China Economy Forum

[JSCh]

Chinese investment into Europe hits record high in 2014
11 February 2015

• FDI transactions worth $18bn in past year, $55bn since 2009
• Investment doubled in 2014 after 2013 dip
• UK, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Germany leading destinations
• Food, Energy and Real Estate sectors of choice

Global, 11 February 2015 – Baker & McKenzie research shows Chinese investment into Europe is at record levels. With 153 separate investments worth $18bn last year, Europe has emerged as one of the top destinations for Chinese foreign investment globally.

Using a unique dataset of acquisitions and greenfield investments provided by research firm Rhodium Group, the new report, Reaching New Heights, paints the clearest picture yet of Chinese investment into Europe. The full report will be released in March with Chinese investment bank CICC.

2014 Highlights

• Europe is now into the sixth year of consistently high levels of Chinese FDI, with investment averaging $10bn annually over each of the past four years.
• Investment levels doubled in 2014 to $18bn - a new record.
• Growth in the past year has been driven by investments in new sectors such as real estate, food, and financials, as well as traditional areas of investment like energy and automotive. Household names like Pizza Express in the UK and Peugeot Citroën in France saw major Chinese investment in 2014.

Destinations: top five countries and sectors in 2014
Country Value
1. United Kingdom $5.1bn
2. Italy $3.5bn
3. The Netherlands $2.3bn
4. Portugal $2bn
5. Germany $1.6bn

Sector Value
1. Agriculture and Food $4.1bn
2. Energy $3.7bn
3. Real Estate $3bn
4. Automotive $2.2bn
5. Finance and Business Services $1.7bn

"Chinese investment in Europe has become much more diverse in recent years and is now extending into all parts of Europe." said Thomas Gilles, Chairman of the EMEA-China Group at Baker & McKenzie. "What we're seeing is the maturing and normalization of Chinese investment processes in line with the international economy."

In 2013 investment levels dropped as deals in energy and materials declined. However, investment bounced back to record levels in 2014. While crisis opportunities and low valuations still play a part, consistently high levels of investment in an increasing number of sectors and countries where assets no longer look cheap suggests that Chinese FDI in Europe is a structural trend, not just a cyclical phenomenon.

More->Chinese investment into Europe hits record high in 2014 | News, Publications & Events | Baker & McKenzie

 

[bobsm]

Wednesday, February 19, 2014, 08:35
Maglev trains speeding toward greener future
By ZHONG NAN in Tangshan, Hebei

China CNR Corp Ltd, one of the country’s biggest train makers, will deliver by year’s end 10 six-coach maglev trains to Beijing’s subway system for what will be the country’s second commercial urban maglev rail route.

Anxious to tackle environmental problems caused by heavy car use, coal-burning industries and the fast pace of urbanization, Beijing is building a maglev urban rail route — the Daitai line, also known as the S1 — that will start at North Beijing’s Haidian district, pass through Shijingshan district and end in Mentougou district in Beijing’s western outskirts. The 11-kilometer line will become operational some time between September and December 2015.

“Many of the opportunities we are being presented with arise from China’s fast wealth accumulation and urbanization. Many cities are upgrading their urban rail systems, including introducing green technologies, extending their subways and building new ones,” said Hou Zhigang, general manager of Tangshan Railway Vehicle Co Ltd, a main subsidiary of CNR in Hebei province.

In comparison with other types of urban rail transportation, maglev trains are quiet and can achieve high speed because they don’t actually ride on rails with wheels but hover centimeters above the track through the use of magnets, avoiding slower speeds caused by friction. Maglev is an abbreviation of magnetic levitation.

The world’s first maglev line was launched in Shanghai in 2002, connecting a metro station to Pudong International Airport. With speeds up to 430 kph, its 30-kilometer route takes less than eight minute to travel.

Unlike the high-speed maglev technology being used in Shanghai or Germany, Beijing’s S1 line will adopt a low-speed maglev version that can run at a top speed of 100 kph, considered fast enough for the city. All the high-end trains will be designed and built at CNR’s Tangshan plant.

Because the train produces zero emissions unlike conventional trains that run on diesel or coal, Hou said the maglev train is ideal and environmentally friendly for large-scale transportation, especially in major cities or tourism hot spots like Beijing. Its manufacturing cost is also 20 percent less than a conventional light-rail train.

For more: Maglev trains speeding toward greener future- Business- China Daily Asia

 

[TaiShang]

Lenovo expands in Africa
Chiina Daily, February 13, 2015

Lenovo's office in South Africa [China Daily]



Chinese laptop and tablets manufacturer Lenovo is making great inroads into the African continent, investing in sales channels well in advance to take advantage of the continent's rapidly growing information technology systems.

With expansion starting in South Africa, Lenovo has subsequently grown its footprint in both East and West Africa, becoming an important business and consumer brand across the continent, says Lenovo's general manager for Africa, Graham Braum.

Founded in Shenzhen in 1984, Lenovo's international expansion dates back to 2005 when it acquired the US high tech company, IBM's personal computer business. Today its tablets and personal computers can be seen amongst a wide group of consumers all over Europe, championing both function and design.

Braum says as a company Lenovo's expansion is significantly characterized by geographical expansion.

"From a global perspective, if we go back three years ago, half of the revenue from Lenovo was coming out of China. Nowadays, even though our China revenue continues to grow, we generate two thirds of our business from Europe, Middle East and Africa," he says. Having initially established a sales office in South Africa, and from there expanded to East African markets of Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda and Rwanda. "We now have a full team in Nairobi, looking after our various segments, from consumer to retail, from small and medium enterprises to education," Braum says.

In West Africa, Lenovo initially invested in a legal office in Nigeria. Expansion then happened across Ghana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana.

"Our first strategy is to set up a structure for services, supply chain and distribution channels. Secondly, we have to keep a global-local strategy, hiring the top local talents to run local markets. By empowering our regional teams, we empower our business," he says.

Founded in Beijing in 1984 by entrepreneur Liu Chuanzhi, Lenovo made a significant international move when it acquired IBM's personal computer business in 2005. The company also entered the smartphone market in 2012 and as of 2014 is the largest vendor of smartphones in Mainland China. Lenovo is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the Hang Seng China-Affiliated Corporations Index, often referred to as "Red Chips." One example of Lenovo's local strategy is to put a great emphasis on products that sell well in Africa, which includes the Lenovo Yoga family of products. The series have four different modes: laptop, tablet, tent, or stand.

"We've built into it real design, innovation and functionality, all of which are unique ideas to the Yoga. The product is full high definition, it can stand and talk, and have all specifications required," he says.

As Africa's power supply can be limited in many situations, the Yoga products' long battery life of up to 18 hours has become a key advantage for its popularity on the continent.

Another popular product in Africa is the Lenovo netbook, which look like miniature laptops, with screens rarely exceeding 10 or 12 inches.

Lenovo introduced netbooks around since 2008. They are generally characterized by a distinct dependency on connecting to a network, or the highlighted ability to connect to a network.

Braum says the 10 inch netbook is very popular in Africa, as consumer survey shows they wanted a product between a notebook and a tablet, he says.

Another strategy Lenovo is adopting in Africa is rolling out products alongside different African governments' rolling out of wireless technology, Braum says.

"Wireless communities are already being established in Laos, South Africa, Rwanda and other places. We are seeing all the technology becoming available and affordable in these countries, and more countries are following this trend," says Braum.

As internet becomes available, Lenovo's users will then be able to fully enjoy all the functions of its products.

In addition, Lenovo is focusing on supply chain technology and giving its customers after sales support, he says. "We bring innovation to the supply chain, to make sure we set the standard for what we want to represent, which are, quality, reliability, style and speed."

In the long term, Braum says Lenovo in Africa will focus on continuing to consistently supply personal computer products and allow this market to grow, while moving into new territory such as mobile and enterprise.

He says this is consistent with Lenovo's global strategy of 'protect and attack', which means protecting market share of products already doing well, and entering into new territories.

"We protect markets like China where we have more than 30 percent share, and then we attack markets we are not present in, for example, we can move into the consumer brand space," he says.

In Africa, this means being able to have a full range of consumer products to meet market needs.

Braum, who is originally from Johannesburg, has worked in the IT sector for 18 years. He said that he decided to join Lenovo, because he saw big opportunities for the brand to grow fast. "I think Lenovo is a big company in the world, and what it is doing globally is very innovative," he says.

 

[BoQ77]

I wonder why "40 days" ? @Yizhi @kyle Chiang
In Vietnam, this long holiday lasts 9 days in total.

 

[TaiShang]

The Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year, is coming with the soundless footsteps. People across the nation are preparing to celebrate the lunar New Year which starts from Feb. 19 this year. (Xinhua photo)

(Xinhua photo)

(Xinhua photo)

(Xinhua photo)

(Xinhua photo)

(Xinhua photo)

 

[bolo]

It's Chinese New Year and not lunar new year as that is what Koreans want the world to think so they can claim that Chinese culture derived from them. So it will always be called Chinese New year.
Keep that in mind.

Your cognitive ability surprises me. People need to travel back home to get everything prepared for the holiday, and China is a big country, the distance is far. 40 days is undestandable.

The world, in this case China does not revolve around Vietnam

 

[cnleio]

Just right now, the Chinese becoming the "Migrant Bird" on their ways back to hometown by plane or train ... ... soon i will return to see my parents in another city.

Chinese Spring Festival, it's time back to our HOMES.

 

[Yizhi]

I wonder why "40 days" ? @Yizhi @kyle Chiang
In Vietnam, this long holiday lasts 9 days in total.

40 days because of winter break of schools, the first wave of migration is students.
and in the old days, one had to spent 2 days (or more) on a train from Guangdong to Northeast.

 

[BoQ77]

How about your own experience on that ferry?

try getting a ferry to Hainan and you would understand crazy

@Yizhi : your explanation makes clear my doubt. Thanks !
You're a good member.

 

[TaiShang]

China's newly registered firms up 38 pct
2015-2-14

The number of newly established firms continued to surge on the back of government efforts to streamline the process for starting a business, according to official data.

About 348,200 new companies were registered in January, up 37.74 percent year on year, statistics from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce showed.

Notably, the number of newly registered firms in the tertiary industry surged 41.61 percent to 280,100, accounting for 80.44 percent of new companies.

By the end of January, the number of all types of registered market entities in China came in at 70.18 million, with registered capital totaling 133.05 trillion yuan.

China lifted restrictions on minimum registered capital, payment deadlines, down payment ratios and cash ratios of registered capital on March 1 of last year, a move aimed at encouraging start-ups and energizing the economy.

 

[Martian2]

Calculations predict pentagonal graphene | Chemistry World

"[Chinese Pentagonal Graphene] would also be a natural semiconductor, unlike conventional graphene, which is a highly efficient conductor and has to be chemically modified to turn it into a semiconductor."

Reference source: Penta-graphene: A new carbon allotrope

 

[bobsm]

Chinese-built railway in Angola open to traffic
2015-02-14 21:30:25| Editor: An

BEIJING, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- A 1,344-kilometer railway built by China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) for Angola was completed and open to traffic on Saturday, the company told Xinhua.

The railway linking coastal city Lobito in the west and Luau bordering Angola is the second longest railway built by a Chinese company for Africa, after the Tanzania-Zambia railway.

The Tanzania-Zambia railway was built in the 1970s.

The railway, built since 2004, will be linked with the Angola-Zambian railway and the Tanzania-Zambia railway in the future, according to the company.

Chinese-built railway in Angola open to traffic - Xinhua | English.news.cn

 

[TaiShang]

China's two biggest Taxi Apps announce merger
CCTV.com

02-14-2015 14:36 BJT

Big news in China's taxi-hailing market. The country's two largest car-service booking providers, Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache have announced a merger.

The combined company will adopt a Co-CEO system, which means their brands and businesses will develop independently.

KuaiDi is backed by Alibaba Group and Didi is backed by Tencent. The two companies have not revealed the proportion of shareholding and assessed value of the new company. But a successful merger would create a dominant player with more than 95 percent of China’s mobile car-service booking app business, and an expected valuation of 6 billion US dollars.

A news conference on the merger will be held after the Spring Festival.

 

[ahojunk]

China's Xinjiang Trade With Russia Rises Tremendously Over 2014 / Sputnik International

China's Xinjiang Trade With Russia Rises Tremendously Over 2014

21:47 14.02.2015(updated 22:14 14.02.2015)

Xinjiang-Russian trade has tripled over the last year. Xinjiang officials claim that the region will post fast economic growth numbers in forthcoming months being as it is part of the ambitious Silk Road project.

Ekaterina Blinova — Although China's Xinjiang region is currently facing a slowdown in foreign trade, the region's statistics indicated that its trade with the Russian Federation has grown tremendously over the last year. According to customs statistics released Saturday, China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region has tripled its trade with Russia amid an overall slowdown in foreign trade, caused by sliding commodity prices, Chinese state-run media outlets report.

So far, Xinjiang's trade with its northern neighbor increased 374 percent in 2014 reaching $2.15 billion, while its total foreign trade rose by only 0.4 percent to $27.67 billion in the same period.

Citing the local customs, Chinese media sources elaborate that the slowdown in overall trade volume was caused by a reduction in imports, dropping by 20.9 percent last year, adding that at the same time exports raised 5.5 percent year on year.

The sharp decline in commodity prices is attributable to the drop in prices of crude oil and iron ore sands, which amounted for 53.8 percent of the region's total import volume in 2014.

Concurrently, Xinjiang-Kazakhstan trade diminished by 17.3 percent and slid to $10.13 billion. It is worth mentioning that Kazakhstan is the largest business partner of the region. Commenting on the released data, Li Bin, the Urumqi Customs District official, claimed that Xinjiang will maximize its trade in 2015 supported by both regional authorities and Beijing as a part of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road projects. The ambitious Silk Road initiative, launched by China's President Xi Jinping in 2013 is aimed at boosting economic ties between Asia, the Middle East and Europe and is expected to facilitate the development of Asian countries and regions along its routes.
.

 

[Martian2]

Taiwan NCKU develops pioneering spin FET transistor technology

"An international team headed by Tainan City-based National Cheng Kung University has developed the world’s first functional spin field-effect transistor for information processing.
...
'Compared with Intel’s current-generation 10 nanometer-class chips utilizing complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor technology,' Chen said, 'spin FET is capable of delivering 1,000 times the performance with only one-tenth of power.'

The development, first published online by science journal Nature Nanotechnology Dec. 22, is expected to help NCKU better tap the highly lucrative US$250 billion global IC industry."
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Taiwan Today - NCKU develops pioneering transistor technology

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All-electric all-semiconductor spin field-effect transistors | Nature Nanotechnology