China :: Business :: Deals

Our post last week about a European soccer star signing with Chinese domestic league team Shanghai Shenhua included questions about why China, with a passion for the game, cannot produce world class players or teams, domestically or internationally. Today I found the Dec. 17 article The Economist posted. Now I feel like I have some answers. Why China fails at football Little red card The telling reasons why, at least in football, China is unlikely to rule the world in the near future Dec 17th 2011 | from the print edition The Buddha tells the people he can fulfil only one of their wishes. Someone asks: Could you lower the price of property in China so that people can afford it? Seeing the Buddha frown in silence, the person makes another wish: Could you make the Chinese football team qualify for a World Cup? After a long sigh, the Buddha says: Lets talk about property prices. THE pass back to the goalkeeper seemed routine for Qingdao Hailifeng FC in its match against Sichuan FC in...

Techweb, 12/22/11 Account information for more than 6 mln registered users of online community Chinese Software Developer Network (CSDN,net) has reportedly been leaked online. Industry sources today added that account information has also been leaked for 8 mln and 20 mln users, respectively, of the 7k7k and 178.com gaming websites. CSDN has confirmed the news, saying the leaked information is from a 2009 backup of the site's database, although the exact cause for the leak has yet to be determined. Online sources say that the leaks were deliberate and users of Chinese SNS sites Renren and Kaixin001, the Tianya online community and matchmaking sites Jiayuan.com and Baihe.com will be the next targets.

Marbridge Consulting, 12/20/11 China's three main telecom operators have announced their subscriber totals for November 2011. November saw the net addition of 12.13 mln new mobile subscribers. China Mobile (NYSE: CHL; 0941.HK) added 5.43 mln new mobile subscribers, pushing the operator's total mobile user base to 644.32 mln, of which a total of 48.01 mln subscribers used China Mobile's TD-SCDMA terminals during the month. China Mobile added 2.68 mln new TD-SCDMA subscribers in November. China Unicom (NYSE: CHU; 0762.HK; 600050.SH) added 3.60 mln new mobile subscribers, bringing its total to 195.97 mln. Of the new mobile subs added, 0.21 mln were GSM subscribers, bringing China Unicom's total GSM user base to 159.44 mln, and 3.38 mln were WCDMA subscribers, pushing the company's total WCDMA user base to 36.53 mln subscribers. China Telecom (NYSE: CHA; 0728.HK) added 3.10 mln CDMA subs, taking its total to 123.39 mln, of which 33.35 mln were CDMA2000 EV-DO subsc...

Rumor: Telecom Operators Lose IPTV Revenue Share to CNTV Itxinwen.com, 12/16/11 According to a source within the telecom operator, Shenzhen Telecom can receive a 50-60% revenue share in an IPTV joint venture with Shanghai Media Group IPTV subsidiary Shanghai BesTV, but receive only approximately 30% of revenues in an IPTV partnership with CCTV's national online TV station CNTV and local broadcasting authorities. According to another industry source, CNTV takes the lion's share in partnerships with telecom operators, who receive approximately 10% of revenues. Shandong Telecom recently partnered with CNTV and Shandong Radio & TV Station to launch IPTV services, while Beijing Unicom and Beijing TV Station did the same earlier this year. Shanxi Radio and Television partnered with CNTV and Shandong Unicom to launch IPTV services in November 2011. In August 2011, CNTV filed lawsuits against Guangdong Unicom and Jiangsu Unicom in Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court and Nanji...

Coship to Transfer 3G Technology to Sowill Dfdaily.com, 12/15/11 In a public filing yesterday, Chinese developer and manufacturer of satellite receivers and cable and terrestrial set-top boxes (STBs) Coship Electronics (002052.SZ) said that it planned to sign a technology transfer agreement with the Sowill Group under which it will transfer key technologies in its TD-SCDMA, WCDMA, and tablet technology solutions, as well as intelligent remote control solutions and Bluetooth module technology solutions, to Sowill for RMB 35 mln. Coship said it would cease its investments in 3G mobile handsets following the transfer. Though Coship is a manufacturer of television set-top boxes (STBs), Coship chairman Yuan Ming had been interested in the mobile handset industry, and began preparing the company for an entry into the industry in 2009. In 2010, Coship began luring employees away from Shenzhen-based handset maker Yulong Computer Telecommunication, a subsidiary of China Wireless Technologies (2...

China Mobile Unveils Mobile Base Strategy Sohu IT, 12/14/11 At its 2011 Global Developers Conference in Guangzhou on the evening of December 13, China Mobile (NYSE: CHL; 0941.HK) unveiled its "nine service bases" strategy, as well as some of its mobile internet development strategies. China Mobile categorizes the bases as "Content" bases (covering music, video, reading, games, and animation), "Function" bases (covering e-commerce, M2M, and LBS), and "General" bases (covering the operator's internet base). Chen Jianji, general manager of the operator's mobile music base in Sichuan, said that the base had partnered with more than 500 content providers to offer works from 150,000 artists to more than 420 mln users who had tried the service, 60 mln of whom were "VIP subscribers." Wang Bin, general manager of the operator's mobile video service in Shanghai, said that the base and its partners had built an operations team of more ...

Interesting news out of England today. French National, Nicolas Anelka, one of the deadliest strikers in European Football over the last ten years, has signed a contract with Shanghai Shenhua FC. The former Paris St. Germain, Arsenal and most recently Chelsea striker has agreed to a contract worth a reported $313,000 per week to play in the Chinese professional league. This is roughly the equivalent of Pele, Beckenbauer, Chinaglia and other greats joining the NASL at the end of their careers in the 70s and more recently David Beckham joining the MLS team, LA Galaxy, five years ago. Anelka is on the back end of his career but still a viable player and the first such to join the Chinese league. The title of this post refers to the excellent book by Franklin Foer, entitled How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization. I read this book some years ago and it is a fascinating study in how the global game has influenced and been influenced by global change. China has t...

Rumor: Alibaba Group to Wholly Acquire TV Shopping JV Tencent Tech, 12/12/11 An industry source claims that Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group will wholly acquire TV shopping joint venture Wasu Taobao Digital Technology for RMB 28 mln from IPTV network operator Wasu Digital TV. Following the acquisition, Wasu Taobao will come under the management of Alibaba's Taobao Mall platform. Alibaba has not offered any comment on the claims. According to an unconfirmed report, Wasu Taobao has lost nearly RMB 10 mln over the year since it launched. Editor's Note: For more information on this topic, please see " Alibaba and Wasu Officially Announce JV ," MD 6/29/10 and " Wasu Taobao TV Shopping Platform Supports Alipay ," MD 3/29/11 issues

Source : Xinhua BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- China's entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO) a decade ago opened the floodgates to foreign investment in a variety of areas, but the retailing sector is surely the most potent symbol of how foreign businesses have come, competed and conquered on the levelling field. The days have long gone when neighborhood shop keepers would man their counters, ready to dispense to customers whatever their little shops would hold, and when buyers had to go to separate places for groceries, electronics and other products. The landing of supermarkets, with their open shelves, abundant variety and lower prices, changed everything, transforming the way people shop in China. To see supermarkets' appeal as China marks the 10th anniversary of its accession to the WTO, observers need only look at the growth of French-based chain Carrefour. Just days ago, it celebrated the opening of its 200th store in China. "Going to supermarkets is becoming our...

Tencent's Weixin Users Reach Over 50 Mln DoNews, 12/09/11 Liu Lejun, director of Shenzhen-based internet company Tencent's (0700.HK) Kik-clone Weixin, said today that as of the end of November, the mobile IM application had more than 50 mln registered users and 20 mln active users following its launch this January. Every day, Liu said, the application's new "shake" feature, which allows users to shake their phones to find nearby users who also shake their phones, is used more than 100 mln times. Liu said that the development of Weixin had passed through three stages: "platformization," in which it was connected with other Tencent products including QQ, QQ Mail, and Tencent Microblog to help users integrate and manage their contacts; "social diversification," which allowed users to manage social networks containing a diverse range of contacts from close friends to relative strangers; and "lifestyle," in which Tencent added features inc...

Yesterday morning I spoke on a panel at the Confucius Institute for Business at SUNY Levin in Midtown Manhattan. The subject was fashion and luxury in China and how language and culture play a role. The event was a success thanks to the excellent panelists and the enthusiasm and participation of the audience. One question stood out. I said hopefully China will be successful in its transition from a commodity/export based economy, lacking innovation, to an economy driven by innovation, consumer spending and services. I was asked why I said hopefully. My answer. This type of transition is difficult under the best of circumstances. Never mind if: you have 1.3 billion people to employ, feed and take care of, an environment that is poisoned, a populace that needs to pay for its own health care and education, a looming change in leadership, shifting Geo-political winds, a neighborhood that is increasingly wary of your intentions, a need to keep growth at at least 8%, an educational an...

Dangdang Loses Lawsuit Over Canceled Orders Beijing Evening News, 12/06/11 The Dongcheng District People's Court in Beijing yesterday ruled in favor of five consumers who sued Chinese B2C e-commerce site Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) for canceling their orders during a book sales promotion. One plaintiff placed three orders for 66 books totaling RMB 150 during a midnight sale on the site on August 9, only for Dangdang to cancel two orders due to lack of supplies and canceling the third order later, simply labeling the transaction as "unsuccessful." Dangdang argued that since the first two orders were out of stock, no contractual agreement had been reached, and that the third order was canceled because of a pricing error. Thousands of customers had orders canceled during the promotion and are seeking legal redress, and 60 have already filed lawsuits. Editor's Note: For more information on this topic, please see " Dangdang Customers Sue Over Canceled Orders ," MD 8/23...

Rumor: China Telecom, Unicom Request NDRC Dismiss Probe 21st Century Business Herald, 12/03/11 China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has received requests from both China Telecom (NYSE: CHA; 0728.HK) and China Unicom (NYSE: CHU; 0762.HK; 600050.SH) to halt its internet access antitrust probe, according to a source within the NDRC. According to Article 45 of China's Antitrust Law, if the target companies of an antitrust investigation pledge to take specific measures to eliminate monopolistic practices within a designated time period, the investigating body may terminate the investigation. A source within the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television's (SARFT) Department of Science and Technology revealed on December 2 that the two operators had proposed to lower interconnection fees to China Tietong's network, a clear indication that China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) is coordinating to bring the three networks...

Source : Want China Times New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra announced that it will increase its sales of milk to China directly exported from New Zealand, and improve the output of three its own farms in China. Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings said the 2008 Chinese melamine incident taught the company that an integrated business model of controlling the whole production process from farms to customers is the best way to fully secure food safety. After the incident, the company suffered from losses of US$151 million in investments in China's SanLu Group, the maker of the first poisonous milk found in China. Since then, Fonterra has moved its business model to one focusing on integrated production chains instead of joint ventures. The company expressed on July 19 that it plans to build a new world-class farm in China's northern Hebei province and raise its annual milk output to 90,000 liters. China is a growth market featured in the company's strategy, Spierings said. The country h...

Rumor: Several Chinese Group Buy Sites in Arrears Beijing Business News, 12/01/11 An industry source recently revealed that several Chinese group buy sites, including Groupon.cn (a Chinese group buy site unaffiliated with US firm Groupon) and the group buy channels of Fantong.com and online classified site 58.com, are in arrears to many merchant partners with some payments delayed until 2012. The owner of one Beijing-based sushi restaurant that partnered with several group buy sites in October, said Fantong Fantuan delayed payment for a month. As a result, the owner said she has begun to offer group buy deals in which users make a small down payment on a discount offer via the group buy site, and pay the balance upon arrival at the restaurant. Recounting his own experience with Groupon.cn, one merchant said that his contact at a group buy site recently left the company, which is a month late on its latest payment and altogether owes RMB 200,000 in back-payments. Later, in a chat forum ...

People.com.cn, 12/21/11 Chang Xiaoxun, director of the Ministry of Commerce's Department of Market Supervision, said in a December 20 interview that China's national government agencies have basically completed the transition to genuine software products, a process expected to be completed by all government agencies nationwide by 2012. Chang said that government agency offices in cities at the prefecture level and above will be using legal software by June next year. Chang recommended that government offices incorporate costs for standardizing the use of legal software products in their budgets, develop means to audit and supervise compliance both within their own offices as well as in state-owned enterprises under their purview. Once the transition is complete, the process will be expanded to cover companies and individuals.

I have been writing a bit lately about the moves Beijing has been making in curtailing media content. Last month I made the case that by curtailing freedom of media and by not allowing the market to direct media production and consumption that China was actually endangering, not preserving its future. Why? Because China wants to move to an economy fueled by innovation, high value add products and services. China also wants to effectively wield soft power around the world. These moves will stifle the needed market motivations and personal creativity needed to achieve the above. This week a number of readers have asked why Beijing banned some advertising on TV and what it means. The first thing to know is that this move is part of a larger corralling of media of all types; internet, social, blogs, print, movies and yes, TV. The main factors feeding the year-long campaign, of which the ad ban is just one piece, are: 1- A change of leadership is coming. Next year President Hu and P...

MIIT Waives Charger Requirement for Handset Testing Sznews.com, 12/01/11 The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's (MIIT) China Telecommunication Technology Labs (CTTL) recently divulged that starting December 1, handsets submitted for network access permit approval do not need to supply a power adapter. In early 2010, MIIT published its mobile telecom terminal standard YD/T 1591-2009, or "Technical Requirements and Test Methods for Chargers and Data Interfaces for Mobile Telecommunications Terminals," stating that handsets and chargers must adopt a three-section design that includes round, mini-USB and micro-USB connections, allowing one charger to be used for various handset models. The standard, however, met serious obstacles as many overseas handset vendors failed to comply - the iPhone, for example, continues to use its own dock port design. Editor's Note: For more information on this topic, please see " MIIT Publishes New Handset Charger Standar...

Lenovo Mobile App Incubator Fund Invests in 18 Projects Sina Tech, 11/30/11 Chinese laptop, PC, and handset manufacturer Lenovo (0992.HK) revealed at the 2011 Lenovo Mobile Internet Developers Conference in Beijing today that 18 out of more than 1,000 projects that applied will receive nearly RMB 60 mln in combined funding from the LeFund mobile app development incubator fund. The LeFund investment fund was first unveiled at the same conference in 2010, with an initial investment of RMB 100 mln to be overseen by a team of professional investors which answers directly to parent company Legend Holdings. Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing revealed in his keynote speech at the conference that there are currently more than 13,000 apps available through Lenovo's mobile applications store, 1,300% more than this time last year. The number of downloads also increased by 1,000%, and the Lenovo mobile applications store is currently partnered with more than 12,000 developers. Editor's Note: For mor...

Study of Consumer Behavior Leads to Specific Ideas for Consumer Product Launches in China New York Michael Zakkour , principal of Technomic Asia a veteran business consultancy for companies in the China market, provides insights about Chinas fashion consumer at the fashion business industry event, Fashion, China, and You on Tuesday, December 6 from 9am noon. The event, being held at SUNY Global Center at 116 East 55th Street, is part of the State University of New York program Confucius Institute for Business which incorporates expertise in innovation, culture and business strategies. Zakkour has more than a decade in developing business strategies for companies launching products in China markets. Technomic Asia also recently concluded a year long study of Chinas high-end brand consumers and growing middle class consumer who have an appetite for known and independent new fashion brands. Hell present these findings and other first hand information about Chinas fashion consumer ...

Baidu, MIIT Partner on SME Assistance Program Tencent Tech, 11/28/11 Chinese Internet giant Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), along with China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's (MIIT) Department of Medium & Small Enterprises and Department of Informatization Promotion, has announced its new RMB 3 bln "Xiang" ("Soar") SME Assistance Project. The project is designed to support the development of 2 mln SMEs over the course of China's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015). The project has four goals, according to Baidu VP of marketing and public relations Zhu Guang: train at least 100,000 search marketing professionals within participating SMEs; build a search marketing service platform; provide free promotion for SMEs in remote and underdeveloped areas; and deliver research reports on SMEs' operating conditions to relevant government agencies. The Xiang project will first be introduced in Beijing, Shanxi, Henan, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, and expa...

In America we have laws and contracts so that we can create predictable outcomes. In China no such system exists but the same desire for predictable outcomes is there. That is what lies at the heart of guanxi- Vice Minister Xi, paraphrased. In this day of technological ubiquity in entertainment, it is still The Theater (and books) that give me the greatest pleasure. I love plays: comedies, dramas, ancient, classic, contemporary, and musicals of all stripes as well. I love that plays are essentially staged and told the same as they were 2,000 years ago. The planks, the players, the audience, the ambiance. But it is not often that I go to the theater with the anticipation of seeing my life, my profession and my experiences laid bare upon the stage. So it was with David Henry Hwangs new play about cross-cultural misunderstanding, Chinglish. His best since his Tony Award winning M. Butterfly. If you are in any way involved in doing business in/with China, if you are a Sinophile, if you...

Rumor: NDRC Dispenses RMB 660 Mln in Cloud Subsidies China Securities Journal, 11/25/11 China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) distributed the first batch of cloud computing industry subsidies - totaling RMB 660 mln - last month to more than 10 firms involved in 15 pilot projects in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Wuxi. Recipients include e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba Group subsidiary AliCloud, internet giants Tencent (0700.HK) and Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), Shanghai East-China Computer (600850.SH), and integrated IT service provider Teamsun (600410.SH). Alibaba and Baidu each received a subsidy of more than RMB 100 mln, while sums received by East-China, Teamsum and others ranged between RMB 15-20 mln. According to the source, the NDRC will conduct annual assessments of the 15 projects over the coming five years to determine which will be eligible for continued funding. The NDRC, however, has not yet determined whether it will solicit new projects next y...

Source: GLG Life Tech Vancouver, British Columbia, Nov. 14, 2011 -- GLG Life Tech Corporation, the vertically-integrated leader in the agricultural and commercial development of high quality stevia and all natural and zero calorie food and beverage products, announces financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2011. Revenue from AN0C for the third quarter was $1.0 million -- The Company's consumer products business, AN0C, had sales of $1.0 million in the third quarter of 2011. The average revenue per bottle was higher by 3.8% for the third quarter compared to the second quarter as it reflected the change in product mix and the reduced level of promotional activities that were undertaken in the second quarter to support the launch of the new AN0C brand the RTD products. The first sales of vitamin enriched waters began in the third quarter, and were on average sold at a higher price than the RTD teas. The objectives of the promotional campaigns were to encourage consumers...

Tencent Microblog Launches E-Commerce Platform China Computer World, 11/18/11 Chinese internet giant Tencent's (0700.HK) microblogging platform has launched its "Wei Mai Chang" e-commerce feature, with sites like Beijing-based apparel e-commerce firm Okaybuy launching dedicated pages. E-commerce sites can promote items on Tencent Microblog by posting a limited-time deal on specific items. The price is reduced by RMB 0.1 each time a user "tweets" about the deal, which means users can obtain the item for free if enough users "retweet" the post, or can purchase it at anytime at the current price. While users currently must go to the merchant's official website or online store to complete their purchase, a spokesperson for Tencent said that soon users will be able to complete purchases on the microblogging platform itself. Okaybuy has garnered over 50,000 followers since launching on November 14. Tencent plans to release an API within a month, enabling...

Panguso Releases PC, Mobile Clients Sina Tech, 11/16/11 Panguso.com, the national-level online and mobile search engine developed by China Mobile (NYSE: CHL; 0941.HK) and Xinhua News Agency, has released desktop and mobile applications and upgraded its website. Panguso has added or upgraded a number of features to its web and mobile offerings, including a trending news feature, a news comments channel, and personalized user services including search history, bookmarks, and cloud storage. CEO Wang Hongyu pledged the site will not adopt paid search ranking advertising. Panguso has begun promoting a new SME search advertising product, Pangu "Chuang" ("Window"). Panguso has a number of mechanisms to prevent "harmful" information from being included in its search results, including an auditing process and user feedback tools as well as both automated and human reviewing mechanisms. Xinhua president Tian Shubin was appointed chairman of Panguso when the platform...

Ex-Jiayuan VP of Operations Joins 58.com DoNews, 11/16/11 Cheng Chong, the former vice president of operations for Beijing-based online matchmaking site Jiayuan.com, has joined online classifieds site 58.com as head of its matchmaking operations. While at Jiayuan, Cheng handled overall operations as well as value-added services offered by the site. Prior to Jiayuan, Cheng served as CEO assistant and product operations manager for Chinese social networking site 51.com, preceded by time with Shanda Interactive's (Nasdaq: SNDA) Shanda Online as head of its operations center. Editor's Note: 58.com has recruited a string of Chinese internet industry veterans over the last several months, including not only Cheng Chong, but also Zhang Chuan, former Baidu Union content network product director, and Li Jian, former Baidu product director responsible for all vertical search products and most knowledge-base and community products. Earlier, in June this year, 58.com appointed Zhou Hao, fo...

Sohu Merges User Accounts Across 6 Web Platforms BiaNews, 11/15/11 Chinese internet firm Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) has announced that it will unify accounts for six of its products as of December 1. New users of the My Sohu portal (i.sohu.com), Sohu's microblogging, video and blogging platforms, the comments section of Sohu's news channel (comment.news.sohu.com) and Sohu's forums (club.sohu.com) will register for a single account interoperable across all six services, while current users must choose a single user ID. In addition, accounts that have been dormant for more than six months will be removed as of December 15 and made available to other users. Account consolidation is expected to be concluded by January 31, 2012.

McDonald's Denies Partnering with Gaopeng Beijing Times, 11/12/11 McDonald's has issued a statement declaring that the fast food chain has not partnered with any group buy sites, and that any group buy deals for McDonald's set meals are not genuine. Yesterday, Gaopeng offered a group buy deal for Beijing residents to purchase a two-person set meal, valued at RMB 46, for only RMB 25. The deal claimed that customers would receive a 16-bit QR code that could be used as a coupon. As of the evening of November 11th, 517 users had purchased the offer.

Source : By Li Woke (China Daily) The soft drinks maker aims to enter new territory in the west of China BEIJING - PepsiCo Inc (China)'s Chairman Tim Minges said the beverage maker will expand production into a greater number of Chinese provinces in the next three to five years. That's just days after PepsiCo signed a strategic agreement with Tingyi-Asahi Beverages Holding Co Ltd (TAB). "We still have six, seven provinces that don't have Pepsi production, so our core focus is to continue the plan we have been on all along, to continue to expand the footprint. That will be the focus for the next three to five years, to continue to grow that out, fill in the white space gaps because right now we are not available in many parts of the country, and our key competitors are," said Minges. The company said it hopes to penetrate western areas, such as the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Tibet. PepsiCo, the maker of the Pepsi Cola and 7Up brands, entered the Chinese mar...

Jobs. Jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. The word that is on everyones mind. There arent enough of them. There arent enough of the right kind. Everyone argues about how to create them. The most common complaint you hear in the US is that developing nations have stolen US jobs and that globalization is the cause. Yet, if you were to ask those complaining most vocally a few questions, such as: Do you want your kids to go to college or a trade school to prepare them for the 21st century job market? Do you want them to work in high paying, high skilled jobs? Do you want them to work 12 hour days in a factory for minimum wage? Are you angry that we told the world to embrace capitalism and now that they did we have competition? The answers would be yes, yes, no, HUH? Yet, the call to bring these jobs back to America (which is nearly impossible anyway) continues. This fascinating story out of Alabama (and it is happening across the South) about draconian anti-immigrant, anti-illegal worker laws a...

Hao123 Launches B2C Discount Vertical Directory DoNews, 11/10/11 Internet company Baidu's (Nasdaq: BIDU) online web directory site, Hao123, recently launched a new channel (zhekou.hao123.com) that aggregates discounts from major B2C sites. In order to ensure quality and eliminate fraud and counterfeit goods, all merchants must undergo an audit by Baidu. The channel currently has discounts as high as 90% off, with 80% of deals at 50% or higher. Some merchants also provide coupons. Hao123 plans to continue adding more products and refining product categories and also to add on-deck search functionality.

Guangdong Telecom to Roll Out 50 Mbps FTTx by 2014 Chinabyte.com, 11/09/11 Guangdong Telecom launched its new FTTx network strategy on November 8, announcing that within three years it would offer fiber-optic broadband coverage throughout the province, increasing broadband speeds to 50 Mbps - 10 to 25 times the speed of current ADSL connections. The operator also announced that it would implement a low-price strategy for the service, charging RMB 50 per month for 20 Mbps broadband access (when bundled with a mobile subscription). Guangdong Telecom plans to offer FTTx broadband to 5 mln users within three years - many of whom it intends to transition from its current 13 mln-plus ADSL broadband subscribers. This year, China Telecom (NYSE: CHA; 0728.HK) will upgrade its home ADSL broadband plans to FTTx broadband, with broadband access to double yearly. Chen Dexing, GM of Guangdong Telecom, said that the operator would offer three broadband speeds - 20 Mbps, 50 Mbps, and 100 Mbps - to hom...

Give me those nuts! In my many years of living, working and doing business in China I have seen countless ways in which Chinese manufacturing and consumer consumption have changed the world. Not just the obvious examples but the small, subtle ways as well. Take for example the cobbler on the Upper West Side who I send my shoes to. Years ago he complained to me how badly his business had fallen off. He couldnt understand why things had been going so poorly for him, so fast. People still wore shoes? The hippies didnt win on that one right? His problem, it turned out, was that shoes that used to be made in Europe or the US that retailed for $300 now cost only $75 at retail, thanks to Chinese production. At $300 people would spend the money to resole and repair. At $70 they would be paying only slighlty more for a new pair. Thus my cobbler friends precipitous drop in business. Which brings me to this headline from todays Voice of America: Chinese Taste for Pecans Raises Price in US A...

Rumor: Datang Places Highest Bid in TD-SCDMA Tender Sina Tech, 11/07/11 An industry source has revealed that the lowest bids in the recent equipment tender for the fifth stage of construction of China Mobile's (NYSE: CHL; 0941.HK) TD-SCDMA network came from Huawei and ZTE (0763.HK; 000063.SZ), while the highest bid was placed by Datang Telecom (600198.SH). The eight telecom equipment manufacturers which have consistently been part of the bidding process and construction of the network have remained in their three industry alliances, consisting of ZTE and Shanghai Potevio (600680.SH); Datang, Fiberhome Telecommunication Technologies (600498.SH) and Ericsson; and Huawei, Nokia Siemens Networks and New Postcom. The alliances were formed based on the need for technical cooperation, however each manufacturer bids for tenders separately.

Shanghai, China November 15, 2011 Technomic Asia, a consulting firm based in Shanghai, is happy to announce that its relationship with Pan Asian Commercial Consulting Group (PA) has been expanded as PA grows its operations in China and other key Asian markets. Technomic Asia is now the sole in-country consulting partner for Pan Asian, a commercial debt recovery consulting firm, in China and is also now managing the companys overall expansion in Asia. We are pleased that Pan Asian has placed its trust in Technomic Asia to help the company build a dominant market position in Asia. Our work for the company in China has provided the blueprint for our expansion across the region, said Technomic Asia Principal, Michael Zakkour. As the Western economic downturn continues, the need for Pan Asians products and services in the region has grown exponentially and Technomic is excited to help steer the company into the future in this most important of markets, continued Zakkour. Highlights...

Source : Advertising Age By: Normandy Madden Demand for fast growth is driving multinational marketers into smaller and smaller cities -- but in China, small is a relative term. China has over 160 cities with a population above one million. The U.S., by comparison, has nine. Most foreign marketers start with Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and then add provincial capitals, but those markets, known as the first and second- tier cities, cover just a sliver of China's territory. Today, companies are looking closely at China's third- and fourth-tier cities and beyond, where the creation of new wealth, particularly through manufacturing and industries like mining, has led to tens of millions of consumers with spending power. "These days, China's economic excitement is in its smaller markets. Third and fourth-tier cities are booming," said P.T. Black, Thoughtful China's senior creative director. Tier three spans about 150 county capitals, usually with more than 1 mi...

Imagine Mark Zuckerberg, Biz Stone, Bill Gates, Sergey Brin, Michael Dell, and ten other top technology and internet CEOs being summoned to Washington D.C. to be coached up on how to run their businesses and to be warned about what content they could and could not produce and distribute. Impossible right? Not in China. Loretta Chao of the Wall Street Journal has a story out today detailing how Beijing has summoned Chinas top internet CEOs for a policy training session. To wit: By LORETTA CHAO BEIJINGExecutives from Chinas top Internet companies have been summoned for an unusual policy-training session by the Communist Partys propaganda department, according to people familiar with the matter, the latest move in the governments campaign to increase oversight of the nations fast-growing Internet sector. The executives are participating in a multiple-day policy-training event held on the outskirts of Beijing this week, similar to training sessions often held for government officials to ...