages. They have stables of wellestablished brands that Chinese consumers know well and aspire to
buy. They also come with years of research and product development
expertise, as well as marketing muscle and large budgets. But they
will face stiff competition from a rising class of local companies who
are obviously not willing to give up their own market, but will instead
go abroad themselves and challenge Western companies in their
traditional markets. All players will be challenged by the rate at which
Asia’s markets grow and consumer preferences change.
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Brick-and-mortar Retail's
Real Competitor is Itself
Industry Outlook
by David Lung and Jens Ewert
Managers of retail companies today are operating in a unique and fastchanging business environment. On one hand, consumer behavior is
undergoing a profound transition, driven by the application of and dependence on technology. For instance, the number of consumers using mobile
devices to assist with shopping is increasing at an astonishing speed. On
the other hand, the pursuit of more convenient shopping experiences
that are also full of fun impels consumers to place higher expectations on
shopping environments and salespeople.
New technologies to create new shopping experience
In our opinion, despite the rise of e-commerce, brick-and-mortar retail
still has promising prospects, on the condition that physical retailers are
able to use new technologies to create new shopping experiences for
customers. We can see from the following figures that despite the rapid
growth of China’s e-commerce, e-commerce still makes up only a small
portion of China’s total retail sales. The number of mobile commerce users
is also growing rapidly in China.
China Retail Sales & E-commerce retail sales
5000
4500
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
9%
8%
7%
6%
5%
4%
3%
2%
1%
0%
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012e 2013e 2014e 2015e
China retail sales (USD billion) (LHS)
China E-commerce retail sales (USD billion) (LHS)
E-commerce as percentage of total retail sales% (RHS)
Source: China Statistics Bureau, BMI
Impact of mobile application
To seize the opportunities presented by the next generation of brick-andmortar retail, retailers must adjust their physical stores accordingly. First,
retailers have to develop mobile applications which cater to the changing
buying habits driven by mobile internet; secondly, retailers have to adjust
their operating strategy so as to adapt to such changes. Many retailers
may regard mobile applications as a distribution channel of e-commerce.
In fact, mobile applications have greater impact over the sales revenue of
physical stores than e-commerce. It is estimated that mobile applications
contributed about USD 159bn to retail sales at physical stores in the US,
2008-2012 Number of China M-commerce Users
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012F
Number of China M-commerce Users (Million)
Growth rate
Source: iResearch
accounting for about 5.1%. This is far more than the USD 12bn worth of
retail sales that was achieved by the US e-commerce industry in 2012. As
the penetration of smart mobile electronic products keeps rising, consumers will be gradually habituated to using cellphones as shopping assistants.
In the future, the impact of mobile applications on sales at physical stores
will continue to increase.
Let’s take a look at how things are going among Chinese consumers shopping with cell phones. In China, users of smart phones accounted for 24% of
the total cell phone users in 2012, and two-dimensional bar codes and social
media have been widely used by consumers when shopping. The fact is that
once you begin with cell phone shopping, you will to some extent become
dependent on it. Some surveys reveal that after consumers have used smartphones for six months, the probability of their using mobile applications while
shopping in stores will increase by 40%. Such a shift in shopping behavior has
significant impact over a store’s sales conversion ratio and average number of
orders. By comparing traditional retailers to those that have customized mobile applications for their physical stores, we find that the customer conversion ratio of the latter is higher than the former by 21%.
Physical stores will have to evolve
However, physical stores will not disappear. Customer experience is crucial
for increasing store sales. Retailers should incorporate new technologies to
offer convenience for customers while also enhancing the store management, which is the key to achieving sales growth at physical stores. Our
research shows that investment by physical stores in emerging technologies (such as Wi-Fi) will increase from 10% to 20% of their total investments in the next five years. The use of Wi-Fi will facilitate sales. Specifically, sales assistants can find product inventory and customer loyalty
information with mobile-terminal devices, while the customer can easily
access retail brands with their mobile devices in order to view product
information and comments, or share their shopping experience on social
networks. At present, some retailers are developing new technologies
to strengthen customers’ willingness to make a purchase. For instance,
19
retailers can use virtual technology to show how garments would look
if customers tried them on, or use information about of customers’ body
shape and the clothes that they already on to build archives, as well as to
provide personalized recommendation on clothing sizes. Retailers have to
ask themselves: “Do we need mobile-terminal devices (POS equipment),
mirrors that have interactive effects, or opportunities for social media
interaction in our stores? Can we build up a system that enables real-time
acquisition of inventory information and sales analysis?”
Nowadays, customers no longer have to compare products and price tags by
walking to and fro between different stores. With a glimpse at the screen of
cell phone they can find everything that they need. In this situation, welltrained salespeople play a very important role, because they can demonstrate the disparity among rival brands and their own brand’s competitive
edge, as well as ensure customer loyalty. Therefore, retailers have to consider whether or not they have the right talent, and what kind of training and
resources are required to equip salespeople at stores with appropriate skill
sets. As online shopping channels absorb a portion of sales revenue, physical
stores may become smaller in size, which may bring about changes in store
formats. For example, the “Store-in-Store” format may replace traditional
department stores, resulting in decreased number of retail stores. Retailers
can ask themselves: do we need a new store image? Should we reconsider
the leasing terms and rental areas? Do we need to reconstruct some parts
of our stores into experience pavilions?
Create an unparalleled customer experience
In order to create a sound start for improving customer experience of physical
stores, retailers may consider making adjustments in five areas, as follows:
1) Define the future strategy of their stores. Retailers can adjust such
strategies, making them more flexible and relevant to customers.
2) Enhance the customer experience. Retailers should actively listen to
today’s customer needs and expectations. Performance that aligns with or
exceeds customers’ expectations will help enhance customer experience.
3) Cultivate brand ambassadors. Retailers should provide more training
and resources to salespeople, who can directly improve customer experience in stores.
4) Embrace cutting-edge technologies. Retailers often lag behind in terms
of adoption and innovation of new technologies. They should keep pace
with their customers who are adept with new technologies.
5) Improve the management process. Retailers should carefully review its
store management process so as to seek for new opportunities regarding
customer experience and service level.
Brick-and-mortar retail will undoubtedly continue to play a dominant role
in retail industry, and e-commerce will not replace traditional retail industry. Even in Britain, where online retail is highly developed, online retail
sales only account for 12% of the total retail sales of consumer goods.
In China, the figure is only 4%. In fact, the real competitor to brick-andmortar retail is itself. While evolving into the next generation of brickand-mortar retail, retailers have to combine the convenience brought forth
by new technology with the unparalleled customer experience of physical
stores if they want to be invincible in the fast-changing retail industry.
Mr. David Lung:
Partner, Consumer Business Industry Leader, Deloitte China
* +86.10.8520.7118 |  [email protected]
Mr. Jens Ewert:
Partner,European Clients China & Asia Pacific, Deloitte China
* +86.21.6141.1991 |  [email protected]
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Co-Creating with the
Chinese Consumer
by jan pilhar
In today’s global economy, ideas have become the most precious resource.
They are the driving force of innovation in the form of new products and services, and are therefore vital to businesses in order to win and keep customers
and market share. China’s increasingly savvy and demanding consumers also
make innovation a top priority for any company striving for success in this
dynamic market. Gone are the days when foreign enterprises could easily sell
products in China that were already nearing the end of their lifecycle in other
markets. Today’s Chinese consumers are well aware of the latest technologies,
and display a growing appetite for offerings tailored to their specific needs. In
response, foreign companies have to continuously adapt their offering to local
customs and evolving tastes and desires. In short, they need to deliver Chinaspecific innovations.
Co-Creation: From Fad to Standard Practice at ForwardLooking Companies
One promising route to ensure a flow of innovative ideas has been to tap into
the combined inventiveness of consumers by using a co-creationor – as some
prefer to call it – an open innovation approach. In recent years, co-creation
has evolved in western countries from fad to standard business practice among
many forward-thinking companies such as Volkswagen, Coca-Cola, Unilever,
Apple, Starbucks, Fiat and Tata. Renowned examples are Procter & Gamble’s
connect+develop, or Dell’s Idea Storm programmes, which have led to a host of
successful product innovations for both companies. Today there is even a global
co-creation award, which honours companies who make the best use of their
customer’s input.
The co-creation approach to innovation is also gaining ground in China. The
most striking example was probably General Electric’s announcement last May
proclaiming the setup of an $80mn R&D facility in Chengdu. The new facility
is called China Innovation Centre (CIC), and will focus on co-creation to ensure
that the company will deliver the right solutions for the Chinese market. According to General Electric’s CEO Jeff Immelt, co-creation is essential for multinational companies to participate in China's future growth.
The Two Benefits of Co-Creation: Insights and Brand
Building
This and the many other examples of companies involving consumers in their innovation and product development processes may lead some to view co-creation
simply as a more sophisticated version of the traditional focus group. This notion
overlooks another important aspect of co-creation can be a powerful tool for
brand building in China.
Brands that invite existing and potential customers to co-create products and
services can enhance their perception as being innovative, accessible and truly
committed to the Chinese market. Two notable examples of how to both leverage the insight generation potential of a co-creation strategy and harness its
brand building powers come from the Volkswagen Group China. With Volkswagen’s People’s Car Project and Skoda’s Clever Together Project, the automaker
has demonstrated how to successfully involve consumers in design and product
ideation, while at the same time improving brand performance in key areas. Both
projects invite the public to submit, share and discuss ideas for future car designs
and mobility solutions via an online platform and a wide range of social media
sites. Both are also highly successful with regard to idea output and favourable
brand perception.
Getting Co-Creation Right in China
Given that co-creation can help companies to get closer to Chinese consumers both in terms of better understanding their specific needs and in improving
brand perception, it’s not surprising that more and more companies are contemplating this approach. However, businesses are often unsure of where to start. So
how can a company determine whether co-creation should become a part of its
innovation strategy and brand building efforts in China? The following five key
aspects, considered when contemplating an open innovation strategy, can help a
company make an informed decision.
Setting Clear Objectives
Companies need to be clear on what they want to achieve in terms of insight
generation and brand building. Depending on their business model and competitive landscape, one of these two aspects might be more important, and
therefore will determine the objectives and eventually the setup of a specific
co-creation programme.
With regard to idea generation, it is important to clarify which innovation processes and projects should be kept inside and which the company is willing and able to open to the public. Not all innovation tasks
are suitable for co-creation initiatives, and some are best left to inhouse R&D teams or restricted innovation partnerships. While this obviously applies to sensitive technologies, feasibility considerations should
also be based on realistic expectations in regard to the potential quality
and depth of customer contributions. It is important to understand that
when it comes to innovation, the customer is not always right. Breakthrough ideas are a rare find in co-creation idea processes. Consumers
usually just want what they already know – in a better, faster, smaller,
cheaper version.
When it comes to brand building it is crucial to have clarity on where
the brand currently stands with regard to key performance dimensions
and where the brand is supposed to go. This also requires a solid understanding of the underlying drivers and metrics of brand success. Ideally
a comprehensive brand performance measurement system is in place,
and allows the tracking of brand perception over time. Also, co-creation
does not work for every brand. It is important that co-creation is in line
with the brand values and comes across as a credible and authentic initiative. Marketing stunts without a sincere effort to involve consumers
are quickly detected as such and will not motivate people to get truly
engaged.
23
Getting the Right Audience on the Right Platform
Clearing and protecting intellectual property rights
The implementation of a co-creation programme can take many forms and is
highly scalable. While for some innovation tasks the involvement of a small
number of dedicated lead users and brand enthusiasts is most promising, other
tasks are best opened up to the widest public possible. Some innovation tasks
might best be achieved in a specifically dedicated setting, an approach pursued
by General Electric with the CIC. Other tasks are best worked on in the digital
space, making maximum use of social media technologies and the corresponding
reach, a route followed by Volkswagen with the People’s Car Project. Obviously,
the more important the brand building aspect becomes, the more important
wide-spread visibility of the co-creation initiative.
Good ideas need to be cherished and protected. When it comes to co-creation, it
is important to consider intellectual property implications from the outset. Such
considerations should encompass protecting a company’s sensitive information,
securing usage rights and making sure that contributions are non-infringing.
Activating and Engaging the Audience
While some beloved brands experience the unconditional desire of their fans
to get involved, most brands need to carefully plan their activation and engagement strategy. Initiatives that are supposed to reach a larger audience
are best framed by a compelling story that inspires people to get involved and
develop ideas. Depending on the intended reach and participation level, the
resources needed for raising awareness and activation should not be underestimated.
Engagement should be easy and fun for consumers. For initiatives focusing on
a larger audience it is key to make participation easily accessible. That is why
many of the large-scale co-creation programmes have successfully leveraged
China’s digital landscape. In particular, rapidly evolving social media in China
offers plenty of opportunities to create innovation spaces that people are willing to seek out and spend time in. Idea creation and submission should also
be entertaining, e.g. by providing fun ideation tools and by applying proven
gamification methods.
An important aspect is the expectation of consumers to be rewarded for their
time and effort. While small-scale, lead user-oriented initiatives might employ
direct monetary rewards, co-creation initiatives aimed at larger audiences usually do better with a clever mix of competitions and the chance to gain visibility
among the co-creation community. Lucky draws and point systems proved to
work well in larger co-creation settings. Also, creating visibility for individual
consumers, e.g. by publicly highlighting and honouring their contributions, is an
effective motivational mechanism.
Ensuring an Efficient Assessment Process
Once a co-creation programme is set up and running, it is critical to allot the
necessary resources to idea assessment and monitoring. Consumers who give
their time and inspiration expect feedback on ideas as soon as possible and
not months from their submission. Many companies underestimate this requirement and are then surprised by eroding participation levels. It is advisable
to establish a constant dialogue with the co-creation community, a task that
is facilitated by digital tools and social media but also requires adequate attention and staffing.
Another important measure is to carefully plan the idea assessment and selection process. The aim is to always stay in control of the pipeline, to analyse incoming ideas for their potential merit and – if promising – shift them into the
next stage of the innovation process. While this is not overly complicated in
small-scale lead-user settings, large audience programmes – which can quickly bring in tens of thousands of ideas – can make this an arduous task. This is
why in larger programmes companies sometimes chose to partly outsource
this aspect to research partners or universities. A decision on the right strategy
for pipeline management needs to balance confidentiality requirements with
practical considerations.
24
Depending on the type of co-creation programme, a company might need to
reveal classified information about their own R&D plans and status. This is more
likely to be the case when co-creating on complex challenges with a smaller
team of lead-users rather than in high-profile programmes also intended as
brand building initiatives. Whenever sensitive information needs to be shared
with co-creators resilient non-disclosure agreements need to be in place. Another way to minimise immediate revelation of too much sensitive information
is to divide the co-creation task into specific steps, and only provide input necessary for each step. Only if contributors prove capable and trustworthy during one
stage can they obtain access to additional information for the next step.
A company running a co-creation programme usually wants to be able to use
the submitted ideas as freely as possible, and therefore needs to obtain the
necessary rights. In most cases this entails having all intellectual property rights
explicitly assigned to the company via the terms & conditions for participation in
the programme. In some cases a license to use the ideas without full assignment
is also a viable option. This is the case when high-quality ideas are required and
contributors might be reluctant to fully transfer their intellectual property rights
without having full information on intended usage and potential compensation.
The larger a co-creation programme, the higher the risk that submissions might
infringe third-party copyrights, patents or trademarks. It is therefore strongly
advisable to have a solid clearance procedure. This includes requiring contributors to provide a warranty of originality for their submissions and to also install a
solid clearance check as part of the idea assessment process. In any case it’s important that legal advisors are involved early on to craft the necessary fine print,
thereby aligning the company’s specific objectives with Chinese law.
Learning and Adjusting
It has become apparent that co-creation programmes require careful planning
and solid project management. Given that the best programmes leverage both
co-creation’s insight generation and brand building powers, the close cooperation of the company’s R&D and marketing departments is advisable. Both departments should be prepared for a steep learning curve and swift adjustments
along the way. If a company adopts co-creation for the first time, it is highly
likely that adjustments in both platform and processes will be necessary on a
continuous basis. Activation plans that looked good on paper might fail to draw
in the desired audience, and pipeline management considerations might prove to
be inadequate. Companies should expect these things rather than to be caught
by surprise when they happen. Therefore, a thoroughly planned implementation,
ideally in cooperation with an advisor that has experience in the field, can help
to avoid pitfalls and ensure success.
All in all, co-creation is a valuable strategy for generating consumer insights and
building brands that can ensure that companies stay in tune with China’s rapidly
evolving consumers.
Mr. Jan Pilhar is Managing Director at GREENKERN, a creative brand
consultancy that helps companies to increase their brand performance
through the transformation of their marketing, business model and
organisation. GREENKERN offers a broad spectrum of brand management
and innovation services, and has successfully planned and steered largescale co-creation projects in China. More information at: greenkern.com
www.china.ahk.de
25
Quality and Proximity Rightly Understood
Interview with Mr. Uwe Hoelzer, President
of Metro Cash & Carry China
by Selma Koehn
Most expatriates in China know grocery chain Metro as an oasis; the only
place in many cities around the country where it’s possible to pick up Italian cheese, German bread, French wine and a bottle of cleaning fluid all
in the same trip. What many don’t know is that Metro’s clients are 99%
Chinese, that the company is market leader in supplying food to China’s
canteens, schools, and hospitals, and that its reputation for providing
clean, safe food is so great that the Chinese government has chosen it
over locally owned retailers to supply food for events as high-profile as
the Beijing Olympics. Metro has made its reputation on high standards
and exacting attention to detail, two areas where Uwe Hoelzer excels. Mr.
Hoelzer, who took on the role of President of Metro Cash & Carry China in
2011, has been working for Metro since 1998, as part of Metro’s teams in
Germany, Poland and Vietnam. As the new President of Metro China, Mr.
Hoelzer has ambitious plans for the brand’s expansion in the world’s biggest consumer market. German Chamber Ticker met up with Mr. Hoelzer
to talk about expansion, Metro’s innovative new traceability, compliance,
and training initiatives, and how a company that has to invest resources
heavily in raising quality standards and improving the supply chain makes
it in the land of “Made in China” prices.
treme distance. We have an excellent team in China which understands how
to deal with these regional differences and how to fine tune a single store
without losing national synergies.
Mr. Hoelzer, you became President of Metro Cash & Carry China in 2011,
after having worked for a couple of years in Vietnam and then for a time
in Poland. Have you found that your experiences in either Vietnam or Poland have been particularly relevant to working here in China?
Metro Cash & Carry has also created Star Farm, which trains Chinese
farmers in safe food production and allows customers to trace the origin
on food products. The “traceability”/ farm-to-fork concept is also very
on-trend for 2013. Can you tell us more about this? How do customers
receive this concept?
Very much, but perhaps in a different way than you think: Vietnam was
my first outbound assignment, my first time abroad, and I had to discipline
myself a lot to ask and to listen and to not use my experiences from my
German time as a blueprint. This has been a useful learning experience for
me, because I must admit that you tend to come to fast conclusions and
decisions in your home country. The first six months also here in China
I spent mostly asking and listening, and whenever I had the feeling that
there was a knowledge gap about our customers we invested heavily into
research and panels. This was a very good exercise for my whole team, and
helped a lot in our strategizing process as well.
Can you say that you have noticed an “Asian” versus “Western” style of
doing business in the retail sector, or do you find that differences between
individual countries are greater than any regional differences?
Yes, you can see differences, but I guess mostly because of different lifecycles. We always say "Retail is Detail", and this counts for China even more.
Our business is very local, and as you can imagine a store in Harbin is different
from a Metro Store in Kunming: you do not even have to take such an ex-
26
Metro’s expansion plan in China seems to have been quite conservative,
with fewer than 60 stores opened in the past 16 years. Why has Metro’s
expansion in China so far been so gradual?
Slower expansion must give Metro Cash & Carry China the opportunity
for a degree of trial and error. It was good in the beginning to spend more
time in developing a business model which fits the Chinese market, which
was not an easy task. This market is quite complex and the size and different patterns of consumption are still a challenge. Today we know it
was the right decision, and we have a growing and profitable format. Not
all of our competitors - much faster in their expansion - can claim this.
Although I have also to admit that we missed opportunities in the last few
years, with 12 new stores in 2012 I have increased our expansion speed
dramatically. We would like to maintain this speed of expansion, and we
are following a cluster strategy including Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
To establish Star Farm has been a necessity for us because we cannot rely
on the existing supplier infrastructure, due to our quality requirements. Our
colleagues from Star Farm are responsible for the assessment of potential
suppliers as well as holding the required trainings to get all necessary licenses and certificates from an independent party. All our Super Fresh and
Exclusive Brand suppliers went or will go through this process. Traceability
is very important for our private customers, and from these customers we
know that they are well educated and that their spendable income is far
above average. For most of the professional customers like restaurants
it is, unfortunately, still the price is the most important and not yet food
safety. This is also the reason that we are not yet that strong in this segment, because we cannot and do not want to compete with the open and
wet markets. I am very much convinced that this will change soon, because
more and more consumers of these restaurants want to know what they
are eating. In addition to the benefit to the customers from our Star Farm/
traceability initiative, I would also like to speak about the benefits to Chinese farmers/ suppliers. We are helping the farmers not only in using pesticides in a more scientific way, but also in upgrading the grades of their farm
www.china.ahk.de
products and increasing yield, which will help
them increase their income greatly. What is
most encouraging and rewarding to us is the
recognition of our food safety efforts by the
governments in China. Metro C&C China was
chosen by the governments to be either the
sole or major food supplier for many important international events like the 2008 Beijing
Olympics, Shanghai Expo and Asian Games,
just to name a few.
Despite having a very high market share in the
canteen business in China, Metro has struggled to position itself in the restaurant sector.
Specifically, you said that "We are okay with
international restaurants but not with Chinese
restaurants, which would be the biggest piece
of the cake for us." What is it about Metro that
has succeeded with international restaurants
but not with local restaurants?
We are market leader in the Canteen business because a company, hospital or kindergarten cannot afford a case of food poisoning. They trust Metro, and together with an
excellent service like Delivery we are growing
strongly. It is a question of time that also Chinese restaurant owners will
revise their buying policy because consumers are getting more and more
critical, and young and well educated consumers especially are not willing to accept further food scandals. In the time of social media nobody
and especially no business can hide anything any longer. The reactions in
the Internet are fast, brutal and direct, and can kill a restaurant business
overnight. However, we are not just waiting for this change in their buying
behaviour to come, but have already started to roll out our new strategy:
To be category killer in Meat, Frozen and Oil, plus introducing new service
elements (e.g. Delivery and Field Force).
Metro Cash & Carry is a founding member of
BSCI, the Business Social Compliance Initiative.
Can you tell us a little about BSCI and what it
means for Metro Cash & Carry China?
We all know from many negative examples how
important the topic "compliance" is, and what
the consequences for a company can be. A few
years ago we decided to build up an independent compliance organization; on Metro AG level,
in every sales line and every country. We also installed a compliance Hotline and every employee
in the company can use this 365days/ 24hours.
Our Head of Compliance in China is further
responsible for making sure that all employees
get trained, a monthly compliance brochure gets
distributed, and that regular compliance days
are organized.
Thinking of CSR, where sustainability is more
or less the driving topic, sustainable consumption is becoming increasingly important. Hence
when it comes to sustainable consumption the
responsibility doesn’t only lie in the hand of the
consumers. Mustn’t it be shared between companies and consumers?
This is a highly fascinating theme and Metro sets itself very high standards
in line with international standards. In China, the topic of compliance is
still on top of the agenda of the local government, but it is one of the
most complicated issues we face. Through Star Farm we offer a lot of
seminars for our customers to demonstrate what kind of products we are
offering, where they are coming from and what exactly is used etc. We
are investing a lot of money here and I’m convinced that this has helped
in building the good reputation our company has. The local government
always seeks our advice or support when it comes to topics like sustainability, traceability or food security.
Is the food or non-food section running better in China?
Food is more than 70% of our business, and always our driving engine. In
non-food we did not really listen enough to our customers, and you can
still find a gap between our food (top quality and innovative) and nonfood assortment. Our customers are better educated than average, their
income is above average and more than 80% of them have a car, and this
you do not yet see reflected in our non-food offerings. First tests, like for
example bicycles for more than RMB 20,000 each, show that we ignored
this fast growing middle class segment. We are now working on top
brands and a much more innovative offer for our customers.
To what extent is online shopping an issue for you?
E-Commerce is a must, and more than 500mn Internet users are the best
evidence for this. Many "experts" are saying that the old "brick-and-mortar"
business is dead, which perhaps sounds logical, but most of these experts underestimate or do not even see the logistics part of EC. To deliver the ordered
product for the right price and on time to the customers is the key challenge,
and one of the reasons that most EC companies don't make a profit. Metro
China works with an integrated, cross channel solution. Thanks to our wonderful store network and delivery platforms we are already close to our customers. My opinion is that in a few years time our stores will be used partially as a
"Show Room" where our Customers do article selection. The price comparison
and ordering will be done by smart phone.
Although the formula “Do your homework, study your market, know your
customer” seems so easy, there are still companies which struggle or even
fail after their market entry in China. What do you think are the major
flaws here?
In my opinion and out of my observation a lot of businesses still underestimate the complexity and hugeness of this market. Before you enter
the market, you have to exactly know who your customer is and what he
likes and how he behaves. This varies from region to region and from city
to city. To give you one example from us, Metro had to change its strategy of approaching the Chinese restaurant sector. We took six months of
intensive research with hundreds of interviews and several panel discussions to understand how this business works in Shanghai. In this sector
quality and proximity are the most important aspects, and we had always
thought that quality would mean traceability and food security. But for
our customers here it means green, fresh and crisp. For us proximity always meant to be close to our customers but for them it meant delivering
the products right into the kitchen and storing them on the shelves. Since
we have understood this we have grown in our delivery section by 30%.
This is how the Chinese market works. This is how we finally have listened.
And I can only advise others to do the same. Seeking professional support,
like from the AHK for example, would be a great first step.
Mr. Hoelzer, thank you for the interview.
27
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www.china.ahk.de
Bigger. Richer. Greener.
The growing demand for organics from
China’s rising middle class
by Caitlin Waggoner
At five o’clock on a bitterly cold January evening, Shanghai's Tang Jia
Wan market is crowded with shoppers. Tang Jia Wan, which takes up two
floors of a large building before spilling out onto the street outside, is one
of the biggest traditional open markets in the area, and is consistently
packed with retirees, frugal young mothers and migrant workers hoping
to buy food for bottom-barrel prices. The shoppers here are far from the
well-heeled westerners who are generally associated with the organic
food market. It comes as a surprise, then, to find how many of the vendors
are offering organic or free range products for sale. “I have some organic
turnips and cabbage right now”, says one local shop owner, pointing
across his small storefront to a large basket of neatly arranged cabbages.
“And free range eggs.” The shop owner, who says that he is surnamed
Li, shakes his head when asked if any of his other products are organic,
explaining that the organic foods available cheaply from local farmers are
limited by the season and to a few hardy, easy to raise crops. When asked
if he’s noticed if any particular type of people prefer to buy his organic
products, his answer is very clear. “Young people buy organic vegetables.
Old grandmas don’t care if it’s organic, they just want what’s cheapest.
But the free range eggs, everyone buys those if they have a sick person
at home, or an old person, or a baby. They’re worried about eggs being
healthy and safe.”
Mr. Li is noticing the first waves of an organic revolution in China. A
series of food safety scares over the past few years – oil skimmed from
the sewers and then used in hotpots, hormone-pumped chicken in fast
food restaurants, and tainted baby formula that lead to the tragic deaths
of several infants – have sparked a new and growing interest in organic
food among Chinese consumers, especially members of China’s booming
middle class. As China’s highly educated white collar workers begin to
express a growing desire to see their favourite brands demonstrate social
responsibility along with the highest standards for health and safety,
China is developing an enormous appetite for organic foods that they can
trust to be of good quality, safe and delicious.
China first began producing organic food in the late 1980s, the products at
first mainly marked for export. From there, the industry expanded incredibly
quickly: within five years the amount of land being used for organic
agriculture had grown to over one million hectares. It was only within
the last decade, however that a real market for organic products began
to develop in mainland China. The first Chinese regulations on the sale of
organic products were enacted in the early 2000s, with a new inspection,
certification and labelling system most recently introduced in 2005.
Despite the new regulations, the Chinese organic industry is so new
that it can be difficult to find comprehensive statistical information on
organic production and consumption in China. The numbers that do
exist, however, are impressive. According to a report from the Journal of
Organic Systems, from the year 2000 to 2006, China rocketed from 45th to
second in the world in terms of number of hectares of land under organic
management, adding 12% to the world’s organic area from 2005 to
2006 alone and leapfrogging past countries like the US, Italy, the UK and
Germany. Within China, this constituted a staggering eleven-fold increase
in land reported as under organic management within a single year, from
298,990 to 3,466,570 hectares. By 2007, 11% of the world’s organically
managed land was in China, despite the fact that China contains only
10% of the world’s available arable land.
It would be easy to dismiss the enormous scale of Chinese organic
production as being earmarked for exports, and thus not representative
of any demand for organic products from Chinese consumers. However,
though this was the case in the 1990s, contemporary statistics paint a
very different picture. As of 2009, China was consuming more than USD
1bn worth of organic products annually, easily surpassing the consumption
of wealthy and health-conscious Japan. Organic imports to China were
estimated to be worth USD 20mn in 2009.
This emerging market has also not gone unnoticed by big business.
Recently, international investment has begun pouring into China’s
organic industry, often from unexpected sources. In 2011, Liu Chuanzhi
– chairman of tech giant Lenovo – announced to surprised reporters
that Lenovo was considering getting involved with a number of farming
projects. Dalian Wanda, a conglomerate that is best known for its Wanda
plazas and cinemas, is also getting in on the organic action; Wanda is
planning an organic farm that is set to produce 1,200 tonnes of organic
produce per year, despite the fact that Wanda has never previously been
involved in agricultural projects. In recent years, Deutsche Bank, the
Blackstone Group, venture-capital firm Sequoia Capital and investment
bank Goldman Sachs have all jumped into Chinese agriculture, with
investment peaking in 2010 at a whopping USD 891mn. All of this
investment is also reflected in healthy returns; Lohao city, one of China’s
biggest organic retailers, reported a 30% increase in sales revenue in 2010,
and confidently predicted that they would maintain their growth rate for
the next several years.
So who is buying all of these organic products? According to a 2011 report
by the International Trade Centre, China’s consumers of organic products
can be divided into eight broad groups: white collar families, families
with young children, families with health issues, returnees from abroad,
business people from Taiwan and Hong Kong, government officials,
young people, and foreigners living in China. White collar families are the
largest group, making up 40% of China’s organic consumers. According
to a survey carried out on organic consumers in Beijing and Shanghai,
29
98% of the respondents had a university degree or higher, and 67% were
office workers. With China’s middle class now estimated as approximately
300mn people strong, and predicted to hit 500mn in the next fifteen years
– close to the population of the entire European Union – China’s white
collar population is a market too big to ignore.
Jane Tsao has observed these same groups appearing as customers at
BioFarm, the Shanghai based organic farm where she has worked as public
relations representative for the past five years. “When I first started working
here in 2007 our customers were 80%-90% foreign people and returnees
from abroad, who didn’t trust Chinese food. Now it’s more than half local
people.” She describes their Chinese customers as largely middle class. “It’s
not just big managers or CEOs now, it’s more ordinary white collar workers,
mostly highly educated people who are interested in environmental
protection as well as food safety”. BioFarm, which was started in 2004, has
seen impressive growth over the past few years. When they first launched
their CSA programme, says Ms. Tsao, they generally had between one and
two hundred subscribers for their weekly deliveries of fresh produce boxes;
now it’s between three and four hundred, in addition to their other sales.
“We used to have to explain to people, “What is organic”? We were always
sending our farmers out to talk to people, doing a lot of education”.
Today, though BioFarm still does plenty of education and outreach, they
no longer have to explain to their potential customers what organic
means. The average middle class Chinese consumer is now very aware of
the advantages to buying organic, and increasingly demands foods that
will not only be healthy and safe, but also delicious, convenient, exotic, or
普及广告-AW-3.pdf 1 2012-7-17 14:13:12
able to provide unique health benefits. “They notice that I have organic
strawberries and they say “oh, it’s organic, I’ll buy it," but when they see
it’s the same thing every time they get sick of it," complains Mr. Li of some
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of the young customers who visit his little shop. “They like that it’s organic
but they don’t want to always buy the same strawberries and cabbage and
cauliflower, especially when it’s more expensive than other foods.” These
observations seem to tally with what Ms. Tsao hears from some reluctant
potential customers. “In China vegetables are much cheaper than in many
other countries, so it can be hard to explain to people why they should pay
so much for organic . . . people are very busy, and sometimes they think
that buying organic vegetables is too much trouble. They say, ‘oh, eating
KFC every other day won’t kill me, and I don’t have time to shop, I don’t
have time to cook.’”
Convenience, in fact, may be the future of the Chinese organics market.
While many organic products are already readily available in China – organic
rice, tea and produce have been available for years, and may have already
reached market saturation – there is still a conspicuous lack of certain types
of products, such as prepared foods, convenience foods, and foods that
are meant for the elderly or young children. Organic baby food and infant
formula are rare in China, and very likely to be embraced by middle class
parents wanting to provide the best to their only children. Imported cheese
and other dairy products are also increasingly popular among middle class
Chinese people – according to the U.S. Dairy Export Council, Cheese imports
to China jumped 47% in 2010 from the previous year, while Euromoniter
International predicted a current value growth of 22% for cheese in China
in 2012 – but there is a definite lack of organic milk, cheese and yogurt in
the product ranges offered by Chinese producers of organic foods. Chinese
organic shoppers are also concerned with somewhat different issues than
their foreign counterparts. According to an International Trade Centre report,
Chinese consumers-unlike consumers of organic products in other countries
who are often very interested in buying products that are both organic
and “local” – are also not particularly concerned with whether organic
goods are domestic or imported, focusing instead on quality issues. Chinese
consumers are also more likely to trust the environmental claims of green
products than their North American peers: according to a survey released
by Dupont in December 2012, 70% of Chinese consumers are confident
that “green” products are better for the environment than conventional
alternatives. In contrast, 65% of Canadians and 60% of Americans were
confidant that green products are better for the environment. Along with
an unserved market for organic convenience and specialty foods, China also
lacks a significant number of organic retail stores: supermarkets currently
make up 80% of China’s organic retail market. Organic specialty shops
that do exist often tend to cater to expatriates and the very wealthy. That
there is a demand for organic shops that instead address the needs of
white collar Chinese workers is evident from the success of Beijing-based
organic retail chain Lohao City. Lohao City – whose website prominently
features sections of products for “pregnancy,” “baby” and “white collar”,
(the white collar section offers snacks that can be eaten conveniently in the
office) thus directly speaking to the people who make of the bulk of China’s
organic consumers – opened its first Beijing shop in 2006, and now boasts
over thirty stores and retail counters in Beijing, Tianjin and Chengdu.
An understanding of and ability to market to this core white collar
demographic may be the key to success in an increasingly competitive
market, and aspects like attractive packaging and the creation of Chinese
user-friendly websites certainly play a role in an organic brand or product’s
success or failure in China. In the end, however, Jane Tsao believes that
savvy Chinese organic consumers will make their purchasing decisions
based on quality and safety first. “We’re competing in a market with every
other kind of food, with McDonalds, with Starbucks. In the end people will
choose what they want . . . There’s government regulation, but really the
customers do a better job than the government of determining what is
really safe, what they want their families to eat, and what they want to
spend their money on.”
www.china.ahk.de
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BUSINESS | In the Spotlight
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www.china.ahk.de
Adaptation, Innovation and
German Business
Interview with Mr. Clas Neumann, Senior Vice President of SAP and Global Head of the SAP Labs Network
by JAN NOETHER and SELMA KOEHN
SAP is a business that other businesses are
built on. More than 232,000 customers ranging from China’s tech-giant Huawei to German
organic grocer Alnatura run on SAP. Since its
founding in 1972, this solidly German software
company has turned into an international force
to be reckoned with: SAP now has research and
development centres, or “SAP Labs”, around
the world, including Germany, France, Bulgaria,
Hungary, the USA, India, Brazil, Israel, Canada
and China. In 2012, SAP was third on Forbes’ list
of the top ten contenders in the software and
programming industry, and the fifth company
listed on the “Software Top 100”. SAP annual
revenue exceeded EUR 16bn in 2012, and employs nearly 65,000 people in more than 120
countries. Mr. Clas Neumann, in many ways,
personifies SAP’s international outlook. A native
of Germany, he has lived, worked and studied in
France, Singapore, China and India. He began his
career at SAP in 1996, adapting SAP products
to China. In the year 2000 he was appointed to
direct the establishment of SAP’s research and
development centre in Bangalore, which under
his leadership was selected twice as one of the
top ten employers in India. In 2009 he was appointed Global Head of the SAP Labs Network.
Along with his highly successful career at SAP,
Mr. Neumann has found time to act as the
president of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, and to co-author two books on India:
2009’s Managing Innovation from the Land of
Ideas and Talent and 2008’s Praxishandbuch
India. Recently, he was also nominated spokesperson of the Asien-Pazifik-Ausschuss of India.
Mr. Neumann spoke to German Chamber Ticker
about adaptation, innovation, and how German
business is moving forward in the developing
world.
Mr. Neumann, currently you are the Senior Vice
President of SAP and Global Head of the SAP
Labs Network, the former president of the IndoGerman Chamber of Commerce, and have coauthored two books on India: 2009’s Managing
Innovation from the Land of Ideas and Talent
and 2008’s Praxishandbuch India. After almost
13 years living in India, you’ve now moved to
Shanghai. In interviews on the differences between German and Indian business practices
your core answer was that your focus shifted
from process issues to people issues. Can you
elaborate?
So if anyone has an idea of India and China,
and the ability to compare India and China, it’s
certainly you. What would be your major comments if you were asked to compare these two
Asian powerhouses? Can they be compared?
Around 15 years ago SAP used to be a “typical”
German engineering company–very strong in
processes, deep into engineering, and with strong
German roots. By opening our Lab in India in
1998 we put larger portions of our product development work outside of Germany for the first
time. We had been previously doing engineering work in Palo Alto, but this was primarily coinnovation with the other major IT players and
to establish connections in the valley. The first
time distributing product development outside of
Germany was at our lab in India. What we realized then was that our processes did not scale
well to an internationally distributed software
development landscape and that you must therefore change and adjust the way that you deal
with your employees. Project teams were now
comprised of more people who think differently
and come from different cultures. As leaders you
need to address their issues differently as well.
Our processes – which were still built on a startup culture where people meet in coffee corners,
discuss things and move on with work – couldn’t
match the demands of a globally-connected R&D
network. We required more structure, the common use of English as our development language,
better and more detailed specifications, etc. On
the people side, we had to adjust as well. One
example was our corporate health insurance.
We realized that in India we should insure the
parents of our employees in addition to their
children. This was much more important to our
employees, as only a few had children, but many
had parents without any coverage. Another difference was employee motivation. Our teams
in India were (and still are) on average much
younger than the people working at our headquarters in Germany. We had to find new and
different ways to motivate these young people,
while forming working teams across cultures and
generations. With motivated and engaged people
anything is possible.
They are often compared because many things
look similar on the surface. Both have a huge
population, relatively large country sizes with an
enormous agricultural sector, and of course, strong
growing economies. India may have grown a little less than China, but still it’s a very healthy and
strong growing economy. But you don’t have to
dig too deep to find major differences.
Take entrepreneurship: In China most entrepreneurs create their own business to make money
and become rich. This is much less important
in India, where the major reason to start your
own company is to become independent, be
your “own boss” and make a difference. In consequence, you find in India a larger variety of
entrepreneurs, trying out all kind of things from
social innovation to agriculture optimization. We
have seen this as well in the many spin-offs of
managers who have left SAP Labs to create their
own businesses. In India you can get started
with little more than a good idea. By contrast, in
a country like China and even in many European
countries, things are much more regulated. You
cannot so easily create a charity or an NGO. Today, there are more than 3mn NGOs in India and
about 350.000 in China.
Coming back to the business side, I see certain
fundamental differences in how the economy
and businesses behave. In China the majority of
the big companies are still state-owned businesses (65 of the 70 Chinese Fortune 500 list
companies are state-owned) and interventions
by the government into the economy are relatively common. In India, the GDP share of the
public sector is well below 10%. Unlike the Chinese economy, the Indian economy is dependent
on two important factors: the annual monsoon
and the domestic market. The monsoon affects
the agriculture and energy supply; the domestic
market is the country’s growth engine, as InFebruary - March 2013
33
BUSINESS | In the Spotlight
dia exports much less goods and services than
China. Therefore, local events and elections have
a strong effect on economic growth. This is not
necessarily negative, as you can see that India
experienced much less impact from the global
financial crisis because the country is not deeply
integrated into the international flow of capital
and funds. Finally – a word on the infrastructure:
over the last two decades China has strategically
invested into its infrastructure to an extent that
many economists in China already warn about
overambitious plans or over-investment. In stark
contrast, a visitor who comes to India for the
first time is often shocked upon leaving the airport. The state of the infrastructure, the traffic
chaos or the power black-outs do not immediately create confidence in potential investors.
And while India’s infrastructure is expanding –
you see new highway investments in Mumbai,
Pune, Delhi, Bangalore – construction may last
ten years in a city like Bangalore, and by then
the city has again doubled its population and
multiplied its traffic many times over. I believe
there is a certain willingness to fix this, but
there are a lot of hurdles such as bureaucracy,
lack of planning, execution issues and so on.
If there’s a company in Germany that wants
to look into selling its products into specific
markets, does the company have to be in both
markets, in China and in India?
I think so. There’s no doubt that China is the
bigger market for most products today – be it
industrial goods or luxury products. On the other
side, if I look into a company like ours, revenues
in both countries are nearly at par and strongly
growing in both. It would be a big mistake to
ignore one of these markets. For example, the
German auto industry was a late starter in India
and an early starter in China. This brought tremendous success for them in China but basically
a complete loss of the Indian market, where you
now see a dominance of Korean, Japanese and
local car manufacturers.
Did you have to adapt products to market as
well?
34
Yes, of course. My very first job at SAP - even
before going to India - was actually to adapt
our products for China. I came here, started
to understand the laws and regulations and
brought that knowledge back to our core
development team in Walldorf to help them
adapt the products so they would work in a
country like China. To which extent one has
to localize varies by county, based on factors
ranging from legal issues to common business
practices. India’s localization requirements
are high, for one, because there is no uniform
taxation law spanning the whole country. In
Japan commonly used supply chain processes
like LEAN Production, KANBAN, SEIBAN and
others must be reflected in the software we
sell. The German way of producing things
may be excellent, but it is not the only way.
This suggests that ongoing changes are necessary as well in a very dynamic country. You
should have a big group of engineers to comply with local – and in China even regional –
regulations.
Yes, that’s true. We observe this very closely.
In India once a year the parliament discusses
and finalizes the budget for the next year;
these are always huge discussions, and then
there come certain new taxes and regulatory changes, all decided in one session.
Our developers and engineers listen to the
proceedings and try to understand what the
parliamentarians and ministers are announcing, and then they immediately jump to their
computers and identify what the consequences will be for our software. Sometimes
the changes are even effective retrospectively. Very unique! In China things are run
closer to how they would be run in Germany.
There’s a congress or ministry that makes
decisions and a commission that gives recommendations based on the law, and there’s
not much room for interpretation. Certainly,
we need to take care of regional regulations
as well, which can at times create multiple
challenges for the same piece of software.
So you have to understand the country, you
have to understand the people, you have to understand the processes, and you have to understand the dynamic, changing setup – let’s call it
setup – of the country. So you suggest that SAP
China needs Chinese people to understand all
that? In other words, would a German engineer
be ready to work in China for SAP on an implementation job?
Yes, because we usually have mixed teams. In
China, more than 95% of our workforce is Chinese - at the employee and management levels.
We do not have a Chinese workforce managed
by Germans or Americans. Nevertheless, it is
sometimes necessary to bring in an engineer
from Palo Alto, Bangalore or Waldorf with
specific technical expertise on a topic. It also
happens in the other direction - we also require
Chinese experts to fly to the USA or Germany
to help implement software there, when they
are the best experts on a specific product. To
really understand what the customer wants, I
think it’s important to speak the same language.
I don’t just mean literally speaking Mandarin,
but bringing the customer together with people who understand their business, market and
specific challenges, so that they are respected
as a partner. You should not forget that our
Chinese customers build their whole business on
the backbone of SAP, so if anything goes wrong
with the software the business stops. It’s a huge
trust that they give to us. So coming back to
your question, indeed you need to have a deep
local knowledge, but of course a foreigner can
acquire this over time.
Speaking of customers, what percentage of your
customers in China are Chinese customers?
We have more than 6000 customers in China
and about 80% of those are local Chinese companies. The first customers of course were multinationals. Chinese high tech players followed
–Legend Computers (today it’s Lenovo), Huawei,
and the laptop manufacturer Inventech here
in Pudong, and then we started to expand into
other industry segments with for example Haier
www.china.ahk.de
Group or Sinopec. Chinese companies were beginning to understand that if they want to be
globally successful they needed a global partner
to help to streamline their processes. And of
course our software automatically reflects industry best practices.
You mentioned Huawei, how big is your entry in
Huawei?
Huawei is both a customer and a partner. For
instance, Huawei uses our Sybase database
solution as part of some of their software solutions. Huawei also became a Global Technology
Partner of SAP’s in 2012, and is in the process
of certifying their hardware to run SAP HANA.
There are many areas we can co-innovate and
collaborate on together.
Would you consider this software customized
software? Is there an IPR topic involved here? Or
is it designed for Huawei and its customers?
The solution is a standard product, customized
by Huawei. Our customers can add functionality,
but we advise them not to change the solution
too drastically. You lose the advantage of having
a standard software product and every upgrade
becomes a challenge. IPR issues do not arise in
this process of customization and add-ons; the
different rights are very clear.
Is IPR an issue? Is that a topic for SAP?
The generation and protection of IP is always
important. During the last two years we have
invested very strongly in doubling our R&D resources in China – to collaborate and utilize the
technical expertise of Chinese engineers in the
creation of new products. Fortunately, to date, illegal distribution of our software in the market has
not been a major issue. Even if one were to pirate
the software, without the continuous support and
upgrades and features and modernization through
SAP, the value is limited. This is an important
reason why companies buy the license from us.
Chinese companies have realized the value of the
SAP products, the value it brings to their business,
and they are willing to pay a fair price. Initially,
software was undervalued – you cannot touch
software, and it was deemed to be something for
free. Everyone here understands the value of a TV
set or a car, and that you have to pay a price for
it, but for intangible software it took a learning
process. But nowadays there are many Chinese
software companies who sell software licenses,
and this has helped us. Legal entities also have a
better understanding that building software is a lot
of work and that software therefore needs to be
protected in a special way. By the end of the day,
the best protection against pirating of intellectual
property is to innovate faster. Customers always
want competitive edge, which only the latest and
most innovative product will bring to them.
And Huawei would be a landmark partner, so
you would announce partnership deals with
them in order to get a little promotion in the
market? Do you need promotion?
Certainly products that enter the Chinese market are going to be mainly designed locally as
well. Are you into R&D projects that cater to the
European market as well, out of China?
Our partnership with Huawei is both about the
Chinese market, and also global innovation.
Huawei carries a strong brand in China and we
can add value to many joined customers, but
as I mentioned they are our first Chinese Global
technology Partner. We see them as a very innovative company – one of the biggest players
in the world for communications technology
- so it makes sense for us to work together. It
will create higher value for all SAP customers,
specifically those in the ITC sector.
The majority of our colleagues in China are
working on global products. We have a few
products which were completely developed in
China. One of those is Business One, our software for small and medium-sized companies,
which has close to 40,000 customers around
the globe, most of them in Europe and the U.S.
The Shanghai lab was initially built with this
in mind – to leverage the local talent and skills
to develop products for the global market, and
then of course the understanding of the local
practices and building and localizing products
for the local market.
Can you compare a Chinese talent to a German
talent?
Our Chinese colleagues are usually a little bit
younger because their education is faster. We
have here an excellent education system, so
our Chinese talents are mathematically very
strong, and often also very deep into the most
recent technology. The universities have made
huge investments to upgrade their IT education, so there are few differences from an
technical education point of view. Differences
come more from the cultural side. In Germany
we have relatively flat hierarchy and everyone
talks to everyone. That’s not so easy in China.
Usually the manager talks and we have to
encourage our employees to speak up in meetings, as well as with German senior colleagues.
Respect for senior colleagues is very high, and
we have to create a lot of encouragement to
voice an opinion and not just sit there and
listen and understand. We now do have some
colleagues who will stand-up in an “All-Hands”
meeting in front of 1000 employees to ask a
question or voice a difference in opinion on
what was just announced by the management.
A very welcome development. Innovation lives
from differences in opinion and ideas.
Mr. Neumann, thank you very much for the
interview.
Mr. Clas Neumann, Senior Vice President of SAP and Global
Head of the SAP Labs Network, speaking to Mr. Jan Noether,
Managing Director GCC l Shanghai, and Ms. Selma Koehn,
Chief Editor German Chamber Ticker.
35
BUSINESS
| Features
China’s Steel Industry
The end of easy growth
by Dr. Markus Taube
China’s steel industry is looking back at a bleak
2012, a year portrayed drearily by the secretary
general of the China Iron & Steel Association
(CISA) as being characterized by “two lows and
two highs”: low growth and low efficiency combined with high costs and high (over-)capacities.
After long years of exponential growth, the Chinese steel industry now appears to have finally
reached a plateau. Crude steel production for
2012 amounted to 717mn tonnes, an increase
of no more than 3.1% yoy, while apparent
consumption grew only a meager 1.8%. On top
of this disappointing development, cost/price
relations turned bad. With steel prices imploding
and sales price levels approaching those of 1994
as steel makers tried to defend their market
shares by aggressively throwing their production
on the market, profits were eaten up. But while
this constellation may have come as a shock to
an industry spoiled by success, the fourth characteristic highlighted by CISA – the phenomenon of high and excessive
overcapacities – has accompanied the industry for many years.
The phenomenon of excessive overcapacities epitomizes the substantial
gap between Beijing’s macroeconomic control aspirations and actual local
implementation, where the evasive behavior of local actors defuses national regulation ambitions and prevents the establishment of sustainable
and really market oriented industry structures. The case of Hebei province
is a case in point. In late summer 2012 it became known that Hebei authorities had deliberately under-reported the province’s 2011 crude steel
output data by 50mn tonnes (equivalent to more than the total German
steel production in that year), thereby demonstrating weaknesses in the
implementation of the central government’s project approval system as
well as CISA’s limited ability to ensure regulatory compliance and industry
discipline. It cannot be expected that the Chinese steel industry as a whole
will overcome its present structural weaknesses, especially its inclination
to exacerbate the effects of market shocks, if the capacity of national
administrations to enforce macroeconomic regulation on the local level is
not significantly increased. This dilemma is well known in Beijing’s government and economic policy circles. High ranking officials like the Honorary
Chairman of CISA, Wu Xichun, are reported to have reacted with anger to
the Hebei incident. But constructive solutions aligning national, macroeconomic interests with local requirements are hard to find in China’s
continental-size economy. As a consequence, Beijing’s steel circles already
assume 2012 national crude steel production figures to have been again
underreported by about 60mn tonnes. – Adding these underreported volumes to the total yearly production would indicate a national crude steel
output of 730mn tonnes in 2011 and 780mn tonnes in 2012 respectively.
Seen in perspective, there seems to be no easy way out. Until today,
higher and higher powered central government initiatives to dismantle
36
the environmentally most hazardous and technologically as well as
economically least viable production capacities have been met
with massive resistance at the
local level. The level of urgency to
achieve results, however, has now
increased massively. The Lehmancrisis stimulus programmes have
resulted in a shift of future steel
consumption into the years 2009
to 2012. As a consequence, the
post stimulus package era is characterized by sluggish demand,
which will remain flat until current
demand once again catches up
with its long-term growth trajectory. Furthermore, the natural
limits to growth for the domestic
steel market are clearly discernible
on the horizon. Given the already very significant steel endowment of the
Chinese economy, strong arguments exist that steel intensity, measured in
kilograms of steel per citizen, will level out soon. If this scenario materializes, a further expansion of the domestic market of no more than 125mn
tonnes during this decade appears to be a sensible estimate. These 125mn
tonnes, however, are more or less equivalent to the overcapacities already
existing in the market. Growth will therefore have to come from a substitution of inefficient with modern facilities, and a general upgrading of the
product structure towards higher quality and complexity.
The strategies recently employed by Wuhan Steel (WISCO) may indicate
in which direction the industry will have to develop. In its core business,
the steel maker has lobbied strongly for permission to build a new state
of the art plant in Guangxi Autonomous Region, and shut down sizable
sub-standard facilities on the way. The final go ahead came in 2012
after seven years of negotiations. In addition, last year the company
acquired the Thyssen Krupp tailored blanks business, thereby positioning itself as a lead player in a technology segment that will remain
crucial for the Chinese mass market for years to come. But this is not
the complete story. Wuhan Steel today is moving beyond steel: as proclaimed by its CEO Deng Qilin, the company will diversify and increase
its investments in related industries, especially in the tertiary sector –
as well as begin to breed pigs and chicken and plant vegetables.
The course taken by Wuhan Steel is certainly not paradigmatic for the
development trends in the industry as a whole. On one hand, the process
of industry consolidation is intensifying. The large state-owned steel mills
especially are continuing to strengthen their business models with the
acquisition of complementary assets. At the same time, these very companies are striking strategic co-operation agreements with their customers
down the value chain. All in all, these players seem to be right on track
Jiaxing German Industrial Park(JXGIP)
www.jxgip.com
www.china.ahk.de
toward strengthened competitiveness and market oriented development.
On the other hand, the prevalence of smaller, sub-standard mills in the
market is not being reduced. In 2012 small, non-state-owned mills have
invested heavily, and for the first time accounted for more than 50% of
total domestic crude steel production. Mostly serving local niche markets
and interests, these smaller mills are often profiting from preferential
treatment by local government. Thereby taken out of the national macroeconomic regulation equation, they are a major factor in the structural
weaknesses of the industry in general and the persistence of sub-standard
– in terms of both technology and the environment – production facilities.
It may sound heretical for a Western economist, but what the Chinese
steel industry really needs today is not more small-scale private sector
contenders, but rather a consequential market adjustment and consolidation of players who can exist in protected local niches only. As such, the
outlook for the Chinese steel industry in general has become a lot less optimistic than it used to be. But – unlike in the past – a cautious outlook for
the steel sector is no longer pointing at a general downturn of economic
activity in the Chinese economy in general. The growth dynamics have
changed.
As indicated above, the steel intensity of the Chinese economy has already
reached significant levels. The infrastructure buildup that was observable
in recent years has laid a solid foundation for economic development in
the years to come. As such, the massive steel demand stemming from the
need for a catching-up type infrastructure buildup in the past no longer
exists. The development of manufacturing output has therefore – at least
for the time being – become decoupled from developments in the steel
industry itself. Growth in one sector does not depend on growth in the
other. Furthermore, the next stage of economic development will have to
be much less based on steel absorbing fixed asset investment and manufacturing activities, and rather rely on the expansion of service industries
and the satisfaction of domestic consumer needs. These however, feature
only low steel contents.
In order to prepare the economy for its transition from catching-up
growth to higher stages of development, where endogenous innovation
and entrepreneurial creativity become the cornerstone of growth, the Chinese government has already adjusted its industrial policies and incentive
systems. The times when national glory was measured in tonnes of steel
produced are gone. Now it is all about patents granted and technological progress. This is not the demise of China’s steel industry, but rather a
strongly formulated request directed at corporate leaders as well as regulatory bodies on all levels to enhance the industry’s technological standards in general and strengthen its innovation capacity.
Seen in a nutshell, the Chinese economy seems to be heading for a consolidation of its overall steel consumption in the coming years. Having
witnessed 15 years of exponential growth, now a period of slow growth
or even stagnation seems to lie ahead. Paradoxically, for the Chinese
economy as whole, such a development may become an indicator for its
success to change course and initiate a new development and growth
pattern. And such a new – much less steel reliant – growth pattern will
be needed in order to allow China meet the challenge of the looming
‘middle income trap’ and proceed on its way into the elite circle of the
OECD industrialized economies.
Location
Jiaxing city is situated in the center of Yangtze River
Delta (YRD), the most dynamic region in China. It’s
80Km from Jiaxing to Shanghai, 80Km to Hangzhou,
60Km to Suzhou and 140km to Ningbo. Jiaxing
German Industrial Park (JGIP) is in Xiuzhou Industrial
Park, a provincial development zone, to the west of
Jiaxing CBD.
Workshops
JXGIP consists of five sub-parks with 40 standard
workshops. The quality standards of our workshop
depend on industrial structure.
Standard 1: one-storey, 8-10m high, mainly for
machinery.
Standard 2: multi-storey, 4-5m high, for auto parts,
industrial service, electronics and so on.
Other standard: We can offer tailor-made workshops
according to the customers’ requirement.
Pillar Industries
Machinery and Auto Parts
LED , New Energy and New Materials
Aircrafts Equipment
Electronics
Dr. Markus Taube is Professor for the Chinese Economy at
University of Duisburg-Essen’s Mercator School of Management
and a Partner with THINK!DESK China Research & Consulting.
Contact us
37 Dong
February -Person:
March 2013
TEL: +86-573-82720228 Contact
Gissing
BUSINESS
| Features
The Annual Compliance Review
in China
A chance to optimize the company structure
rather than a burden
by grace shi and Richard Hoffmann
There have been several changes in 2012 for
foreign companies that are active in China, due to
various newly introduced laws and regulations. For
instance, the Value Added Tax (VAT) Reform will
have a big and positive effect on the tax burden
of many companies, and foreign employees are
now required to participate in social insurance.
Therefore, every active business in China needs to
take care to pay attention to the new regulations,
and to be in compliance with the relevant Chinese
laws and regulations. However, it is not enough to
be in compliance. It is also equally important to be
tax efficient. For many international companies it
is easy to be tax efficient in their home countries,
but not in China. Reasons for this include the
continuously changing laws of which they need to
keep track, and a lack of Chinese language skills
and global thinking. There are numerous cases
where companies are totally inefficient, have paid
far too much in taxes, or have faced penalties
for not being in compliance, and have therefore
struggled to operate their business in China. It is
really key to have a smooth operation in place to
make sure that the company is in compliance and
tax efficient, so that all of the available resources
can be put toward developing the company’s
business.
- time - and to be aware of deadlines. Missing
the deadline has serious consequences, such as
additional fees, additional work, and even harsher
penalties that arise when not processing the
documents in time.
2. Profit and Loss Account
l Income
l Cost of Sales
l Sales taxes, other operating result, finance
expense, overhead, non-operating expense/income
Apart from the statutory requirements of doing an
annual audit in China, it is also a good opportunity
to review the company’s financial processes. Is
everything done correctly? Is the company paying
taxes? Is the structure tax efficient? Are there
control mechanisms in place to avoid fraud? This
article also explains in detail all of the key elements
of the annual compliance review in China.
Annual Compliance Review for the
WFOE/JV/FICE/RO
As for the annual compliance review: it is not hard
work, but it needs to be done right. It should not
be seen as an additional burden for the company,
but instead as a great chance to do a small
“health check” of the company’s operations, and
to evaluate its tax burdens, compliance status,
financial structure, control mechanisms etc. After
a sophisticated annual audit the management is
in a position to optimize the company structure in
China. Getting ready for 2013 by implementing a
better structure with better internal controls, tax
optimizations, and financial transfer optimizations
will allow the company to be more profitable in
the end.
II. Statements and Vouchers
1. Financial statements
2. Vouchers, sub-ledgers and general ledgers
3. Trial balance
This article provides a list of key elements for
foreign companies that will help to facilitate
the annual compliance review. It is extremely
important to focus on the most essential element
38
Required Documents for the Annual
Audit
I. Records:
1. Approvals on the tax preferential policy etc.
2. Enterprise income tax declaration and annual
liquidation report
3. List of employees’ salaries and payment list for
social insurance
4. Related insurance contracts for buildings,
machinery, and inventory
5. Updated rental contracts if applicable
III. Financial Reporting
1. Balance sheet
l Cash and Bank balance
l Accounts receivable, notes receivable and other
receivables
l Inventory
l Advanced payments, prepaid expenses and longterm prepaid expenses
l Fixed assets
l Accounts payable, notes payable, advance
payments by customer and other payable
l Welfares payable
l Tax payable
l Loans
1st level: Annual Audit
Local Chinese GAAP
The first round for the annual compliance review
is the annual audit. All foreign invested companies, whether Representative Offices (RO), Wholly
Foreign-Owned Enterprises (WFOE), Joint Ventures
(JV), or Foreign-Invested Commercial Enterprises
(FICE), are required to prepare annual statements
including balance sheets, income statements, and
cash flow statements for the annual audit based
on the Chinese GAAP. The annual financial statements and the relevant accounting records need to
be audited by a Chinese licensed CPA firm. If the
company is an international company in China it is
suggested to use a Chinese audit firm with international experience and quality standards. Only a
CPA firm with international experience can provide
a platform for an international financial structure.
A lot of problems arise during the annual audit.
This is mostly the result of underestimating the
importance of good monthly bookkeeping and
accounting. The following points are the key issues:
a. Sales and cost of goods (COGS) recognition
In some cases, the finished product has been
delivered and the sales conditions have been
fulfilled, but the sales and costs have not been
recognized in the financial and tax report. As a
result, the sales and COGS will be understated, and
the VAT/ Corporate Income Tax (CIT) payment will
be delayed. This will lead to tax sur-charges and
penalties.
b. Cost calculation
Certain companies do not adopt correct
cost calculation methods. For instance, the
www.china.ahk.de
manufacturing costs are not properly allocated
into each product, the bill of materials are not
correctly defined, the unit price of the material is
not used correctly, etc.
c. Evaluation of Inventory
The evaluation of inventory is the key issue during
the annual closing and audit procedure. Regarding
slow-moving inventory, the proper devaluation
should be considered according to the net realized
value or other provision methods.
d. Stocktaking of Inventory and Fixed Assets
The existence and status of the inventory and
fixed assets need to be checked during the
annual closing. An overall stocktaking needs to be
considered by the company, and the auditor will
make sample checks.
e. Proper expenses accrued
According to accounting policy, relevant accrued
expenses should be considered and recorded
regularly in periodical reports to reflect correct
operating results.
f. Deferred tax calculation
Deferred tax calculation is a complicated process,
and it is sometimes overlooked by companies.
Particularly in China, there are many temporary
and permanent differences between the
accounting and the tax result.
International GAAP
For international companies the consolidated financial statements will be needed for the purpose
of group consolidation. Therefore, the local WOFE/
JV will need a special purpose audit of the financial
statements as per December 31, 2012, in line with
the International Standards on Auditing. Moreover,
financial statements need to be prepared according to
the internal accounting principles of the headquarters
(IFRS, German-GAAP, US-GAAP, or HK-GAAP).
2nd level: Annual Foreign Currency Audit and
Inspection
The Foreign Currency Inspection (FCI), as of the
period ending December 31, 2012, needs to be
performed by an authorized CPA firm. This report is
necessary for the company to undergo the annual
inspection by the State Administration for Foreign
Exchange (SAFE), as required by the foreign
exchange regulations in China. The responsibility of
the company’s management is to prepare, factually
and completely according to the regulations of the
SAFE, the Statement of Foreign Investors’ Equity of
the foreign invested company. The FCI report will
verify the Statement of Foreign Investors’ Equity of
the company and confirm its accordance with the
relevant regulations promulgated by the SAFE.
3rd level: Annual Tax Audit and Clearance
According to the requirements of the tax
authorities, each foreign entity shall participate
in an annual tax clearance. Keep in mind that
taxpayers whose CIT is in the form of an audit
collection are required to submit a tax audit report
when one of the following situations occurs:
1. Loss of corporate assets
2. Real Estate corporation annual CIT filing
Taxpayers are required to submit a tax audit report
if one of the following situations occurs:
1. Loss in the current year exceeds RMB 100,000
2. Making up for losses in the current year
3. Annual turnover exceeds RMB 30,000,000
This mainly includes the annual CIT clearance. Costs
and profits will be listed to evaluate taxable profit.
4th level: Annual Combinative Inspection
Each foreign company shall facilitate an Annual
Combinative Inspection from various authorities
within the first five months of the following
year. These are the same authorities that have
approved the registration of the company (e.g.
AIC, MOFCOM, Financial Bureau, Customs, Tax
Authorities, etc.). Each of these authorities must
confirm that the foreign company is in compliance
with its business scope and its operation, financial
status etc. All of the confirming documents and
the audit report shall be submitted to the relevant
authorities. Upon approval, the foreign company
can proceed with its business in China.
Ms. Grace Shi, CPA, CTA is a Partner at
Ecovis in Beijing. She has over 12 years of
experience in accounting, auditing and tax
advisory services to both international accounting firms and large domestic corporations. She has an international MBA and US
Global Finance Master’s degree, and has been
a Chinese Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
since 2001 and a Chinese Certified Taxation
Agent (CTA) since 2002. Before joining Ecovis
she was the head of a leading international
firm in Beijing for 6 years, and CFO of a local
com-pany with more than 1000 employees.
For more information, please contact:
* [email protected]
Mr. Richard Hoffmann is a Partner at Ecovis
in Beijing. He is an expert for complex legal
and tax issues. He has published more than
50 articles in international magazines and is
a frequent speaker at high profile events in
China and abroad. Mr. Hoffmann has more
than ten years of work experience dealing
with international clients. For more information, please contact: * richard.hoffmann@
ecovis.com
39
BUSINESS
| Features
Litigation in China
A Long and Rocky Road
by DR. WENBAO QIAO
For foreign companies doing business in China, dispute and litigation
may sometimes be inevitable. Once a dispute cannot be resolved out
of court, there is a long and rocky road tofinal success, with several
important points to be considered for planning and handling of litigation in China:
Documents and Evidence
The first step of each procedure is to collect and prepare all necessary documents and evidence. According to Chinese law, documents and evidence
from another country (such as excerpts from the commercial register or
powers of attorney) have to be first notarized in their country of origin
and then certified by the Chinese Embassy or Consulate in the respective
country. Only notarized and certified documents and evidence will be accepted by Chinese courts. While preparing the documents and evidence,
attention should be paid to the timeline required for the notarization and
certification. There are several important statutory deadlines shown below.
Failure to meet these deadlines can lead to the loss of a case. Notarization
and certification in Germany usually takes two to three weeks, which in
turn may play a critical role for the time schedule of trial preparation.
One practical suggestion for the preparation of power of attorney is to issue it as so called “special power of attorney”. Such special powers include,
for instance, changing and withdrawing any claims. Moreover, they entitle
companies to make a settlement, put forward a counter-claim and make an
appeal. “Special power of attorney” should thus describe the lawyer’s authority in detail and comprehensively. However, where possible, the power
of attorney should not refer to one specific court. This avoids the need to
re-issue the power of attorney if it comes to appeal or to a new court due
to problems of jurisdiction. Furthermore, it is also advisable to make a notarized copy of the original excerpts from the commercial register or powers of attorney in China as reserve, because some courts in China may also
require separate power of attorney for the execution of the judgment.
Variation in Quality – Expert Reports
A very common dispute point encountered by foreign companies is the
variation in quality, especially in cases resulting from international sales
contracts. In disputes regarding quality, it is common to obtain a neutral
expert report. During a court proceeding, the parties in dispute may jointly
elect the expert. If they fail to reach an agreement, the Court will appoint
an expert. Foreign companies often decide to have an expert study carried
out by an expert in their homeland prior to court proceedings. However,
it is uncertain whether such an expert report, even after notarization and
certification, will be recognized by the Chinese courts. During our business
40
we have encountered different attitudes of the Chinese courts: in one case
in Ningbo, the judge did not accept the expert report that we provided, and
said that he did not know whether the expert had the qualifications necessary to meet the requirements under Chinese laws. In another case in Yangzhou all three reports were accepted by the court as effective evidence, and
the qualifications of the German experts were not mentioned at all.
Interim Injunction
Another critical question for a successful litigation is how to ensure law
enforcement following the trial. An important legal instrument for this
purpose is the interim injunction, which includes, for example, the freezing
of bank accounts or attachment of assets. Usually, an interim injunction
can be ordered by the court upon the application of a party (or ex officio,
which in practice rarely happens due to potential liability of the court)
before or during the legal proceeding. The general precondition for an
interim injunction is that, without such a measure, the enforcement of
the future judgment may be impossible or considerably difficult. In cases
which have a main aim of claiming damages, we strongly recommend
making the application for interim injunction before filing the suit. When
applying for an injunction, the applicant has to provide a deposit to the
court, which serves as collateral for any potential damages caused by the
interim injunction. Such securities may be provided, for instance, in the
form of cash deposits, mortgages or a guarantee letter. The actual amount
of the cash deposit differs from court to court. As a point of reference,
courts in Shanghai usually require a cash deposit of 20-30% of the whole
dispute amount. A third-party guarantee letter is a viable option, especially in cases with a high dispute value which may negatively affect the
cash flow of the plaintiff. There are court-approved security firms which
can provide the required guarantee letters to the court. Security firms in
Shanghai usually charge 0.5%-2% of the amount guaranteed, depending
on the value of the claim. However, some courts, like in the city Cixi near
Ningbo, require a combined guarantee of cash deposit and third-party
guarantee letter from a court-approved local security company.
Legal Costs
One of the first questions which would arise when deciding whether or
not to take legal action is the costs of the whole procedure. In China, legal
costs mainly consist of court costs and lawyer’s fee. In terms of the court
costs there are clear rules. An online calculator (easily found via Google)
can provide a good overview about the expected court costs. The lawyer’s
fees may vary from place to place and from case to case. Although the
Ministry of Justice issued a so-called “Lawyer’s Fee-Method” in 2006, its
provisions remain fairly vague. More detailed rules can be found in several
www.china.ahk.de
local regulations. For commercial disputes in China, performance-based
lawyer’s fees are not only permitted by law in most cases, but also quite
common. The percentage of the performance-based lawyer’s fee is highly
dependent on the total dispute value of each case. In the latest dispute
between Apple and Proview Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. concerning the trademark “iPad”, the lawyer’s fee for the law firm representing
Proview is also performance-based (as has been reported, 4% of the
amount in the final verdict or the settlement agreement.) In the case of a
performance-based fee, installment payments are often used, depending
on the outcome of each separate phase of the court proceedings. Given
that many judges in China would prefer to end cases by settlement rather
than through trial, it is advisable to make a clear agreement with your
lawyer on attorney’s fees for this event. In China, unlike in Germany or
Austria, every party has to cover his or her own attorney’s fees in addition
to other legal fees (such as notarization costs). In principle, the prevailing
party is not entitled to reimbursement for the above costs. Two major exceptions to this are proceedings regarding intellectual property rights and
unfair competition. In these cases full refund can be claimed if the costs
are reasonable and proportionate. The attorney of a plaintiff with headquarters abroad usually settles Chinese court payments in cash or via wire
transfer from the law firm’s account. To ensure that the lawyer or the law
firm is entitled to request the court to reimburse court costs afterwards,
such authority has to be clearly defined in the special power of attorney.
Important Deadlines and Duration of the Judicial
Procedure
For civil legal proceeding with a foreign element, the following important
deadlines shall be noted:
Deadline for providing
evidence
In general min. 30 days
Deadline for a counter-claim
Within the deadline for
providing evidence
Deadline to reply
30 days
Deadline to submit appeal
30 days
from delivery of the notice
concerning the initiation of
the proceedings is usually
indicated in the notice of the
court extendable upon request
calculated from receipt of the
notice of application or notice
of appeal. extendable upon
request
from delivery of the judgment
or court order
In daily practice, another frequently raised question is: how long will the
whole legal proceeding take? Unfortunately, there is no clear time limit for
civil proceedings involving connections with abroad.
Looking to the Future
In the past decade, the qualification of judges in China has been improved
significantly. The elder generation of judges without a legal education background is vanishing from the Chinese court room. The concern of foreign
companies on the qualification of Chinese judges has thus lost its ground.
However, although the situation has improved considerably, many procedural
problems are not handled uniformly. The Chinese Supreme People’s Court is in
the process of standardizing proceedings wherever possible. Nevertheless, the
complicated situation with different ways of handling the same procedural
question from court to court will not improve significantly in the near future.
Dr. Wenbao Qiao is an Attorney-At-Law and a Partner of DeBund
Law Offices. He can be contacted via:
* [email protected]
Innovating
Your
Business
Processes
ORBIS Consulting Shanghai Co., Ltd.
ZAO FONG Universe Building
Room 3D/9I
No.1800 Zhongshan, West Road
Xuhui District
Shanghai 200235, P.R CHINA
Phone: +86 2164401277
Cameo Center Tower 2
Room 1916
No. 16 Guangshun, South Avenue
Chaoyang District
Beijing 100102, P.R. CHINA
Phone: +86 10 84763903
E-Mail: [email protected]
Web:
www.orbis-china.com
Your Partner for Rollouts to China
41
BUSINESS
| Features
Blending in, Giving back, and
Doing Business in China
Face to face with Fuchs Executive Vice
President Klaus Hartig
by Caitlin Waggoner
Every year the Shanghai Government
presents “Magnolia Silver” awards to foreign
residents of Shanghai deemed to have made
an “outstanding contribution to Shanghai's
development.” In 2012, one of the recipients
of the Magnolia Silver Award was Klaus
Hartig, a native of Germany who has been
living in Shanghai for the past 16 years. Mr.
Hartig, who is Executive Vice President at
Fuchs Petrolab AG in Shanghai, has helped to
spearhead Fuchs’ charitable efforts in China,
and is outspoken about his affection for
his adopted home. German Chamber Ticker
caught up with him to know more about
blending in, giving back, and doing business
in China.
Mr. Hartig, you have lived in Shanghai for
more than 16 years, and in an interview
with Shanghai Daily you jokingly referred
to yourself as a “Jiading native.” Your many
years of experience living and working in
China make you stand out in a community
of expatriates who often only stay in China
for a year or two. What advice would you
give to an employer
who is struggling
to maintain foreign
workers in China,
or to expatriates
who have trouble
adapting to life here?
If expatriates stay in
China for only a year
or two it is usually
based on a mutual
agreement between
the employer and
its employee. If an
employer agrees
to such terms, one
can not say that
this employer is
struggling with the maintenance of a foreign
work force. If a person is send abroad for
a year or two, it is simply not enough time
to enable this person to perform. To adapt
to cultural differences and differences in
conducting business takes more time than a
year or two can provide. To the expatriates,
my advice is “do as the Chinese do”. Blend
in and soak up the opportunity to get
acquainted with this beautiful culture and
society. Be patient with yourself and your
colleagues.
Weiss-Röhlig moves
Since 1992 your global transport specialist in Greater China.
With 18 own offices in the region providing you best-in-class service.
Air Freight
Sea Freight
Project
Logistics
www.weiss-rohlig.com
[email protected]
14Jan_AnzeigeShanghai_178x77.indd 1
42
14.01.13 11:35
Do you believe that there will still be a role
for the expatriate in China in another 16
years? If so, what will make expatriates
relevant and necessary in 2032 and beyond?
Difficult to say. The world is shrinking, and
Shanghai is one of its multicultural melting
pots. There are lots of expatriates in New
York, Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore and other
world cities alike. I think that participation in
the global marketplace decides which person
is working in which country.
You have stated that you prefer to be
“integrated into the local life” in Shanghai,
rather than live within an expat community.
Do you think that this “integration” in your
private life has had any effect on your
experience doing business here?
Definitely yes. The “acceptance” of living in
a foreign country is certainly helpful for an
integration progress.
You recently received the Magnolia Silver
award, which is presented to expatriates
who have made “outstanding contributions
to Shanghai's development.” One aspect of
your contribution to Shanghai has been your
leading Fuchs’ participation in the “Sport
For All” project. Could you tell us a little bit
about Sport For All and how you became
involved with it?
We believe that, being successful in a
country, we have an obligation to share
and return part of our success with the
country and its people and support those
who are in need. The programme of Sports
for All in conjunction with the need to have
more physical education with the Nanxiang
Primary school was a good opportunity for us
to lend our support.
Fuchs China’s relationship with Sport For
All has been a very successful one. If a
foreign-owned business in China wants to
form a relationship with a local charitable
organization or NGO, what should they look
for from the potential partner to ensure that
the association will be a positive one? What
sort of vetting process is necessary to ensure
a good fit?
I am unable to answer this question in full. We
support the “Heart to Heart” foundation, as we
know the people and we are able to accompany
the money flow up to the receiver.
Does Fuchs China have any plans to become
involved in any other charitable projects in
the future?
Yes, but we have not yet decided.
Based on your 16 years of experience in
China, where do you see the Chinese market
heading in the next five years?
Salary levels will double until 2020 and
will close the gap with the rest of the
industrialized countries.
As China comes under new leadership,
many have predicted a move by the Chinese
government to focus on encouraging
consumer spending, rather than foreign
investment. How will the growing power of
the Chinese consumer affect the way that
foreign businesses operate in China?
I do not think that the Chinese consumer
bases his or her buying decisions on the
origin of the manufacturer. As long as a
company manufactures good quality products
for competitive market prices, the chance of
continuous development is real.
China has always been an extremely dynamic
place for foreign-owned companies to do
business. How have you kept up with the
changing times over the past 16 years, and
what adaptations do you think foreignowned companies will have to make to
remain relevant in the Chinese market into
the future?
It is important for a foreign company to
change according to the requirement of the
market and its environment, and not to miss
a trend.
Fuchs Lubricants is a major supplier of
lubricants to the Chinese automotive
industry. The Chinese automotive industry
has seen incredible growth; China became
the world’s largest automobile market in
2009. What has it been like to be so close
to the center of this enormous boom, and
what trends might you predict in the industry
going into the future?
We have been fortunate to participate in this
growth, and we do believe that this growth
will continue, even if it’s at a lower pace.
The continuation of this growth will not
only be driven by an increasing per capita
consumption, but also by the increasing
technological development of all industry
sectors.
Mr. Hartig, thank you very much for the
interview.
REGIONAL NEWS | North China | Member Affairs
Thanks to Our Yearly Sponsors North China 2012/13
Beijing Office
E.R.P.
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Tianjin Office
Gleason and SMT Form Strategic
Partnership for Gear Design and
Manufacturing Systems
Gleason Corporation (Rochester New York)
and Smart Manufacturing Technology
(SMT) (Nottingham, UK) have formed a
global strategic partnership to provide
gear manufacturers world-wide with a
complete design to manufacturing system.
Gleason and SMT will offer a system that
seamlessly integrates SMT’s premier System
Design and Analysis Software (MASTA)
with Gleason’s industry-leading software
for Bevel Gear Design and Manufacturing
(CAGE). Gear manufacturers will benefit from
a fully integrated workflow when designing
powertrains, gearboxes, transmissions and
more. The first products from the cooperation
will be available in the first half of 2013.
Ping-pong star Timo Boll Launches
New Product for Viessmann
Over 250 Chinese retailers joined Viessmann
Heating Technology for a product launch event
at the German Centre Shanghai on December
3, 2012. Viessmann brand ambassador
Timo Boll - together with Torsten Dietze,
General Manager Viessmann China, and Dirk
Geissler, Head of Marketing Viessmann Group
- unveiled the new gas-fired wall-hung-
44
boiler Vitodens 100 CC. The German heating
technology manufacturer that has established
a nation-wide retail network in China over
the past years intends to expand its leadership
in the high efficiency condensing technology
segment. Ping-pong matches between
European Champion Boll and Viessmann
retailers topped off the event. The Viessmann
Group is one of the leading international
manufacturers of heating systems. Founded
in 1917, the family business maintains a staff
of 9,600 employees worldwide and generates
EUR 1.86bn in annual group turnover.
Sino German IT Consulting Ltd.
Operates in a New Business Area
At the present time with the current
change of circumstances and requirements,
companies with business relationship in
China (whether recently formed or already
established for many years) should think
about whether their alliance is still up to
date and has considered whether they can
match with the new circumstances. Sino
German IT Consulting Ltd now also supports
SMEs in reviewing their existing business
relationships in China. A major source of
problems for SMEs can be changes in the
Chinese business environment that have
turned up recently and have not been noted.
This could impact negatively on business
results. Established processes can be contrary
to "Costs Optimization" and "Efficiency", in
the present time. To prevent any negative
effects, small and medium-sized enterprises
should do a review which takes business
relationship and business processes into
consideration, to prevent the possible
negative effects.
Vaillant Recognized as CSR Role
Model in China
On 1st December 2012, Vaillant China was
recognized at the "Recognition of CSR
Role Models in China" ceremony for its
outstanding performance in CSR activities
with its “Low Carbon Tour” project in China.
Vaillant hopes to set a trend for architects/
www.china.ahk.de
interior designers to adopt the green choice
of environmentally sustainable design that
leads to a low-carbon society, and also
promote a low-carbon lifestyle among
the public. Organized and held by China
Philanthropy Times, the event aimed to
recognize enterprises that have made great
efforts to give back to Chinese society and
communities. Vaillant was recognized for
its efforts to arouse public awareness of
environmental protection and energy saving.
OSK Beijing Reaches Milestone
as this Year’s Auto Show Season
Concludes at Auto Guangzhou
Oliver Schrott Kommunikation (OSK) Beijing
recently concluded this year’s auto show
season by reaching a milestone when it
produced the 4th and 5th consecutive motor
shows for Mercedes-Benz China at Auto
Chengdu and Auto Guangzhou, respectively.
With these achievements, OSK Beijing proved
its consistent success since 2008 in realizing
press shows for global brands in both tier
one and tier two cities across the country. In
April OSK Beijing kicked off the season with
Auto China, by supporting its Cologne head
office in the most important press show in
China for Daimler AG. Following Auto China,
OSK continued on with Auto Chengdu and
ended the season in Guangzhou. For all of
the projects, OSK conceptualized and staged
the shows with expert guidance at every
stage, delivering benchmark shows through
content-rich speeches, motion design and
captivating performances.
TUI China at the 2nd China
Responsible Tourism Forum
TUI China, a Beijing-based travel operator,
was invited to serve on a panel of the 2 nd
China Responsible Tourism Forum that
took place this November in Shanghai. The
forum was a great success and it offered
a unique platform for TUI China to share
its best practices and exchange views with
other opinion leaders regarding Responsible
Tourism Development. The China Responsible
Tourism Forum was inaugurated in December,
2011, and has since become an annual
event organized by the Pacific Asia Travel
Association. The theme for this year’s forum
was “Sustainable Innovation, Sustainable
Travel, Sustainable Lifestyle”, which reflects
the long-standing corporate goals of TUI.
The company values this opportunity to
join with other businesses, researchers,
and government regulatory authorities in
discussing how to best protect the climate,
local ecology and cultural heritage, while
at the same time encouraging tourism
development across China.
Ltd., Professor Dr Ada Pellert, President of
Berlin University for Professional Studies
and Founding President of the Carl Benz
Academy, Dr Andre van Niekerk, Dean of the
Business School, Woodbury University and
Mr Manfred Schönebeck, Chancellor of the
Carl Benz Academy attended the opening
ceremony, together with 45 new MBA
students representing the elite of MercedesBenz in China. 2012 is the second year for
CBA, which offers tailored, international
post-graduate education programs for
leading auto industry employees in PR China.
Xinghui Zhuoyue International Management
Consulting (Beijing) Co., Ltd., is the
administration / management provider for
the Carl Benz Academy project.
Mazars Beijing Celebrates its 15th
Anniversary
On Friday 23 rd November 2012, Mazars
Greater China held its annual dinner in
Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. This year
is an important year, as Mazars celebrated
its 15th year of presence in Mainland China.
Mr. Thierry Labarre, Founding Senior Partner
of Mazars Mainland China, set up the Beijing
office in 1997, and contributed to developing
the practice in Shanghai and Guangzhou.
During this dinner, Mr. Christophe Texier,
Managing Partner of Mazars Beijing office,
gave an opening speech to thank all the
colleagues for their performance as well as
for their contribution to the successful and
stable development of the Beijing practice
over the years.
Crowne Plaza Sun Palace Beijing
Awarded with 2012 Community
Leadership Award
Crowne Plaza Sun Palace Beijing, headed by
General Manager, Anna Stackler, recently
won the 2012 Community Leadership Award
at the Intercontinental Hotel Group’s Greater
China Leadership Conference. The award
is for the hotel’s CSR activities, particularly
in charitable initiatives, to help the Beijing
and neighboring provincial communities. The
most recent initiative was their Christmas
Tree Lighting Ceremony which, as in past
years, was tied to the Nanpi School, which
is located in a poverty stricken area of Hebei
Province. The collection went to help the
school with teaching facilities and needy
students with educational materials for the
year ahead. The hotel invited donors to
“Buy a Wish” and hang them on the hotel’s
10-metre-tall Christmas tree. As a gesture of
thanks, donors were given a little mushroom
lamp; mushroom being the theme for their
Christmas Eve event this year and also
uniquely Yunnan.
Carl Benz Academy Starts Second
Phase
On the morning of November 19th, 2012, the
Carl Benz Academy launched the 2nd phase
of its innovative pilot program at Peking
University in Beijing. Mr Cai Hongbin, Dean
of Guanghua School of Management at
Peking University, Mr Christian Schröter,
Vice President of Mercedes - Benz (China)
45
New Programme-coordinator “Sprache
und Praxis in China” at the German
Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
In October 2012, Ruth Schimanowski joined
the Beijing Office of the DAAD. She is in charge
of the “Language and Professional Training in
China” scholarship program sponsored by the
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
(BMBF). Each year, ten excellent German university graduates from the fields of natural science,
law, economics, social sciences and architecture
come to China for extensive language studies at
the Beijing Foreign Studies University, and receive six months of professional training within
German, Chinese or international companies and
institutions. The DAAD organizes company visits,
workshops and lectures to enhance the overall
competence, networking and intercultural skills
of the participants, thus making the scholarship
a major step towards a successful career in Asia.
Doduco Celebrating Groundbreaking Event of New Facility in Wuqing
encouraged and pledged to continue to foster
strong relationships in the future.
A lot of planning and resources go into every
new facility before it is built. Celebrating the
start of its construction with a groundbreaking
event is a joyful occasion for everyone involved.
Doduco’s building project partners, staff and
shareholders had a wonderful groundbreaking
event on 5th November, 2012. The event was
held at the construction site in Wuqing, which
has an excellent ecological environment and is
just minutes away from Beijing by high-speed
train. Standing in the cold wind for the ceremony was challenging, but nevertheless everyone
was very positive about the future, and inspired
and motivated by the USD 20mn investment
with research and development capabilities
and the latest manufacturing technologies. The
deafening firecrackers electrified the staff and
business partners. With this commitment, and
Doduco’s 90 years of engineering developments
in Germany and 20 years of presence in China,
Doduco staff and business partners were deeply
Franz Richter Appointed as General
Manager of the Ritz-Carlton, Tianjin
The Ritz-Carlton
Hotel Company L.L.C. has
announced the
appointment of
Mr. Franz Richter
as General Manager of The RitzCarlton, Tianjin,
which will open
soon as the city’s newest landmark. Franz has
enjoyed 30 successful years in the hospitality
industry throughout Asia. He started his career
with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company in December 2008 as the General Manager of The RitzCarlton, Seoul. Under his leadership, The RitzCarlton, Seoul, took the care and comfort of its
guests to new levels and was recognized with
the Best Improved Guest Engagement Result
award in 2011 by The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company L.L.C. Prior to joining the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Mr. Richter held senior positions
with Hyatt, Shangri-La and InterContinental
Hotels Group. He has served in Hong Kong, Bali,
Jakarta, Surabaya-Indonesia, Dubai-United Arab
Emirates, Fukuoka-Japan and New Delhi-India.
EWM焊接技术扎根中国
以德国最先进的技术服务于中国和亚洲
EWM WELDING TECHNOLOGY MADE IN CHINA
GERMAN STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY FOR CHINA AND ASIA
手弧焊
MMA welding
钨极氩弧焊
TIG welding
伊达高科焊接 (昆山)有限公司
EWM Kunshan, China
EWM HIGHTEC WELDING (Kunshan) Ltd.
10 Yuanshan Road,
Kunshan New & High-Tech Industry Development Zone,
Kunshan, Jiangsu, 215300 P.R.China
伊达高科焊接(昆山)有限公司
江苏省昆山市昆山高新技术产业开发区圆山路10号
邮编: 215300
Phone: +86(0) 512 57867188
Fax: +86(0)512 57867182
www.ewm.cn · [email protected]
46
熔化极气体保护焊
MIG/MAG welding
伊达高科焊接德国总部
EWM Mündersbach, Germany
等离子焊
PLASMA welding
20 General Managers of Kempinski Group Sang
Happy Birthday Celebrate the 20th Anniversary of
the 1st Kempinski in China
On 26th November, at the lobby of Kempinski Hotel Beijing Lufthansa
Center, 20 general managers of the Kempinski Group gathered
spontaneously and sang the birthday song to the Kempinski Hotel
Beijing. As the 1st Kempinski Hotel in China since 1992, Kempinski
Hotel Bejing had the great pleasure to host the annual Kempinski
China Regional GM conference 2012 while celebrating its 20 th
anniversary. “The best way to celebrate our birthday is to sing the
birthday song and share birthday cake within our family,” said Mr.
Interthal, the managing director of the hotel. “As a matter of fact, we
made our 20th anniversary birthday cake with more than 30 media
friends last Friday and sang the birthday song with our colleagues.
There will be more exciting activities coming up, such as our gala
event this Wednesday.”
In Person | www.china.ahk.de
Dr. Matthias
Kühnrich
Company: SWJ Engineering GmbH
Job title/position: Executive Director
Date established: July 1, 2003
HQ: Leuschnerpark 4, Griesheim, Germany
Main business: Factory planning, manufacturing
engineering, logistic planning and project management
Number of employees: 120
Sales/revenue: EUR 12mn
Certification according to DIN EN ISO 9001: 2008
What is your personal and business background?
I have been working as an Executive Director
at SWJ Engineering since 2004. My main responsibilities have to do with personnel issues,
strategy and development. I specialize in the
automotive industry field, especially in assembly
and production related logistics. I am supervisor
for an important project for a large automotive
company based in Bremen (Germany), in which
we are responsible for automatic small parts
warehousing and the entire logistics structure
of one of (the company’s) new products. We are
also pioneers in implementing new software
products in the field of supply chain manage-
ment. I am also involved in another large and
interesting project for an automotive company
based in Wolfsburg. For that project we are in
charge of assembly planning – especially in the
area of handling devices – for SUVs (Sport Utility Vehicles) in addition to project planning and
management.
What is the company’s main business?
Our main businesses are factory design, industrial facility engineering, logistical planning and
process optimization. As you know, Germany is
a strongly industrialized nation with a lot of experience and know-how regarding industry. We
provide our expertise and services to industries
especially in the areas of planning, design, implementation, project management and rampup support.
What are your main responsibilities in China?
I take care of our employees from Sindelfingen,
who are based in Beijing for an automotive
project we are working on right now in China.
We are always looking for new employees who
are able to work for the SWJ Group both at
home and abroad. We are interested in German
and Chinese speaking engineers from China, especially for our projects in China.
Where do you see differences between German
and Chinese cultures with respect to business?
If you want to tap into the Chinese market, you
need to understand the (Chinese) intellectual
world, you need language skills, you should understand the Chinese mentality and you need to
be actively engaged in networking.
Why did you choose to set up a business in
China and how do you assess future prospects?
Compared to other developing markets like
Russia, South America and India, China is the
strongest and fastest growing market, especially
in the automotive industry. The greatest demand
from the largest providers in the automotive
industry is coming from China.
47
New Members north china
For full contact information and company profiles of our new and existing members, please visit www.german-company-directory.com
Mr. Oemer Akyazici
CFO China
Schuler Sales & Service (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
 0 21 5665 0081
 [email protected]
Mr. Achim Bruder
Vice President
Voith Turbo Power Transmission (Shanghai)
Co., Ltd. Beijing Branch
 0 10 5665 3300
Mr. Karl Cheung
Managing Director
Gleason Gear Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd.
Beijing Sales and Service Branch
 0 186 1820 2099
Mr. Ron Howard Flanders
North China Sales Director
Shanghai Ringier Conference & Exhibition
Co., Ltd.
 0 8757 6828
Mr. Heinz Gaugl
General Manager
H.C. Starck Jiangwu Tungsten Specilities
(Ganzhou) Co., Ltd.
 0 797-8088 293
Ms. Stella Jiang
Managing Director
KOB (Qingdao) Medical Devices Co., Ltd.
 0 532 8618 5802
Mr. Xiaowei Jiang
General Manager
Smart Home (Beijing) Construction Material
Co., Ltd.
 0 10 8291 7850
Co., Ltd.
 0 431 8580 6087
 0 8530 6610
Ms. Karen Leotoing
General Manager
AGS Four Winds
 0 10 8532 5288
Mr. Joerg Schmid
General Manager
VOSS Automotive Components (Jinan) Co., Ltd.
 0 531 8902 1500
Ms. Yan Li
Admin & HR Manager
Behr Thermot-tronik (Qingdao) Co., Ltd.
 0 532 8701 1757
Mr. Peter Tian
General Manager
Roche Diagnostics (Shanghai) Limited Beijing
Branch Office
 0 10 8515 4053
Dr. Peter Lindner
General Manager
Changchun ElringKlinger Ltd. (CEK)
 0 431 8587 7166
Mr. Louie Liu
General Manager
Vossloh Fastening Systems (China) Co., Ltd.
Beijing Trading Branch.
 0 10 6566 3951
Ms. Annie Wang
Vice President
Sino-German Bausparkasse (SGB)
 0 22 5808 6699
Mr. Thomas Gerard Mattia
Chairman
Edelman Public Relations Wordwide (China)
Co., Ltd.
 0 10 5828 6508
Mr. George Wang
General Manager
Wilhelm Bahnmueller Precision Machine (Beijing)
Co., Ltd.
 0 6590 0828
Ms. Suliko Menning
Deputy General Manager
Rhenus Logistics China Ltd.
 0 10 6475 5077
Ms. Dr-Ing. Yajin Zhang
Partner
ISA International Planning and Design (Beijing)
Co., Ltd
 0 10 6268 0557
Mr. Christian Metzner
General Manager
The Astor Hotel Tianjin
 0 22 2331 1688
Mr. Wolfgang Jussen
Managing Director
Cosinus Consulting Co., Ltd.
 0 139 1015 7291
Mr. Juergen Pennings
Plant Manager
Woerwag Coatings Co., Ltd.
 0 135 0114 6424
Mr. Simon Komizo
General Manager
Emka (Tianjin) Industrial Hardware Co., Ltd.
 0 22 8212 3759
Mr. Dieter Rahnefeld
General Manager
SINOPLASTICS Co., Ltd
 0 431 8553 2849
Mr. Vincent Legoupil
General Manager
Changchun MANN+HUMMEL FAWAY Filter
Mr. Dirk Roethig
Company Representative
RAG Mining Solutions (Beijing) GmbH
48
Mr. Marc Vincent
President
Sennheiser Electronic (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
 0 10 5731 9666
Mr. Zhao Zhang
Event Management Associate
Yingli Energy (China) Company Limited
 0 189 0312 0730
Mr. Weiping Zhao
General Manager
Messe Frankfurt Shanghai Co., Ltd. Beijing Office
 0 10 6517 1388
Mr. Kevin Zhou
Head of Corporate Lending & Syndication
Department
The Bank of East Asia (China) Limited
 0 10 6589 2678
www.china.ahk.de
New Benefit Partners North China
For a detailed description about our Benefit Partner Program please visit our website:
http://china.ahk.de/membership/benefit-program/shanghai/
Beijing Crepanini
北京可百餐欣管理有限公司
Room A110, 1F, Nali Patio, No. 81 Sanlitun North
Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing
北京市朝阳区三里屯路三里屯北街81号那利
里-110室
' 010-8596 8873
* [email protected]
Website: www.crepanini.com
Benefit: 10 % discount for card holders.
Cheers Imported Wine
齐饮葡萄酒折扣店
Bldg 12.Rm 153, Jianguomenwai
Diplomatic Compround,Xiushuijie,
Chaoyang District Beijing 100600
北京朝阳区秀水街1号建国门外外交公寓12号
楼153室
' 010-5979 3230/9008
* [email protected]
Website: www.cheer-wines.com
Benefit: 10% discount of the total bill of the
purchase; 25% off our entire assortment during
birthday week,one time ourchase only; 25%
discount on wines for wedding purchase.
La Taverne
遥远西餐厅
Chaoyangqu Gongti Xilu No. 7
北京市朝阳区工体西路7号
' 010-6551 8967
* [email protected]
Website: www.lataverne.cn
Benefit: 10% off on food & beverages - except for
set lunch, special promotion, take away. Discount
only for up to 10 people at the same time.
' 010-8400 2699
* [email protected]
Discount: 10% off on our original Vietnamese
cuisine, cocktails, coffee and other beverages.
Scarlett Wine Bar and Restaurant
北京极栈精品酒店
A7 Gongtixilu, Chaoyang District,
Beijing
北京市朝阳区工体西路甲7号
' 010-6552 3600
* [email protected]
Website: www.hotel-g.com
Benefit: Scarlett set lunch - buy 4 (valued at 82
RMB/each) get the fifth one free.
Hotels
Shaolin Vegetarian
少林素斋
Building No.2, #58 Jianguo Road,
Chaoyang District, Beijing
北京市朝阳区建国路58号院2号楼
' 010-8574 2060
* [email protected]
Website: www.shaolinvege.com
Discount: 15% discount on any services & products
provided by Shaolin Vege except drinks & beverage.
Susu Vietnamese Restaurant
苏苏越南餐厅
Qianliang West Alley No. 10 Dongcheng District
100010
东城区钱粮胡同西巷十号 100010
Hotel G Beijing
北京极栈精品酒店
A7 Gongtixilu, Chaoyang District,
Beijing
北京市朝阳区工体西路甲7号
' 010-6552 3600
* [email protected]
Website: www.hotel-g.com
Benefit: Room promotion – 15% discount on BAR
(best available rate) valid on Great Room
Education
Hutong Cuisine Cooking School
DengCao Hutong No.35, Dongsi
South Street, Dong Cheng
District, Beijing 100010
北京市东四南大街灯草胡同35号
' 010-8401 4788
* [email protected]
Website: www.hutongcuisine.com
Benefit: 10% discount in all class (not to be
combined with other discounts; not for private
class)
The Hutong
北京融汇通文化传播有限公司
1 Jiu Dan Wan Zhong Xiang Hutong, Beijing, China
北京东城区九道湾中巷1号
' +86 1590 1046 127 * [email protected]
Website: www.thehutong.com
Benefit: German Chamber of Commerce Members will receive Hutong membership
discount pricing applicable to all public workshops at a 15-20%discount.
Sport & Relaxation
Fine Yoga Logo
梵音瑜伽
Two locations:
1. Blue Castle, Tower 2, 16th fl., 3 Xi Dawanglu, Chaoyang,
100026 Beijing 北京市朝阳区西大望路3号蓝堡国际中心2座16楼;
2. Van Palace, East Tower, 2nd floor, 1 South Jinghua Rd, Chaoyang, Beijing
北京朝阳景华南街1号旺座中心公寓东塔2楼
' 139 1120 9563/ 010-8599 9566 /010-5131 6118
* [email protected]
Website: www.FineYoga.com
Benefit: Fine Yoga grant German Chamber of Commerce members 10% on
all our rates/membership packages; The 10% is not applicable towards our
International workshops (they always have an early bird discount attached to
them) and cannot be combined with other offers.
Business and Retail Services
Beijing G Data Software Co., Ltd.
北京歌德塔软件有限公司
1 Haiying Road, Fengtai District, Beijing, China, 100070
北京市丰台区海鹰路1号院1号楼1006室
' 010-6378 2015
* [email protected]
Website: www.gdata-china.com
Benefit: 35% discount on all G Data business products including G Data
AntiVirus Business 11, G Data Client Security Business 11, G Data Endpoint
Protection Business 11.
49
REGIONAL NEWS | North China | Chamber Affairs
5th
November 2012
7th
November 2012
7th
November 2012
13th
November 2012
15th
November 2012
Event: Seminar and German Evening
Topic: China´s public opinion - media and its
role in Chinese society
Venue: Kempinski Hotel Dalian
Speaker: Mr. Daniel Abel | Head Media
& Communication Department, German
Industry & Commerce Greater China - Beijing
Event: Kammerstammtisch Binhai
Venue: La Seine French Restaurant Binhai
Tianjin
Event: Breakfast Seminar
Topic: Kulturelle Aspekte, die unser
Geschaeftsleben beeinflussen – ein
augenzwinkernder Vergleich China /
Deutschland
Venue: The Astor Hotel Tianjin
Speaker: Dr. Andreas Risch | Managing
Director, Turck (Tianjin) Sensor Co., Ltd. &
Turck (Tianjin) Automation Systems Co., Ltd.
16th
November 2012
19th
November 2012
20th
November 2012
Event: Praktikantenstammtisch Beijing
Venue: Schindler´s Anlegestelle
Event: 12th Sino-German Communication
Forum with the German Centre Beijing
Topic: Internal Communication: Great inside
out - How to include your employees in your
branding and corporate identity
Venue: German Centre Beijing,
Landmarktower II
Speaker: Ms. Linda Fu | Senior Manager CSR,
Lenovo
Ms. Maria Wu | Senior Manager People and
Change Department, PwC
20th
November 2012
20th
November 2012
27th
November 2012
28th
November 2012
50
Event: Seminar
Topic: How to apply for a visa in Germany Information from the German Embassy and
the German Chamber of Commerce
Venue: German Chamber Tianjin Office
Speaker: Ms. Patricia van de Water | Head
of the Visa Department, German Embassy
Beijing
Ms. Li Nan | Visa Service Manager, German
Event: Kammerstammtisch Beijing
Venue: Paulaner Brauhaus, Beijing Lufthansa
Center
Event: Special Event with the German
Consulate General Shenyang
Topic: The German Consulate General and the
German Chamber of Commerce in Shenyang:
Our services and activities
Venue: Crowne Plaza Shenyang Parkview,
Shenyang
Speaker: Mr. Jens-Peter Voss | Consul
General of the Federal Republic of Germany
in Shenyang
Mr. Sebastian Suciu | Regional Manager, GCC
North China
Event: Biz Socializer - Business Networking
Tianjin
Venue: Tangla Hotel Tianjin
Event: Interchamber Communication
Workshop
Topic: Fostering Team Collaboration using
the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®)
Venue: Radisson Blu Hotel Beijing
Speaker: Mr. Robin Ball | MDS Founder and
Head of Learning and Development
Event: Präsentation und Deutscher Abend
Topic: Dienstleistungen und Aktivitäten der
AHK Peking in Changchun
Venue: Swiss Bel Hotel Changchun
Speaker: Mr. Sebastian Suciu | Regional
Manager, GCC North China
Mr. Mike Hofmann | Head, Sourcing & Sales
and Fairs, Events and Delegations, German
Event: Kammerstammtisch Tianjin
Venue: Drei Kronen 1308 Brauhaus Tianjin
www.china.ahk.de
28th
November 2012
Event: Seminar
Topic: Durchsetzung von Forderungen im
China-Geschäft
Venue: German Chamber Beijing Office,
Landmark Tower II
Speaker: Dr. Heiko Büsing | LLM (UGA),
Associate Partner Rödl & Partner
4th
December 2012
Event: Kammerdinner
Topic: Jahresrückblick 2012 und
Jahresausblick 2013 mit dem deutschen
Botschafter
Venue: Kempinski Hotel Beijing
Speaker: Dr. Michael Schaefer | Ambassador
of the Federal Republic of Germany in China
On December 4th guests of the German Chamber of Commerce met
at Kempinski Hotel for this year’s last Chamber dinner. The much
anticipated special guest was the German Ambassador to China,
Dr. Michael Schaefer.
Before the beginning of the official part of the evening, which
included a speech given by Dr. Schaefer attendees were welcomed
by a reception with the chance to meet new and old contacts and
engage in interesting conversations.
After the welcome speech by Dr Joerg Mull, Vice Chairman of the
German Chamber, Dr. Schaefer gave an interesting and insightful
speech about the turbulent year of 2012. He addressed not only
general topics but also business related changes and upcoming
chances and challenges for German companies. Besides reviewing
the year of 2012 Dr. Schaefer gave a tentative outlook for 2013,
talking about developments and challenges in the near future with
a focus on the change in government in early 2013.
After the ending of the speech a Q&A session moderated by Dr.
Mull with many interested participants followed. Though not all
questions could be answered in short time, Dr. Schaefer managed
to answer every question in detail and in-depth. Hereafter three
new members of the German Chamber were given the opportunity
to introduce themselves shortly to the German business
community and were warmly welcomed by all. With the ending
of the official part of the evening attendees proceeded to enjoy a
buffet dinner which satisfied all tastes. In a relaxed and friendly
atmosphere people mingled, exchanged experiences and views and
discussed the ambassador’s speech.
51
5th
December 2012
5th
December 2012
Event: Kammerstammtisch Binhai
Venue: La Seine French Restaurant Binhai
Tianjin
6th
December 2012
Event: Special Event
Topic: Factory Visit at Continental
Automotive Systems (Tianjin) Co., Ltd.
Venue: Continental Automotive Systems
(Tianjin) Co., Ltd.
8th
December 2012
6th
December 2012
6
th
December 2012
Event: Special Event
Topic: German Christmas Market Tianjin
Event: Interchamber Breakfast Seminar
Topic: Permanent Establishment for
Corporate
Venue: Hilton Beijing Hotel
Speaker: Ms. Pauline Houl | Managing
Director China, Intertrust Group
Ms. Sabrina Zhang | Regional Partner, Dezan
Shira & Associates
Event: Young Professional Interchamber
Networking
Venue: Brussels Bar Beijing
11th
December 2012
11th
December 2012
52
Event: Annual HR Forum Dalian with
Netherlands Business Support Office, Direct
HR & Dezan Shira
Topic: Outlook 2013
Venue: Lenbach Xinghai Beer House, Dalian
Speaker: Mr. Sebastian Suciu | Regional
Manager, GCC North China
Ms. Miriam Wickertsheim | Regional Director,
Direct HR
Mr. Adam Livermore | Regional Manager
Dezan Shira & Associates
Event: Interchamber Communication
Workshop
Topic: Impactful Communication using the
Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®)
Venue: Radisson Blu Hotel Beijing
Speaker: Mr. Robin Ball | MDS Founder and
Head of Learning and Development
Event: Praktikantenstammtisch Beijing
Venue: Schindler´s Anlegestelle
www.china.ahk.de
12th
December 2012
Event: Seminar
Topic: Annual Audits, Annual Tax Clearance
& Annual Combinative Auditions for your
entity in China
Venue: German Chamber Beijing Office,
Landmark Tower II
Speaker: Ms. Grace Shi | Partner, Ecovis
Beijing
Mr. Richard Hoffmann | Partner, Ecovis
Beijing.
13th
December 2012
17th
December 2012
13
th
December 2012
Event: Charity Christmas Party with the
German Centre Beijing
Venue: German Centre Beijing, Landmark
Towers II
26th
December 2012
Event: Seminar
Topic: The Risk Less Taken: Managing Change
and Complexity
Venue: Renaissance Lakeview Hotel Tianjin
Speaker: Mr. Kelvin Lee | Director, Tianjin,
China Tax & Business Advisory Services PwC
Mr. Jason Yan | Senior Manager, Beijing,
Transfer Pricing Services PwC
Mr. Frank Liu | Manager, Tianjin, Transfer
Pricing Services PwC
Mr. Peter Zhang | Senior Manager,
Worldtrade Management Services PwC
Mr. Edmund Yang| Partner, International
Assignment Services PwC
Ms. Kitty Zhang | Senior Manager,
International Assignment Services PwC
Event: Kammerstammtisch Beijing
Venue: Paulaner Brauhaus, Beijing Lufthansa
Center
Event: Kammerstammtisch Tianjin
Venue: Drei Kronen 1308 Brauhaus Tianjin
53
The Leaning Archer is Aiming for Economic Growth
A Report about German Business in Shaanxi Province
by Mike Hofmann
Nicknamed “the Leaning Archer“, in reference
to the world heritage site the Terra-Cotta
Warriors in Xi’an, Shaanxi is a rapidly
developing province in Central China. From
2007 to 2011, Shaanxi’s average annual
economic growth rate has been 14%.
Shaanxi is also an important agricultural and
industrial base: its planting proportion and
production of apple and kiwi fruit rank first
in China, while its exports of concentrated
apple juice make up one fourth of all global
exports. Shaanxi can also boast the only state
agricultural hi-tech industries zone in China.
Shaanxi’s major industries are aerospace,
automotive, coal and machinery. Shaanxi
is also endowed with rich energy resources,
and has proven coal reserves of 167.6 billion
tons. It has become a main gas supplier for
big cities in China.
The growing strength and importance of Shaanxi is the result of China’s
“Go West” policy. During the first ten years until 2009, the policy has
helped to develop and build the infrastructure of Xi’an to be ready to
take on the requirements of foreign multinationals and enterprises.
Among highlighted projects is the purchase of 24.5% shares of
Xianyang Airport by German Fraport and USD 1.4bn airport extension,
and the announcement of Samsung's USD 7bn electronic plant.
As in other parts in China, it is expected that foreign suppliers and
service providers will follow multinationals into developing Chinese
provinces. At the moment nearly 40 German companies are present
in Shaanxi province, and more will follow. In a recent Business
Confidence Survey by the German Chamber of Commerce in China,
Xi’an was named fourth place among the second tier cities for
planned investments by German companies in China. One of the early
German investments in Shaanxi province was the establishment of
Siemens Signalling Company Ltd. (SSCX), a joint venture of Siemens
and Xi’an Railway Signal Company in 1995. The joint venture is
engaged in railway signalling products and systems, and the only
Siemens factory for such products in Asia: “Siemens AG decided to
move to the inland city Xi’an in 1995 because it found a good local
partner – Xi’an Railway Signal Company (XRSC) – and got strong
supports from the local authorities. Moreover, the good investment
environment and specific benefits provided by the local government,
such as tax and loan favours, have attracted many investors. In
addition, you can find qualified engineers in Xi’an, where the number
of universities ranks third in China” said Mr. Bai Yibin, CFO of SSCX.
To boost the economic cooperation of Shaanxi and Europe, and
Shaanxi and Germany in particular, the Department of European
Affairs of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (Mofcom) has organized
a study tour to Shaanxi province from November 21st to 23rd, 2012
54
for German-speaking officials and company representatives. The
German Chamber of Commerce in North China was personally
invited by Mofcom to join the delegation, and was asked to lead
German companies to Shaanxi. Among the nearly 30 participants
were representatives of Bayer, Deutsche Bank, Evonik, ThyssenKrupp,
Deutsche Boerse, Vamed Healthcare, ABB and NRW Invest.
The three day program consisted of official government meetings,
participation in the “Shaanxi – Europe Economic and Trade
Cooperation Forum” and visits to the Yangling Agricultural Hi-tech
Fair and the Xi’an Economic and Technological Development Zone, as
well as Company visits to Siemens and ABB.
During the Shaanxi-European Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum
– which was opened with speeches by high-level representatives of
the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, the Department of Commerce
of Shaanxi Province and the German Chamber of Commerce in
North China – the delegates conducted exchanges with the local
government and local business representatives and explored the
possibility of strengthening cooperation.
The German Chamber of Commerce in North China is confident
that the study tour to Shaanxi will help to deepen the relationship
and cooperation between German and Chinese companies, and
that Germany and China will continue to take advantage of the full
economic potential of growing together.
Mr. Mike Hofmann is the Vice General Manager of the German
Industry & Commerce Greater China - Beijing and can be reached
under * [email protected]
www.china.ahk.de
Providing More than Education
German Business Community in North China Supports
Children of Migrant Workers in Beijing
by Julia Tatrai
Though it is only a 20 minute drive from our office in Landmark Towers to the
outskirts of Chaoyang District, arriving there feels like entering an unknown
Beijing. This desolate and poor area, which has nothing in common with the
Christmas decorated shopping malls and office buildings we know so well,
serves the government as a waste dump. Here amongst empty plastic bottles and old plastic bags one wouldn’t expect to find anything worth visiting,
but it is exactly here where Hongqi Middle School for the children of migrant
workers is located.
The school itself is a very colourful place, with a lot of paintings decorating
the classrooms. Ping pong tables and the very popular basketball hoops in the
schoolyard make Hongqi look like any other school in China, with boys and
girls alike forming teams and playing against each other. All students are provided with food for the day, and during lunchtime chattering voices and clattering pots fill the air with noise. Still, the children have to learn in a difficult
environment: the small and unheated classrooms get bitterly cold in winter.
Also, because of the high number of students attending Hongqi class sizes are
huge, counting up to 60 students per class.
Hongqi School is not a school like any other. Founded in 2005, Hongqi was
established especially for the children of migrant workers. Migrant workers in
Beijing and other rich cities are usually from the central and western provinces
of China, where jobs are few and wages are low. Following the call of a better
life and the promise of economic success in coastal China, millions of them
leave their homes to find work elsewhere. Up to 230 million people – 16.5
% of China’s total population – were classified as members of the “floating
population” in 2012. In Beijing alone, 35.9 % of 19.6 million inhabitants are
migrants. They mostly work in physically tiring fields like construction or factory work, but more and more are also employed in China’s growing service
industry.
Apart from dealing with hard physical work and lower wages than people from
the cities, migrant workers face a number of prejudices and problems. Their
living conditions are often poor, with many families having to share a single
room. Under these circumstances it is difficult for parents to take care of their
children. To worsen their situation even more, most migrant workers’ Hukou
- the Chinese household registration - is still registered in their hometown,
depriving them of access to public services.
It was these conditions that made the founding of Hongqi Middle School
necessary. Hongqi is financed by private donations, offering 700 children from
the ages of 7 to 15 an education and a place to stay while their parents are
at work. But Hongqi, located in the Hei Qiao Cun area, is also part of a bigger
picture: the people involved and working there feel it is necessary to create an
example for a Chinese society that also cares about its most vulnerable citizens and holds no prejudice about peasants or people with a poorer education.
The educational goals of Hongqi are therefore a bit more complex than those
of normal schools. Besides a fundamental education in reading, writing and
maths, Hongqi aims at preparing its students in the best way possible for their
future. This means educating the children, for example, about daily hygiene
or the use of soap – topics that are necessary, says Mr. Li, director of Hongqi
School. “The parents work all day at the numerous Beijing construction sites
doing this hard physical work, and they don’t have the energy to provide a
minimum of health standards to their children.”
The German Chamber of Commerce in North China, in collaboration with the
German Centre Beijing, started supporting Hongqi Middle School last year
with the desire to help a broader branch of organizations working to improve
Chinese community ties. After a visit to Hongqi last year a decision was made
with Mr. Li to improve the school itself and the conditions under which the
children are learning. With a first donation of 15000 RMB from last years
Christmas Charity Party gloves and scarves were brought to keep the children
warmer during the winter; a second purchase brought all kinds of sports
equipment to Hongqi school, much to the delight of the students. The bulk
of the donations, however, were used for various renovations to the school’s
doors, ceilings and floors, which were in a terrible condition.
This years Christmas Party resulted again in a donation of 15,000 RMB. After
a visit during the last days of December to Hongqi, it was decided to purchase
homework books for all children to use during the holidays, and also to buy
flat screen televisions for showing educational films, meant to support the
work of the teachers in teaching the students about nutrition.
The donation to the Hongqi school is part of a broader approach of the Chamber and the German Center to support charity projects and social initiatives.
The two organizations will continue to support children of migrant workers in
order to promote fairness and justice in China’s working environment.
Every class has
about 60 pupils
in each small
classroom.
The school
constantly
repairs the
buildings and
equipment
with the help
of charity or
the children’s
parents.
Still, in many
classrooms it
is very cold
and the ceiling
leaks, so that
the children sit
close together
to warm each
other.
If you want to donate to the Hongqi School please contact Lin Yingying from
the German Centre of Industry and Trade:
 +86 10 6590 69-19
* [email protected]
55
German Companies Gain Crucial Advantages by
Deploying Green Technologies
by SOEREN PUErSCHEL
The Energiewende, or transition to renewable energy sources, is the
central industrial challenge Germany is confronted with at the beginning
of the 21st century. In the past concerns were raised about the cost and
the feasibility, but nowadays ever more experts, observers and citizens
have come to realize that the Energiewende combines crucial competitive
advantages for German industry, and ensures a sustainable energy future
for Germany. The aim is to ensure an energy supply that is reliable,
environmentally sound and economical. Misgivings that the Energiewende
was based on an ideology that ignored economic realities were soon
dispelled, as it has become clear that the investment is both sensible and
provides a beneficial long-term return on investment. The engagement of
many banks, private companies and institutions further underscores this
development.
way can bring the Energiewende to China. At the same time, German
companies can set new standards, support the sustainability efforts
of the Chinese government and show ways to establish an economy
based on sustainable solutions. This improves the image of Germany
and German companies, which helps to deepen the bilateral dialogue
on energy. An additional advantage is that the long-term energy
costs of companies are lowered. Sustainable business practices are
thus rewarded. Cordula Geinitz (German Embassy) kicked off the
briefing by explaining that the Sino-German dialogue in the field of
sustainable economic policy is now bearing fruit, and praising the
engagement of German industry in China. Dr. Florian Kessler (AHK
Beijing) then briefly outlined the benefits of the initiative for German
industry.
So far, companies have been able to gain significant cost-savings and
increase energy-efficiency by using so-called energy management
contracting (EMC). The measures are realized by using sustainable
solutions, and financed through cost savings. The EMC company
funds itself through a share of the savings, and is responsible for the
realization and proper operation and maintenance of the facilities.
The advantage for the companies is clear as they gain by receiving a
share of the cost savings and running their operation more efficiently.
In view of the Energiewende in Germany and incentives to foster
sustainable development in China, there are particularly good
opportunities for German companies to position themselves for the
long-term. German companies already have the chance to gain a
position at the forefront of energy efficiency in industry, and gain a
market position that sets the pace for years to come during the scaleup of energy efficient solutions within China.
The Energiewende arrives in China
A new initiative by econet china provides German companies with
a presence in China with the opportunity to realize the benefits
of the Energiewende in China. Their products can be sourced with
higher energy efficiency, their operations run on less energy, and
their company’s costs are cut. More than thirty companies attended
a briefing on the initiative at the German Embassy in Beijing on
November 29th. The aim of the event was to present the companies
with concepts and ideas. The initiative is focused on realizing
sustainable solutions for cost savings and increased energy efficiency
through three measures:
• Cost savings by increasing energy efficiency through
the substitution of old lighting for LED lighting
• Cost savings by deploying PV-solutions
• Cost savings by modernizing the building
envelope
The initiative offers three solutions as of
now, but is not restricted to these, as the
offerings can be expanded at any time.
Solution providers are welcome to join
the initiative. Close cooperation between
German companies that offer these solutions
and German companies that employ these
measures ensures proper implementation.
By establishing reference projects and
best-practices for German solutions and
companies, additional sales and markets can
also be opened up. German industry in this
56
The initiative, which is being coordinated by econet china, was
presented by Sören Pürschel (AHK ) and Dr. Sven Uwe-Müller (GIZ).
The Chinese government emphasized energy savings and CO2reductions per unit of output in the 12 th Five-Year Plan, and for
German companies it is ever more important to make sure that
production is unaffected by energy cuts, ensure lower costs and
increase long-term competitiveness. All measures provided by
the initiative are characterized by solutions that can be realized
efficiently and economically, by offering solutions to increase energy
efficiency through energy management-contracting in lighting,
modernization of the building envelope through better insulation,
windows and doors, and energy self-supply through PV-solutions.
The initiative is a platform for proven and financially viable solutions
by German companies for German companies with a presence in
China. As a next step, Chinese companies can enjoy the benefits of
www.china.ahk.de
57
this initiative as well. Its pioneering role in energy efficiency and
decentralized energy-supply will increase the competitiveness of
German business in China in the medium term. The initiative will also
support the involved companies as a whole. Further initiative events
will take place in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in 2013. A special
incentive is set by awarding distinct "Econet Awards" to participating
companies.
Three measures to decrease costs and increase efficiency
Dr. Jin Guo (RWE Climate Clean Energy Technology, Beijing) gave
a presentation relating to energy efficiency and substituting old
lighting for LED-lighting. Within the framework of the energy
management contracting approach, companies are offered a complete
and cost-neutral substitution of current lighting against new LED
lighting over three to five years. The involved companies incur no
cost, as the new LED lighting will be financed completely by RWE, and
RWE will calculate energy savings for the company. The offer is based
on the overall conditions of the respective industrial company. On this
basis the two sides will sign a contract whereby the company cedes
the saved energy cost to the EMC for a specific timeframe. RWE is
responsible and liable for orderly operations, maintenance and quality
of the LED-lighting. After a period of a few years the LED-lighting
becomes the whole property of the company, including all efficiency
gains. It is interesting to note that lighting consumes more than five
percent of total electricity consumption in China.
Case Study
During a project in Helanshan, 5,000 old lamps were substituted with
new LEDs, whereby the annual electricity bill was reduced to a third.
With an initial investment of 1,150,000 RMB in the first year, annual
savings of 740,000 RMB could be realized. The project was able to
achieve profitability within a very short timeframe.
strong business growth, and is currently representing offerings for
energy self-supply PV-solutions within the initiative. Patrick Kempf
detailed the benefits that can be realized by installing PV-systems on
the rooftop of industrial buildings. Moreover, he went on to explain
the multitude of financial subsidies and incentives the Chinese
government offers in this regard. Wirsol has installed more than 6,200
solar-systems worldwide. A key distinction to other competitors lies
in the very high performance ratio of PV-systems used by Wirsol. The
Golden Sun Programme offers subsidies through which fifty percent
of the system cost can be recouped upon grid-connection. Companies
with more than 10,000 square meters of rooftop space are perfectly
suited for the use of PV-installations, and can enjoy the benefits of
lower energy costs, increased energy self-sufficiency and many more
advantages.
Financing of the components is an integral part of the initiative,
which is why the briefing was rounded off with a presentation
on the financing options. The Deutsche Investitions- und
Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG) is actively present in China, and focuses
in part on energy-efficiency. Oliver Harms (DEG) laid out the various
financing options for the components and emphasized that projects
which increase energy-efficiency can receive some support of the DEG.
German companies engaged in China show high demand for
information relating to the renewable energy and energy-efficiency
solutions. The challenges they will be faced with in the coming years
are well-known, but there is a distinct lack of information on how to
realize and coordinate the implementation of those solutions. ESME,
which often lack a specific unit focused on energy-efficiency, often
shy away from implementing those measures as they are afraid of
the involved cost and coordination effort. The initiative targets these
companies, as it offers substantial assistance in implementing those
measures.
Shanghai Sto Ltd. realizes solutions regarding the building envelope.
Zhuang Wei pointed out the potential to increase energy-efficiency
considerably by using better insulation of the envelope and improved
windows and doors. He pointed out that this is beneficial both in
winter and in summer, as demand for heating and cooling is lowered.
This enables cost-savings throughout the year. While only 0.6% of
newly-constructed residential space in China could be considered
energy-efficient in 2000, the rate rose to 26.7% in 2011. Amongst
Sto’s reference projects in China one can find the Evonik Degussa
factory in Shanghai, and an office building belonging to the company
Viessmann in Beijing.
The company Wirsol from Waghäusel has experienced continuous and
58
Mr. Soeren Puerschel is the head of the environmental services
department GIC Beijing, including the econet platform, a non-profit
initiative of the German industry, coordinated by the German
Industry and Commerce Greater China, for the promotion of SinoGerman cooperation on sustainability. To support the already
rich German-Chinese cooperation in this field, econet china has
been created to facilitate the exchange of information, know-how
and enable effective networking between all players. For more
information on econet projects and partners, please refer to
www.econet-china.com or get in touch:
* [email protected]
www.china.ahk.de
Regular Social Events - North China
Beijing:
Kammerstammtisch – every third Monday of the month at
Paulaner Brauhaus, Beijing Lufthansa Center, 7.00 pm
Praktikantenstammtisch – every second Tuesday of the month at
Schindler´s Anlegestelle, Beijing, 7.00 pm
Tianjin:
Kammerstammtisch – every last Wednesday of the month at Drei
Kronen 1308 Brauhaus, Tianjin, 7.00 pm
Kammerstammtisch in Binhai - every first Wednesday of the
month in Binhai Tianjin, alternating Venue 5.30 pm
Event Highlights - North China
Greater China Day 2013 on 21st March 2013 in Hamburg
In November 2012, the foundations for the change of
government in the People's Republic of China were set. In March
this year, the new government is introduced into the offices.
This change in leadership raises many questions for the German
business: Will the new government keep up reforms? Where
are their priorities in the economic development? What is the
relevance of these developments for the German business in
China?
These questions and others will be discussed at this year's
"Greater China Day", on March 21, 2013 in Hamburg.
Representatives of the German Chambers and of German
Companies in China will participate in panel discussions on
topics such as the current shortage of qualified employees,
logistic, development of new locations and markets in China and
the health care industry.
For more information about the Greater China Day please visit
the website: http://www.hk24.de/international/GCD2013/
Annual General Meeting of the German Chamber in North China
Our Annual General Meeting will take place on May 6, 2013 in
the Kempinski Hotel Beijing Lufthansa Center.
On this year’s Annual General Meeting, China’s New Leadership
and the implications on policy and economy will be discussed
by Ms Jing Ulrich of J.P. Morgan and government affairs experts
from Siemens and Volkswagen.
After the panel discussion the meeting will close with a review
of the chamber work in 2012, an outlook on 2013 and a dinner
reception. We invite all members of the German Chamber of
Commerce | North China to participate at this event.
59
Training Calendar Beijing
Date
5th-6th March 7th-8th March 11th–12th March 18th-19th March 20th–21st March 21st–22nd March Management Training
Application Training for Spouses
Project Management
Controlling for Expatriates
Manager as a Coach
Project Management Essentials
Receptionist Training
Bridging the Cultural Gap for German
Professionals
Effective Business Writing
Time Frame
Overstretching Trainings
1st March–17th May Re-igniting your Career
(1st, 15th, 28th March; 12th, 26th April; 17th May)
March–June Being the Effective Leader
(7 half day learning, 3 half day interviews)
Time Frame
19th February–17th May
5th/6th March–29th/30th June 6th March–10th July 4th March–1st June 3rd/4th March–5th/6th June Language Trainings
Chinese Beginner Course for Everyday Life
German Course A1, A2, B1.1 & B1.2, B2
German Course C1 –
Wirtschaftskommunikation
Advanced English in Business
Brushing Up Your English I & II,
Lessons for Expat Spouses
Manager as a Coach
The manager in his role as a coach will mainly focus on growing
the employees and the team to their full potential to achieve
higher business targets. Through their full participation, the
employees will go from passively following orders to actively
participating in the decision making process and management.
They accept set targets, and have the authority and assume the
responsibility to decide on their own how to fulfill these targets.
The manager can also leverage coaching skills to transform his
role from managing tasks to managing and developing people.
After the training, the participants will be able to:
l
Understand his role as a coach in combination with other
roles the manager plays
l
Use the GROW coaching model to clarify targets, identify
options and define action plans with the full participation of
employees
l
Understand employees' intentions and ideas through active
listening, and help them to find solutions and answers, make
their own choices and commit on actions with open questions
l
Apply coaching tools which can be practically used in daily
life
l Give positive and constructive feedbacks to employees
l Use key coaching skills and tools
l Implement the learned contents in performance management,
motivation, accountability and communications
l Practice, practice, practice
Controlling for Expatriates
Training Highlights
Being the Effective Leader
Being the Effective Leader is designed to improve the overall
competence of all leaders and managers. The project differentiates
from other trainings in its design by fully respecting the learning
process of human beings to ensure the transformation from
knowing to doing through interval and repeating self learning,
action learning, group sharing and coaching assistance. The
participants will achieve sustainable behavior change through self
reflection and repeated practices. They also will be able to develop
the habits of highly effective people.
After learning, the participants will be able to:
l
Have a comprehensive understanding of the competences and
behavior habits of highly effective people and leaders
l
Apply these habits in work and life and transform them into
individual or team behavior
l
Have a positive attitude to self management and change
through increased self awareness and self motivation
l
Improve personal relationships and team work through
improved communication effectiveness
l
Improve individual and team performance through
performance management
GCC members receive discounted rates on training courses.
For further information please contact:
60
This workshop aims to give managers and professionals who
are currently working as expatriates in China the opportunity to
discuss some major issues of business performance management
and controlling in China. It helps the participants to understand
a holistic controlling approach as practiced in Germanspeaking countries, and raises the participant’s awareness of
the differences between doing business in Germany and China.
It teaches participants to understand impacts on business and
controlling originating from different cultural backgrounds,
and how to use the most-relevant controlling concepts and
instruments to improve business performance in China.
After learning, the participants will be able to:
l
Understand the meaning of controlling: The basic ideas and
the current state of practice in German-speaking countries
l
Get an holistic view of controlling for business performance
improvements
l Achieve more sales growth through effective sales controlling
l Understand and control the magic cube of business costs
l
Take better decision for capital expenditures & other
investments
l Control working capital for more profitability and liquidity
l
Get knowledge of risk management and controlling in the
Chinese business environment
Ms. Jiang Ying
' 010 6539-6712 6 010 6539-6689 * [email protected]
www.china.ahk.de
New Chairman
Dr. Joerg Mull takes over the position of Chairman of the Board
of the German Chamber of Commerce in North China
Dr. Joerg Mull, Executive
Vice President of
Volkswagen (China)
Investment Corporation,
is taking over the chair of
the German Chamber of
Commerce in North China.
He succeeds the present
chairman Ulrich Walker,
who is retiring from his
position as Chairman and
CEO of Daimler Northeast
Asia Ltd.
In the name of all our
members we thank Mr.
Walker for the mutual
trust and fruitful cooperation over the past years. With his deep
understanding of China and his dedication to improving the economic
cooperation between China and Germany, Mr. Walker contributed
substantially to the development of the German Chamber. Under
his lead the German Chamber gained around 150 new members and
established a significant presence not only in Beijing, but also in other
commercial centers in the North of China.
Dr. Mull has been a Board member of the German Chamber of
Commerce since 2008 and since last year has occupied the position of
Vice Chairman. China is already his third post in Asia, a region which
plays an important role in his life. “As a representative of one of the
biggest German investors in China I see my responsibility to support
the German Chamber, and with it the work of all ambitious German
companies in China,” says Dr. Mull. “Over the last year I’ve met many
dedicated entrepreneurs and I am looking forward to supporting them
in further opening up the potential of the Chinese market.” Dr. Mull
takes over his new role as Chairman of the Board with effect on the
1st of February until reelection of the Board of Directors in spring
of next year. Marcel Schneider, CEO of TUI China will occupy the
position of Vice-Chairman from February on.
New Project Manager at the German Chamber of
Commerce • North China
Starting from February 1, 2013, Ms. Corinna
Schlapps is joining the German Chamber of
Commerce North China as Project Manager. She
gained her first experience in China working in
Jinan, Shandong Province from 2008 to 2009
after her BA Studies. While graduating with a
MA in Media and Communication, she worked
for one of the world's leading system suppliers
of carton packaging and filling machines for
the Food and Beverage industry. She helped in
implementing an eLearning tool as a new method of advanced training
for the company. After coming back to China in the beginning of 2012
and studying Chinese for a few months, Ms. Schlapps worked for the GCC
for two months and organized the first German Soccer Championship in
Beijing. After a short break she is now joining the GCC team fulltime, and
will be responsible for coordinating upcoming projects and social events.
61
REGIONAL NEWS | Shanghai | Member Affairs
Thanks to Our Yearly Sponsors 2012/13
Shanghai Office
FINANCE - LAW - HUMAN RESOURCES - CONSULTING GROUP
Staufen Opens New Offices in
Shanghai and Shenyang
Like China’s economy, Staufen, with its
branches in Shanghai and Shenyang, is
also constantly growing. Recently many
new colleagues entered the company, and
business has been expanding. Therefore the
decision was made to move to new premises
in both cities. The Shenyang team is currently
preparing for the move, while the Shanghai
team has already opened its new office. To
ensure high quality work in professional
surroundings, Staufen management had to
decide whether to move to a new building
or to rent additional premises within the
same office tower in Shanghai/Xujiahui. The
Lean Experts have chosen option two, and
62
are happy to present first impressions of the
new office, which will mainly be used for
workshops, presentations, interviews and
project work. You are welcome to visit them
at any time!
Melchers Advises on Corporate
Transactions with Target Region
Asia
C. Melchers & Co. has entered the
consulting market with the joint venture
MelchersRaffel, to support companies with
their projects in the fast-growing Asian
region. The specialized team of consultants
at MelchersRaffel offers support not only for
the purchase and sale of businesses, but also
for strategy development. The knowledge and
networks of more than a thousand employees
at Melchers organization, specializing in
the technology, consumer and luxury goods
industries at 25 locations in Asia, can be
used highly effectively. “The number of
business transactions with German and Asian
companies will increase,” explains Matthias
Claussen, managing partner of Melchers. “As
a trading organization, Melchers has built
bridges between European and Asian business
partners for more than 150 years. Consulting
on corporate transactions is the consequent
extension of our business model.”
“Energy Efficiency Award“The ZF Group honours EMAG
commitment
Recently, 600
s uppliers w ere
invited to
participate in
the “Energy
Efficiency Award“
competition
organized by ZF
Group. EMAG’s
“Energy-efficient
Production
Machines”
impressed all of the jurors at ZF, and was
honored as one of the competation's “Top
5 Projects“. In fact, in this particular sector
EMAG was the only machine builder so
honoured.
BUREAU VERITAS Introduces New
German Key Account Manager
Bureau Veritas China is pleased to announce
the recent arrival of Fabienne Privat, a
native of Frankfurt. As the German Account
Manager within Bureau Veritas China’s
Building & Facilities Department, Ms. Privat
is responsible for working with German
SMEs and MNCs seeking to establish and
www.china.ahk.de
maintain new and existing facilities. Bureau
Veritas, a global leader in QSHE services,
operates in 140 countries through a network
of over 1000 offices and laboratories. In
China, Bureau Veritas employs 9,000+
employees across 100+ offices and works
with clients such as Bayer, Beiersdorf,
Benteler, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bosch, BSH,
Draxlmaier, GEA, German Centre, German
School, Linde, METRO, Miele, SGL Group,
Siemens, WILO, etc.
JOST China Opens New Plant
JOST China, a wholly owned subsidiary of
JOST World, celebrated its 20th anniversary
in July and marked the occasion with the
inauguration of a new, modern production
plant in close proximity to the existing site
in Wuhan, located in the Central Chinese
province of Hubei. The plant operates
according to the "lean production" method
and features a new machine outfit. Around
200 employees work in the new production
facility and the adjacent administrative
building. The plant provides a production
capacity of 150,000 fifth wheel couplings
per year. Peter Ormond, President of JOST
Asia, said: "We have been active in China
as a producer of fifth wheel couplings for
20 years, initially as part of a joint venture
and since 1999 as our own company. JOST
enjoys close proximity to the rapidly growing
markets in China. This new plant marks
the foundation for continued growth and a
successful future for JOST China."
Change of Ownership and
Management at Dunkermotoren
AMETEK completed the acquisition
of Dunkermotoren GmbH on
May 21, 2012.
Dunkermotoren
is a leader in
advanced motion
control solutions
for a wide range
of industrial automation applications, including factory equipment, office
machines, medical devices and laboratory
equipment. AMETEK, Inc. is a leading global
manufacturer of electronic instruments
and electromechanical devices with annual
sales of $3.0 billion. Dunkermotoren joins
AMETEK as part of AMETEK Precision Motion
Control (PMC), a division of AMETEK’s
Electromechanical Group (EMG). On
December 1, 2012, Mr. Thilo Koeppe took
over the Managing Director position at
Dunkermotoren Taicang. Additionally, he
will be responsible for planning, directing,
controlling and coordinating the activities of
AMETEK PMC Asia - the leading provider of
rotary and linear motion solutions.
MIT (Wuhan) System Valves Co.
Ltd. factory Opening in Wuhan
In 1989 MIT-ModerneIndustrietechnik
was founded as a trading company for
valves in Bad Salzuflen, Germany. After
projecting the first in-house constructions
in 1992, the company began to focus on
the production of customized solutions and
projects for industry partners in the following
areas: Dosing and Filling Technology, Fire
Protection, Filtration & Separation, Water
Treatment and Surface Technology. In order
to be a reliable and competitive partner in
China MIT (Wuhan) System Valves Co. Ltd.
will start its production with an assembly line
on March 1st, 2013. CNC machines will be
installed by the end of 2013. The main goal is
to extend the product range with a focus on
high product quality and attractive pricing. A
team of employees from Germany and China
is looking forward to start their work in
Wuhan, Hubei.
Award for Le Royal Méridien
Shanghai
Le Royal Méridien
Shanghai has
been voted as the
Best City Hotel
by City Traveler
Magazine. Mr.
Daniel Aylmer,
Area Managing
Director, East
China, Starwood
Hotels & Resorts
and General Manager of Le Royal Méridien
Shanghai received the award during the
award ceremony. The award recognizes the
hotel as one of the leading hotels in the
hospitality industry.
METRO Opened Wholesale
Centers in Linyi and Qingdao
METRO Cash & Carry, the world’s leading selfservice wholesaler, announced the opening of
its 64th wholesale center in China, located in
Qingdao, Shandong province on 19 December
2012. This is also the 12th new METRO store
opened in China this year, achieving the highest
number of new store openings in a single year.
“METRO China is a focus country of METRO
GROUP, which signifies the importance of the
market and the confidence we have for the
growth potential of the country. 2012 is a year
of expansion and growth for METRO China,
during which we achieved the highest number
of new store openings, and excellent growth in
newly developed services.” said Uwe Hoelzer,
President of METRO China. “Looking ahead to
2013, we will prioritize in large SCO welfare
goods, canteens and restaurants business,
and private needs; meanwhile enhancing
B2B delivery services, driving cost efficiency
and expansion, in order to achieve strategic
development in China.”
New President for Haeraeus
As of the first of
November 2012,
Heraeus is pleased
to announce
that Dr. Richard
Zhang has been
appointed as
the President of
Heraeus Regional
Center-China, as
successor of Mr.
Joachim Mueller, who has returned to Germany.
Dr. Zhang earned his Ph.D. in Germany.
Before joining Heraeus he had many years'
experience in various management positions
with multinational chemicaland pharmaceutical
companies in Europe and Asia. He is experienced
in driving growth for multinational companies in
China by developing local business and leading
cross-functional teams. Dr. Zhang was also a
member of BoD of EUCC, Shanghai Chapter,
as well as BoD and member of the Advisory
Board of the Association of the International
Chemicals Manufactures. Heraeus, a precious
metals and technology group headquartered in
Hanau, Germany, is a global, private company
with more than 160 years of tradition. To
learn more, please visit www.heraeus.com
63
New Board Member at APMC
Dr. Lin Kuanghua,
company president of AsiaPacific Management Consulting
(APMC), was
appointed as a
board member
of the company Zhongding
Sealtech in Ninguo, Anhui province. Zhongding Sealtech is a
leading vendor of automotive parts in China
and a WFOE of the Swiss company Dätwyler.
joined Freudenberg on October 1st, 2012 to
succeed Mr. Rolf Koehler as General Manager
of the FRCC Asia on January 1st, 2013. Mr.
Koehler will retire in the course of the year
after 40 years of very successful service for
the Freudenberg Group. Providing corporate
functions including finance, HR, tax, legal,
insurance, corporate communications and
further added coordination activities, the
FRCC Asia represents Freudenberg & Co.’s
Corporate Functions in Asia, especially in
China, thereby being a key contributor for
regional strategy implementation and the
development of the Freudenberg Business
Groups in the region.
Mazars Shanghai Appoints two
New Partners and Celebrates its
10th Anniversary
Evonik awarded China’s Top
Employer 2013
Evonik was recognized as one of the 36
“China’s Top Employers 2013” on December
12th by the Corporate Research Foundation
(CRF) Institute. This is the sixth time Evonik
has received this award for its outstanding
Hum an Resources (HR) management.
This year, Evonik stood out to the awards
committee and was given high scores for
its outstanding human resource strategies,
well-established employee training
system, forward-looking performance and
compensation system, and many other efforts
and practices in corporate culture and human
resources management. “People are the most
valuable asset of the company, therefore we
will continue to help our employees give full
play to their potential and grow together
with the company”, Dr. Hans-Joseph Ritzert,
President of Greater China Region said at the
award ceremony.
Mazars is pleased to announce the
appointment of Mr. Victor Wei and Mr. Joe
Xu as partners. Based in Shanghai, both
joined Mazars in 2007 and have over ten
years of experience in providing audit and
advisory services to international firms
present in China. The appointment of Mr.
Victor Wei reinforces the transaction services
team led by Mr. Bryan Chen, while the one
of Mr. Joe Xu strengthens the audit and
assurance team led by Mr. Robinson Hua. In
addition to these two appointments, Mazars
Shanghai celebrated its 10 th anniversary
during the Mazars Greater China annual
dinner on Friday 23rd November. Mrs. Julie
Laulusa, Managing partner of Mazars
Mainland China, gave a speech looking back
on the 10-year development of the practice
she established in 2002.
New General Manager for
Freudenberg Regional Corporate
Center Asia
Mrs. SchönBehanzin, who
holds a master
d e g r e e i n
Sinology, business
administration
and politics,
h a s h e l d
various senior
management
positions for a number of reputable
companies in China and South-East Asia. She
64
Edith Weymayr New Regional
Board Member of Mittelstandsbank in Asia
Commerzbank has
appointed Edith
Weymayr (48) as
the new Regional
Board Member for
Mittelstandsbank
in Asia. She is
taking up her
new position as
o f J a n u a r y 1 st,
2013, and is thus
the successor to Michael Kotzbauer (44), who
is returning to Germany after some three
years in Shanghai, and who as Divisional
Board Member at Mittelstandsbank will be
responsible for the large corporate centers in
southern and eastern Germany. After studying
business management, Edith Weymayr
came to Commerzbank in 1990, where
she held various positions. Following an
intermezzo at the auditing company KPMG,
Edith Weymayr returned to Commerzbank,
where her most recent function was that of
Divisional Head Sales & Credit Management
at Mittelstandsbank.
Continental Celebrates Opening of
its 2nd Plant Changchun in China
O n D e c e m b e r 6 th, 2 0 1 2 , C o n t i n e n t a l
announced the opening of its 2nd plant
Jingyue Branch, a new addition to Continental
Automotive (Changchun) Co., Ltd. in Jilin,
China. As Continental’s largest manufacturing
base in China and Asia with an investment
of RMB 300mn, the new plant will be fully
operational in early January 2013. The goal
of the new plant is to optimize and increase
production for Continental’s Chassis & Safety
and Interior divisions, with excellent and
world-class technical facilities. Dr. Elmar
Degenhart, Chairman of the Executive Board
of Continental AG, commented, “To be ‘in the
market for the market’, our investment is a
decisive step that not only strengthens our
business in China but also demonstrates our
strong confidence in and commitment to our
local customers and business partners.”
Coresystems Won the Best
Strategy Partner from Unicom
Woo Store Yearly Event 2012
From December
5 th to 8 th , 2012,
coresystems
was invited to
participate in the
Unicom woo store
annual partner
event 2012,
which took place
in Tengcheng,
Yunnan. Other
attendees were more than 200 CEOs from the
top performance partners, such as 360, Sohu,
Baidu, Tencent etc. Coresystems delivered
a speech about the market report and the
trend forecast about Coresystems' cloud
computing technology. The GM of Unicom
Shanghai, Cai Quangen, and woo store’s Wei
Xin both appreciated their cloud products.
What's more, their business-oriented app
womaiwomai, which was custom made for
the China market, stood out among all the
game products. The annual partner event
provided three awards: the most valuable
of the year, the best potential of the year
and the best strategy partner. Coresystems
received the best strategy partner award for
its great ambition and motivated people,
good communication and rapid response time
to Unicom's requirements.
www.china.ahk.de
Roland Berger Strategy Consultants Released its "Top 50 Global
Culture Industry Players Study"
and Ranking Report.
Chinese companies Wanda Group and Tencent
both appear on the list, which ranks companies
that are active in all sectors of the global culture
industry by annual revenue. The report provides
an in-depth analysis of the current state of the
industry. Through analysis of top companies,
overall development trends, value chain
structures, and key driving factors, the report
summarizes the changing focus, competitive
environment, and key success factors of the
industry. The study points out that compared
to the more mature markets in Europe and
America, the conventional culture industry (e.g.
print media) in the Chinese market still relies
heavily on advertising revenue. Although new
elements of the culture industry in the China
market are still developing, new media and new
technology have vast potential to challenge the
conventional culture industry.
SJZ4 Assigns io-consultants with
Conceptual Design for New OSD
and Oral Liquid Facility
Shijiazhuang No.4 Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
(SJZ4) is one of China’s leading providers of injectable drugs and Active Pharmaceutical Ingre-
ing practices (GMP) for the manufacturing of
SZJ4’s OSD and oral liquid production lines.
dients (APIs). The company provides anti-brain
recession capsules, pentoxifylline and sodium
chloride, inosine and glucose, azithromycin
injections and Chinese traditional herb medicines. SJZ4’s medicines are offered in various
specifications, including infusions, capsules,
granules, tablets, and oral liquids. Shijiazhuang
No.4 Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. was founded in
1948, operates as a subsidiary of Lijun International Pharmaceutical and is headquartered
in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, China.
Driving factors for increasing production of
SJZ4’s TCM, OSD and cepholosporins OSD
products are emerging economies such as
China’s insatiable need for better healthcare,
and the boom of active pharmaceutical ingredient production due to cost advantages. The
io-consultants’ project covers the relocation
of the existing production to a new multifloor designed plant with a footprint of about
6,000 square meters, undergood manufactur-
TüV Rheinland opens its first
Greater China Bicycle Testing
Laboratory in Kunshan
The opening ceremony of TüV Rheinland Antaean (Kunshan) Co., Ltd. was held in Kunshan, Suzhou on December 7th, 2012. The laboratory was
jointly established by TüV Rheinland and Kunshan Entry-Exit Inspection and the Quarantine
Bureau (CIQ) to provide bicycle manufacturers
with one-stop third-party testing and inspection
services that cover bicycles, electric bicycles,
components and parts. This is TüV Rheinland’s
first bicycle testing facility in the Greater China
region, and the laboratory will leverage TüV’s
professional team and service network to help
manufacturers explore the global market. Guests
at the ceremony were able to witness the
group’s considerable growth and achievements
in this particular field.
65
REGIONAL NEWS | Shanghai | In Person
Dr. Guohong Ye
Company: ZF (China) Investment Co., Ltd.
Job Title/Position: President
Year of Foundation: Since 2005
HQ: Friedrichshafen, Germany
Main Business: As a holding company, ZF (China)
Investment Co., Ltd. is responsible for all investment
activities of ZF Friedrichshafen AG in China. Besides
the governance functions as ‘extended arm’ of
headquarters, it also provides services and information
on marketing, business development, human resources,
finance, controlling, IT, R&D and supply chain
management to operations in China. Main investments
are in the areas of powertrain technology, chassis
technology, commercial vehicle technology, industrial
technology and steering systems.
Number of Employees: 400
What has been your strategy in terms of localisation?
“Design to Market” – To supply the right
products to the right place is the only
method for success. With this understanding,
ZF Engineering Center Shanghai officially
opened its doors in 2005. The move in 2010
greatly improved ZF’s R&D capabilities in
China.
To develop and retain local talents effectively
is also an essential element that contributes
to success. With excellent intercultural
communication skills, the young engineers
working with us can well understand both
the German way of working and the Chinese
market conditions. This ensures ZF’s ability
to meet and respond to local demands in a
better way. At the same time, professional
trainings, idea exchanges, and project
discussions all over the world also help
the young people to develop themselves as
professionals. We have an excellent record of
a high retention rate of young professionals.
Do you target a mainly Western or Chinese
customer base, and why?
What are your aims and hopes for the future?
And what will the biggest challenges be?
I earned my Ph.D. at Technical University
Aachen in Germany in 1992. After 14 years
working and living in Germany, I came back
to my home town Shanghai in 1994, and
started the Chinese business for Fichtel &
Sachs AG. The company was later renamed
Mannesmann Sachs AG, and was taken over
by ZF Friedrichshafen AG in 2002. From 2002,
I took over the Chief Representative position
for ZF in China. With the establishment of ZF
(China) Investment Co., Ltd. in 2005, I was
assigned as the president of the company,
and became responsible for ZF’s overall
business in China.
Looking back and reviewing the developing
history of ZF in China, ZF initially came to
the Chinese market in 1980 along with our
European customers. So to provide good
products and services to our mature western
customers, like BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz,
VW and so on, is a big part of our business in
China.
Our vision is to be the preferred supplier
in driveline and chassis technology in
China, along with a profitable growth
of the operations. To reach this target,
we are insisting on being the leader in
quality, product offerings and customer
responsiveness. And we are trying our best to
make ZF the employer of choice in China.
In the following decades, China has opened
up more and more to the rest of the world.
With the significant and rapid growth of the
automotive industry in China in the past ten
years, China has become the largest auto
market in the world. There is no doubt that
Chinese customers are becoming more and
more important to ZF. In order to meet the
special demands of Chinese OEMs and respond
better to them, the localization of production
and development is of great importance. In
the past three decades, ZF has already created
many successful stories together with our
local partners and customers in China. More
collaboration will start in the near future.
Over 30 years of experience in China makes ZF
understand the needs of its Chinese business
partners and customers inside and out. We are
very confident that we will be able to continue
our success in China with both our western
and Chinese customers. ZF is appreciated
because of its good quality and innovative
technology. As we know, the Chinese people
have a huge appetite for good things.
ZF is already in a secured leading position
in several business segments in China. But
this is not the end - we aim to be among
the top three in China in all of our business
segments. For the areas where we are still
not so satisfied, we are developing strategies
to close the gap. In order to defend our
current achievements, we will also continue
to expand our capacities and invest in new
products. The important thing is to keep
up with China and grow faster than the
market, as much as possible. In addition to
establishing new production facilities, the
localization of engineering – or “localizeering”
– remains our biggest challenge for the
coming years.
Tell us a little about your company and activities in China.
ZF is a leading worldwide automotive supplier
for driveline and chassis technology. Since
intering the Chinese market more than three
decades ago, ZF has successfully realized
its solid development strategy by building
up representative offices, production bases,
regional headquarters and R&D centers
step-by-step. Currently, ZF has one regional
headquarters for the Asia Pacific region, an
engineering center, 22 production companies
and three aftermarket and trading companies
in China. In 2012, ZF will presumably achieve
sales of about EUR 2bn with approx. 5,700
employees in China. The growth in Euros was
more than 30% in 2012.
66
Our job is to make best out of two words:
“Healthy” and “Prosperous” development
both for ZF operations in China and at home
in Germany.
www.china.ahk.de
ZF is a worldwide leading automotive supplier
of driveline and chassis technology.
We develop and manufacture innovative, high-quality products and related technologies that improve
the mobility of people and goods. Our products and services offer our customers clear added value
through leading technologies, quality, and service. Our passionate commitment to achieving greater
efficiency and resource conservation has made us a trendsetter in new markets.
We believe in fair and reliable business practices everywhere we operate, and our global reach ensures
our customers a tight-knit network of knowledgeable contact partners.
www.zf.com
67
MAHLE Technologies Expanded
R&D Center
The expanded R&D center of MAHLE Technologies
(Holding) China Co., Ltd. was announced open on
November 13th, 2012. After the expansion, the R&D
center will be equipped with six engine test boxes
and will be able to hold up to 650 employees
in its office building. Mr. Zhuang Shaoqin, the
mayor of Fengxian District Shanghai, Mr. Wu
Zhaozhong, Vice Mayor of Fengxian District
Shanghai, Mr. Chen Jianqing, General Manager of
Fengpu Industrial Park, and Mr. Zhao Guoqing, the
customer representative from Great Wall Motors,
participated in the launch ceremony together with
Prof. Junker, Chairman of the Management Board
and CEO of the MAHLE Group, Dr. Uwe Mohr, vice
president of the MAHLE Group and Ms. Hu Kun,
general manager of MAHLE Technologies Holding
(China) Co., Ltd. Nearly 100 distinguished guests
from the local government, the industrial park,
customers and business partners celebrated the
opening with MAHLE.
68
New Production Facility for IMS
On Feb. 23 rd , 2012, the groundbreaking
ceremony for a new production hall officially
started a new era for IMS with the first
production facility outside of Germany. IMS
Systems, Inc., USA, a subsidiary of German
IMS Messsysteme GmbH will open a new
production facility in Mars, PA, in the first
quarter of 2013 for the production of highquality gauging systems for the steel and
non-ferrous industries. For the new facility
IMS will employ and qualify additional
technical personnel to fulfil the sophisticated
customer requirements for top-end gauging
equipment. The existing 790 square meter
building is extended by a 880 square meter
factory hall to provide enough space for
current and future needs. IMS Messsysteme
(Shanghai) Co., Ltd., the Chinese subsidiary of
IMS Messsysteme GmbH, benefits from the
expansion in the US by the extension of the
product portfolio available for the Chinese
market.
Lapp Kabel Receives the “Best
Performance Supplier” from
Fameccanica
Lapp Kabel Shanghai Co., Ltd. received the “Best
Performance Supplier” recently from the Italian
manufacturer Fameccanica, for its outstanding
performance as a supplier in the last year.
During its cooperation with Fameccanica, Lapp
Kabel always offers the customer high quality
products, on-time delivery and technical support.
This is the third supplier award that Lapp Kabel
Shanghai Co., Ltd. has received. Previously,
Lapp Kabel has also received awards from Engel
Machinery and Dürr. This is a further incentive
for us to continue helping our customers to
achieve success in their own markets.
www.china.ahk.de
New General Manager at Pulman Shanghai
Skyway
Accor Hospitality Group is pleased to
appoint Mr. Arthur Ai as the General
Manager of Pullman Shanghai
Skyway. Mr. Ai will oversee all
aspects of property management
-- operational management, yield
management, sales and marketing,
human resources and guest
satisfaction etc. – in accordance
with the hotel’s mission statement.
Prior to this new post, Mr. Ai was
the Acting General Manager of
Pullman Shanghai Skyway. An
Australian permanent resident who holds a hotel management
diploma, Arthur has over 20 years experience in the hospitality
business, and has previously worked with international hotel groups
including Hilton, Royal Tulip, and Jinjiang in Shanghai.
MANN+HUMMEL takes over Filter Manufacturer
Bengbu Haoye in China
On August 29th 2012,
MANN+HUMMEL
signed an agreement
with Bengbu
Haoye Filter Co.,
Ltd to take over
100% of the filter
manufacturer based
in Anhui Province. The deal is subject to the final approval of the
relevant government authorities. The acquisition of Bengbu Haoye is
a logical step in the MANN+HUMMEL expansion strategy in China.
Bengbu Haoye filter manufacturer employs more than 500 people in
the design, production and sale of filters and filter elements for the
aftermarket and local OEMs. With the acquisition of Bengbu Haoye
brand and its market access, MANN+HUMMEL will enhance its range
of products and complete its coverage for local vehicle applications.
New Managing Director for Busch China
Busch China has announced the appointment of Jason Chen as Managing
Director. Mr. Chen earned his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering
at Dalian Maritime University, and attended Shanghai Jiao Tong University
for his MBA in marketing. He also has more than ten years of experience in
senior management. “I look forward to developing Busch vacuum business
with a dedicated group of professional colleagues who are passionate
about exceptional service”, said Mr. Chen. Busch China was founded in
Shanghai on May 16th, 2001. Sophia Lee did an excellent job over the past
11 years of developing Busch's vacuum business in China, and and in the
future will work for Busch to support all Asian countries from her base in
Singapore.
Leitz Launches in China
Esselte Leitz is pleased to announce the appointment of Chris Exner as
Vice President Asia Pacific. Chris Exner has been with Esselte Leitz for 14
years in several positions across Europe. He will now lead the launch of
the Leitz brands and products in China. “Leitz is one of the best known and
most highly respected brands in Germany and Europe. It is a privilege to
extend this leadership position to China, offering high quality, innovative
office products to German, European and Chinese companies and consumers”, commented Mr. Exner.
69
Linde (China) Forklift Truck Corporation Received “2012 China
Logistics Innovation Award”
On Nov. 23rd, 2012, the 10th China Logistics
Entrepreneurs Annual Meeting organized
by CFLP (China Federation of Logistics &
Purchasing) was held in Xiamen. Linde China
was awarded the honor of “2012 China
Logistics Innovation Award”. This award was
presented to Linde China for its innovative
transformation of a traditional logistics
business model on management and service.
Linde has a strong ability to promote the
development of logistics equipment and
technology in China. Mr. CP Quek, CEO
of Linde China Forklift Truck Corp., Ltd.
expressed that Linde China is honored to
obtain such recognition from the experts of
the logistics industry and community: “We
will continue to strengthen our research and
development capabilities and maintain our
technological leadership in the industry.”
New Plant for Webasto
On 28 th Nov. 2012, Webasto held its new
plant foundation laying ceremony in
Pingchang Industry Park of Chongqing
New Northern Zone, chaired by its China
president and CEO Mr. Freddy Geeraerds.
The new 24,000 square metre plant is to
be production ready by October 2013,
with an annual capacity of 1mn sets of
automotive roof systems. As the biggest
roof supplier worldwide with more than 110
years of history, Webasto is one of top 100
automotive suppliers worldwide and within
top 15 of German suppliers. In 2001, Webasto
started OE roof business in China. After more
than 10 years of effort, today Webasto has
five key subsidiaries in China: headquarters
in Shanghai with an operation and a
complete R&D center, and main operations
in Changchun, Chongqing, Guangzhou and
Beijing. Furthermore, Webasto is expanding
with two more factories in Wuhan and
Shenyang. By 2014, Webasto will service
customer bases from 10 locations in China.
Confronting the Challenges of
“Food Safety & Environmental
Health”
The 3 rd Bayer-Tongji-UNEP Sustainable
Development Forum was held recently at Tongji
University. The forum discussed the issues
of food safety and environment, and their
impact on human health in the context of a
rapidly developing economy. At the 18th Party
Conference, “construct an eco-culture” was
identified as a key development goal. Indeed,
how to develop a green economy, optimize
resource allocation and promote economic
growth, while at the same time harmonizing
human activities with nature preservation are
continuous challenges in the development of
society. Mr. Johannes Dietsch, President of Bayer
Greater China Group, pledged Bayer’s dedication
to supporting long-term developments in China,
“Bayer, as a founding member of United Nation's
Global Compact, is firmly committed to its
sustainability principles. We seek to encourage
multi-sectoral collaborations, provide viable
platforms for the search of integrated solutions,
and drive for wider adoption of sustainability
practices.”
ZF Expands Production in China
By building three new plants in 2012, ZF has
further expanded its production in China. After
being active in China for more than three decades, ZF now has 22 production locations in
China. ZF Chassis System (Beijing) Co., Ltd. is ZF’s
third Chassis System Plant in China. The process
of creating the new plant took less than one
year. ZF invested about EUR 15mn in the plant.
Several thousand axle sets will be annually assembled at the plant and supplied to the current
and next generation of C- and E-class vehicles
at Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd. The other
newly-established plant is a joint venture between ZF and Guangxi LiuGong Machinery Co.,
Ltd., which is the second joint venture between
the two parties. The new company will produce
wheel loader axles that are specially tailored for
the requirements of the Chinese market. With
the expansion at ZF Boge Elastmetall (Shanghai)
Co., Ltd., the company production capacity has
been significantly increased. In addition to the
business of rubber-metal, plastics components
will start production at the new plant from
2013.
Conception
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70
[email protected] +86.21.5061.9580
German Small-to-MidsizeBusiness and China –
No “Land of Smiles” Anymore?
This question was asked at the “1. China-Forum
of Struktur Management Partner”, in cooperation with ChinaForum Bayern. The event
touched a nerve with decision-makers, and was
quickly fully booked with over 100 participants
from German midsized industry, banks, politics
and related associations. The Forum was opened
by Frank Sieren, who analysed the upcoming political changes in the Chinese Government and
the impact on German industry. In most sectors the competition will get tougher. In highly
mature sectors companies will need to find a
more sophisticated way to exchange technology for market shares and customize below the
premium segments. A presented case study from
Struktur Management Partner was followed
by a podium discussion with China based top
managers, bankers and M&A lawyers, which
discussed how to overcome some of the specific
challenges in an increasingly mature market
with its own rules.
Kiekert Doubles the Floor Space at
their Chinese Factory in Changshu
China‘s automotive market continues to grow, as
does does Kiekert‘s market share and importance
as a supplier of latch systems in Asia. Kiekert
has doubled the floor space at the Changshu
factory to keep up with this development. Mr.
Kay Dessel, general manager at Changshu said,
“This additional space will last us until 2015.
Thereafter, we will surely need yet more space.
The demand and order situation for this factory
is moving in the right direction“. The new building now enables Kiekert to also extend departments which are not production related. As a
result, the prototype shop and testing facilities
have been considerably extended. To make it
easier for Kiekert’s PD department to liaise with
the Chinese OEMs, they have localized product
development in Changshu. Kay Dessel said: “We
are now able to offer our complete engineering competence both from our headquarters in
Heiligenhaus and from Changshu”.
i+o Industry Planning + Organization Changes Name
i+o Industry Planning + Organization (Shanghai) Co.Ltd would like to announce that is
has officially changed its corporate name to
io-consultants (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. This name
change is in accordance with its new global
corporate identity. Additionally, io-consultants
(Shanghai) Co. Ltd. would like to announce
the appointment of its new Asia management
team members Mr. Karsten Wachholz, Dr. Ralf
Luening, and Mr. Thomas Le. io-consultants is
in the business of providing leading consulting services in the areas of process planning
for pharmaceutical and food industries, supply
chain management and logistics planning,
integrated building design, and management
consulting. Mr. Wachholz has been in China
for nine years and was the key responsible
person in building up one of the largest foreign owned independent automotive engineering service providers in the Asian market.
Dr. Luening has joined from a senior director
role of an European leading multinational
company. In his previous role, he was SCM
responsible for the European region. Mr. Le
has been in China for seven years and has had
various senior management roles in multinational companies. In his previous role, he was
the Asian director of technology for an engineering service provider. It is the intention of
the new regional management team to make
io-consultants into an elite industry known
name synonymous with its European brand.
With its new corporate identity and new Asian
management team, io-consultants welcomes
your inquiries for any potential cooperation.
German Centre Shanghai Tenants
Challenge Timo Boll
On December 4th, 2012, German table tennis super star and acting European champion
Timo Boll visited the German Centre Shanghai. He was invited by the German company
Viessmann, one of the leading international
manufacturers of heating systems. As brand
ambassador of Viessmann, Boll took part in
several events and activities over two days at
the German Centre. The best and most skilled
employees of German Centre tenant companies were selected to play short matches
against Timo Boll, an unique experience in a
great atmosphere with hundreds of spectators
cheering for their colleagues and for Timo Boll.
Hermes NexTec Launches Services
in China
Following its expansion to the US and Brazil,
the German ecommerce service provider Hermes
NexTec launched its ecommerce services in
China in 2012. With their China headquarters
in Shanghai, Hermes NexTec provides the full
range of ecommerce services, including online
shop operations, online marketing, warehousing
& distribution, payment and call centers for
fashion and lifestyle brands aiming at entering
the Chinese ecommerce market. Hermes NexTec
developed its own shop software, “Columbus”,
based on years of experience in operating the
online stores of leading fashion companies.
Additionally, Hermes NexTec provides store
operations on Chinese B2C platforms like Tmall,
360buy or NewEgg. Hermes NexTec belongs
to the German Otto Group, an assembly of
123 retail and service companies and 50,000
employees worldwide which share extensive
resources in the online retail industry. Next
to Amazon, the Otto Group is the 2nd largest
e-commerce retailer in the world.
Shanghai’s Pudong District which is directly
adjacent to the Pudong International Airport
and with close links to the Shanghai Deep Sea
Port. In addition to its current capacity of 6,000
storage places for Euro pallets, Synflex China
has also used the move to expand considerably
in the service area. The Shanghai SYNLAB®,
Synflex’s in-house laboratory, has also been
further expanded through the move, and now
has all the facilities for thermally, mechanically
and electrically testing Synflex products
including insulating materials, sleevings and
wires. As a system supplier, Synflex in China
can also offer a full independent service for
measuring and guaranteeing product quality.
SYNLAB®, just like Synflex Germany, also takes
measurements throughout production on all
insulating materials produced.
Nord-Lock Establishes Office in
Shanghai
The Nord-Lock Group is a world leader in
bolt securing systems and focused on solving
the toughest bolting challenges. Nord-Lock
recently extended its reach into China with
the establishment of a subsidiary office
located in Shanghai – Nord-Lock (Shanghai)
Co., Ltd. This move is a huge leap for NordLock as it continues to introduce innovative
bolting solutions, which include wedgelocking technologies and Superbolt® multijackbolt tensioners, to the Asian market. The
China office is led by Mr. Norbert Hentschel,
General Manager of Asia Pacific, who recently
has relocated from Singapore. Nord-Lock has
decades of documented success in every major
industry including oil & gas, energy, railway and
mining, and prides itself on providing reliable
and high quality solutions that safeguard
human lives and secure its customers’
investments. Nord-Lock's well-connected local
team looks forward to be your partner for
bolted connections in the China region.
New Logistics Center for Synflex
The Synflex Group has taken the meteoric
development of its industry into account,
and has acquired a large logistics center in
72
Kuehne + Nagel Strengthens
National Management in China
Kuehne + Nagel Ltd. has appointed Mr. Otto
Wang as Director North China, with effect
from November 2012. In his new capacity Mr.
Wang is in charge of general management and
business development of all Kuehne + Nagel’s
branch offices in northern China, including the
provinces of Beijing, Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang,
Henan, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Liaoning, Ningxia,
Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi and Tianjin. Kuehne
+ Nagel is continuously expanding its network
and product portfolio in order to meet the
requirements of its customers. Over the next
months, it has planned to establish more new
offices, mainly in the central and western provinces of the country. Growing local consumption coupled with a strong “go-west” initiative
has prompted the accelerated strengthening
of Kuehne + Nagel’s presence in China. The appointment of Mr. Wang underlines Kuehne +
Nagel’s determination to systematically increase
its reach in the country. In China, Kuehne +
Nagel operates in 38 cities and employs around
3,000 people.
6th Anniversary Celebration of Automotive components (Pinghu) Co., Ltd.
Official opening of ARKU Service
and Leveling Center in Kunshan
October 14 th 2012, ARKU Maschinenbau
GmbH celebrated the official opening of its
3 rd service and leveling center. Located in
Kunshan (near Shanghai) in China, it is now
easily possible for ARKU to also provide Asian
customers with optimal support. Mr. Andreas
Hellriegel, ARKU Business Unit Manager, and
Mr. Johannes Landin, ARKU Sales Manager
Asia, were especially excited to welcome a
political delegation of Baden-Wurttemberg
to the opening ceremony, headed by the
Minister of Finance and Economy Dr. Nils
Schmid. In Kunshan – like in the ARKU
leveling centers in Baden-Baden, Germany
and Cincinnati, USA - customers have the
opportunity to carry out leveling tests with
parts of their own production, or have their
parts leveled on a contract leveling basis.
8th November 2012 is the 6th anniversary of Hirschvogel automotive components (pinghu) Co.,
Ltd. (HAC). In order to celebrate the date, HAC
carried out a series of activities. The celebration
began at 9 o’clock in the morning with gifts
distribution; everyone received one gift from the
company with the Hirschvogel group logo on it.
In the afternoon, the main celebration started
with Hirschvogel CEO Dr. Li’s speech, which was
followed by a lottery and cake party. Dr. Li’s
speech went briefly through the history of HAC
and drew the staff a picture of bright future.
Dating back to 2005, HAC was registered in Pinghu to better serve customers in China. Six years
ago, the opening ceremony of HAC was held,
when HAC only had 15 employees and RMB
6mn worth of sales. Six years later, due to outstanding teamwork and effort, the sales of HAC
will reach more than RMB 300mn according to
the forecast, and the number of employees will
be 300. Dr. Li’s speech ended with HAC’s slogan
“Together We Forge the Best Value,” and sincere
thanks to everyone.
www.china.ahk.de
New Team Member for TÜV SÜD
In November
2012 Mr. Prabhu
Ramkumar was
appointed to
a position of
responsibility for
strategic business,
streamlining of
processes and
systems within
Greater China. Mr. Ramkumar began his career
with TÜV SÜD in August 2004 in the United
Kingdom head office. He was responsible for
introducing manufacturing best practice to
improve efficiency of the business through the
application of Lean Thinking and continuous
improvement principles by engaging the
workforce. The structured programme helped
to improve business performance sustainably
over the six year period. He was then made
responsible for the integration of an acquired
business in 2010. During the time he was also
selected to represent the UK within a global
development programme. Upon successful
completion in late 2012, he took his current role
within the Greater China region. Mr. Ramkumar
holds an M. Phil in operations management
from Bath University (UK) and bachelors in
integrated engineering from Cardiff.
New Managing Director at JEAN
MUELLER
JEAN MUELLER
was founded in
1894 in Eltville am
Rhein, Germany,
and now has
close to 120
years of history.
As a main leader
for fuse related
components and
GRP cabinets,
it serves power utilities, OEM customers
and industry with its advanced solutions in
more than seventy countries. JEAN MUELLER
electric (Shanghai) Ltd. was founded ten years
ago, and has been very successfully serving
power utilities and industry in China. Due to
substantial growth, JEAN MUELLER is proud to
announce that Mr. Albert Sadoine has taken
over the position of the Managing Director of
JEAN MUELLER electric (Shanghai) Ltd. from
Mr. Roberto Lambauer, with immediate effect.
Mr. Sadoine has a master of science and has
been working for close to ten years in China.
Mr. Roberto Lambauer is now working for JEAN
MUELLER from his new base in Singapore,
and responsible as General Manager for their
activities in China and Asia as a whole.
Beckhoff Opens New Office in
Wuxi
In December 19th, 2012, Beckhoff Automation
Co., Ltd.’s Wuxi office opening ceremony
celebration was held in the Wuxi Wanda
Sheraton Hotel. Beckhoff Automation
established the office in Wuxi in order to work
more intensively within the south of Jiangsu
market. Before the opening of the Wuxi office,
Beckhoff has been well accepted in the Wuxi
market with its reliable, loyal, innovative, flexible
and personalized service as well as its high
level of attention to customer demands. Some
representatives of Beckhoff’s customers, such
as representatives from China’s shipbuilding
industry corp. and Germany’s teamtechnik,
attended the celebration. Mr. Sunny Zhang,
Beckhoff China’s Region East Area Sales
Manager, and Mr. Tony Li, Beckhoff China’s
Regional Sales Manager for Wuxi, gave the
speech for the ceremony.
73
bluepool Announces New
Corporate Identity
Since August 2012, bluepool ltd. has
been developing a new corporate design
together with bluepool GmbH in Stuttgart,
Germany. The innovations include not only
the new design of the bluepool logo and
refurbishment of the existing office rooms in
Shanghai, but also a redesigned website. The
website will be launched in the beginning
of 2013, and demonstrates the cooperation
between the quality work of bluepool ltd.
and upcoming ideas and projects. bluepool’s
expertise is in creating the perfect exhibition
stand or unforgettable event for international
customers. With this experience, they will
take care of all the organisation, from
design, planning, project management
and production chasing to disposing of
warehousing material after the event.
74
Voith FY 2011/2012 Annual
Conference held in Beijing
On Decemb e r 1 4 th
2012, the
“Voith FY
2011/2012
A n n u a l
Conference”
was held in
Beijing. Representatives
from 29 top
Chinese media entities
attended
the annual
conference,
including Xinhua News Agency, China News
Service, China Business News and China
Daily. Mr. Hubert Lienhard, CEO and President
of Voith Group, said that the group remains
optimistic about the prospects of the Chinese
economy in the years to come, despite the
market slowdown in 2012. “China, which
is already our largest single market outside
of Germany, has become a major driver of
our global business.” Voith received orders
in China valued at EUR 769mn in the fiscal
year 2011/2012. The orders represented
an increase of 3.2% year-on-year amid a
challenging global economic environment,
ensuring Voith stays on a long-term path
for growth in China, one of the group’s most
important markets.
New Schwartz Facility in China
Schwartz GMBH, the leading manufacturer
of heat treatment equipment, founded the
branch facility Schwartz Heat Treatment
System Asia (KunShan) Co., Ltd in July 2012
to better serve our customers in the Asia
Pacific region. The Schwartz Heat Treatment
System Asia (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. has now
been fully integrated into the new Kunshan
facility. The new plant is located at No.
278, Ju Jin Road, Zhang Pu Town, covering
2500m 2, with full production capabilities,
professional service engineers, and its own
warehouse. Production at the Kunshan plant
started in September 2012, with assembling
complete hot stamping furnaces, providing
on-site installation and commissioning,
and quick response of technical services as
well as provision of sufficient spare parts
to customers. With this investment the
Schwartz group has completed its strategic
positioning, with subsidiaries in Europe, the
USA and China.
www.china.ahk.de
New Team Member at Deutsche Bank
Ms. Yifan Nie joined Deutsche Bank Shanghai as relationship manager
four months ago, and is now responsible for covering German
medium-sized companies in China. Previously, Ms. Nie worked with
Deutsche Bank in Germany for two years as credit analyst, while her
first professional work experience in China was with Robert Bosch
in Hangzhou. Ms. Nie grew up in Nanjing and studied business
administration at the University of Bayreuth, Germany. Ms. Nie
is excited about her new position, and is eager to help German
companies to achieve their targets in this dynamic market.
New Head of German Desk at Norddeutsche
Landesbank
Mr. Lars Meier has been appointed
by Norddeutsche Landesbank (NORD/
LB) Shanghai Branch as its new Head
of German Desk for Mainland China.
Mr. Meier, based in Shanghai, will be
responsible for the banks’ activities
and services for German corporate
customers in China. Mr. Meier has been
working for NORD/LB for more than 20
years, three years of which he spent in
Shanghai when the bank was granted
the local currency business license in
2006. His expertise in trade finance products and services, coupled
with the in-depth understanding of commercial and corporate finance
business with multinational companies he gained during the past four
years with NORD/LB Hamburg will enhance the banking services of
NORD/LB's vast German "Mittelstand" customer base in China.
Allianz SH Branch Announces Establishment of
German Desk
Recently, Allianz China General Insurance announced the
establishment of a German desk within its Shanghai Branch. The
German desk was set up in response to market demands for high
quality insurance services for German companies in the Yangtze
Delta. Working closely with AHK members, Allianz Shanghai Branch is
staffing the desk with Mr. Adam Wang. He earned his master’s degree
with a major in insurance, and excels at developing business and
connections with German companies. Allianz China General Insurance
brings to Shanghai customers its traditional products such as
Property, Liability, Marine, Engineering, Credit, short-term high-end
health insurance and travel insurance, and also introduces innovative
products such as Film/TV Production Insurance, Drug Clinical Trial
Insurance and Yacht Insurance, etc.
Establishment of Geberit Technical Support Centre
East in Greater China
Following the establishment of Technical Support Centers North &
South, Geberit's Technical Support Center East was established on
October 1st, 2012, after several months’ integration of technology
resources. In the new organization, Ms. Rupee Lu will act as Regional
Application Manager, reporting directly to Regional Sales Director
East. She will be responsible for technical support for the whole
region and the implementation of Geberit technical standards.
Technical Support Centers for the North and South region are located
in Beijing and Guangzhou. Ms. Ellen Zha (North) and Ms. Emma Lie
(South) are the heads of the departments. We believe that the new
organization will optimize our processes and further improve Geberit
business efficiency.
German specialists for
multilingual cross-media solutions
and online multimedia services.
Your partner with global experience
Kittelberger media solutions is an
online agency and service provider
with more than 40 years experience in
cross-media solutions.
We work in the areas internet, product information
management⁄ media asset management and multilingual
cross-media publishing.
Automated print catalogue production, CMS-based
multimedia internet solutions and efficient communication
strategy are part of our full services: We plan, design,
develop, manage and administrate your communication and
publishing solutions in Asia!
Boost and optimize your business
in Asia with our services:
> Multilingual cross-media solutions
> Product databases & Asset management (PIM systems)
> Content management systems
> Online presentations & websites
> (Automized) Print catalogue productions
> Image databases & Media databases
> Multilingual translation memory systems
Contact:
Kittelberger media solutions
Shanghai Office
Dieter Müller
Phone:
Mail:
Web:
+86-21-68758536 ext. 1856
[email protected]
www.kittelberger.com.cn February - March 2013
75
Witold Orlowski
Company: Schoeller Arca Systems
Job Title/Position: Regional Director Asia Pacific
Year of Foundation: 1958
HQ: Netherlands
Main Business: Packaging logistics
Number of Employees: Globally 1000
Sales/Revenue: Globally EUR 500mn
I was born in Poland but grew up in Sweden.
Through studies and work I have lived in Poland,
Sweden, the US, Luxemburg, the Netherlands
and now China, which has been both rewarding and enriching for me and my family. I hold
double Master’s of Science degrees; from Lund
Institute of Technology in Sweden and from the
University of California in the USA. Since graduation I have been working within the materials
handling packaging industry for close to 30
years, covering a work experience within design,
product development, sales, product management, marketing, manufacturing and general
management. In recent years I have held the po-
76
sition of “Director Product Management, Marketing and Technology” within Schoeller Arca
Systems, and since 2011 I have been based in
Shanghai, China, being responsible for the Asia
Pacific Region within Schoeller Arca Systems.
Tell us a little about your company and activities in China?
Schoeller Arca Systems is the largest supplier
of plastic returnable packaging solutions
worldwide. Since the year 2010 we have been
developing packaging solutions and manufacturing materials handling products locally
in Asia through our own manufacturing facilities in China and India. The local product
range is continuously increasing based on our
customers’ needs. We ensure the same performance, quality, service level and technical
support in Asia as in all other continents in
which we operate. In addition to direct sales
of our products, we arrange pooling, renting
and other services within the Asia Pacific
markets as well as for intercontinental flows.
How long has your company been active in
China? Have there been any major shifts in
strategy in that time and why/ why not?
We started our business with a smaller sales
office in the year 2008 to better understand
the market. In 2010 we took a further step to
increase our local presence and to be able to
fully service our global partners locally with
application development and production.
Currently our main target is Western linked
companies. The market is still to a large extent immature, lacking logistics infrastructure
and awareness, so we are not able to fulfil
all customers’ requests and expectations.
This limits our available market; however the
current available market is sufficiently large,
and as logistics infrastructure and awareness
increase it will broaden our available market.
www.china.ahk.de
New Plant for Fuchs
On November 28 th, 2012, the Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for the
capping of FUCHS’ New Project in Yingkou and the groundbreaking
ceremony for the energy center were held in Liaoning Yingkou Coastal
Industrial Base. In 2011, FUCHS PETROLUB Group invested RMB
180mn into building a new plant in Yingkou, for the production of
automotive lubricants, industrial lubricants and lubricating greases.
The new plant covers an area of 80,000m2, and is expected to start
production in December 2013, with a designed capacity of up to
100,000 tons. It will be the second most advanced FUCHS Group plant
in the world. China is the most important and promising country
for FUCHS, and the construction of the Yingkou plant is an integral
part of FUCHS’ overall development strategy as well as an important
indication of FUCHS’ commitment to the Chinese market.
M Moser redesign of JWT Shanghai office wins
Successful Design Award
A radical office redesign for JWT in Shanghai by M Moser Associates
has been announced as one of the winners of China’s Successful
Design Awards in 2012. Based on a conceptual vision termed ‘food
for thought’, the project was developed and carried out by workplace
design specialists M Moser in close collaboration with JWT. With
its versatile, café-like reception-meeting zone, the new design
encourages the kind of informal brainstorming that usually only
occurs when staff
members meet
outside the office.
Other highlights
include a versatile
open reception/
meeting/showcase
area, glass-encased
meeting rooms,
and an open work
space with tablelike wood veneered
workstations.
New Name for Passavant-Geiger
Starting from March 1 st , 2013, Passavant-Geiger Envirotech
(Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. will change its company name to Bilfinger
Passavant Water Technologies (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. Its products will
continue to be represented by the brands PASSAVANT®, GEIGER®
and NOGGERATH® - trademarks of reliable technology. In close
cooperation with their affiliates in the Bilfinger Group it will in the
future offer various additional engineering and services for industry,
energy, real estate and infrastructure from a single source.
77
Tell us a little about your company and activities
in China?
Baoland Plaza was invested in and developed
by Baoland Group, the subsidiary of Baosteel,
a Fortune 500 company. The company was
founded in June 2002, and specializes in real
estate development and operations, with over a
decade of experience in developing real estate.
We are now developing our immovable
assets, raising our value, and forming our
core competitive ability and reputation in the
market through the construction of our brand
and services. In recent years, through the
development of a series of projects like Baoland
New House, Baoland Green Garden, Baoland
East Garden, Baoland Plaza etc., Baoland Group
has gradually formed a standard and scientific
market operating mechanism. Taking the pursuit
of excellence as the goal, the company is
engaged in refining the core competitive ability
of Baoland.
Huang Kong Wei
Company: Shanghai Baoland Co., Ltd.
Job Title/Position: Deputy General Manager, Baosteel Group Real Estate Management
Year of Foundation: 2002
HQ: No. 555 KunMing Road Yangpu District, Shanghai
Main Business: Shanghai Real Estate Development, Asset Management, Property
Management
Why did your company choose to locate where
it did?
The first advantage to our location is regional:
as Yangpu District has begun to brand itself
as “Yangpu with Knowledge and Science”,
our location in the center of Dalian Road
Headquarters Agglomeration in Yangpu District
links Baoland Plaza to the northern Pentagonal
Square functional area, injecting a brand-new
driving force into the development of science
and finance in this region, and forming a
completed business district mode step by step.
The second advantage is our location’s status as
a transportation hub. Baoland Plaza is located at
the core area of East Bund and the intersection
of Dalian Road and Kunming Road. The close
proximity to Dalian Road Tunnel and Xinjian Road
Tunnel offers easy access to Lujiazui in Pudong,
and the proximity to Zhoujiazui Road and Bund
Tunnel allows convenient access to People’s
Square, Nanjing Road and Huaihai Road CBD.
Embraced within a convenient transportation
network, it’s within walking distance of Metro
Line #4 and #12. Travelling to Hongqiao and
Pudong Airports only requires 45 minutes driving,
which makes business activities extremely
convenient and effective. Baoland Plaza is also
adjacent to several high-quality business office
buildings including Siemens Centre, Continental
AG and Embry Form Mansion.
Baoland mainly targets MNC and large
domestic enterprises, those who are
78
looking for spaces for office relocation and
expanding as its anchored tenants. With the
continuous development of the economy,
the enhancement of traffic convenience and
the increasing population, the development
trends for city office buildings changes with
market demand. The limited supply of office
buildings in Shanghai Central Business District
can no longer satisfy the fast expansion
of the companies, while rising rent causes
enterprise leasing costs to escalate. Many
large companies that are planning relocation
and expansion often fix their eyes on office
buildings in sub CBD areas which have
convenient traffic networks and excellent
quality facilities allowing spacious offices,
as well as the rental advantage which is
impossible in the prestigious CBD area. This
has become the main tendency of the current
office building leasing market, and Baoland
conforms to this demand exactly.
What are your aims and hopes for the future?
(What are your short- and long-term objectives,
especially in China?)
In the coming five years, Yangpu District will
strive for the target of financing RMB10bn from
the stock market and government guarantees
respectively, centralizing an industrial fund of
RMB10bn and gathering 100 organizations
of science and technology and finance. At
present, the Dalian Road Headquarters R&D
concentration area where Baoland Plaza
is located has gathered a number of noted
financial organizations from China and overseas,
including Pudong Development-Silicon Valley
Bank, Shanghai International Venture Capital
Co., Ltd and Noah Private Wealth Management,
taking science and technology, finance and
advanced manufacturing industry as its main
development formats. Baoland Plaza’s entering
the market will contribute to the further
establishment of attractiveness in this area.
The favourable business atmosphere and strong
support from the government will certainly
attract a number of scientific research and
finance-oriented enterprises to newly-developed
business districts like Dalian Road Headquarters
R&D concentration area. Baoland Plaza is definitely located in the center of this area, owning
a considerable number of potential client bases.
We sincerely hope that a large number of science and technology and finance companies can
be attracted to set up in Baoland Plaza, improving the business function of the Dalian Road
headquarters and R&D concentration area.
What is your competitive advantage/selling
point, what kind of benefits can companies
using your products/services in China get?
Baoland Plaza is an international grade A
office building – a distinctive landmark in
the East Bund Situated within a convenient
transportation network with two metro lines
and teo tunnels in the immediate vicinity.
The plaza offers comprehensive dining and
leisure facilities catering to the needs of
discerning tenants.
www.china.ahk.de
79
New Members SHANGHAI
For full contact information and company profiles of our new and existing members,
please visit www.german-company-directory.com
Mr. Ahmed Akuka
GM
Stüken Precision Deep Draw
Technology Shanghai Co. Ltd.
 021 5804-1611
www.stueken.cn
Ms. Bettina Al-Sadik-Lowinski
Shanghai
 155 0211-2805
www.bas-coaching.com
Mr. Daniel Aylmer
General Manager
Le Royal Meridien Shanghai
 021 3318-9999
www.starwoodhotels.com/
lemeridien/shanghai
Mr. Kolonko Bartosz
Shanghai
 137 6102-1247
www.bartoszkolonko.com
Mr. Michael Bracht
Managing Director
Nolte (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.
 021 6237-2267
www.nolte.cn
Ms. Anja Brandau
Account Executive
International Sales
 021 2312-8644
www.fescoadecco.com
Mr. Christian Buck
General Manager
Strategy & Marketing
Wuhan
 +49 5228-9520
www.systemvalves.com
Mr. Rong Cai
General Manager
Magna Automotive Mirrors
(Shanghai) Co. Ltd.
 021 5720-5720
Mr. Jianfeng Chao
General Manager
Gerresheimer Shuangfeng
Pharmaceutical Glass
(Danyang) Co. Ltd.
 0511 8699-7000
www.sf-glass.com
Mr. Wenjun Gu
General Manager
Balluff (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd.
 021 5089-9970
www.balluff.com.cn
Mr. Steve Cheek
General Manager
Danaher (Shanghai) Industrial
Instrumentation Technologies
R&D Co. Ltd.
 021 6128-6372
www.danaher.com
Mr. Jianlong Chen
General Manager
KROHNE Measurement Technology
(Shanghai) Co. Ltd.
 021 6760-0742
www.krohne.com
Mr. Xi Chen
Asia Sourcing Director
Woodward (Tianjin) Controls
Co. Ltd. Suzhou Branch
 0512 8818-5515
www.woodward.com
Ms. Petra Denton
Purchasing Senior Manager
Shanghai
 186 1613-1170
Mr. Kay Dessel
General Manager
Kiekert Automotive (Changshu)
Co. Ltd.
 0512 5230-8900
www.kiekert.com
Mr. Uli Ehses
Service Manager Asia
Grohmann Engineering Trading
(Shanghai) Co. Ltd.
 021 6194-0525
www.grohmann.com
Mr. Dian Feng
Commerce Dept Manager
Ningbo Jifeng Auto Parts Co. Ltd.
Ningbo
 0574 8616-3608
www.nb-jf.com
Mr. Richard Hu
Vice President
Eberspaehcer Exhaust Techonology
(Shanghai) Co. Ltd.
 021 2022-8077
Mr. Thomas Gilch
Board Member
Sturm Machinery (Kunshan) Co. Ltd.
Kunshan
 0512 5019-9700
www.sturm-gruppe.com
Dr. Birgit Suberg
Shanghai
 138 1735-7738
Mr. Ximing Guo
CEO
EagleBurgmann (Shanghai) Investment
Management Co. Ltd.
80
 021 6156-3200
www.eagleburgmann.cn
Ms. Yolanda Hagen
Shanghai
 136 0194-7647
www.yovohagrafie.de
Mr. Peter Handstein
Chairman
Happy Arts & Crafts
(Ningbo) Co. Ltd.
HAPE International (Ningbo) Ltd.
 0574 8680-1188
Mr. Klaus Hansen
General Manager
Shanghai
 021 6774-7640 ext. 8003
www.ejsen.net
Mr. Georg P. Holzinger
COO
Jiaxing KraussMaffei Machinery
Co. Ltd.
 0573 8697-3906
www.kraussmaffei.com
Mr. Jingxin Huang
Director of Operations
Zhejiang Taizhou Qiangsheng
Headwear Co. Ltd. Wenling
 0576 8632-5528
www.chinaqiangsheng.net
Mr. Charles Jiang
Managing Director
GEZE Industries (Tianjin) Co. Ltd.
Shanghai
 021 5234-0960
www.geze.com.cn
Mr. Johannes Kaese
Sales Director
Lerbs (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd.
 021 6309-8236
www.lerbs.de
Dr. Andre Kompa
General Manager
Hangzhou Wahler Automotive Co. Ltd.
 0571 8873-0486
 yuping.zhou@wahler-automotive.
com
www.wahler.de
Mr. Berthold Kramer
General Manager
Merkel NOK Freudenberg Co. Ltd.
Taicang
 0512 5357-8140
www.nfgc.com.cn
Mr. Johannes Landin
Sales Manager Asia
ARKU Leveling Systems
(Kunshan) Co. Ltd.
 0512 3685-3910
www.arku.de
Mr. Dirk Lange
Managing Director
Duraivt Sanitaryware Technology
(Shanghai) Co. Ltd.
 021 5227-1278
www.duravit.cn
Mr. Andreas Langosch
General Manager
Industrial Equipment Packing Service
(Shanghai) Co. Ltd.
 021 6429-1911
www.better-pls.com
Mr. Weili Lin
China General Manager
Amphenol (Changzhou) Advanced
Connector Co. Ltd.
 0519 8652-6988
www.amphenol-tcs.com
Mr. Huiming Lu
General Manager
KAMAX Automotive Fasteners
(China) Co. Ltd. Changzhou
 0519 8986-0058
www.kamax.com
Mr. Jianguo Lu
General Manager
EKOSEP Engineering Co. Ltd.
Rugao
 0513 8758-9588
www.ekosep.cn
Mr. Erich Maier
Chairman of the Board
Maier Rotary Joints
(Kunshan) Co. Ltd.
 0512 3685-3830
www.maierchina.com
Mr. Julien Marichy
General Manager
TECHNOCHINA Shanghai Co. Ltd.
Shanghai
 021 6442-9991
www.technochina.fr
Mr. Daniel Martinez Martin
Executive Manager on R&D Center
Kostal (Shanghai) Management
Co. Ltd.
 021 5957-0077 ext. 8372
Dr. Astrid Wortberg
Rechtsanwältin
Shanghai
 021 5899-7131
DrTina_v4.ai 14/11/2012 PM 11:51:25
Ms. Chau Kin Ping
Managing Director
Hill & Knowlton
(China) Public Relations Co. Ltd.
Shanghai
 0512 5019-9700
www.hkstrategies.com
Mr. Hui Wang
General Manager
GPM Automotive Pumps
(Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Suzhou
 0512 6288-5196 ext. 801
 Hui.Wang@gpm-automotive.
com
www.gpm-automotive.com
Mr. Frank Rasche
Managing Director
Shanghai
 021 6135-9488
Mr. Cunge Wang
General Manager
BURKHARDT+WEBER
/ ROMI (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.
 021 6100-5568
www.burkhardt-weber.de
Dr. Lars-Heiko Rauscher
CEO of Porsche Consulting
Shanghai
 021 6058-0942
www.porsche-consulting.com
Ms. Xiaowei Ren
Finance & Controlling Manager
Böhler Welding Trading
(Shanghai) Co. Ltd.
 021 6228-8080
www.bohlerweldinggroup.com
Mr. Frank Rexach
Vice President
Haworth Furniture Shanghai
Shanghai
 021 3892-4588
www.haworth.com
Mr. Jens Richter
General Manager
Multivac (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd.
 021 3701-8118
www.multivac.cn
German Dentist in Shanghai
Dr. Tina Holthusen
has joined our
team of dentists.
Ms. Wei Wang
Chief Officer
KBA Printing Machinery
(Shanghai) Co. Ltd.
 021 6322-0069
www.kbachina.com
Mr. Zhigang Wang
General Manager
Medavis Information Technology
(Shanghai) Co. Ltd.
 021 5417-9730
cn.medavis.com
Mr. Ge Wei
Chief Representative
FE Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH
Shanghai Representative Office
 021 5820-4484
www.fe-munich.com
www.china.ahk.de
C
M
Y
Appointments
can be arranged
from Tuesday to
Saturday 10 am to
6 pm in Hongqiao
and Jinqiao.
We look forward to welcoming you soon!
CM
MY
CY
Mr. Florian Riesinger
Sales Director
Hamberger Sanitary(Kunshan) Co. Ltd.
 0512 3685-8350
www.hamberger-sanitary.com
Mr. Michael Schneider
Operations Manager
E.G.O. Components (China) Co. Ltd.
Taicang
 0512 5320-8001
 michael.schneider@egoproducts.
com
Mr. Marten Steffens
General Manager
ZF Lemforder Shanghai Chassistech
Co. Ltd.
 021 6758-8888
www.zf.com
Mr. Frank Tang
Schoeller Technocell GmbH & Co. KG
Shanghai Rep. Office
 021 5820-5877
www.felix-schoeller.com
Mr. Ahmet Tombul
Managing Director
Vauman Information Technology
Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd.
 021 3603-1590
www.vauman.com
Mr. Udo Willhoft
CMY
Business Development
PIL Logistics (China) Co. Ltd.
K
 021 6393-0663
[email protected]

www.pillogistics.com
Mr. Knutr Wimberge
Managing Director
Fronius China Trading Co. Ltd.
Shanghai
 021 2606-3200
www.fronius.com
Mr. Hongbo Wu
Operation Manager
Continental Two Wheel Tires
(Hefei) Co. Ltd., Hefei
 0551 279-6326
www.continental-coporation.com
Mr. Henglin Xiao
President
Wuxi Kipor Power Co. Ltd.
 0510 8853-5135
www.kipor.com
Ms. Helen Yang
Branch Manager
Dussmann Property Management
(Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Nanjing Branch
 025 8453-3386, 025 8471-1985
www.dussmann.com.cn
Our Locations
Hongqiao Business Center
2268 Hongqiao Road, 2nd Floor, Unit 2P
Changning, Shanghai 200336
TEL: +8621 6237 6969
虹桥商务大厦
上海长宁区虹桥路 2268 号
2 楼 P 座邮编 200336
FAX: +8621 3223 1030
No. 2-4, Lane 650 Biyun Road
Jinqiao, Pudong
Shanghai 201206 (Opposite to Carrefour)
上海浦东新区金桥
碧云路 650 弄
2-4 号邮编 201206
TEL: +8621 6105 9400
FAX: +8621 6105 9233
www.puresmile.com
81
REGIONAL NEWS | Shanghai | Chamber Affairs
1st
November 2012
6th
November 2012
Event: JV Workshop HR/GC Roundtable
Topic: Compensation and Benefit Trends for
2013
Venue: Le Royal Meridien
Moderator: Mr. Rolf Koehler | General
Manager, Freudenberg Management Shanghai
Speaker: Greta Mikelonis | Consulting
Director for China, Mercer’s Health and
Benefits (H&B)
Event: Special Seminar in Suzhou
Topic: Als deutscher Expatriate in China gut
versichert
Venue: Suzhou
Moderator: Mr. Joachim Dreyer | Regional
Manager Jiangsu & Zhejiang Province,
German Chamber of Commerce in China
Speaker: Mr. Klaus-Peter von der
Eltz | Expatriate Care Consultant,
Versicherungsmakler GmbH
Dr. Iris Duchetsmann | Lawyer, Salans
9th
November 2012
13th
November 2012
13th
November 2012
13th
November 2012
82
Event: Sino-German Communication Forum
in Shanghai
Topic: “Hello Talent! - PR Activities for
Employer Branding!”
Venue: German Centre for Industry and Trade
Shanghai
Speaker: Dr. Jari Grosse-Ruyken | ChinesischDeutsches Hochschulkolleg
Ms. Miriam Wickertsheim | Direct HR
Mr. Andreas Bahne | Boehringer Ingelheim
Event: Deutscher Stammtisch
Venue: Paulaner Brauhaus
Event: Workshop Legal & Tax
Topic: Gerichtsprozesse in der VR China,
macht das Sinn?
Venue: Intercontinental Shanghai Pudong
Moderator: Roger Haynaly | Associated
Partner, Roedl & Partner
Speaker: Dr. Olliver Maaz | Partner, Roedl &
Partner
Event: Wirtschaftsjunioren | Young Leaders
Shanghai
Topic: Strategies for Entry and Growth in an
Emerging Economy
Venue: German Chamber of Commerce in
Shanghai
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Klaus Meyer | Professor of
Strategy and International Business, CEIBS
www.china.ahk.de
15th
November 2012
Event: Wirtschaftsjunioren | Young Leaders
Shanghai
Topic: Taicang Trip "The Wonder of Taicang"
Venue: Taicang
Moderator: Nina Trentmann | Reporter - Die
Welt / Axel Springer Verlag
Speaker: Mr. Manfred Krost | Krost Consulting
Mr. Peter Hafner | Trumpf
Mr. Christian Blatt | Krones
Ms. Brigitte Wolff | Management Engineers
27th
November 2012
27th
November 2012
28th
November 2012
20
th
November 2012
20th
November 2012
20th
November 2012
Event: Workshop Hangzhou
Topic: Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid when
sourcing in China
Venue: Eletriksola Hangzhou
Speaker: Mr. Bernt Gramann | General
Manager, Elektrisola Hangzhou
Mr. Thaddeus Mueller | Associate Director,
Fiducia Mangement Consultants
Event: GC Roundtable
Topic: “Besser heute 100 RMB ausgeben,
um morgen Kosten in Höhe von 500 RMB zu
vermeiden“
Venue: Sofitel Hyland Hotel Shanghai
Moderator: Mr. Kurt Fasser | Senior Adviser,
CONMOTO
Speaker: Mr. Kurt Fasser | Senior Adviser,
CONMOTO
Event: Special Event Hangzhou
Topic: Cooperation between Company and
University
Venue: Zhejiang University
Speaker: Mr. Fang Jieping | Director of
Department of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Zhang Mingfang | Director of Department
of Domestic Cooperation
Event: Informative Event
Topic: How to apply for a Business Visa?
Venue: German Chamber of Commerce in
Shanghai
Moderator: Mr. Christoph Angerbauer |
General Manger, GIC Shanghai
Speakers from the Consulate:
Ms. Frau Britta Höfer
Mr. Christian Kirst
Mr. Sven Wechsung
Mr. Jürgen Köster
Mr. Volker Renckstorf-Hayden
Event: Hangzhou’s German Chamber Corner
Venue: Angelo’s Restaurant Hangzhou
Event: Deutscher Praktikantenstammtisch
Venue: Mural Bar
Center Contacts:
Shanghai: 5228 2950
Beijing:
8446 6455
Nanjing:
Suzhou:
6288 6250
8487 2361
Shenzhen: 2688 3577
Guangzhou: 3893 4200
Dongguan: 2248 9240
Chengdu:
Hongkong: 2850 4332
Singapore: 6438 2297
800 999 6260
Contact us:
[email protected]
83
28th
November 2012
5th
December 2012
11th
December 2012
84
Event: Workshop Production & Logistics
Topic: Shopfloor Management – Go & See
instead of Meet & Mail
Venue: Le Royal Meridien
Moderator: Mr. Markus Franz | General
Manger, Staufen
Speaker: Mr. Franz Michael Oppermann |
General Manager, DMG Machine Tools
Mr. Rainer Voelker | Director Competence
Development, Staufen
Event: Interchamber Christmas Mixer
Event: Workshop Controlling & Finance
Topic: Payments in Foreign Exchange and
RMB across the border - Relaxation in
China's foreign exchange controls?
Venue: Intercontinental Shanghai Pudong
Moderator: Mr. Alexander Prautzsch| Tax
Director, PricewaterhouseCooper China
Speaker: Ms. Rong Rong | Executive Editorin-Chief, China Forex Magazine, SAFE
Mr. Lewis L. Sun | Head of Payments and
Cash Management Sales, HSBC China
11th
December 2012
11th
December 2012
12th
December 2012
19th
December 2012
Event: Deutscher Stammtisch
Event: Hangzhou’s German Chamber Corner
Venue: Angelo’s Restaurant, Hangzhou
Event: Workshop Taicang
Topic: Efficient Time Management
Venue: Holiday Inn Taicang
Moderator: Mr. Joachim Dreyer | Regional
Manager Jiangsu & Zhejiang Province,
German Chamber of Commerce
Speaker: Mr. Wader Zang | Director China of
Kaba Access Systems
Event: Deutscher Praktikantenstammtisch
Venue: Mural Bar
www.china.ahk.de
13th
December 2012
Event: Chamber Meeting | December 2012
Topic: Weihnachtskammertreffen
Venue: The Longemont Shanghai
Moderator: Mr. Ulrich Maeder | Chairman of
the Board, POLYMAX Group
Speaker: Mr. Michael Bauer | kath. Pfarrer,
Deutschsprachige Christliche Gemeinde
Shanghai (DCGS)
Mr. Peter Kruse | evangl. Pastor,
Deutschsprachige Christliche Gemeinde
Shanghai (DCGS)
The last Chamber Meeting for the year 2012 took place
at the Longemont Shanghai, and was organized around a
Christmas theme. Therefore, Michael Bauer (Catholic priest,
Deutschsprachige christliche Gemeinde Shanghai) and Peter
Kruse (Protestant pastor, christliche Gemeinde Shanghai) came
to share their insights on the season with the assembled guests.
The evening started with a warm welcome by the moderator
Ulrich Maeder, chairman of the board of POLYMAX Group. After
that both chaplains gave a speech.
In his talk, Michael Bauer compared Shanghai with Disney
Land; everyone has to pay for their ticket, and if you can’t you
have to leave. Due to the pressure of materialism many people
live beyond their financial means. For these people, said Father
Bauer, there are no religious views left; only material objects
which can be used to display wealth.
Peter Kruse urged the audience to become more reflective
for the Christmas season. He questioned, can we celebrate
Christmas in a city like Shanghai while still maintaining our
focus on the message from Bethlehem? Yes, he concluded,
we can, but in order to do so one must be very disciplined
and focus on the right things, not on money, power and
relationships. To do this in a city like Shanghai, he said, you
need a belief in God and a community that stands behind you.
After this, special guest Peter Pruegel from Germany's
Department for Foreign Affairs gave a speech. He highlighted
the 40 year anniversary of diplomatic relations between
Germany and China, referring not only to the political but also
to the economic sectors. He also briefly discussed the recent
change in China’s government, their plans for the next few
years, and whether it is possible for China to reach these goals.
After a dinner of goose from the buffet, Evelyn Groemminger
read out a chapter of Janis Vougioukas book ‘If Mao Only
Knew’. (Wenn Mao das wuesste). She was accompanied by
photographer Yolanda vom Hagen with some slides.
All in all, the evening was an excellent reminder of what
Christmas time really stands for, beyond the presents under the
Christmas tree.
85
Exhibition Calendar of Main City in China, Feburary-March 2013
Date
Shanghai
Name
Venue
Link
26th - 28th Feb.
SIOF - International Optics Fair
1th - 5th Mar.
SECEC
www.siof.cn
ECF - East China Fair
SNIEC
www.china-exhibition.com
th
th
INTERTRAFFIC CHINA - International trade fair for infrastructure, traffic management, safety and parking
INTEX
www.rai.nl
th
th
Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles - Spring - International Trade Fair for
Home Textiles and Accessories
SNIEC
http://www.intertextilehome.com/
th
th
5 - 8 Mar.
WoodMac China - International Forestry & Woodworking Machinery and Supplies
Exhibition
SNIEC
www.messe.de/hfi
12th - 14th Mar.
CIHFChina International Hardware Fair
SNIEC
www.hardware-fair.com
12th - 14th Mar.
Mode Shanghai - Fashion Exhibition
SM
www.modeshanghai.net
12th - 14th Mar.
SpinExpo - Trade Fair for Yarns and Fibres
SPE
www.spinexpo.com
13th - 15th Mar.
PCHi - Personal Care & Homecare Ingredients
SWEECC
www.pchi-china.com
13 - 15 Mar.
AsiaSolar PV Expo
13th - 15th Mar.
4 - 6 Mar.
5 - 7 Mar.
th
th
SWEECC
www.aiexpo.com.cn
CRTS ChinaChina International Rail Transit Technology Exhibition
SWEECC
www.hnzmedia.com
th
th
CPCA Show
SNIEC
http://www.ying-zhan.com/en/index.asp
th
th
electronica China & productronica China
SNIEC
www.e-p-china.com
th
th
LASER World of PHOTONICS CHINA - International Trade Show
for Optical Technologies in China
SNIEC
http://world-of-photonics.net/en/laser-china/start
th
th
19 - 21 Mar.
Semicon China - Semiconductor Equipment & Materials Exhibition
19th - 21th Mar.
19 - 21 Mar.
19 - 21 Mar.
19 - 21 Mar.
SNIEC
http://www.semiconchina.org/index.htm
FPD CHINA - International Flat Panel Display Trade Show
SNIEC
http://www.fpdchina.org/
th
th
SOLARCON China
SNIEC
http://www.solarconchina.org/
th
th
Healthplex Expo
INTEX
http://www.healthplex.com.cn/
th
th
26 - 28 Mar.
DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR - The Largest International Trade Fair for
the Floor Covering Industry in Asia and China
SNIEC
www.domotexasiachinafloor.com
26th - 28th Mar.
R+T Asia/China Windoors
SNIEC
www.rtasia.org
26th - 28th Mar.
FIC - Food Intergredients China 2012
SECEC
http://www.fi-c.com/
19 - 21 Mar.
21 - 23 Mar.
Beijing
27th Feb. - 2th Mar.
ispo china - Sports business network in the Asia-Pacific region
CNCC
http://www.ispo.com/prj_53/view/
1th - 4th Mar.
CIAACE - China International Auto Accessories Commercial Expo
NCIEC
www.ciaacexpo.com/
4th - 6th Mar.
INTERTRAFFIC CHINA - International trade fair for infrastructure, traffic management, safety and parking
BEC
http://www.intertrafficchina.com/
7th - 10th Mar.
FLOOR COVERINGS & CARPETS - International Floor Coverings & Carpet Fair
CIEC
http://www.build-decor.net/a/gb2312/
tongqi/2010/0412/14.html
7th - 10th Mar.
Build+Decor - China International Building Decorations and Building Materials Exposition
NCIEC
www.build-decor.com
12th - 15th Mar.
WMF China/Furniwood China - International Exhibition on Woodworking Machinery and Furniture Accessories, Materials and Wood Products
NCIEC
http://www.woodworkfair.com/wmf12/main/lang-eng/
information.aspx
19th - 21th Mar.
CIPPE - China International Petroleum & Petrochemical Technology & Equipment Exhibition
NCIEC
http://www.cippe.com.cn/index.html
21th - 23th Mar.
CCBN - China Content Broadcasting Network Expo
CIEC
www.ccbn.tv/
26th - 29th Mar.
CHIC - China International Clothing and Accessories Fair
NCIEC
www.chiconline.com.cn
27th - 29th Mar.
Yarn Expo Spring - China International Trade Fair for Fibres and Yarns
CWTC
http://www.messefrankfurt.com.hk/fair_homepage.
aspx?fair_id=3&exhibition_id=3
27th - 29th Mar.
Intertextile Beijing Apparel Fabrics - International Trade Fair for Apparel
Fabrics & Accessories
CIEC
aspx?fair_id=2&exhibition_id=2
28 - 30 Mar.
CHINA MED - International Medical Instruments and Equipment Exhibition
CNCC
www.chinamed.net.cn
28th - 30th Mar.
Concrete China - Beton-Ausstellung China
BEC
www.concretechina.org/English/
th
th
Guangdong
Dental South China Expo & Conference - South China International Dental Equipment & Technology Expo & Conference
CIEFC
www.dentalsouthchina.com
1th - 4th Mar.
LED Display China/LED Lighting China/LED Chip,Packaging& Equipment
CIEFC
www.ubmtrust.com
4 - 6 Mar.
PFP EXPO-PRINTING SOUTH CHINASouth China International Exhibition & Symposium on Prepress and Printing Industries
4th - 6th Mar.
th
th
CIEFC
www.adsale.com.hk
PVP China - International Pump, Valve & Pipe Trade Show
CIEFC
http://pvpchina.fairwindow.com/cn/index.htm
th
th
PFP EXPO-DRINKTEC CHINA/SINO PACK
GICEC-PZ
www.2456.com/drinktec
th
th
WATER CHINA - International Water, Wastewater & Water Treatment Show/Pump, Valve & Pipe Trade Show
CIEFC
http://waterchina.fairwindow.com/cn/index.htm
th
th
SIAF - SPS Industrial Automation Fair Guangzhou - Industrial Automation,
materials handling and assembly technology Expo and Conference
CIEFC
www.siaf-china.com
th
th
7 - 9 Mar.
GITF - Guangzhou International Travel Fair
13th - 15th Mar.
4 - 6 Mar.
4 - 6 Mar.
4 - 6 Mar.
CIEFC
www.hmf-china.com
PCHiPersonal Care & Homecare Ingredients
PWTC
www.reed-sinopharm.com
th
th
CECIA - China Exhibition & Conference on Instrumental Analysis & Biotechnology
GJEC
http://www.ste.cn/
th
th
18 - 21 Mar.
CIFF - Home Furniture - China International Furniture Fair - Home Furniture
CIEFC
http://www.ciff-gz.com/cn/
18th - 21th Mar.
Intertextile Guangzhou Hometextile China - China (Guangzhou) International
Trade Fair for Home Textiles
CIEFC
aspx?fair_id=36&exhibition_id=38&hdnLang=en
27 - 30 Mar.
CIFM - China International Woodworking Machinery & Furniture Raw Materials Fair
CIEFC
http://cifm.fairwindow.com/cn/index.htm
27th - 30th Mar.
interzum guangzhou
GICEC-PZ
www.interzum-guangzhou.com
27 - 30 Mar.
CIFF - Office/Commercial FurnitureChina International Furniture Fair
CIEFC
www.fairwindow.com
29th - 31th Mar.
RC&O - Rehacare & Orthopedic Canton
PWTC
www.cantonrehacare.com
13 - 15 Mar.
th
th
th
th
Hongkong
31th Jan. - 3th Feb.
HKTDC Education & Careers Expo
HKCEC
http://hkeducationexpo.com
25th - 28th Feb.
Hong Kong International Fur and Fashion Fair
HKCEC
www.hkfurfed.com.hk
4 - 7 Mar.
March Asia's Fashion Jewellery & Accessories Fair
5th - 9th Mar.
th
th
HKCEC
www.ubmasia.com
Hong Kong International Jewellery Show
HKCEC
http://hkjewellery.com
th
th
TOC Asia
HKCEC
www.toc-events.com
th
th
13 - 15 Mar.
Interstoff Asia Essential - SpringInternational Textile Show
HKCEC
www.messefrankfurt.com.hk
18th - 21th Mar.
HKTDC FILMART - International Film & TV Market
HKCEC
www.hktdc.com
19th - 21th Mar.
Asian Aerospace - International Expo and Congress
AWE
www.reedexpo.com.cn
25th - 27th Mar.
APLF - Fashion AccessAsia Pacific Leather Fair - Fashion Access
HKCEC
www.aplf.com
25th - 27th Mar.
APLF-MMTAsia Pacific Leather Fair, Materials, Manufacturing & Technology
HKCEC
www.aplf.com
14th - 17th Mar.
ChinaMach - China International Machinery Industry Exhibition
INTEX-NG
www.chinamaching.cn
15th - 17th Mar.
China International Machine Tool& Plastics Industry Exhibition
WZICEC
http://www.donnor.com/equipment/
15th - 17th Mar.
CMT ChinaThe Holiday Exhibition
NIEC
www.njtf.com.cn
15th - 17th Mar.
CIMPS - China International Marine, Port & Shipbuilding Fair
NIEC
www.china-ship.com
China International Gold, Jewellery & Gem Fair Shenzhen
SZCEC
http://exhibitions.jewellerynetasia.com/szj/
28th - 31th Mar.
SIMM - China Shenzhen International Machinery & Mould Industry Exhibition
SZCEC
www.simmexpo.com
Taipei Cycle
TWTC Nangang
www.taipeicycle.com.tw
12 - 14 Mar.
Zhejiang
Jiangsu
Shenzhen
Taibei
20th - 23th Mar.
Trade fairs marked in yellow are supported by AHK/GIC Shanghai. For further information about upcoming trade fairs and AHK/GIC Shanghai's trade fair service, please refer to
the online calender on our website (www.china.ahk.de) or contact Ms. Dong Yini, Tel.: +86-21 5081 2266 *1619.
China HR Tomorrow
THE SUMMIT
The Only HR Summit for
German Companies in China
25th April, 2013
Le Royal Meridien Hotel, Shanghai
www.china-hr-tomorrow.com
Organized by:
GCC Shanghai Donates RMB 200.000
to Pfrang Association
Funds Will Provide Two Years of Education to Over Fifty Students
The German Chamber of Commerce in China •
Shanghai donated RMB 200.000 to the Pfrang
Association in Nanjing. The handover of the
cheque took place during the monthly Chamber
Meeting at the InterContinental Expo Hotel in
Shanghai on 31st of January 2013. The funds
will support two years of school education of 51
students from the Jinzhai County in Anhui.
All of the selected students come from
underprivileged backgrounds and would
struggle to complete their educations without
financial help. With the donation from the
German Chamber • Shanghai 51 students are
enabled to attend school for the next two
years; the donated funds will cover boarding,
food, clothes and learning materials. The
Chamber Board made the decision to support
an educational program in order to reflect
their members’ dedication to sustainable social
responsibility and community development.
“The members of the German Chamber share
a common understanding of the importance
of promoting education, thus we are delighted
to announce that we will be able to support
these students for two years. We are looking
forward to deepening our charitable and
personal involvement with the Chinese
community,” said Mr. Titus von dem Bongart,
Chairman of the Board of German Chamber
• Shanghai. “As a German membership
organization active in China it is among our
essential responsibilities to contribute to the
further sustainable development of our host
country,” he continues. “We also have the
chance to follow up on the project by visiting
the schools and we will then decide upon
further support during and after the two year
term.”
In the Pfrang Association the German Chamber
found a German-headed organization that
could provide transparency as to the allocation
of funds and monitoring of the programme. The
association was founded in the year 2000 in
memory of the German Pfrang family, and aims
to provide education to disadvantaged Chinese
students, particularly orphaned students,
students with disabilities, students belonging to
Chinese ethnic minorities, and female students.
“We are very happy with this involvement of the
German Chamber of Commerce • Shanghai,”
states Mrs. Julia Güsten, President of the
Pfrang Association. “Our Association is highly
dependant on external support and welcomes
every financial as well as personal contribution
from our partners.” If the project is successful,
the students may even be able to participate in
the German business community in the future.
For more information please contact Ms.
Selma Koehn, Communications Manager, GCC
Shanghai under:
 021-5081 2266
from left: Mr. Titus von dem Bongart, Chairman of the Board GCC Shanghai, Dr. Eva Drewes, Board Member GCC
Shanghai, Mrs. Julia Güsten, President Pfrang Association, and Mr. Rolf Koehler, Board Member GCC Shanghai
88
www.china.ahk.de
Mr. Jan Noether, Delegate of the German Industry
and Commerce China | Shanghai Receives
Nomination as Board Member of the Shanghai
Arbitration Commission
Late last year, Mr. Jan Noether, Delegate of the German Industry and
Commerce China | Shanghai, was elected to the board of the Shanghai
Arbitration Commission. The Shanghai Arbitration Commission is an
institution dedicated to revolving national and international legal
disputes in China, and plays a vital role in China’s international business
community. Since its founding in 1995, the SAC has taken on tens of
thousands of cases, accepting over 1,400 cases annually. The Comission
is made up of 842 arbiters, mostly former judges, experts in their
fields, lawyers and scholars, who are capable of conducting arbitration
procedures in Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese and Korean.
Of all arbitration awards granted by the SAC, 99.8% are upheld by
the courts. This makes arbitration awards granted by the SAC highly
preferable to those granted abroad, since arbitration awards from
committees in other countries are very difficult to enforce in China.
"This nomination contributes to foster the superb bilateral economic
relations between China and Germany. With respect to the growing
importance of 'out of court settlements' the SAC demonstrates its
willingness to implement structures meeting international demands"
said Mr. Noether.
Training Calendar Shanghai
Date
Training
22rd February Say it with Chart
26th-27th February Effective Communication and Presentation Skills
28th February Customs Clearance Efficiency and Cost Control *
25th-1st March Injection Molding Defects and Systematic
Sampling (DOE)*
15th March
Influencing Skills*
Working Smart with Lotus Notes
4th March
th
5 -6th March
Motivational Skills for Managers*
6th-7th March
Business English Communication Skills*
th
11 -15th March
Injection Molding Operation Technology*
12th-13th March
Basic Management Skills
Lean Basics*
14th-15th March
14th-15th March
Project Management
14th-16th March
Controlling in 3 Stages:
- Stage 1 “Controlling & Controller”*
18th-19th March
Injection Molding Defects*
19th (13:30-17:00) March Chinese Macro Economy in 2013-2014*
19th-20th March
Controlling for Expatriates*
20th-21st March
Working Smart with PowerPoint 2007/2010
20th-22rd March
Injection Molding Systematic Sampling (DOE) *
Self Management thru MBTI*
21th-22rd March
22rd March
Successfully Design with PowerPoint
25th-26th March
Working Smart with Excel 2007/2010
26th-27th March
Finance Course for Non-Financial Managers
26th-27th March
Excellence in Customer Service
28th March
Data Map with Excel 2007/2010*
28th-29th March
Customs Management of Commodity Classifi
cation on Import and Export Cargo and the Ana
lyze of its Processing Skill Relating to Technique
* New Course
Regular Social Events - East China
Shanghai
Deutscher Stammtisch – every second Tuesday of the month at
Paulaner Braeuhaus Fenyang Road, 7.00pm, Shanghai
Praktikantenstammtisch – every third Wednesday of the month at
Mural Bar, 7.30pm, Shanghai
Hangzhou
Hangzhou’s German Chamber Corner – every third Tuesday of the
month at Angelo’s Restaurant, 7.00pm, Hangzhou
Note: please always find the latest event calendar on our website:
www.china.ahk.de/events
If you would like to be included in our mailing list to get latest news and
updates please contact:
Ms. Carolin Markus,  [email protected]
Shanghai Training Highlights
Business English Communication Skills
This highly interactive, practical, 2-day course provides
participants with plenty of opportunity to improve and
practise various business communication skills in English.
The main objective is to develop the fluency, self-expression
and self-confidence required to interact effectively with
English-speaking clients and colleagues in different business
contexts, as well as to raise awareness of cultural differences
in communication style and preferences. Participants develop
their speaking, listening, reading and writing skills, while also
activating and expanding their business-related vocabulary
and expressions. Participants receive feedback on their
performance and language use in a relaxed, safe environment.
The methodology of this dynamic, learner-centred workshop
encourages the participants to take an active role, often
working in small groups and pairs. Activities are based on
authentic business tasks and include simulations, discussion of
case studies, and role-plays
Self Management Through MBTI
The benefits this training session will bring to the participants
are as follows: understanding the meaning of each type;
knowing how to identify the 16 MBTI types so as to better
understand others; having a good command of MBTI indicator
combinations; knowing how to apply MBTI knowledge to
stress management, communication improvement, and human
relations management, etc.
Shanghai contact: Ms. Zhang Yihui
' 021 6875-8536 ext. 1658 6 021 6875-8573 ext. 5658
* [email protected]
89
REGIONAL NEWS | South & Southwest China | Member Affairs
Thanks to Our Yearly Sponsors 2012/13
South & Southwest China Office
Backstube Opens New Shop in
Dongguan
Backstube [the better bakery] is going to
narrow the pretzel gap between Shenzhen and
Guangzhou. According to Rainer Ganser, the
bakery will open its first store in Dongguan
in early spring, joining hands with Cafe
Lisboa, which is located right in the centre of
Dongcheng East Road. The bakery will provide
more convenience to the large number of
foreigners who are living in the area. They will
now be able to get authentic German bread,
cakes and baked goods made by Chris the
Tyrolean baker at the same level of quality,
service and product range as they are used
to experiencing in Shekou and Guangzhou.
More updates and information for the grand
opening party will be published soon.
Charity at Crowne Plaza City
Centre Guangzhou
On 9 th December 2012, Crowne Plaza
Guangzhou City Centre welcomed 40 children
and their teachers from Guangzhou Huiling
Mentally-Challenged Caring School to join
a Christmas charity event. Volunteers and
the hotel’s Executive Western Chef were all
dressed up with Santa Claus caps to make
ginger bread with the children. A Santa Claus
from France also showed up to give out
special Christmas gifts. The children enjoyed a
delicious lunch, and presented solo and group
dances. Hotel volunteers and management
staff later joined in the dancing to share
Christmas joy with the children. In Guangzhou,
Huiling looks after more than 200 people with
mental disabilities spread throughout various
centres and in a dozen family homes. Crowne
Plaza has cooperated on several charity
projects with Huiling in the past.
Invest Shenzhen & German
Chamber Signed MoU
On 10 th December, Invest Shenzhen and
the German Chamber of Commerce in
China l South and Southwest China signed
a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
to reaffirm their already very cooperative
relationship. Mr. Stefan Rosenbohm signed
the MoU as the German Chamber’s Chairman
on the occasion of a briefing on current
investment policies for American and
European companies that was attended by
some of the region’s most important German
companies. The main objective of the MoU is
to encourage information exchange in terms
of investment policies, laws and regulations
through a wide range of seminars and
coordinated marketing efforts. Additionally,
GCC and Invest Shenzhen both committed
to mutually establish close contacts to
domestic trade departments, industry
associations and agencies. Invest Shenzhen
is a special government organisation aiming
to continuously promote and improve the
city’s investment environment and business
advantages.
Jäger and Partner Architects
Design Hybrid Tower
Jäger and Partner Architects were recently
announced the winners of the “Wenxin
90
5 th Road Hybrid Tower” international
competition. This unique hybrid tower
will become a new landmark in the south
of the Nanshan commercial and cultural
centre, offering an innovative solution for
combining car parking and high-end office
space in one building on a very compact site.
Like a backbone to the dynamically shaped
building, an automated car parking system
is integrated at its west side, storing 500
cars on a minimal footprint which allows for
maximised office space. Gradually merging
the two functions visually, an organically
designed high performance glass facade
covers the office portion, while the car
parking portion features one of the world’s
largest green walls. At the bottom, the east
facade opens up connecting the retreating
lobby to the public plaza welcoming visitors.
Construction of this iconic building is
expected to start in January 2013.
Linde Awarded for Logistics
Innovation
On 23 rd November 2012, the 10 th China
Logistics Entrepreneurs Annual Meeting
organized by CFLP (China Federation of
Logistics & Purchasing) was held in Xiamen.
Linde (China) Forklift Truck Corp. Ltd. was
awarded the honour of the “2012 China
Logistics Innovation Award”. The company
was selected to receive this award because
of its innovative transformation from
traditional logistics business models towards
management and service. Linde has a strong
www.china.ahk.de
OBC German Evening for a Good
Cause in Shenzhen
OBC Express organised the German Evening
“Santa Claus is coming” on Sunday, 9 th
December 2012 at the Bierhaus Shekou in
Shenzhen. This time the event was celebrated
together with TÜV Rheinland, to collect funds
for supporting a school project in Lincang,
Yunnan province. Almost 200 adults and
children attended the event and enjoyed the
Christmas atmosphere. The total amount of
money raised, including entrance fees and
further donations, was RMB 19,437.5. The
entire amount will be used for the school
library in Lincang. On Tuesday, 18th December
2012, the school celebrated their grand
opening together with OBC.
ability to promote the development of
logistics equipment and technology in China.
Mr. CP Quek, CEO of Linde (China), expressed
that the company is honoured to obtain such
recognition from the experts of the logistics
industry and community, saying: “We will
continue to strengthen our research and
development capabilities and maintain our
technological leadership in the industry”.
Mazars Guangzhou Celebrates 5th
Anniversary
Mazars Greater China held its annual dinner
on Friday 23 rd November in Hong Kong,
Shanghai and Beijing. This year, Mazars
Guangzhou celebrated its 5 th anniversary
together with its Hong Kong colleagues.
Mr. Benoît Stos, Managing Partner of
the Guangzhou office, and his team have
been praised for their contribution to the
successful and stable development of
the Guangzhou practice over the years.
Mr. Kenneth Morrison, Chairman of
Mazars Greater China Board, Mr. Stephen
Weatherseed, Managing Partner of the
Hong Kong office, Mr. Benoît Stos and all
Mazars Hong Kong Partners happily sliced
the birthday cake in front of more than
250 colleagues to celebrate the excellent
and sustainable financial performance that
was the result of the synergy between the
Guangzhou and Hong Kong practices.
Development Director of Siemens Ltd. China
Region South witnessed the ceremony.
New GM at Sirona Dental Systems
Foshan
Mr. Nhom HollTrieu has been
appointed as
the new General Manager of
Sirona Dental
Systems Foshan
Co. Ltd. With over
20 years’ experience in Greater
China and expertise in various executive
functions of a leading international company,
Mr. Holl-Trieu will further strengthen the
role of the company and will lead it to a
successful future. Sirona Dental Systems
Foshan, established in 2004, is part of the
FONA family with several production sites in
China, the USA, Germany, Italy and Denmark.
FONA is a partner for dental practices and
clinics which offers a full range of dental
equipment.
TLScontact Opens Franco-German
Visa Application Centre in
Guangzhou
Siemens Signs MoU with Foshan
City
O n 2 5 th O c t o b e r S i e m e n s s i g n e d a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
the People’s Government of Sanshui District
of Foshan City to further deepen bilateral
cooperation. This move marks the start of a
comprehensive and in-depth collaboration
between the two parties in the fields of
infrastructure and industry development
for Sanshui New City and Sanshui Park of
the new Foshan State High-Tech Industries
Development Zone. Nong Keqiang, Senior Vice
President of Siemens Ltd., China and General
Manager Region South, and Zhong Feijian,
Executive Deputy Chief of Sanshui District,
signed the MoU. Song Deping, Vice Mayor
of Foshan City, Su Weibo, Party Secretary
of Sanshui District, Chen Yingwen, Chief of
Sanshui District, and Shang Huijie, Business
TLScontact, in conjunction with its local
partner CIIC Guangzhou Economic & Technical
Corp., opened the joint Franco-German Visa
Application Centre in Guangzhou for the
Consulates General of France and of the
Federal Republic of Germany. The official
ceremony was held on 14th December 2012.
“After five years of experience in operating
visa centres for France, we are happy to
be awarded with the outsourcing contract
from Germany and are looking forward to
a successful cooperation,” said Christian
Marchandise, CEO of TLS contact. The company
and its local partner were pleased to welcome
consuls and diplomats from over 15 nations,
distinguished Chinese officials and honoured
guests from business, media, chambers of
commerce and other organisations at the
official opening ceremony. Previously, Beijing
and Shanghai were the sites of the first visa
application centres opened in October 2012,
followed by the start of operations in Chengdu
and Shenyang in November 2012.
91
REGIONAL NEWS | South & Southwest China | Member Affairs
TÜV Rheinland Supports Rural Education in Yunnan
On 18 th and 19 th December 2012, the Xiangjiaoshui School and
Mangnannuo School in Yunnan were reopened and the opening
ceremonies held after one year of reconstruction. The ceremonies
were attended by Claudia Spahl, Deputy German Consul of the
German Consulate in Chengdu, Ralf Scheller, President and CEO of
TÜV Rheinland Greater China, Albert Ho, Chairman of the Board at
Sowers Action, LuoHongbo, Sales Manager of OBC Express, a team
of local government representatives and students from grades 1-9
at the two schools. TÜV Rheinland has donated RMB 2.2mn for
the reconstruction of these two schools, which were damaged by
serious landslides in 2011. The Xiangjiaoshui School has renamed
its new Academic Building the TÜV Rheinland Sowers Action Hope
Academic Building, while Mangnannuo School has renamed itself
the Mangnannuo TÜV Rheinland Sowers Action Hope School, in
appreciation for the company’s sponsorship.
judged the sensory properties such as appearance, smell and taste
as excellent. Finsta is the trade name of Black Forest Knives (BFK)
Ltd., a German based distiller with its production site in Guangdong,
which produces spirits from tropical fruits using traditional German
craftsmanship. Only natural ingredients are used in order to meet
the highest standards for the product. According to General Manager
Frank Andris, the whole staff is looking forward to offering more
interesting and high quality products to their customers in the coming
years. As of 1st January 2013, Members of the German Chamber of
Commerce will get a discount of 10% on all spirits.
The Venice Hotel Shenzhen Awarded
The Venice Hotel Shenzhen was recently listed in “2012 Top 100
hotels in China” by Travel & Leisure, the world’s leading travel
magazine. This is the fifth consecutive year that the hotel has been
awarded in the list.
Award Winning German Fruit Spirit in China
Finsta red lychee fruit spirit won the gold medal in the German
DLG-Spirits competition 2012, and achieved the highest score in all
categories. The laboratory analysis confirmed the high standard of the
production process, while a tasting by an independent commission
New Members South & Southwest China
For full contact information and company profiles of our new and existing members, please visit
www.german-company-directory.com
Mr. Hans-Ulrich Frintrop
Purchasing Director
Leifheit AG Guangzhou Representative
Office
 0049-2604 9773 37
www.leifheit.de
Ms. Martina Gottwald-Belinic
Private Member
92
Mr. Simon Guo
BU Manager
Hager Metal Works (Dongguan) Co. Ltd.
 0769-8692 2125
www.hager.com
Mr. Charles Jiang
Managing Director
GEZE Industries (Tianjin) Co. Ltd.
 028-8519 8581
www.geze.com.cn
Ms. Cindy Tan
Senior Sales Executive
Additional Member
Melchers Chongqing
 0086-1398 3772 308
www.melchers-techexport.com
Ms. Maggie Yang
Center Manager
New Concept Mandarin Limited
 020-3893 4200
www.newconceptmandarin.com
Blaurock & Nuglisch, Foto: Brigitte Bonaposta/archipoch, Fotolia.com
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facility, Bencer will be your first choice in China to realize this vision. We offer customized services in:
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Tel. +86 21 6341 0501
Fax +86 21 517 14 662
Email [email protected]
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Qingdao
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Qingdao Representative Office
Unit 810,8th Floor, Tower A
Top Yihe International Building
10 Hong Kong Middle Road
Qingdao 266071
P.R. China
Tel. +86 532 8502 7562
Fax +86 532 8502 7907
Email [email protected]
REGIONAL NEWS | South & Southwest China | Chamber Affairs
1st
November 2012
Shenzhen
1st
November 2012
Shenzhen
8
th
November 2012
Guangzhou
9th-18th
November 2012
Shenzhen
94
Event: Intercultural Seminar
Topic: Behind the Smile: Understanding your
Chinese Managers
Venue: GCC Shenzhen Office
Chair: Mr. Max Zenglein I Regional Manager
and Economic Analyst Greater China, GCC •
Speaker: Ms. Fang Han I Director, China
Training Development
Event: Stammtisch Shenzhen
Venue: Bierhaus Shekou, Shenzhen
13th
November 2012
Shenzhen
15th
November 2012
Shenzhen
15th
Event: Stammtisch for Young Professionals &
Students
Venue: The Happy Monk
November 2012
Shenzhen
Event: 7th Oktoberfest Shenzhen
Venue: The Venice Hotel Shenzhen
Chair: Ms. Heidrun Buss I Executive Chamber
Manager, GCC • South & Southwest China
Speaker: Mr. Johannes Harms I Vice Consul,
Consulate General of the Federal Republic of
Germany in Guangzhou
Mr. Rüdiger W. Kümmerle I Board Member,
GCC • South & Southwest China
Mr. Ralf Scheller I President & CEO, TÜV
Rheinland Greater China
21st
November 2012
Chengdu
Event: General Manager Roundtable
Topic: Dealing with Local Competition and
Measures to Increase Productivity
Venue: GCC Office Shenzhen
and Economic Analyst, GCC • South &
Southwest China
Venue: Galleon Restaurant & Bar, Shenzhen
Event: Supply Chain Management
Topic: Best Practices in China Export Trade
Chair: Mr. Max Zenglein I Regional
Manager and Economic Analyst, GCC •
Speakers: Mr. Bryan Wong I Trade Service
Department &
Ms. Anne Kuschert I Supply Chain Specialist,
Fiducia Management Consultants
Topic: Accounts Receivables Management
for Sales
Venue: Intercontinental Century City,
Chengdu
Chair: Ms. Astrid Schröter I Liaison Manager
Sichuan-Chongqing, GCC • South &
Southwest China
www.china.ahk.de
22nd
November 2012
Guangzhou
Event: Sino-German Industrial Upgrade Forum
Topic: Industrial Upgrade as Business
Opportunity for German Companies - Joint
Solutions for the Pearl River Delta
Venue: Hilton Tianhe Hotel, Guangzhou
Chair: Mr. Oliver Regner I Chief
Representative, Delegation of German
Industry & Commerce, Guangzhou
Speaker: Mr. Stefan Gallon I German Consul
General in Guangzhou
Ms. Chen Shaomei I Chief Engineer, Economic &
Information Commission of Guangdong Province
Mr. Yuan Guoqing I Head of Department,
Economic & Information Commission of
Guangdong Province
Dr. Qi Feng I General Manager, Siemens MES China
Mr. Tay Hun Kiat I CEO, Sino-Singapore
Guangzhou Knowledge City Investment and
Development Co. Ltd.
Mr. Xu Wen I Project Manager (Green
Building), TÜV SÜD Greater China
Mr. Li Yousan I Deputy Director of Science, Economy,
Trade and Technology Bureau of Zengcheng City
Mr. Jean-Claude Jamar I CEO,
HeidelbergCement China
On 22nd November, TÜV SÜD, HeidelbergCement and SIEMENS took the
opportunity provided by our Industrial Upgrading Seminar in Guangzhou
to present their specific solutions for realising the Chinese government’s
aims of lifting Guangdong's manufacturing industry onto a higher level.
The chosen companies presented their products and services and demonstrated their solutions in the fields of automation, energy efficiency
and intelligent production to the target audience of state owned and
private Chinese companies as well as government decision makers.
The event was opened by German Consul General Stefan Gallon and
the Chief Engineer of the Economic and Information Commission of
Guangdong (GEIC) Chen Shaomei. Further supporters, including Deutsche Bank, Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City and Guangzhou
Zengcheng National-level Economic and Technological Development
Zone illustrated their contributions, the topics reaching from finances
to cooperation and IPR-protecting frameworks. GEIC outlined tools and
activities created by the province to accompany major players within
the upgrading process. Industrial upgrading is a key target of the 12th
Five-Year Plan of China. Until 2015, the Central Government aims to
establish structures for innovative, efficient and sustainable industrial
production. Key addresses of the plan are sustainable growth, energy
efficiency, environmental protection and the move up the value chain.
Germany is one of the leading countries in these fields, and the growing
Chinese market shows new opportunities in different fields like electricity generation, steel production and building materials. By means of the
Sino-German Industrial Upgrade Forum, the AHK Guangzhou promoted
German enterprises as a main source of solutions for the industrial
upgrading process, and is glad to assist them with a portfolio of related
services. Another upcoming project to promote these solutions is the
business delegation trip to South China in autumn 2013, which will focus on the topic of “energy efficiency in the industry”.
95
27th
November 2012
Guangzhou
27th
November 2012
Guangzhou
Topic: Dealing with Local Competition and
Measures to Increase Productivity
Venue: GCC Office Guangzhou
Chair: Mr. Jens Hildebrandt | General
Manager, GIC Greater China | Guangzhou
6th
December 2012
Guangzhou
Event: German Happy Hour
Venue: City Cushion
6th
December 2012
Shenzhen
28th
November 2012
Guangzhou
28th
November 2012
Chongqing
Event: Quality Control Seminar
Topic: Quality Management Development &
Quality Managers' Career Path
Speaker: Dr. Dennis F. Hong I Director &
Principal Consultant, TÜV SÜD Academy
Greater China
6th
December 2012
Guangzhou
December 2012
Chongqing
November 2012
Shenzhen
96
Event: Inter-Chamber Christmas Dinner
Venue: Hilton Guangzhou Baiyun Hotel
Speaker: Mr. Peter Nestmann I Treasurer,
Mr. Jeremy Sargent I Chairman, British
Chamber of Commerce Guangdong
Mr. Christophe Lauras I Treasurer, French
Chamber of Commerce Guangzhou
Event: Welcome Reception of the new
German Consul General Chengdu
Venue: Hilton Hotel Chongqing
Special Guest: Dr. Gerold Amelung I German
Consul General Chengdu
Southwest China
7th
29th
Event: GIC Training
Topic: Difficult Customers & Complaint
Resolution
Speaker: Mr. Alan Lee I Principal Consultant,
Tune U Management Consultant Limited
Event: Guanxi - Connecting Shenzhen's
Young Professionals
Venue: Xpat Bar & Lounge, Shenzhen
Event: German Advent Dinner
Venue: Hilton Hotel, Chongqing
Southwest China
www.china.ahk.de
9th
December 2012
Chengdu
9th
December 2012
Shenzhen
10th
December 2012
Shenzhen
11th
December 2012
Shenzhen
13th
December 2012
Guangzhou
Event: German Advent Brunch
Venue: Softitel Wanda, Chengdu
Southwest China
Event: Nikolausfeier Shenzhen
Event: Legal Meeting
Topic: Briefing on Investment Policies for
American and European Companies
Venue: Shenzhen Civic Center
Speaker: Mr. Oliver Regner I Chief
Representative, Delegation of German
Industry & Commerce, Guangzhou
Moderator: Mr. Li Shi I Deputy DirectorGeneral, Invest Shenzhen
Event: GM Roundtable
Topic: Measure to Increase Productivity
and Economic Analyst, GCC • South &
Southwest China
Event: Stammtisch for Young Professionals &
Students
Venue: Vincent
97
Visa Services for Members Successfully Started
Since the start of the new visa services for GCC members in South
China on 3rd December 2012, more than 50 visa applications have
been successfully processed. So far, over 20 companies from across
the Pearl River Delta have used this membership benefit for their
Chinese employees. Frank Jäger, GM of TCA Dongguan and GCC Board
Member expressed his high satisfaction with the support received
during the application process for one of his staff. He noted that,
“especially the assistance in preparing the application documents has
been a great help for us.” Furthermore, members complimented the
convenient options for submitting their applications as well as the
fast processing times.
The GCC visa team is looking forward to further facilitate our
members business. For enquiries, please contact:
Mr. Sebastian May, Project Head Visa Services
' +86-20-8755 8206 | * [email protected]
Events South & Southwest China
February–March 2013
Board Meeting at a Glance I Board Meetings in
November 2012 and January 2013
In two board meetings in Shenzhen, on 9th November 2012 and the
most recent held on 17th January 2013, the board of directors (BoD)
exchanged ideas on how to strengthen the ties with government
authorities in cooperation with the German Consulate General in
Guangdong province. Identifying tax and customs issues as one of the
main areas where members might need support, the board will start
there to focus on lobbying for German business interest. Stabilising
GCC services in the western PRD was another agenda point. The
idea of establishing or appointing an advisory body will be discussed
with local members in the next step. Furthermore, the BoD discussed
potentials for improvements for the 2013 Oktoberfest, i.e. the aim to
better promote the image of the festival as a happening for the whole
family instead of being just a beer drinking event. Last but not least,
the board members approved a new process for the admission of new
members. Due to the implementation of business visa application
benefits, GCC needs to increase the transparency of its processes. In
that sense, the BoD will supervise the admission of new members into
the Chamber.
Regular Social Events
Training Calendar February - April 2013
German Happy Hour Guangzhou – every last Thursday of the month
Stammtisch Shenzhen – every first Thursday of the month in
Bierhaus Shekou
Young Professionals Stammtisch Guangzhou – every second
Thursday of the month
Guanxi-Connecting Shenzhen’s Young Professionals – every last
Thursday of the month
Date
21st -22nd March
28th -29th March
12th April 19th April Chamber Event Calendar (preliminary)
26th February 12th March 14th March
18th March
19th/20th March
21st March 26th March General Manager Roundtable Guangzhou & Shenzhen
General Manager Roundtable Shenzhen
Legal Roundtable
HR Roundtable Guangzhou & Shenzhen –
Updates of Labour Law
Insurance for Expatriates in China
(Guangzhou & Shenzhen)
Greater China Day in Hamburg
General Manager Roundtable Guangzhou
Event Highlight
General Manager Roundtables
General Managers from across the Pearl River Delta and
Sichuan-Chongqing take the opportunity to discuss business
issues at the GM Roundtables held monthly at the GCC offices
in Guangzhou as well as Shenzhen and quarterly in Chengdu.
These meetings are always a great chance to exchange firsthand information face-to-face and informally with other
representatives. Attending is also a good way to pick up useful
tips about improving ones’ business in China. Entrance for
members is free of charge – so do not hesitate to register for our
upcoming roundtables.
98
Training
Hiring for Success: Behavioural Interviewing
Techniques (CN)
Leadership Transition from Engineering
To Management (CN)
Presentation Skills – To International
Audiences (CN)
Managing Up: How to create effective
relationship with Superiors (CN)
South China Training Highlights
12th April: Presentation Skills to International Audiences (CN)
During this one-day workshop, participants will learn skills and
techniques to confidently present to international audience. Participants will learn to target presentations to specific audiences and
develop powerful content. They will be able to grab the audience’s
attention in the first 20 seconds, close on a high note and maximize
their voice and body language effectively. This workshop uses fun,
useful group activities, as well as real presentation practice, to keep
the participants engaged and increase the learning transfer.
19th April: Managing Up: How to create effective relationship
with Superiors (CN)
This workshop helps participants better understand the causes of
conflicts between superiors and their subordinates through scenario
simulations. Participants will learn how to avoid these problems by
adapting to different leadership styles, and effective ways to create
understanding and trust with superiors. Participants will have an indepth comprehension of the key points in managing up and be able
to get more support from above.
German Chamber members receive discounted rates on all training
courses. For further information please contact:
Ms. Leonie Lin ' 020 8755-8208 | 6 020 8755-1889 | * [email protected]
www.china.ahk.de
99
GCC Boards
GCC Board
North China
GCC Board
Shanghai
GCC Board
Dr. Jörg Mull*
Chairman
Volkswagen (China)
Investment Co. Ltd.
Executive Vice President,
Finance Department
Mr. Titus Freiherr von dem
Bongart*
Chairman
Ernst & Young (China) Advisory Ltd.
Partner and Head of GBC China
Mr. Stefan Rosenbohm*
Chairman
Shenzhen Giesecke & Devrient
Currency Automation Systems Co. Ltd.
Technical Director
Mr. Marcel Schneider
Vice Chairman
TUI China Travel Co. Ltd.
CEO
Mr. Rolf H. Köhler
Vice Chairman
Freudenberg Management (Shanghai)
Co. Ltd.
General Manager
Mr. Peter Nestmann
Treasurer
Allianz China General Insurance
Company Ltd.
CEO & Director
Mr. Jan-Willem Sudmann
Treasurer
Commerzbank AG Beijing Branch
Managing Director
Mr. Andreas Odrian
Treasurer
Deutsche Bank (China) Co., Ltd.
Director – Head of Corporate Banking
and Coverage, MNC
Mr. Oliver Regner*
Executive Director
Delegation of German Industry &
Commerce Guangzhou
Delegate and Chief Representative
Ms. Alexandra Voss*
German Chamber Beijing
Executive Director
Commerce Beijing
Delegate & Chief Representative
Mr. Jan Noether*
German Chamber Shanghai
Managing Director
Commerce Shanghai
Mr. Rainer Ganser
Backstube [the better bakery]
Owner
Mr. Uwe Birnbaum
Jean Mueller Electrical System Tianjin
General Manager
Mr. Christian Blatt
KRONES Machinery (Taicang) Co. Ltd.
General Manager
Mr. Frank Jäger
The Cable Assembler Ltd.
CEO & Owner
Mr. Xingliang Feng
NRW.INVEST China/Beijing
Dr. Eva Drewes
Luther Law Firm
Director - Practice Group Corporate &
Commercial
Mr. Rüdiger W. Kümmerle
Rhea & Partner International Holdings
Ltd.
CEO
Mr. Roman Pfaffinger
Sino-German IT Consulting Ltd.
Director / CEO
Dr. Guenter Hermann
SGL Carbon Far East Ltd.
Managing Director
Mr. Bai Kun
Honorary Board Member
Herrenknecht (Chengdu) Tunnelling
Equipment Co. Ltd.
General Manager
Dr. Marc Wucherer
Mr. Ulrich Mäder
POLYMAX (Shanghai)
Trading Co. Ltd.
Chairman of the Board
Siemens Limited China
Executive Vice President
Industry Sector North East Asia
President
Ms. Brigitte Wolff
Management Engineers China Ltd.
Managing Director
* GCC All-China Board Member
100 February - March 2013
www.china.ahk.de
German Chamber Ticker
About us
PUBLISHER
German Chamber of Commerce in China
Offices and Teams in Mainland China:
German Chamber TICKER TEAM
Chief Editor (Shanghai)
Ms. Selma Koehn
Junior Editor (Shanghai)
Ms. Caitlin Waggoner
Design (Shanghai)
Ms. Ye Li GCC North China
0811 Landmark Tower 2,
8 Dongsanhuan (N) Rd.
Chaoyang, Beijing 100004
' 010 6539-6688 6 010 6539-6689
* [email protected]
Executive Chamber Manager
Dr. Juliane Bielinski
' 010 6539-6660
* [email protected]
Regional Manager Beijing
Mr. Sebastian Suciu
' 010 6539-6661
* [email protected]
Regional Manager North China
Mr. Bjoern Lindemann
' 022 8787-9249
* [email protected]
Head of Communications
Mr. Daniel Abel
' 010 6539-6670
[email protected]
GCC Shanghai
25F China Fortune Tower, 1568 Century Ave.
Pudong, Shanghai 200122
' 021 5081-2266 6 021 5081-2009
* [email protected]
Ms. Petra Kreuder
Ext. 1605
* [email protected]
Project Manager Shanghai
Ms. Carolin Markus
Ext. 1871
* [email protected]
Regional Manager Zhejiang & Jiangsu Provinces
N.N.
Communications Manager
Ms. Selma Koehn
Ext. 1637
* [email protected]
Junior Editor
Ms. Caitlin Waggoner
* [email protected]
Ext. 1675
Project Manager
Ms. Rebecca Steudler
Ext. 1630
* [email protected]
Senior Project Manager
Ms. Li Yandi
Ext. 1609
* [email protected]
Membership Assistant
Ms. Xiao Liewen
Ext. 1650
* [email protected]
GCC South and Southwest China
2915 Metro Plaza, Tianhe (N) Rd.
Guangzhou 510620
' 020 8755-2353
6 020 8755-1889
* [email protected]
Ms. Heidrun Buss
' 020 8755-8203
* [email protected]
Regional Manager and Economic Analyst
Mr. Max Zenglein
' 0755 8635-0487
* [email protected]
Liaison Manager Sichuan-Chongqing
Ms. Astrid Schröter
' 028 8533-6840
* [email protected]
Assistant Manager
Ms. Lulu Zou
' 020 8755-2353 ext. 217
* [email protected]
Cover image: shutterstock.com
The German Chamber Ticker is free of charge. For subscriptions or
extra copies please e-mail your nearest Chamber office. Previous
issues of the magazine can be found on our website
www.china.ahk.de.
©2012 German Chamber of Commerce in China. No part of this
publication may be reproduced without the publisher’s prior
permission. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, the
publisher is not responsible for any errors. Views expressed are not
necessarily those of GIC/GCC.
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