http://mynews.mychinab2b.com Your Source for Latest B2B iNews Mon, 20 May 2013 13:10:12 MDT en http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/FoodBeverage/danone-invests-in-2-deals-in-china-shanghai-daily-/
Prominent Achiever Ltd, 51 percent owned by China's state-owned agricultural and food company COFCO and 49 percent by Danone, will acquire 8.3 percent in China's largest dairy producer Mengniu Dairy Co from COFCO, according to a joint statement yesterday.

"The partnership with COFCO and Mengniu will allow Danone brands to reach the largest number of Chinese consumers," Danone Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Franck Riboud said in the statement.

COFCO will remain Mengniu's single largest shareholder with a 27.83 percent stake.

Danone, the world's largest yoghurt maker with brands such as Actimel and Activa, also set up a joint venture with Mengniu for the production and sale of chilled yoghurt in China.

Danone will own 20 percent and Mengniu 80 percent of the joint venture, which will help Danone boost sales in China's yogurt market.

Mengniu's Chief Executive Officer Sun Yiping said in the statement that the deal would strengthen its technical innovation capacity in the fresh dairy product market and help the company deliver a wider range of higher-quality products to consumers.

The French food group will share its quality control and product innovation expertise while Mengniu will be able to leverage its distribution capacity in the yogurt sector.

The transactions are subject to approval.

Mengniu accounted for 16.8 percent of China's yoghurt market in 2012, up from 16.5 percent in 2011 and 15.9 percent in 2010, according to Euromonitor. It expects the market to grow to 53.9 billion yuan this year and to 71.6 billion yuan by 2015, more than double its value in 2010.

Danone sells the Bio yogurt and Dumex infant formula in China and has 22 factories in the country.

Foreign food companies are eying a bigger share of the Chinese market and betting on consumer demand for healthier and better-quality products in China after a 2008 scandal involving chemical-laced products. ]]> Mon, 20 May 2013 13:10:12 MDT admin Food - Beverage 10 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/FoodBeverage/danone-invests-in-2-deals-in-china-shanghai-daily-/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/FoodBeverage/industry-poultry-sector-hit-by-10b-yuan-loss-/
Losses of poultry-related enterprises nationwide have exceeded 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) since the first case of H7N9 bird flu was discovered, according to the National Poultry Industry Association.

With all live poultry stands shut down in regions with H7N9 cases since early this month, poultry breeders, suppliers and sellers are facing tough times.

Liang Zhong, an officer in charge of the pigeon industry at the association, said:"The price of Huangyu chicken, a type of high-quality chicken, has dropped from 16 yuan ($2.55) per kg to four yuan per kg."

Liang said supplies of pigeons from Guangdong province have stopped, with very few people daring to buy pigeons, which have been found carrying the H7N9 virus.

Poultry sellers forced to close their stands at agriculture product markets are waiting anxiously for an end to cases of the H7N9 virus, but they are spreading slowly.

Xia Maochun, a poultry seller at an agricultural market in Gaoling Road, Shanghai, and regular supplier to nearby restaurants and residents, said: "I am making some money from transporting vegetables for other agricultural markets … as we are struggling to make a living at the moment."

Xia faces a monthly loss of about 40,000 yuan after closing his stand at the market and is waiting for further instructions from the local government.

Poultry breeders are also facing hard times with no buyers for their chickens.

"I am losing over 100,000 yuan a month by feeding 6,000 to 7,000 chickens on three farms," said Yang Sizhong, the owner of a chicken farm in Yuyao, Zhejiang province, and known for playing Mozart violin compositions to his chickens in the belief this soothes them and makes for better eggs and meat.

Because of this, Yang used to charge 1,088 yuan for each chicken, more than 10 times the usual price. The eggs, with pink, blue or green shells, cost 20 yuan each — 20 times the normal rate.

"The only thing I can do is to feed these chickens with safe fodder and ensure their living environment is clean enough until the H7N9 outbreak ends," Yang said.

To meet increasing demands for beef and seafood, restaurants have stopped buying poultry-related products and removed some poultry dishes from their menus.

Liu Yunfeng, marketing manager of Shanghai Old-Town Temple Restaurant (Group) Co Ltd, said: "We've removed pigeon, quail and finch dishes … from our menu since April 3 and carried out examinations to trace the supply of other poultry products."

"We have created 50 more dishes to replace chicken and duck meat with beef and seafood as well as providing more vegetables and other healthy agricultural products to diners," Liu said. ]]> Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:55:10 MDT admin Food - Beverage 31 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/FoodBeverage/industry-poultry-sector-hit-by-10b-yuan-loss-/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/FoodBeverage/milk-foreign-baby-formula-off-shelves/
The Chinese partner of Hero Group, a major Swiss baby formula manufacturer, has been accused of deliberately mislabeling milk powder, and a senior employee has been detained, officials said.

Authorities in Suzhou, where the partner company Xile Lier is based, said the company had committed multiple offenses.

The news came after China Central Television reported the company had been changing the expiration dates and re-labeling formula for older babies as the more expensive ones for younger babies.

Officials said that only three out of 17 batches of the infant formula seized in the company's production plant met the country's quality standard.

The local industrial and commercial bureau has confiscated about 520,000 packages and 38,868 cans of the infant formula, worth about 50 million yuan ($8 million).

The formula is sold on the mainland under the label of "Hero Nutradefense".

According to the quality and technology supervision bureau at the industrial zone, besides selling formula made by Hero that has acquired China's health permits, Xile Lier also purchased illegal formula produced by Hero for the European market.

Imported infant formula can only be sold in the country after applying to Customs, passing quality tests and getting health permits, according to China's regulations.

To sell the illegal formula in the Chinese market, Xile Lier faked the batch code by erasing the original numbers, repainting new ones and producing boxes since February 2012.

Mou Jun, the person running the Xile Lier site, has been detained by police and the production lines at the company were shut down in November.

But quality watchdogs in Suzhou did not publicize the formula's problems, nor did it order a recall of the products.

"Primitive manual operation in milk powder distribution can pollute it with bacteria and worms," Ding Zongyi, a senior member of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, was quoted by CCTV as saying.

"Substandard milk powder can cause severe damage to infants' health. Milk powder lacking protein content can cause deficiency of important nutrients to infants and irreversible development to their physical development."

The news has quickly aroused public concern nationwide, especially since many Chinese parents have been choosing to use foreign infant formula to feed their babies since 2008, after six babies died and another 300,000 were reported ill because some domestic milk powder products were found tainted with melamine.

The Shanghai government has ordered supermarkets and stores to pull the formula from shelves.

Officials and salespeople at a number of big supermarkets in the city, including Hualian, Carrefour, Walmart, Lotus, E-mart and Century Lianhua Supermarket, said they never sell the brand in their shops.

However, one salesperson named Chen at Century Lianhua's Shanghai Stadium shop said Hero Nutradefense had a good reputation in the market prior to the scare.

Liang Jie, a lawyer in Shanghai, said his 3-year-old boy had been using the baby formula the past two years.

Liang said that he was outraged and only stopped using the brand on Thursday when he learned the Hero Nutradefense had been exposed.

"We compared several foreign brands including those from Australia and New Zealand and eventually selected the brand because of positive comments online and its claim of no quality problems throughout its 100-year history," he said.

"I have been very careful when choosing baby formula and never care about the cost," he said, adding he will never use the brand again.

Major Chinese shopping sites, including Tmall and 360buy.com, have also stopped selling the brand of products. ]]> Fri, 29 Mar 2013 15:38:30 MDT admin Food - Beverage 44 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/FoodBeverage/milk-foreign-baby-formula-off-shelves/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Internet/jing-daily-the-business-of-luxury-and-culture-in-china/
Currently, Tod’s has 31 stores in first- and second-tier cities throughout China. Considering the brand wants to open a further 15 or 16 stores in China this year alone, this begs the question: where are they hoping to go next? Third- and fourth-tier cities? The brand’s nationwide network is already impressive, reaching from Harbin to Haikou, Wuxi to Xi’an, with cities like Wuhan already boasting more than one location. Yet Tod’s Group S.p.a. has already shown a willingness to be gutsy in China in terms of inland expansion.

Last October, the group chose to open its third Roger Vivier location in Shenyang, following Beijing and Shanghai, rather than Guangzhou or Shenzhen. As such, it wouldn’t be terribly surprising to see a new Tod’s store pop up this year in a lesser-known city like Anshan, Boutou, Jiangyin or Nantong.

Considering luxury e-commerce is the hot topic at the moment in China, it’s good to hear that Tod’s also has plans to launch Chinese e-commerce functionality in 2013 as part of its growth plan. According to FashionMag, the Tod’s online store is only operational in certain European countries, yet will be extended to the United States starting next month, and by the end of the year it’s expected to go live in China. ]]> Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:27:45 MDT admin Internet 44 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Internet/jing-daily-the-business-of-luxury-and-culture-in-china/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/SIAL_CHINA_2013/customers-at-carrefour-can-scan-codes-to-trace-produce-shanghai-daily/
The production place and date of the item, the business license of its supplier and other information regarding the farms can be tracked down, officials said yesterday.

Customers will feel safe to eat these products, and the quality of the products can be controlled from their sources, according to Mahmut Kaya, merchandise food director of Carrefour's Shanghai region.

At the end of last year, Carrefour started putting the QR codes on products' price display boards. All of its outlets in Shanghai will have the codes by the end of this week, officials said.

To ensure food safety, Carrefour purchases agricultural products such as carrots, strawberries and green vegetables directly from farms in both the suburbs of Shanghai and other provinces known for their strict control of pesticides, according to Martin Dallocchio, regional manager of Carrefour Shanghai.

The intent is to improve food safety and freshness, and also increase farmers' incomes at the same time, Carrefour said.

Following checks by the farms, samples of products will be sent to a laboratory at Carrefour's Wanli outlet in Putuo District for further testing on pesticide residue. The lab checks nearly 50 indexes such as food additives, microbes and veterinary drugs for about 65 categories of products. ]]> Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:43:51 MDT admin SIAL CHINA 2013 43 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/SIAL_CHINA_2013/customers-at-carrefour-can-scan-codes-to-trace-produce-shanghai-daily/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/SIAL_CHINA_2013/expired-foods-detected-at-convenience-stores-shanghai-daily-/
Four downtown outlets of FamilyMart were selling expired puffs, custard pudding, bean curd, potato salad and cherry tomatoes, the Shanghai Morning Post reported yesterday.

A Kedi store on Fuxing Road E. was selling a Kung-Pao-chicken packaged meal expired by nearly a day last week, while almond bean curd sold at a Lawson store in Hongkou District had also expired, the newspaper reported.

The manager of the Fuzhou Road FamilyMart outlet found to have been selling expired puffs said workers at the store would check the expiration date of every food product more carefully. Staff members were still in the mood of the Spring Festival that recently passed, and neglected the expiration date, said the manager, who declined to be identified.

Some new staff members also were not familiar with the expiration rules, the manager added.

Those found negligent at work will be given warnings and their demerits recorded, which could cost them their job if the behavior continues, the manager said.

Customers of convenience stores sometimes don't pay close attention to the expiration date on foods, especially when they're in a hurry.

"I am busy at work, so I just grab something that can fill my stomach without checking the expiration date," said Amy Liu, an office worker. ]]> Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:33:25 MDT admin SIAL CHINA 2013 36 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/SIAL_CHINA_2013/expired-foods-detected-at-convenience-stores-shanghai-daily-/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Industry/made-in-china-law-sought-for-overseas-investment-chinadaily-com-cn/
China should introduce legislation to help overseas investment by Chinese companies, as an increasing number extend their global footprint, a national legislator has said.

Nurturing domestic multinational corporations should be a "national strategy", and the government should provide a one-stop service to facilitate international expansion, says Ge Junjie, vice-president of Bright Food Group Co and a deputy from Shanghai to this year's session of the National People's Congress currently taking place in Beijing.

"An overseas investment law can serve as the legal framework for Chinese companies to enter the world stage, protect overseas assets and ensure sustainable growth," he says.

He also suggests that the country allocate $3 trillion from foreign exchange reserves to bolster international expansion by Chinese companies.

Ge says he believes the establishment of world-class companies in China is lagging behind the overall growth of the domestic economy, putting the country at a disadvantage in international labor division matters, which leads to limited bargaining power at industry-wide talks. He says it is natural for Chinese companies to expand overseas, while the international costs of resources and financing keep dropping and high levels of work efficiency remain in place.

"In the past 30 years, China has been producing for the world. It is time to make the rest of the world produce for China," Ge says.

One way to go global is through mergers and acquisitions. Ge's company, the country's second-largest food company, has completed four major international buyouts in the past two years.

The deals are an example of Bright Food's attempts to cater to China's growing middle class, who seek higher-quality products and Western-style food, and have helped the company boost overseas sales to as much as 30 percent of its total sales in five years.

Law sought for overseas investment

Bright Food, the maker of dairy, sugar and wine products, is in talks with more potential partners for acquisitions, Ge adds.

However, he believes the lack of proper guidance from the government will pose severe challenges to the company's overseas ambitions.

"When we first attempted to acquire Manassen Foods, the Australian food distributor, we had to search from scratch for local tax, financing and investment policies," he says.

To increase the number of China's equivalents of Coca-Cola, McDonald's or Wal-Mart requires not only great financial resources, but also management experienced in international operations, high technology, branding skills and many other attributes, he says. None can be acquired in a short time.

And because many Chinese companies are seeking global operations, Ge suggests that aside from an overseas investment law, the government should set up a public service platform to offer investment policy briefings and guidance about industry trends, as well as measures for risk control.

The move would help address common needs of companies and maximize their global potential, he adds.

Zhang Zhao'an, an economist, says he believes that such a law is essential to determine the course of Chinese firms' overseas expansion.

"With such a law we would build the foundations for Chinese strength and influence, and shape an international strategy capable of overcoming the challenges of going global," Zhang says.

A recent study released by Fortune magazine showed that Chinese companies are struggling to translate their economic might into global reputation.

Not a single Chinese company was ranked in the top 50 in the magazine's annual "World's Most Admired Companies List" for 2013, which is widely considered among the most definitive report cards on global corporate reputation.

While there are plenty of huge Chinese companies with massive profit margins, the country's position remains extremely weak when it comes to producing a superior global brand that consumers seek out, says Fan Yun, chairperson of Shanghai Fushen State Assets Evaluation Co Ltd and a legislator from Shanghai.

Chinese business projects in the United States have run into difficulties in the past two years with Washington blocking the deals of some companies, such as Sany, Huawei and ZTE.

Unconvinced by alleged national security concerns as a reason to turn down Chinese investment, Sany, China's biggest construction machinery manufacturer, has taken legal action against the US government.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce is closely following the case and conducting its own legal investigation, Commerce Minister Chen Deming said on the sidelines of the 12th National People's Congress this week in Beijing.

In light of the dispute, the US private sector is calling for a consistent political commitment from Washington to smooth the way for direct investment from China, which is projected to hit $400 billion by 2020.

Brenda Foster, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, believes Chinese direct investment has the potential to contribute to a more balanced bilateral commercial relationship and the strengthening of US-China ties.

More importantly, Chinese investment helps create new jobs in a more profound way than official statistics show, says Daniel Rosen, co-founder of research company Rhodium Group.

Rosen says at least 30,000 American people have benefited from new job positions set up by Chinese companies in the country, five times more than records from government agencies state.

"I think that ZTE and Huawei should be allowed to bid for these projects," says Gary Rieschel, founder and managing partner of Qiming Weichuang Venture Capital Management (Shanghai) Co Ltd. "Obviously, it is a mistake to exclude them."

But the cases don't reflect normal Sino-US economic ties, he adds. "At the very senior level of government, as well as business, there has been more collaboration and more engagement than decades ago." ]]> Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:24:01 MDT admin Industry 31 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Industry/made-in-china-law-sought-for-overseas-investment-chinadaily-com-cn/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Shanghai/shanghai-floating-pigs-may-be-killed-by-epidemic-shanghai-daily/
By yesterday, more than 1,200 dead pigs had been removed from the river.

Experts from the Shanghai Animal Diseases Control and Prevention Centre collected hearts, livers, spleens, lungs, lymph nodes and tonsils from five carcasses retrieved last Friday.

They found six viral pathogens in the samples. One pig was tested positive of porcine circovirus, an epidemic common among pigs in recent years. But the virus is not a zoonosis and will not infect humans, the commission said.

Experts are still investigating the causes of dead pigs dumped by pig farms upstream in neighboring Zhejiang Province. ]]> Sun, 10 Mar 2013 18:16:12 MDT admin Shanghai 20 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Shanghai/shanghai-floating-pigs-may-be-killed-by-epidemic-shanghai-daily/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Economy/economy-eurozone-exports-investment-contract-shanghai-daily-/
Exports from the euro area shed 0.9 percent in the last three months of 2012, helping drive gross domestic product down 0.6 percent, the European Union's statistics office said in a report yesterday. Exports last fell in the second quarter of 2009. Imports also fell 0.9 percent in the fourth quarter.

"Real economic activity is yet to show major improvement in many countries, and it looks highly likely that growth will remain a major struggle for the eurozone for some time to come," Howard Archer, chief European economist at IHS Global Insight in London, wrote in a note yesterday.

The 17-nation currency bloc's economy saw a third straight drop in the fourth quarter. The European Commission sees the economy falling 0.3 percent this year.

Gross fixed capital formation shed 1.1 percent from the previous three months when it fell a revised 0.8 percent, the report showed. Consumer spending dipped 0.4 percent, while government spending slipped 0.1 percent.

In Germany, Europe's largest economy, GDP fell 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter, from a 0.2 percent gain in the previous three months. France's economy shrank 0.3 percent, while Italy's GDP fell 0.9 percent. ]]> Wed, 06 Mar 2013 17:15:24 MST admin Economy 5 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Economy/economy-eurozone-exports-investment-contract-shanghai-daily-/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Industry/chinas-shoppers-fund-luxury-tycoons-shanghai-daily-/
The average wealth of the people on the Hurun Luxury Tycoon Rich List is double that of Hurun's global rich list, with the combined assets of the 33 wealthiest people in the luxury industry totalling US$289 billion, Hurun said. The list has a US$1 billion threshold.

Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of the Hurun Report, said Chinese consumers helped those tycoons make roughly 20 percent of their money.

"The Chinese luxury consumer is today the most important customer group in the world for luxury brands, especially now that the Chinese luxury consumer has started to travel around the world," Hoogewerf said.

Luxury sales on the Chinese mainland are reckoned to have grown just 7 percent last year, compared to a 30 percent surge in 2011, according to consulting firm Bain & Company, with China's shoppers buying 60 percent of their luxury items abroad.

As this trend grows, luxury stores in China will serve more as a shop window for brands, Hoogewerf said.

Bernard Arnault of LVMH, whose fashion house Louis Vuitton is the preferred brand for gifting by Chinese millionaires according to the Hurun Chinese Luxury Consumers Survey 2013, tops the tycoon list with a US$51 billion fortune.

Liliane Bettencourt of L'Oreal comes second with US$30 billion, followed by Bertrand Puech and family of Hermes with US$24 billion.

They are among seven people on the list who live in Paris, home to more luxury tycoons than any other city.

The Chinese mainland holds no place in the luxury billionaires' club.

Not because it doesn't produce luxury goods, Hoogewerf said. Furniture made from precious wood, liquor from Moutai and Wuliangye, and health products such as Cordyceps sinensis are sold at extremely high prices, he said.

However, some producers don't see themselves as producing luxury goods that fit in a category dominated by French names. Chinese brands still lack international renown, Hoogewerf said. ]]> Wed, 06 Mar 2013 17:09:43 MST admin Industry 5 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Industry/chinas-shoppers-fund-luxury-tycoons-shanghai-daily-/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Economy/economy-china-aims-for-7-5-growth-in-a-consumption-driven-economy-shanghai-daily-/
The government is eying a growth target of 7.5 percent this year, Wen told the opening session of China's top legislature, the National People's Congress.

It was the second consecutive year China had set the target at this level, well below the double-digit rates of the past decade but in line with the country's plans to steer away from a reliance on trade and investment to drive growth.

The country will also try to manage inflation at under 3.5 percent, compared to last year's 2.6 percent.

"The target is based on the demand for a reasonable economic expansion to sustain employment growth and uphold people's livelihoods, while shifting the focus to improving the quality of the economy," Wen said.

"In light of comprehensive considerations, we deem it necessary and appropriate to set this year's economic target at 7.5 percent, which requires arduous efforts to realize," Wen said as he delivered his final government work report as premier.

The country is also aiming to create more than 9 million new urban jobs this year to make the registered urban unemployment rate 4.6 percent or below, and the government will allocate around 1.2 trillion yuan (US$190 billion) for fiscal deficit, 400 billion yuan more than a year earlier.

The government will work to ensure that the per capita income of residents rises in line with economic growth, and that rural development will match that of cities, Wen said.

He said inflationary pressure remains high due to the rising cost of land and labor, and it may be exacerbated by the loosening monetary policies adopted by major developed countries.

There remain quite a few problems in China's economy concerning its sustainability, balance between economic growth and its structure, as well as the cost to the environment, Wen said, promising the government will answer people's concerns and address these problems responsibly.

Wen said the profound impact of the global financial crisis, as well as the unstable recovery of the world economy, were major threats to China's economic growth.

He said the government should carry out urbanization "actively yet prudently," restrain the size of large cities and drive the development of their surrounding areas.

He noted that small- and medium-sized cities, as well as small towns, should become better able to develop industry, provide public services, create jobs and attract residents.

In accelerating urbanization, the government should speed up the reform of the household registration system, create an equitable institutional environment for freedom of movement and expand the coverage of basic public services in urban areas to migrant workers and other permanent residents, he said.

Currently, there are about 10 megacities in China with more than 10 million people each, including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Chengdu, according to the latest census figures.

China's urbanization rate rose by 1.3 percentage points to 52.57 percent last year, 0.5 percentage points higher than expected, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. The government expects the rate to climb further to 53.37 percent in 2013.

Also yesterday, the National Development and Reform Commission released the country's goals on aspects including trade, retail sales and investment (see chart on the far right). ]]> Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:18:08 MST admin Economy 5 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Economy/economy-china-aims-for-7-5-growth-in-a-consumption-driven-economy-shanghai-daily-/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Shanghai/fiscal-shanghai-seeks-vat-for-services-shanghai-daily/
The city will prioritize investment in innovation and infrastructure, boosting consumption, and supporting public welfare in its fiscal expenditure this year, Mayor Yang Xiong said at a municipality conference yesterday.

As part of a continued effort to replace the business tax, Shanghai will also expand the value-added-tax trial for some service firms this year to boost the service sector and streamline the tax system, he said.

The trial, which started on January 1, 2012, has chopped off a total of 4.5 billion yuan in tax for more than 130,000 participating companies in the first half of last year, according to latest data released by the Shanghai Statistics Bureau in August.

But Yang cautioned that Shanghai should be prepared to face hardships over the city's fiscal revenue this year.

"The financial and taxation departments must realize the current economic situation and be fully prepared for hardships ahead," Yang said. "We should enhance fiscal management while maintaining steady revenue growth."

Shanghai's fiscal revenue rose 9.2 percent last year from 2011, less than half the pace of a 19.3-percent growth in 2011, on slower economic growth and tax cutting measures, official data showed in January.

Also yesterday, Shanghai's auditing office said it investigated 1,042 cases last year and uncovered irregularities amounting to 3.1 billion yuan. The office also recovered 607 million yuan in wasted funds, officials said. ]]> Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:32:22 MST admin Shanghai 11 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Shanghai/fiscal-shanghai-seeks-vat-for-services-shanghai-daily/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Economy/economy-retailers-ring-up-record-86b%7Cn/
China's retail sales surged to record highs over the week-long Spring Festival, as tourist attractions also reported strong visitor numbers.

According to the latest data from the Ministry of Commerce, total retail sales were 14.7 percent ahead of last year, hitting 539 billion yuan ($86 billion) from last Saturday to Friday.

On Monday alone, duty-free purchases in Sanya, the popular tourist destination in the southern province of Hainan, were worth 20.73 million yuan, the figures showed.

Sellers on the island extended opening hours and expanded store sizes, reporting that sales of cosmetics and watches priced between 5,000 yuan and 8,000 yuan were especially brisk.

"Spending during the break remained robust this year, despite the government's recent edict curbing bureaucratic spending on luxury," said Ding Ningning, a researcher at the State Council's Development Research Center.

"Other government moves, including an emphasis on higher incomes, greater social security payments and efforts aimed at bringing migrant workers' salaries level with others, have added to consumer confidence."

Data released on Friday by the commerce department in the central province of Henan showed that retail sales there rose 17.9 percent year-on-year to 29.7 billion yuan.

Jewelry sales rose 31.9 percent, boosted by Valentine's Day promotions, but catering businesses reported only a 5.3 percent rise in business, a reflection of more frugal spending on dining.

Bloomberg said in a poll of nine economists that China's retail sales were likely to grow 15.4 percent during January and February, the fastest pace in 13 months, boosted by promotional events and the improving economic outlook.

Meanwhile, some other robust numbers also suggested growing consumer confidence since the start of 2013.

Data from the China National Tourism Administration released on Friday show that 76 million tourists visited 39 key tourism cities during the Spring Festival holiday, up 15 percent from a year earlier.

Beijing alone pocketed 3.88 billion yuan in tourism revenue, up 15 percent year-on-year, local officials said, as 8.68 million tourists visited the capital, an increase of 7.5 percent year-on-year. Toll-free expressways during the holiday also boosted numbers from other cities by 18.3 percent against last year.

The national tourism administration said 4 million Chinese traveled overseas on holiday during the break, 90 percent of them headed to Asian destinations, the most popular being Thailand, South Korea and Hong Kong.

According to local travel agents, their international counterparts have been making huge efforts this year to attract more high-spending Chinese tourists, hiring interpreters, for instance, and printing bilingual brochures.

South Korea had expected 630,000 Chinese tourists during the holiday, while United States officials had said that Chinese tourists now represented the fastest-growing group with numbers expected to double in the next three years.

"The robust overseas shopping, mostly seen among the middle class, reflects China's fast economic growth and opening up in the past decades," Ding added. ]]> Fri, 15 Feb 2013 16:05:06 MST admin Economy 13 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Economy/economy-retailers-ring-up-record-86b%7Cn/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Industry/trade-and-tradition-praise-the-red-lantern/
The small village of Hongmiao in the Huairou district on the northern outskirts of Beijing is known as the "Lantern Village", as it is famous for making traditional Chinese lanterns. Farmers in the village, many of them women, were hard at work making red lanterns in the run-up to Spring Festival.

There are 12 steps to making a lantern, including making the frame, cutting the cloth, sewing and gluing, and each worker has their own task. Everyone was doing something to ensure the smooth production, and from time to time the workers' laughter would rise above the pop music playing in the background.

Yan Wanjun, 45, is the village chief and the founder of Hongmiao's lantern industry.

After carefully researching the market, he led the villagers to begin making lanterns in 2007. In the past, local farmers made a living by planting fruit trees or working in big cities. Now the prosperous lantern making means they can stay in the village. There are about 100 villagers in Hongmiao. Last year, the lantern making earned the village more than 300,000 yuan ($47,600).

The size of the lanterns ranges from 3 centimeters to 2 meters in diameter and as the New Year will see in the Year of the Snake, lanterns in the shape of a snake are popular.

Temple fairs during Spring Festival in Beijing, as well as other festive celebrations nationwide, mean such is the demand for lanterns at this time of year that the villagers find it hard to keep up. The red lanterns, which the villagers make in the traditional way, are also sold abroad, and if you see a Chinese lantern in the United States, Japan or Italy, chances are it was made in Hongmiao. ]]> Thu, 14 Feb 2013 14:15:11 MST admin Industry 13 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Industry/trade-and-tradition-praise-the-red-lantern/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/FoodBeverage/food-safety-most-tainted-food-due-to-germs-additives-residue-shanghai-daily/
About 97 percent of food products such as cakes, salad, cooked food and bean products that failed quality checks had excessive microbes, the Shanghai Food Safety Office said.

Excessive microbes are caused by poor hygiene during production and sales, poor disinfection and poor awareness of food safety, experts said.

The city reported seven group poisoning cases involving 144 who fell ill last year, all caused by excessive microbes. No deaths were reported.

Most of those were caused by workers' poor food safety awareness.

Samples of major ice cream brands including Cold Stone, Dairy Queen, Andersen's of Denmark and Baskin Robbins were found with excessive bacteria by the Shanghai Consumer Protection Commission in August.

Similar problems hit Shanghai-based Bright Dairy. Batches of the dairy giant's butter and cheese were found to contain excessive bacteria in Guangzhou in July.

Fruit preserves of Laiyifen, a well-known snack food chain store in Shanghai, were found early last year with high levels of artificial sweeteners, food coloring and bleaching agents, which are harmful to the liver and kidneys.

Most of the imported foods destroyed or returned last year by the city's inspection and quarantine authorities were found to have excessive additives, veterinary drug residues and bacteria.

About 3.9 tons of cinnamon bread made by IKEA were destroyed for containing excessive bacteria in September.

In 2012, 93 percent of food inspected was up to standard in food safety risk monitoring, but that was 1.1 percentage points lower than in the previous year, the office said.

Some national food safety standards have been upgraded and included more appraisal items, officials said.

Last year, some 168 residents received rewards for reporting food-related irregularities and one resident got 200,000 yuan (US$32,258), the highest reward, for reporting fake health products.
]]> Thu, 07 Feb 2013 13:44:22 MST admin Food - Beverage 17 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/FoodBeverage/food-safety-most-tainted-food-due-to-germs-additives-residue-shanghai-daily/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Biz News/year-ender-chinese-brands-2013/
These three brands stay on the top of the list this year, despite their brand value declining, except for CCB.

Meanwhile, State-owned enterprises Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China and Sinopec slipped in the ranking. PetroChina was left off the list, while privately owned firms Baidu and Tencent are rising.

Baidu and Tencent are among the 14 Chinese brands whose brand value is increasing, according to the Top 50 Most Valuable Chinese Brands, whereas 30 declined and 2 remained unchanged.

We also have four newcomers joining the top 50 ranking this year, with Bank of Communications leading the group by $4,958 million.

Chinese brands are beefing up their overseas expansion, and Western consumers are increasingly starting to recognize them.

Based on the revenue created outside of the Chinese mainland, Lenovo Group Ltd was the big winner as the manufacturer overtook US-based Hewlett-Packard Corp, or HP, in the third quarter to become the world's largest PC seller by shipments.

As encouraging as it is, there are challenges. Doreen Wang, head of branding with the market research agency Millward Brown China, said Chinese brands have to achieve consistent quality, create an emotional connection, and establish trust in a global economy where a product's provenance is often less important than its quality, design and value.

In this case, Chinese companies, still in the infancy of global brand building, will have much to learn and a long and winding road to travel if they are to achieve success. ]]> Wed, 06 Feb 2013 14:16:04 MST admin Biz News 16 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Biz News/year-ender-chinese-brands-2013/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Retail/fashion-zara-reportedly-opening-discount-stores-in-china-to-digest-inventory-/
However, Inditex and Zara (China) haven’t confirmed this news and have emphasized that their outlets in China are all regular chain stores without any franchising and agent business.

“Zara is always low-profile,” said the principal of Mario Company. “But the authorized discount stores will go together with regular chains in China.”

According to the principle, Mario’s headquarters in Milan obtained the authorization from Inditex last October and has started this program and signed contracts with Chinese companies in Guangzhou, Zhejiang and Shangdong.

The authorized discount stores can sell Zara and other brands of Inditex including Massimo, Dutti, Pull and Bear, and Bershka with an average wholesale price of 45 yuan each, Mario Company’s principal explained.

According to the detailed regulations for Zara’s authorized discount stores provided by Mario Company, the discount stores should open 70 kilometers away from the regular Zara stores without the Zara logo on the gate. Moreover, products provided in discount stores cannot be sold on the Internet. However, the store decoration can be completely similar to regular stores and the logo of other Inditex brands are permitted as well.

The updating cycle of Zara’s products is generally about ten days while the shortest cycle is one week, which cannot be reached by most Chinese outlets, one insider told Beijing Business Today.

Moreover, Inditex has opened discount stores – Lefties in Portugal - to digest inventory, said Ma Gang, independent apparel industry commentator. But this as well has yet to be confirmed by Inditex. ]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 13:19:02 MST admin Retail 15 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Retail/fashion-zara-reportedly-opening-discount-stores-in-china-to-digest-inventory-/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Mobile/baidu-apps-put-back-shanghai-daily-/ Sun, 20 Jan 2013 15:01:54 MST admin Mobile 18 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Mobile/baidu-apps-put-back-shanghai-daily-/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Industry/trade-year-ender-trade-disputes/
Exports throughout 2012 rose by 7.9 percent year-on-year while imports increased by 4.3 percent, yielding a trade surplus of $231.1 billion, up 48 percent from a year earlier, according to the General Administration of Customs.
>>>Read More

Victim of anti-dumping investigation

China was the world's biggest victim of anti-dumping investigations every year from 1995 to 2011, and also the most targeted in anti-subsidy investigations yearly from 2006 to 2011, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Trade remedy investigations targeting China totaled 758 from 2003 to September of 2012 with export value of $68.4 billion.

In 2012 alone, China had received 53 trade remedy investigations by the end of November affecting exports of $24.2 billion, seven times the amount in 2011, according to the Commerce Ministry.

The figure was 69 in 2011 with export value of $5.9 billion and 66 in 2010 with export value of $7.14 billion, according to the ministry. ]]> Fri, 18 Jan 2013 15:04:49 MST admin Industry 17 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Industry/trade-year-ender-trade-disputes/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Retail/made-in-italy-bulgari%E2%80%99s-shanghai-flagship-a-lesson-in-localization/
Among the changes made to the flagship are a completely redesigned jewelry and watch section and separate areas for men’s and women’s collections, as well as a new layout that combines European and Chinese design cues. Indicating a keen understanding of the particularities of male shoppers in particular, discretion is the name of the game in the men’s section, offering more privacy to shoppers in the jewelry and watches section. This greater focus on the men’s section is very timely, since, as Jing Daily recently noted, the male consumer in China accounts for a larger percentage of luxury purchases by the year.
The centerpiece of the new store, however, is a massive, “figure-eight”-shaped chandelier, hanging above the watches and jewelry section. Though working the number eight — considered auspicious in Chinese culture — into collections, designs or ad campaigns may be the most well-worn localization cliche, Bulgari’s chandelier is somewhat more subtle than previous efforts we’ve seen. The figure-eight chandelier is likely going to be a trademark at new and renovated Bulgari stores throughout the Greater China region, as the company’s Hong Kong flagship — which also unveiled its renovation this week — features its own such centerpiece. Another aspect that should be more than acceptable to Shanghai shoppers is the store’s VIP rooms, featuring mesh sliding walls and plenty of privacy. (A must, given the particularities of China’s top-tier luxury consumers.) ]]> Wed, 16 Jan 2013 15:04:52 MST admin Retail 16 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Retail/made-in-italy-bulgari%E2%80%99s-shanghai-flagship-a-lesson-in-localization/