Blog about Virtual Assistant, Outsourcing, KPO, BPO and China

By the end of April 2008, the number of mainland enterprises listed on the Main Board and GEM of Hong Kong Stock Exchange reached 443, including 148 H shares, 93 red chips and 202 non-H-shares of private enterprises from the mainland.

The latest statistics released by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange show that the mainland stock shares take up 58.6% of the total market value and 74.2% of the total market turnover of the Hong Kong stock market.

Regarding Hong Kong itself, there were 1,244 listed companies with a total market value of about 18 trillion Hong Kong dollars by the end of April. And up until the end of last month, Hong Kong owned in total 4,808 derivative warrants, 260 callable bull/bear contracts, 26 trust funds and 173 bonds.

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In spite of the unfolding global credit crisis and soaring energy prices, auto sales in China maintained double-digit growth since the beginning of the year. Passenger car sales rose 17.84% year-on-year in the first four months of 2008.

According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), sales reached 2.46 million cars, including 1.81 million sedans, 75,500 mini-vans and 141,300 sport-utility vehicles. And the figure for March was unusually large, showing the most rapid year-on-year growth in seven months.

Volkswagen AG’s two Chinese ventures — FAW Volkswagen and Shanghai Volkswagen — continued to top the sales list last month, as well as in the first four months. They are followed by the Detroit-based car maker’s venture with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp, Shanghai GM. And domestic auto producers sold 463,100 sedans in the first four months, accounting for a 25.46% share of the total sedan sales.

China, the world’s second-largest car market, produced 8.88 million automobiles last year, of which 8.79 million were sold. And this year, auto sales are anticipated to exceed 10 million units, which stand for a 14% full-year sales growth.

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After the announcement of the direct air route between Beijing and Seattle, China’s Hainan Airlines together with Berlin airport announced plans to begin direct flights between Beijing and Berlin from September.

From September 5th, Hainan Airlines will start to offer four non-stop flights a week between the two capital cities employing Airbus A33—200 aircraft. The new route will shorten travel hours to less than nine hours.

By then, Berlin will be the fourth German city to have direct flights to China following Frankfurt, Munich and Dusseldorf.
On the part of China, the launch of the new route will help enhance economic, cultural and tourism cooperation between China and Germany and contribute to the friendly cooperation between the capital cities.

And on the part of Germany, the direct route is of great importance in promoting exchanges and cooperation between Germany and China as well as other Asian countries, bringing potential economic benefits to Berlin.

By opening more convenient air routes to Europe, China extends its welcome hands to more countries worldwide. Likewise, BPOVIA Ltd, with its excellent virtual assistants and professional consultation services, always welcomes every client, old and new alike and tries its best to facilitate his business processes in the country.

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Compared with the fourth quarter last year, sales of smartphone in the Chinese market in the first quarter saw a 4.8% growth.

The average price of a smartphone in China is around 2,470 yuan. Compared with high-end ones, low-end smartphones enjoy much wider popularity among buyers. And smartphone produced by Nokia and Motorola took up 85.9% of the market share.

In terms of sales volume, the market saw a record of 8.24 million units in the first quarter, accounting for 19.1% of all types of cellphones sold on the domestic market. And sales revenue stood at 20.4 billion yuan in the first three months, registering an increase of 7.6% over the same period last year.

The Chinese consumer market is in full swing in recent years, which is to a large extent attributable to the rapidly developing economy of the country and growing purchasing power of the Chinese people. Such a robust and huge potential market naturally attracts business people around the world like a strong magnet. For any businessman who is interested in the Chinese market and looking for assistance to facilitate business processes in the country, BPOVIA Ltd based in China, with its excellent virtual assistants and professional consultation services, can always be the source.

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A company to build large passenger aircraft was unveiled on May 11th in Shanghai, a major step closer to the country’s ambitious goal to produce homemade jumbo jets.

The new company has a registered capital of 19 billion yuan. The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission is the largest shareholder with an investment of 6 billion yuan for a 31.58% of the shares. Other shareholders are Shanghai Guo Sheng (Group) Co Ltd (26.32%), China Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVIC I) (21.06%), and China Aviation Industry Corporation II (AVIC II) (5.26 %).

The company will set its focus on five sectors—aircraft development, system integration, marketing, customer service and certification. And Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd (CACC) will undertake the chief responsibility of researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing the aircraft.

Within the first few years, CACC plans to finish delivery of ARJ21 aircraft—the first homegrown regional jet—and establish an operating system and train talents. The 70- to 90- seat ARJ21-700 came off the production line in Shanghai last December, and will start its maiden flight in the autumn.

Besides helping to improve the country’s independent innovation capabilities, the large-jet program is also of great significance in meeting the rapidly expanding domestic civil aviation market.

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Chalco, China’s largest aluminum producer whose shares are traded both in Shanghai and Hong Kong, agreed last Friday to set up a joint venture with Malaysia’s MMC and the Saudi Binladin Group to build and operate an aluminum smelter plant in Saudia Arabia.

The plant is to be built in three stages and the total investment is estimated to reach $4.5 billion. In the joint venture, the aluminum producer Chalco will own a 40% stake to become the largest single shareholder. Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary-backed MMC will hold a 20% share while a consortium of local investors led by the Saudi Binladin Group will hold the remaining stake.

The smelter plant is to be located in the Middle East country’s Jizan Economic City (JEC), where electricity costs an average of $20 per megawatt-hour compared with $28 in the US and $40 in China for the same measure. The annual aluminum production capacity of the plant is expected to reach one million tons.

In addition, an associated 1,860mW power plant with an estimated $2 billion will also be built, in which Chalco will take a 20% stake to become the third largest shareholder.

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A Global Telecommunication Center has been set up in Beijing by Ernst & Young, one of the big four accounting firms in the world, with the aim to power the expected restructuring of the China’s telecommunications sector and surging mergers and acquisitions.

The center will gather Ernst & Young’s global telecom resources to enlarge the scope of its client service skills and to provide up-to-date solutions on critical issues and latest trends facing the sector. It plans to provide Chinese telecom operators with services including auditing, risk control, tax, financial transactions, advisory, finance and operations and serve as the hub for the country’s increasing demand of the telecommunication industry.

“There’s an increasing demand for accounting services from Chinese telecommunication operators which are to be restructured and are seeking overseas expansion,” said Vincent de la Bachelerie, leader of Ernst & Young Global Telecommunications Industry, expressing his optimism about the Chinese telecom outlook.

“The telecommunications industry is a key sector for Ernst & Young, and it is important for us to strategically align our services in the Chinese market, where we are witnessing significant growth and change,” said Jonathan Dharmapalan, head of the Global Telecommunications Center.

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BPO, China Business, China Business News, China Outsourcing, Internet and Hi-Tech accounting, China, Ernst & Young, telecom