China Speakers Bureau: March 2009

Zhu Shen to visit China

Zhu Shen, a recent addition to the China Speakers Bureau, a leading voice on China's life sciences, but also a prolific speakers on US-China business, will be visiting China for the best part of April. She has already booked speeches on successful global networking and how to use PR and media for your business.

If you are interested in this new speaker of the China Speakers Bureau, get in touch soon.

The paperback edition - Victor Shih

The groundbreaking book by Victor Shih, Factions and Finance in China: Elite Conflict and Inflation is now available in its paperback edition. The book is a necessary tool for those

Victor Shih by Fantake via Flickr

who are interested in how China's government really works.

Too often China's government is perceived as a top-down organization, but internal turf fights and struggles to get consensus on different levels are features that are much more important to get a good understanding on how the administration works. Victor Shih describes very detailed how that process works and is a must-read for everybody who is working with political entities in China on different levels.

You can order the book here.

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Victor Shih is also a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. If you are interested in having him as a speaker, do get in touch.

Chinese earn more, save more - Zhang Jun

Zhang Jun

The income of most Chinese citizens has gone up much during the past decade, but most of the extra money is not being spend but saved, says Fudan economics professor Zhang Jun at NPR.

"What we see in the last 10 years is a declining share of consumption spending relative to GDP."
And when it comes to the national savings — which include savings by businesses and governments — according to Chinese figures in 2007, China saved the equivalent of 49.9 percent of its GDP. This has contributed to huge global trade imbalances: Chinese savings have in effect been funding American spending. So, according to Zhang, stimulating Chinese consumption can only have a limited effect."
In the short run, it doesn't solve the problem of the global imbalance," he says. "We could say to the U.S. side that the U.S. needs to save more, so that they could ease the problem of the global imbalance."

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Professor Zhang Jun is also a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you want him to share his insights at your conference, do let us know.

KFC China succes might not last - Warren Liu

Warren Liu

Our celebrity author Warren Liu, writer of a book about the success of KFC in China, made it today into the INSEAD Knowledge. In the article Warren Liu explains why that KFC success in China may not last.

Yet for all its hits, there are already rising brands that are not the KFCs or the Burger Kings or the McDonald’s. Liu says that Wei Qian La Mian, also known as Ajisen Ramen, is a Japanese product that has been doing very well in various cities throughout China. So is Zhen Gongfu or Real Kung-fu, a Chinese fast food chain which is showing a lot of promise. The competition has even gone hi-tech.
“I recently heard about a robot developed with subsidy from the Chinese government which is capable of preparing dozens of popular Chinese dishes at high speed, and with excellent taste, based on expert knowledge.”

Flavor, quality and pricing are now the points to look at, stresses Liu, not the introduction of more and more new products, since that only detracts the customer.

“While the ‘Taiwan Gang’ - the original leaders of the KFC team - played its historical
Image via Wikipedia
mission exceptionally well during the first two decades, it’s time for the baton to be passed on to the local Chinese – not for any altruistic reasons, but simply because the locals understand this market even better than the ‘Taiwan Gang’”, he says in his book.

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Warren Liu is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him as a speaker, not only about KFC but about a wide range of China related subjects, do get in touch.

Lessons from the failed Coca Cola-Huiyuan deal - Shaun Rein

Shaun Rein

Consumer market expert Shaun Rein has a thorough look at the failed US$ 2.3 billion acquisition deal between Coca-Cola and China's leading drinks maker Huiyuan in Forbes. While praising Coca Cola for going after the right consumer segment, Rein says that the US company failed to take China's anti-monopoly laws serious.

Coca-Cola thought the government wouldn't mind the sale of a nonstrategic asset, but a simple reading of the relevant Chinese laws would have shown that the government doesn't want foreign firms to buy controlling stakes in large national players that don't need financial or management help.

Much more at Forbes.

Commercial Shaun Rein is also a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need his insights at your conference, do let us know.

Rock, free of commercial pressure - Kaiser Kuo

Kaiser Kuo

CNN's Talk Asia has investigated the Beijing Rock scene (h/t Danwei). Of course, rock star Kaiser Kuo is one of the main sources of knowledge, as the founder of "Tang" in the 1990s and one of the first rock bands in China.
Because it is rather marginallized in China, the rock scene in China is also free of commercial pressure, says Kaiser Kuo. "A lot of interesting stuff is made here."

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Kaiser Kuo is also a speakers at the China Speakers Bureau, not only as a rock star but even more as a gifted speaker on China's internet. When you need him at your event, do let us know.

Lower the headcount, Chinese say - Tom Doctoroff

Tom Doctoroff

Comparing how China and Japan are facing the financial crisis, offers huge differences, writes JWT China CEO Tom Doctoroff in his latest contribution for The Huffington Post. His company faces cuts in costs, and his Chinese staff preferred the dismissal of unproductive people.

At JWT, we have had to "derisk" our budgets, not only on the mainland but in Hong Kong and Taiwan as well. The Chinese have accepted staff cuts with no fuss, no muss. As long as the selection of "nonproductive" employees is performance-based, we avoid morale hits. (I asked a few employees whether we should fire a few people or lower salary to save jobs. The answer was unanimous: reduce headcount, please.)

The reaction in Japans was so much different. Tom Doctoroff compares both.

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Tom Doctoroff is also a speakers at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him as a speaker, do get in touch. He will be in San Francisco in the third week of April. If you need him around that time in California, do get in touch.

"Das Capital" helps to understand financial crisis - Zhang Jun

Zhang Jun

"Das Capital", the 19th century masterpiece by Karl Marx, can still help us to understand the current financial crisis, says theater makers in Shanghai. They are making a musical about the thorough book and Fudan professor Zhang Jun in helping them in sticking to the original meaning of the centerpiece of Marxism, he tells AFP.

He said his role is to ensure Marx's ideas are accurately represented in the stage spectacular."
I've given an introductory briefing to the crew. They are still working on the script," Zhang added."
The director, He Nian, will incorporate modern elements in the show to make it easily connect to people's lives and feelings."

Image via Wikipedia

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Professor Zhang Jun is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need his insights on China's economy and the financial crisis, do get in touch.

March Newsletter China Speakers Bureau

Roy Graff

The March 2009 newsletter of the China Speakers Bureau has hit the internet. If you are interested in having a copy, you can click here. One of our bigger projects: the Global China Chat on tourism on April 2 with Roy Graff.
At our website you can also register for upcoming newsletters.

CSB March newsletter is almost due

Image by Fantake via Flickr

The monthly newsletter of the China Speakers Bureau is almost ready to hit your mailbox. Do register at our homepage for the newsletter if you have not done so.
Some of the issues:

How to pick the best speaker - part 4
US-China relationship
our Global China Chat on tourism for April 2.

Is the US dollar killing China? - Victor Shih

Image via Wikipedia

Now US president Obama has started the printing presses to flood the world with new US-dollars, existing fears in China that their economy has to suffer from the US problems re-emerge, says financial and political expert Victor Shih in Forbes. A popular book in China "The Currency Wars", even suggests an evil conspiracy to bring down the country.
Forbes:

The believers are not just fire-breathing ideologues. "Many technocrats believe in this argument that the U.S. is trying to screw over China by cheapening the dollar," says Victor Shih, a political economist and China specialist at Northwestern University. Shih learned of the influential reach of "Currency Wars" when he visited last summer with bureaucrats from the People's Bank of China.
"Many PBOC officials bought into the arguments of this book and I think they've been writing a lot of reports to Wen Jiabao saying we're holding a lot of dollars and we're exposed to this risk," Shih says. "And essentially that's true."

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Victor Shih is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you are interested in having him, sharing his insights, do get in touch.

A bad economy can help startups - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean

China's economy might have some problems, when you look carefully, that might offer you great possibilities, says VC William Bao Bean of the Softbank China & India Holdings and a director at language-learning startup iTalki at PC World.

Based in Shanghai, iTalki has users living in 200 countries who take language lessons and do language exchanges with other users in more than 100 languages. Recently, the company started to generate revenue by allowing users to sell language lessons online, collecting a commission from each transaction.
"The good thing about this market is that it is a really bad economy and people are looking for ways to work. We've had 1,100 teachers sign up on our platform in the first month," Bean said.

Operating from China, gives the company a great cost-advantage, adds William Bao Bean.

"We have a very low cost base to begin with and then we've managed to further lower it. We think we're one-tenth to one-twentieth their running costs," he said.

Commercial William Bao Bean is also a well-known speaker at conferences. When you need him at your meeting, get in touch with the China Speakers Bureau.

Chinese will not copy US consumerism - Paul French

A shopping mall in Shanghai by Fantake via Flickr

Analysts and economists are carefully following how the Chinese consumers are behaving during the financial crisis, but it is certain that they will not behave like American consumers, says Paul French, director of Access Asia to USA Today.

"We can't get them to replicate Americans," agrees Paul French, the British marketing director of research firm Access Asia. "Americans are just so good at consumerism, like obesity and greenhouse gas emissions. Although the rest of us try, it is very hard to compete."

By saving up to 24 percent of their household income, Chinese limit their spending power in a similar way European governments do it by taxing their citizens, says French.

The Chinese are "self-taxing," he says. "But it's not as effective as having a welfare state. Theirs is not a bottomless pot." Even frugal Chinese households can be wiped out if a family member is diagnosed with a long-lasting illness such as diabetes.
The stimulus sets aside money for expanding health care and old-age assistance, but French notes that "you can't build a national health care service overnight."

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Paul French is not only a candid observer of Chinese consumers, he is also connected to the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him at your meeting, let us know.

China's vibrant internet - Kaiser Kuo

Kaiser Kuo

Kaiser Kuo, shortly after speaking at the SXSW in Austin, Texas, explains for the outside world why China's internet is such a vibrant and fast changing feature.

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Kaiser Kuo is also a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. If you need him at your conference, do get in touch.

Problem of mobile spam, it works - Shaun Rein

Shaun Rein

The central government is ordering larger mobile communication providers like China Mobile to do something against the rampant spam messages mobile phone users in China get. Main problem, says consumer analyst Shaun Rein, it works. In IDG News:

China had over 640 million mobile subscribers at the end of 2008, according to the MIIT.
Mobile advertising in China's huge market has excited investors, but the mass spamming most effective for advertisers has angered mobile users, said Shaun Rein, director of market intelligence firm China Market Research Group."
SMS spam advertising has been really big in China, because the fact of the matter is it works," Rein said.
SMS spam, down last year, has risen again as companies desperate for cash turn to selling mobile phone numbers, Rein said.

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Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you are interested in having him as a speaker, do get in touch.

Most sought speakers - March 2009

Arthur Kroeber

We entered the second half of March again, reason enough to look at trends among the speakers at the China Speakers Bureau. Compared to our top-10 in February, we can see one clear trend: especially in the high end. Not a surprising development in these economically challenging times.
That is partly because compared to the last months of 2008, our trusted voices have also become a bit more outspoken on what they expect for 2009. As always: there is no simple message. The economic picture China is offering at this stage varies very much from industry to industry, from region to region. Economic indicators keep on pointing in different directions. Exports continue to be down, although that is financially compensated by also dropping imports. Car sales over February goes up, although recovery of the real estate sector still seems to be far away.
Arthur Kroeber, after our eternal no.1 Shaun Rein, has moved up most.
Let's then turn to the top-10 of most sought speakers over March 2009:

How to become an entrepreneur in Shanghai - Maria Korolov

Maria Trombly

Larger numbers of entrepreneurs are heading for Shanghai as their own economies go bad. Veteran entrepreneur Maria Korolov gives in Shanghai Expat the newcomers a few tips on how to survive in this very competitive city.

But, before you hire a team of lawyers and incorporate as a JV – or a WFOE – or as a rep office of an off-shore entity, before you start hiring staff and finding customers, do yourself a favor and get to know the entrepreneurs who are already here.

She is advising twitter as one of the new much needed tools for entrepreneurs:

Last week, Paul Wood – who's starting an iPhone software development company – tweeted that he was interested in finding some Samuel Adams beer. Several people, including me, responded about a new bar – Kai Ba – known for its wide selection. Someone else suggested Munchies for snacks and a tweetup was born. The next day, a couple of dozen of us crammed into Munchies for their burgers, Cincinnati chili and quesadillas – excellent, by the way -- and to chat. Across the table from me, Paul Wood met Sera Hill, another entrepreneur who was starting an iPhone development company in Shanghai.

Of course, she lists some of the more active accounts.

Maria Korolov will host on April 2 our Global China Chats on tourism.

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Maria Korolov is also a speaker of the China Speakers Bureau. In a driven and convincing still, she talks you through the trenches of the China business. Do get in touch if you need her at your conference.

Update on the Global China Chat on tourism

Image via Wikipedia

On April 2 the China Speakers Bureau will host two Global China Chats with tourism guru Roy Graff, focusing on different time zones: one for the Asian-European zones and one for the European-American zones.

Over the weekend we have talked to the good people of CoverItLive.com, who are providing the really very cool technology for those chats, who are being used by many media organizations worldwide. Unfortunately, the technology has one unexpected shortcoming: the interface does not adjust according to the time zones. Since most chats are being done inside one time zones or in North-America, where people are more used to deal with different time zones, that is mostly not a problem.

Participants in Asia and Europe are much less used to time zones in their daily lifes. So, it is important to note that both chats indicate a time according to CET or Central European Time. When you are suffering under the regime of GMT, living in Beijing or the US/Canada, you have to do some accounting yourself. We have made list with the different times for different zones here, but noted in our exchanges that most people cheerfully assumed the interface indicated the time in their zone. We have updated our entries and keep our fingers crossed for April 2. Hope to see you there.

Spil Games, the winner in casual games - Marc van der Chijs

Marc van der Chijs by Fons1 via Flickr

Spil Games, the casual game producer, has become the largest in the world, passing other players like Yahoo Games and MSN Games, Shanghai-based entrepeneur Marc van der Chijs announced on his weblog.

The Dutch entrepreneur Van der Chijs is CEO of the Spil Group Asia and has earlier co-founded the successful Chinese video host firm Tudou.

While most of the companies growth, in terms of traffic and revenue, comes from European countries and the US, much of the development of the games is being done in China.

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Marc van der Chijs is not only a successful entrepeneur in China, he is also a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you are interested in having him as a speaker, do get in touch.

Global China Chat on tourism

Roy Graff

Is China going to bail out a world in crisis? This question is asked in many variations and the tourism industry is one of them. Are the Chinese tourists going to replace the tourists from other parts of the world, or will they stay at home to support their own economy? What are the possibilities of the tourism industry in China? Are the hotels remaining empty or is this the time for foreign companies to enter the China market?

On April 2, 2009 the China Speakers Bureau will host a second Global China chat, this time with China tourism guru Roy Graff of China Contact. This time we will have two sessions, to facilitate different time zones, one for Asia/Europe, the other for the Americas and Europe. The chat will be hosted by Maria Korolov.

Roy Graff's first observations can be found here.

Important update: please note that the time in the interface is standard given in CET or Central European Time and does NOT adjust automatically to your time zone. If you are joining from a different time zone, you have to follow the lists below for the timing. We apologize for the inconvenience.

The timing is as follows.

Global China Chat I for Asia/Europe

April 2

9 AM London

11 AM Brussels

5 PM Singapore (corrected)

5 PM Beijing Time

6 PM Tokyo

Global China Chat II for the Americas/Europe

April 2

London 3 PM

Brussels 5 PM

New York 11 AM

San Francisco 8 AM

Do you have questions to ask? Let us know in advance.

Are you interested in co-hosting this Global China Chat? Nothing is easier. Do get in touch to get the codes for announcements and the chat itself by sending us an email.

New Shanghai offices

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Do note that the Shanghai offices of Trombly Ltd and the China Speakers Bureau in Shanghai have recently changed.
Mail address: 1448 Yan An Xi Lu, #4, Shanghai, China 200050
Telephone: +86 21 5258-5557-283 (Anna Zhang)
Fax number :86 21 5258-5557-221

Learning Chinese no longer boring - Ken Carroll

Ken Carroll

Learning Chinese is no longer boring, tell Chinesepod.com founder Ken Carroll today in the Financial Times. His language-learning tool is currently used by almost a quarter of a million people, on a daily basis.

The Financial Times:

Chinesepod revenues have defied the global economic downturn, too, rising 250 per cent from December 2007 to the same month last year and climbing strongly again in January, according to the company. Study without suffering may sound too good to be true, but there seem to be plenty of people willing to listen to this particular siren song, especially now that more professionals are taking enforced vacations from the workforce, giving them time to learn new skills such as languages.

More on his operation and his efforts to help millions of Chinese to learn English in the FT.

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Ken Carroll is also a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you are interested in his enthusiastic stories on learning languages, do get in touch.

One-child policy supports Barbie - Shaun Rein

Image via Wikipedia

The once popular Mattel toy Barbie might be facing both a financial and cultural crisis back in its home market, Shaun Rein comments on the multi-million six story venture Mattel opened in Shanghai for its doll. In Forbes:

Not only is Barbie moving into a new region where girls don't really know who she is, but Mattel is expanding its core market to include not only little girls but also club-age young women. Rather than rely wholly on children or mothers who grew up playing with the dolls, Mattel is also targeting twenty-somethings by offering a line of clothing by Patricia Fields, theSex and the City designer.

The daring strategy is building on China's one-child policy, tels Shaun Rein CBS News.

Watch CBS Videos Online

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Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you are interested in having him at your meeting, conference or board meeting, do get in touch.

No bail-out from China - Victor Shih

Hu Jintao via Wikipedia

If the world is waiting for China for a bail-out of the global financial crisis, it might be waiting in vain, assistant professor Victor Shih reads in remarks by president Hu Jintao to NPC-delegations from Guangdong. He translates on his weblog:

"Now many countries are saying that China is good and hope that China will emerge (to help them), but honestly we are still a developing country. Don't over estimate the fact that we have almost 2 trillion dollar in our foreign exchange reserve. If you take that amount and divide it by 1.3 billion people, how much per head is that? Therefore, we truly need to conduct our own affairs well."

Victor Shih concludes:

Chinese commitment to help bail out other countries is nearly zero. Perhaps a few billion will be thrown at the IMF or World Bank, but beyond that, there will be little. There were some currency swaps recently between China, Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong, but I view them as largely symbolic gestures than genuine help. Also, part of conducting China's affair well is to continue to expand China's export markets.

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Victor Shih is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you want him to share his insights, do get in touch.

Art market holds better than stock exchange - Rupert Hoogewerf

Rupert Hoogewerf by Getty Images via Daylife

The Chinese art market is holding much better than the stock exchange, tells China Rich List producer Rupert Hoogewerf the German magazine Die Welt. "China's market for modern art has dropped in 2008 by 25 percent, while the stock markets lost 60 percent," says the former accountant.
Rupert Hoogewerf maintains next to his China Rich List, also a list with the 50 most expensive Chinese paintings, according to the valuation of international auction houses. The newest 2009 list reflects already the global downturn, but suggests that speculation on the modern art market has not been that extravagant.

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Rupert Hoogewerf is also a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him at your seminar, conference or board meeting, do get in touch.

Nobody writes about China's investments in Africa - Howard French

Howard French via Wikipedia

China is replacing very fast the old colonial powers in Africa, but the story is mostly ignored by the media, told former New York Times correspondent Howard French last Thursday at the China in Africa of the School of Journalism at Indiana University.

“China is flooding Africa in a way the West has failed to do so,” French said. And by flooding, French means Chinese are pumping billions of dollars into projects in places like Nigeria and Ethiopia, Angola and Sudan. In return for their investment in African development, the Chinese gain access to the rich natural resources abundant in many of those same nations.

That is not only good news, French added, urging the world to pay more attention to the relationship between China and Africa:

Unlike the West, China typically does not attach strings to its development aid. While that means easier access to ready cash for underdeveloped African nations, it also means there’s no incentive for the less development-minded of the continent’s leaders to put that money to good use for their people.

“I hope for the best,” French said. “I really do. No one wants to see Africa, 50 years from now with 2 billion people and in a worse place than it is right now. That would just be a nightmare.”

In his career as a foreign correspondent Howard French has spent time in both Africa, but also China and Japan, able to make connections between both continents, very few others can.

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Howard French is one of the renowned speakers at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him at your conference, do let us know.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Zhu Shen to visit China

The paperback edition - Victor Shih

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Chinese earn more, save more - Zhang Jun

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

KFC China succes might not last - Warren Liu

Lessons from the failed Coca Cola-Huiyuan deal - Shaun Rein

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Rock, free of commercial pressure - Kaiser Kuo

Lower the headcount, Chinese say - Tom Doctoroff

"Das Capital" helps to understand financial crisis - Zhang Jun

Monday, March 23, 2009

March Newsletter China Speakers Bureau

Friday, March 20, 2009

CSB March newsletter is almost due

Is the US dollar killing China? - Victor Shih

A bad economy can help startups - William Bao Bean

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Chinese will not copy US consumerism - Paul French

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

China's vibrant internet - Kaiser Kuo

Problem of mobile spam, it works - Shaun Rein

Most sought speakers - March 2009

Monday, March 16, 2009

How to become an entrepreneur in Shanghai - Maria Korolov

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Update on the Global China Chat on tourism

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Spil Games, the winner in casual games - Marc van der Chijs

Global China Chat on tourism

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

New Shanghai offices

Learning Chinese no longer boring - Ken Carroll

Monday, March 9, 2009

One-child policy supports Barbie - Shaun Rein

No bail-out from China - Victor Shih

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Art market holds better than stock exchange - Rupert Hoogewerf

Friday, March 6, 2009

Nobody writes about China's investments in Africa - Howard French

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