Recruiting in China

ZTE Corp, China's second-largest telecom equipment maker, said it aims to sell more than 60 million smartphones this year and to become the world's third-largest smartphone vendor by 2016.

Zeng Xuezhong, ZTE's executive vice-president, said the company sold more than 40 million smartphones last year and that it expects a significant increase in sales this year.

Zeng took the helm of ZTE's terminal business 20 days ago, after the Shenzhen-based company announced a major restructuring move.

"The Chinese market will likely become a global focus this year and will probably see the fastest growth rate among all the markets," Zeng said at a news briefing in Beijing on Monday.

He also said ZTE will launch affordable smartphones costing about 1,000 yuan ($165) per unit, in the Chinese market this year.

Demand for next-generation smartphones will surge in the near future, since Chinese telecom carriers are stepping up efforts to set up fourth-generation networks and offer 4G services, said Xiang Ligang, a Beijing-based telecom expert.

China Mobile Ltd - the world's largest telecom operator by subscriber base - plans to buy about 100 million 4G smartphones from all of its handset partners this year.

Meanwhile, even though Apple Inc recently signed a multiyear agreement with China Mobile to sell its iPhone devices in the Chinese carrier's stores, analysts said that Apple may only get a small share of China Mobile's business.

"Apple's iPhone handsets are too expensive for many Chinese customers," Xiang said.

Domestic mobile phone players, such as ZTE andLenovo Group Ltd, are more capable of attracting low to mid-end 4G phone buyers, which account for the most important part of the Chinese market.

Ni Fei, head of ZTE's Nubia smartphone unit, said in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal that Apple surely will not eat all of China Mobile's 4G cake.

"There will be big pieces for major Chinese vendors like ZTE," Ni said.

ZTE launched the Nubia smartphone brand in 2012. The brand relies on online channels to distribute its products and targets high-end smartphone buyers.

Zeng said on Monday that ZTE fully supports Nubia's development and expects the brand to see much faster growth this year.

He added that because the majority of smartphone users are people under age 35, ZTE said its mobile team should be led by young managers.

"More young people, mostly from the post-1980s generation, will emerge in the high-level management space of ZTE's terminal sector," Zeng said.

In addition, the company will pay more attention to mobile phone design, user interfaces and applications, instead of merely focusing on good hardware, he added.

On Monday, ZTE also said its net profit in 2013 ranged between 1.2 billion yuan and 1.5 billion yuan, after it recorded a net loss of 2.84 billion yuan in 2012.

ZTE said stringent controls over low-margin contracts, improved margins for global projects and cost-control measures helped it to improve its performance.

First-tier cities, led by Beijing and Shanghai, remain preferred sites for office investment in China despite rather low net yields, CBRE concluded after tracking 15 major Chinese cities.

Boasting stable returns with a low level of risk, underpinned by a well-developed market and resilient demand from foreign and domestic clients, first-tier cities rank higher in CBRE's MarketScore system, a strategic framework to evaluate real estate investment potential according to their risks and returns.

The key challenge for most first-tier cities, however, is aggressive pricing as net yields for office investments in these cities range from 4 percent to 5 percent.

"As economic and social development varies significantly across different Chinese cities, it can be challenging for investors to choose where to invest and where to buy," said Frank Chen, executive director and head of CBRE Research China. "The scoring exercise aims to identify the most attractive real estate market from an investor perspective, based on fundamental drivers."

Beijing topped the MarketScore ranking due to its strong historical rental performance, low vacancy rate and limited future supply.

Shanghai was second due to a strong net take-up and the highest investment liquidity.

Wuhan was third although abundant future supply will curb rental growth in the near term, CBRE said.

French drug maker Sanofi will expand into small cities to meet the growing market demand for health products, the company's top management said on Thursday.

According to Fabrice Baschiera, general manager of commercial operations of Sanofi Greater China, demand for high-quality health care products and services is growing.

"So, we decided to go out from those big cities to counties to reach more patients, bring our know-how with physicians through training and the latest training materials — especially in the cardiovascular and diabetes areas, the areas where Sanofi has already built up a strong foundation and knowledge, where we can make a real difference and have the most impact," Baschiera said.

The company, together with the Medical Services Standard Specialized Committee of the Ministry of Health, National Institute of Hospital Administration and Chinese Medical Doctor Association, launched the Basic Medical Standard Enhancement Project to offer more medical services to customers in towns and counties.

Huawei Technologies expects revenue to grow 10 percent annually over the next five years as it taps the booming consumer, enterprise and software business as well as reap the benefits of its huge investment in research and development.

Its revenue in 2013 may hit 238-240 billion yuan (US$39.4-39.7 billion), a year-on-year growth of 8-9 percent, the Shenzhen-based company said yesterday.

Profit may reach 28.6-29.4 billion yuan last year, up 40 percent from the previous year, Chief Financial Officer Cathy Meng said in Beijing.

All the financial figures were unaudited.

Meng also predicted a 10 percent annual rise in Huawei's revenue over the next five years.

The country's No. 1 telecommunication equipment maker invested 33 billion yuan in research and development in 2013, up 9.6 percent from a year earlier.

It plans to invest US$600 million on 5G technology by 2016, according to Meng.

Huawei said in October that it planned to invest US$2 billion in Britain within five years.

In the global telecom equipment market, Huawei ranks second after Ericsson.

The global economy is estimated to expand at 3.2 percent this year from 2.4 percent in 2013, with growth picking up in developing countries and high-income economies, the World Bank said Tuesday.

But growth prospects remain vulnerable to U.S.tapering, the global lender said in its semi-annual Global Economic Prospects report.

The firming of growth in developing countries is being bolstered by an acceleration in high-income countries and continued strong growth in China, it said.

However, global growth outlook will be sensitive to headwinds from rising global interest rates and potential volatility in capital flows, as the U.S. Federal Reserve begins withdrawing its massive monetary stimulus, the report noted.

Growth in developing countries will pick up from 4.8 percent in 2013 to a slower-than-expected 5.3 percent this year, reflecting a cooling off of the unsustainable turbo-charged pre-crisis growth.

For high-income economies, the drag on growth from fiscal consolidation and policy uncertainty will ease, helping to boost economic growth from 1.3 percent in 2013 to 2.2 percent this year.

Among them, the recovery is most advanced in the United States, as it is projected to grow by 2.8 percent this year after expanding for ten quarters.

The Euro Area, after two years of contraction, is projected to grow by 1.1 percent this year board.

A booth showcasing Guangdong-based businesses at an expo in Guangzhou, the province's capital. Guangdong is currently seeking central government approval of a Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao free trade zone. Provided to China Daily

Southern province aims to capitalize on links with neighboring regions

The Guangdong provincial government has vowed to realize liberalization of trade in services in the South China province and its neighboring Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions by this year through CEPA (the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement).

"It is a task assigned to Guangdong by the State Council," Vice-Governor Xu Shaohua told a Monday news conference. "We are striving for the central government's approval of specific preferential projects and policies.

"At the same time, we will open up more fields for investors from Hong Kong and Macao, including those in the service sector, using a 'negative list'."

Xu also said Guangdong is currently seeking central government approval of a Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao free trade zone.

"We are talking with ministries about the construction plan and preferential policies," Xu said.

At a joint meeting between Guangdong and Hong Kong in September, Guangdong Governor Zhu Xiaodan said that the new free trade zone will focus on liberalizing trade and building a platform for the cooperation in the high-end service industry, capitalizing on Hong Kong's reputation as a premier international finance center.

A focus on liberalizing trade in services will set this free trade zone apart from the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, which focuses on financial openness, according to Lin Jiang, dean of the public finance and taxation department of Lingnan College at the Guangzhou-based Sun Yat-sen University.

"The volume of trade in services has surpassed that of trade in goods in international trade," said Lin, who also is vice-director of the university's research center of Pearl River Delta, Hong Kong and Macao.

"The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao free trade zone is the pilot zone in China to make breakthroughs in fields such as offering tax refunds for service exports, which are intangible goods," Lin said.

"Liberalizing trade in services also answers the province's need for upgrading and transforming its processing trade. That's why the province doesn't stress liberalizing trade in goods," said Lin, who gave as examples of modern service industries high-end design and management consultancies.

Zhu also noted at the September meeting that the new free trade zone will help adapt the mainland's financial management mechanism to international practices in Hong Kong.

Lin said it will benefit the province to make business laws and regulations according to international practices in Hong Kong, since that will be one of the free trade zone's major incentives for international investors, compared with the Shanghai free trade zone.

Xu listed several items on the Guangdong government's action plan for liberalizing trade in services in the zone. They include: relaxing or canceling restrictions on Hong Kong and Macao investors' qualifications, shareholding ratios and/or scope of business; promoting mutual attestation of professional qualifications; and exploring possible business modes for individual professional services.

"The Hengqin New Area in Zhuhai, the Nansha New Area in Guangzhou and the Qianhai experimental zone in Shenzhen are the three areas opened up for Hong Kong service industry," Xu said. "In addition, Zhongshan, Foshan and Dongguan cities are proposing platforms to attract investors from Hong Kong and Macao."

The latest announced preliminary plan of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao free trade zone includes the three new areas and experimental zones plus Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, taking up an area of more than 1,300 square kilometers, which is 47 times of that of the Shanghai free trade zone.

Lin warned that it would be a challenge for the Guangdong government to figure out a way to coordinate so many areas.

Part of the reason for Monday's news conference was to interpret the provincial Party committee's suggestions for Guangdong's implementation of the central government's comprehensive reforms.

The suggestions were approved by the Third Plenum of the 11th General Assembly of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee, held last weekend in Guangzhou.

"To further open up the province, Guangdong will also strengthen its cooperation with the US and European developed countries by establishing overseas offices of economic trade in these countries," Xu said, adding that an office in Germany already has been set up.

"This is to get in touch directly with big multinational corporations to attract investments and technologies that will assist in upgrading and transforming Guangdong's economy," he said.

Guangdong, the largest Chinese trader for ASEAN countries, also will further promote its foreign trade with these countries and spearhead the central government's strategy of building the Maritime Silk Road of the 21st century.