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

Otis, an elevator company which accounts for 27% of the global elevator and escalator market, plans to invest an additional $100 million to triple its Tianjin plant’s capacity by 2012.

The plant, located in the Tianjin Economic Development Area (TEDA), currently has an annual production capacity of 50,000 machines and 20,000 elevators. With the additional investment, the TEDA plant will have a new automatic production line manufacturing high-rise elevators. With China’s market size reaching 3,000 units per year, China and the Middle East are two major markets for high-rise elevators.

Otis is now focusing its business in China, devoting its production capacity mainly to domestic consumption. In spite of the Chinese government’s curb on speculative investment in the housing sector, the country’s urbanization is still fueling the market’s growth.

Considering China as a market of strategic importance turning into both a huge consumption market and an efficient manufacturing base, Otis is also planning to expand investment in Chongqing, Guangzhou, Suzhou and Northeast China.

Popularity: 16%

BPO, China Business, China Business News, China Consumer Market, Investment China China, elevator, escalator, investment, Otis, TEDA, Tianjin

China’s trade regime has continued liberalizing since 2006, the WTO Secretariat said in a report following its second review of the country’s trade policies in Geneva.

Since the first review of China’s trade practices that obtained a good evaluation in 2006, plenty of China’s trade and investment reforms have been carried out to facilitate the country’s economic development. In 2006, China’s total trade in goods alone accounted for about 65% of its GDP and 13% of global trade. Moreover, China is still a major foreign direct investment destination. These reforms also speeded up China’s integration into the global economy.

This year’s review predicted that China—now the world’s third-largest trader, would keep fast growth in international trade with the help of its continuous opening up and ongoing reforms, though there are various challenges ahead.

China always welcomes foreign trade and investment from all other countries, and we—Bpovia Ltd is always ready to bear a hand in your successful business career in China.

Popularity: 16%

BPO, China Business News, China Economy, China Trade Import Export, Investment China challenges, China's trade and economy, GDP, trade and investment reforms, trade liberalization, WTO

Nanjing,China,May 23,2008–Considering the increasing number of demands from our clients in Australia, we opened a direct dial hotline to facilitate the call process. By dialing +61 3 9018 7855, potential clients can call us for a free trial of the services we provide.

Our company, BPOVIA Ltd based in China, is one of the top six outsourcing companies in the world. Headquartered in Nanjing, we are a pioneering virtual assistant and BPO service provider in the country.

By selecting our virtual assistant services, clients can have their virtual assistants carry out all the non-core business activities. Therefore they are in a position to offload complicated and repetitive components of their business processes, greatly cut down expenses in office renting, staff welfare and labor cost and increase the efficiency and flexibility of their businesses.

Regarding small and medium sized enterprises as our target clients, we provide our clients with seamless one-stop solutions. Currently, more than 90% of our clients come from the US, followed by the UK, Canada and Australia. Among them, Australia in particular, stands to benefit greatly from hiring virtual assistants in China.

In addition to such benefits as cutting down expenses and improving efficiency and flexibility of their businesses, clients in Australia enjoy the advantage of having their virtual assistants in China work in lock-step with themselves. As there is only two hours difference in time between the two countries, with our virtual assistants working almost at the same time, clients in Australia are able to remarkably improve their work efficiency to gain more competitive edge for their companies.

Popularity: 23%

BPO, BPOVIA News, China Outsourcing, China Virtual Assistant Australia, BPOVIA, China, Outsourcing, Virtual Assistant

Amid inflation at a decade-high level, China saw a record high of 22% increase in its retail sales in April from a year earlier, as consumers are paying more for basic necessities and are more willing to spend in the face of rising inflation.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, sales of foodstuffs and beverages climbed 25.3% year-on-year, with spending on grain and edible oil surging by 36.3%.

Paying more for daily necessities, consumers are also encouraged to spend more on durable and luxury goods. The April report demonstrates that sales in furniture, automobiles, gold and silver jewelry increased 37.2%, 25.7% and 41% respectively. Behind the robust growth is the Chinese people’s increasing willingness to consume in a high-inflation environment.

China remains a huge potential market, especially its consumer market, as the Chinese people nowadays grow stronger in terms of their purchasing power and their willingness to consume. For business people and enterprises interested in exploring the Chinese market, BPOVIA Ltd based in China, with its professional consultation and virtual assistance services, is always ready to provide clients with seamless experiences in the process.

Popularity: 24%

BPO, BPOVIA News, China Business, China Business News, China Consumer Market, China Virtual Assistant BPOVIA, China, consumer market, retail sales

While many foreign banks are vigorously cutting jobs worldwide amid the US subprime mortgage crisis, they have largely held back the ax in the Chinese market.

UBS, one of Europe’s biggest banking groups who announced 5,500 job cuts worldwide last week, said that the process of reviewing and reallocating resources “will result in a minimal number of redundancies in the region (including China)”.

Posting a $3.6 billion fourth-quarter loss and planning to reduce its workforce by as much as 5% globally over the next few month, Morgan Stanley, the second-largest US investment bank, has not yet laid off anyone in China.

JP Morgan Securities Asia-Pacific, unlike its parent who has trimmed about 10% of its headcount worldwide, is expanding its workforce by hiring more people in the country.

And Citibank China, reporting a 99% increase in operating income, said they “will continue to invest, expand, network, and hire and train people here, because China remains one of Citi’s top-priority markets anywhere in the world”.

There are two major reasons behind the optimism foreign banks have about the Chinese market.

Firstly, China’s capital market is expanding. As China International Capital Corp Ltd’s Chief Economist Ha Jiming has said, “China’s capital market has great potential in several sectors, including investment banking services, wealth management services and innovative product creation, because China still largely needs to develop the stock market and the private equity market.”

Secondly, the derivatives market shrinking in the US is to take off in the country. As Fudan University professor Sun Lijian put it, “dwindling overseas investment opportunities for foreign banks and security firms may cause them to look more closely at China.”

Popularity: 19%

BPO, BPOVIA News, China Business, China Business News, China Economy, China Finance and Banking, Investment China banking, capital market, China, Citibank, derivatives market, foreign banks, JP Morgan Securities, Morgan Stanley, UBS

On Monday, May 12, at 2.28 p.m. Beijing time (6:28 GMT), a major earthquake, measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale, jolted southwestern China’s Sichuan Province. Several lower-scale earthquakes and aftershocks followed in the same area. The quake destroyed many buildings in the area, as well as infrastructure like communication towers.

According to the latest reports, 34,073 people have died and 245,108 have been injured. As authorities reach more remote areas, these numbers are expected to rise.

BPOVIA Virtual Assistant Team developed Joomla module, the joomla website administrators can easily install this module to show donations information and the visitor can click to donate to CHINA EARTHQUAKE RELIEF fund at American Red Cross.

You can download the module here:
http://www.bpovia.com/download/mod_donateSichuan.zip

BPOVIA Virtual Assistant Team

Popularity: 12%

BPOVIA News, earthquake China Virtual Assistant, donate, earthquake, red cross

(CNN) — The Internet has revolutionized many business sectors and has single-handedly created one — virtual assistance.

In recent years, thousands have switched their corporate jobs to work as virtual assistants for new bosses they may never actually meet. As independent contractors, they are engaged in all kinds of work ranging from bookkeeping, travel arrangements via phone, e-mail or fax, data entry, tax advice, accountancy to technology support. In spite of the fact that some bosses are only just coming to realize that administrative support can easily be done virtually, virtual assistance is in vogue.

Virtual assistance services have sprung up in such countries as the US, Australia, Canada and the UK. And the industry is now so popular that trade groups and websites begin to assist virtual assistants and try to attract potential clients.

The popularity of virtual assistance is attributable to the following two factors.

First of all, it is cost-effective. Employers are exempt from paying for extra office space, furniture, equipment or software, as well as additional cost for training, pensions or work insurance.

Secondly, virtual assistance sometimes can help employers make full use of time differences to meet deadlines.

http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/12/19/globaloffice.virtual.assistant/

Popularity: 16%

BPO, China Business News, China Outsourcing, China Virtual Assistant China, internet, Outsourcing, virtual assistance

Since May 12th when the powerful seismological wave traveled 2000 kilometers to shake our office building here in Nanjing, we have been keeping a close eye on development of the ongoing rescue work in Sichuan province, the worst hit area in southwest China.

The earthquake, the strongest one to hit China in 32 years, demolished buildings and trapped tens of thousands beneath the rubble. Up until now, the death toll has exceeded 19,500 by 4 p.m. Thursday, rising by more than 5,000 from Wednesday’s 14,463.

Rescue work has been proceeding with much difficulty due to landslides, telecommunication breakdown and continuous rainfall. And more forces in the country have been mobilized to join the rescuers who have been racing against time to find as many survivors as they could.

In the meantime, people from all walks of life in and out of China have been doing their utmost to help the country live through the hardship.

When blood is urgently needed to save lives of victims in the quake, blood donors all over the country are responding in droves. Long queues of people waiting to donate blood at mobile blood-collection banks can be seen here in Nanjing as well as in many other cities. And people have also been actively offering donations in cash or goods.

Besides, both domestic and overseas companies and organizations have been giving what they can to help victims of the quake. Donations in both cash and goods to the quake-stricken area had risen to 877 million yuan (125 million US dollars) till 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs has authorized the Red Cross Society of China and China Charity Federation to receive donations for quake-hit areas. The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) has received public donations of 311 million yuan and the China Charity Federation has received about 120 million yuan.

While ensuring the quality and timeliness of our services to all our clients, we are deeply concerned with lives of people still in danger in Sichuan. We hope that more people will join us in helping victims out there. If you are willing to offer help, here are several ways:

1. Account number for renminbi donation: 0200001009014413252, at Beijing branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China

2. Account number for foreign currency donation: 7112111482600000209 at Jiuxianqiao branch of CITIC Bank.

3. Donation through post office should be sent to:
Red Cross Society of China
No 8, Beixinqiaosantiao, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100007
Its website: www.redcross.org.cn

4. Red Cross Society of China donation hotline: (8610) 65139999, 64027620

5. Chinese Red Cross Foundation also receives donations, which can be sent to:
No 53, Ganmian Hutong, Dongdanbeidajie Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100010

6. Account number of Beijing branch, Bank of China: 800100921908091001

7. Account number of Dongsinan branch, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China: 0200001019014483874

8. Account number of Beijing Chaoneidajie branch, China Construction Bank: 11001070300059000427

9. Account number for foreign currency at Bank of China: 800100086608091014

10. China Charity Federation hotline: (8610) 66083260, 66083264, 66083194

Popularity: 12%

BPOVIA News, earthquake China, donation, earthquake

At about half past two yesterday afternoon when we were working busily in our office at 40 floor, we felt the tremor of the building, or rather tremor from the earth. The entire building started to sway to and fro, back and forth, which brought us a strong sense of dizziness. Several minutes later, we managed to get down to the ground and joined the crowd waiting for the earthquake to calm down.

Fortunately, the quake died off about ten minutes later. When we went back to our office safe and sound, our technical team manager Jerry Xu was proud to announce that none of our servers, databases or company network infrastructureor was affected even in the slightest degree. “We have always regarded stability of our servers and company network infrastructureor as the top priority for our company. Only by guarantying this can we provide our clients with the most reliable services,” he said.

Hours later, word came that the epicenter Sichuan province in Southwest China had suffered gravely from the 7.8-magnitude quake. The powerful earthquake had claimed nearly 10,000 lives till this morning and most victims are in Sichuan. Hearing this tragic news, James Huang, our CEO and founder of BPOVIA Ltd, decided immediately to donate $1000 relief money to the disaster area hit by the quake. “Companies should not concern themselves with making profits only. Do something for the society is also necessary,” said James.

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To cash in on the rising demand for luxury jewelry, Luk Fook Group.the Hong Kong-listed jeweler, has put more stores on its mainland expansion schedule this year.

With 335 shops on the mainland, only 9 are self-operated, six more self-operated shops will be opened in first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai this year to generate more profit.

Thanks to the fast growing mainland economy and the rising purchasing power of the middle class, the demand for luxury has shot up, which made the market big enough for Jewelers like Luk Fook Group to expand the number of shops 10 times there, hoping for a 30 to 40% turnover.

On the other hand, robust economy ,increasing wages, and money flooding from mainland has all acted as major boosters to the firm’s Hong Kong business, according to William Wong, CEO of the company, half of the turnover from the retail shops comes from mainland tourists, who always look for the most expensive products.

Popularity: 14%

BPO, China Business, China Business News, China Consumer Market, China Economy China, economy, jewelry, Luk Fook, luxury