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Returnees are 'seed capital' for startups

October 25th, 2013

Wen Xuejun's budding dream in the United States blossomed in China.

After staying in the US for 16 years, and holding an endowed chair professorship at Virginia Commonwealth University, Wen returned to China and set up Ryan Nanomedicine Co Ltd in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province.

"I have an ambition to transfer my achievements in the lab into useful medical products, and I chose to realize this ambition in China, after careful consideration,"said Wen, who now serves as the company's president.

Wen is one of dozens of people who took part in the latest 1,000 Plan Entrepreneurship Competition in Suzhou. The contest is especially designed for experienced entrepreneurs who have an overseas background.

It's part of a project known as the One Thousand Talent Plan, which has been administered by the central government since 2008.

The program is China's most ambitious specialist recruitment program in recent years. It aims to attract top international specialists in fields such as science and technology, finance and corporate management to start companies in China.

For decades, going overseas for further study was a relatively rare opportunity, and a highly desirable move for bright and ambitious people. Many of them put down roots abroad, obtaining permanent residence and building a life in a new country.

But studying abroad is becoming easier for ordinary people, and more graduates — as well as established professionals — are thinking of coming back to China, with its fast-growing economy that has become the world's second largest.

For Wen, who had an established career and a family in the US, the biggest attraction of China was strong financial support.

After winning the championship, he received 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) in strategic funding from venture capital investors, as well as 300,000 yuan in prize money.

Wen's lab in the US mastered a core technology to make collagen-coated medical catheters, which are more resistant to bacteria and cost less.

But the cost of commercializing the technology in the US would have been too high, Wen said.

The US Food and Drug Administration certification process is an expensive and complicated procedure, and hiring a team for the project would have cost at least 1 million yuan a year.

"However, I am much more familiar with the certification process in China, although the paperwork is much more time-consuming. What's more, human resources are cheaper,"Wen said.

Poon Hak Fei had a similar experience. He joined Nanosolar in Silicon Valley in California after getting his doctorate in chemical engineering at Princeton University. He then co-founded an energy storage solution startup, but he still chose to set up his first wholly owned company in Suzhou.

"To be fair, the working and living environment is very nice in the States, as well as the pay. But I do not want to miss the market opportunities in China,"he said.

Poon set up a company to make conductive nanofilm last January, with $2.2 million in strategic investment from Northern Light Venture Capital. He said he expects the company to be profitable by the end of 2013.

"The logic is to make world-class products at a lower cost in China. Meanwhile, the local government is quite efficient, and the managers from the venture capital company are very helpful,"he added. He added that a cluster of nanotechnology companies has formed in the Yangtze River Delta region, which is another plus.

Talk about China losing its labor advantage is widespread these days. According to a recent report by the Boston Consulting Group, "Made in America, Again”, the cost advantage China has over the US is shrinking fast.

"Within five years, rising Chinese wages, higher US productivity, a weaker dollar, and other factors will virtually close the cost gap between the US and China for many goods consumed in North America,"the report said.

There are also reports of manufacturer such as vehicle producers moving back to the US from China.

But people like Poon believe that for technology-intensive sectors, China still has its advantages.

"China has very smart technicians and skilled workers. They are very willing to learn, very good at solving problems. They just lack some systematic training, but they cost half as much as their US peers,"he said.

So it's possible that some blue-collar industries formerly outsourced to China will leave, but skill-intensive ones won't, he added.

Government funds earmarked for universities and research-and-development centers were used over the past couple of decades to cultivate the first wave of entrepreneurs in China.

Banks, local governments with technology zones and industrial parks later became technology investors.

Today, the rise of China's venture capital sector is supporting the entrepreneurial environment.

Media reports have said that VC investment in China peaked at $6.3 billion with 362 deals in 2011.

VCs are still keen on the Chinese market, although they've become more cautious because of a freeze on initial public offerings since late 2012, which blocked a common exit mechanism.

"You've got to go to the early stage to find good opportunities,"said Deng Feng, founder and managing director of Northern Light.

"In recent years, venture capitalists were like hunter-gatherers picking the low-hanging fruit.

"Now, we have to become peasants who labor together with the enterprises that we've invested in, to make a profit,"he said.

But that also means more opportunities for people with "hard"technology such as Wen and Poon to attract capital for their innovations.

"China has a solid base in its manufacturing industry. It's very easy to combine the hard technology and undertake mass production here,"Deng said.

Deng himself is a "returnee executive”, who was born and grew up in China. He studied and worked in the US before returning to China and setting up his VC firm in 2005. Northern Light focuses on early-stage, technology-enabled business opportunities.

"Talented returnees are displaying explosive creativity and energy in China, and becoming fresh troops in leading China's strategic emerging industries,"a central government said.

The report said that revenue generated by enterprises under the One Thousand Talent Plan has reached 63.2 billion yuan, generating profits and tax revenues of 3.5 billion yuan.

Even beyond this program, more young Chinese are returning home to find economic oppotunities.

"It is easier to achieve fast growth for companies in China due to the thriving economy. I plan to go back and start up my own business, although I am reluctant to leave the great technology atmosphere in the US,"said Wang Pu, 32, who works as an engineer for Google Inc in the US.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said 272,900 overseas students came back to China in 2012, up 46 percent from the previous year.

Although many returned students complain that it's hard for them to find jobs, high-end talent is in great demand everywhere in China. Besides the One Thousand Talent Plan, local governments at all levels are wooing well-educated specialists.

For example, Pudong New Area in Shanghai released a five-year plan late last year under which it earmarked 300 million yuan to attract world-class talent in finance, shipping and other strategic emerging industries.

Posted in News of China, Living & Working in China | Send feedback »

C China Boosts Female Entrepreneurship with Agriculture Bases

October 23rd, 2013

The women's federation of Zhengzhou, capital city of central China's Henan Province, has selected 17 new women's agriculture model bases to help female college graduates start their own businesses.

According to the federation, the women can seek internships or find jobs at the 17 bases. The Zhengzhou Women's Federation has also allocated 310,000 yuan (US$ 50,871) to provide technical and business skills training for the graduates and assigned mentors for their entrepreneurships.

A record high of 6.99 million Chinese students are leaving universities in 2013, a 2.8 percent increase year on year, to hunt for jobs at a time when employers are cutting down on recruitment, according to government figures.

The number of jobs for new hires this year has dropped about 15 percent year on year amid slowing economic growth in China, according to a Ministry of Education survey carried out among nearly 500 firms in February 2013.

In the midst of China's toughest job market to date, women university graduates are finding that they are at a disadvantage due to various factors, including gender discrimination. According to several universities in central China's Hunan Province, such as the Hunan Women's University and Hunan Agricultural University, nearly half of their women graduates have not landed jobs as of press time.

A campaign to help women college graduates find employment and get involved in entrepreneurship was jointly launched by the Women's Development Department under the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), the Beijing-based Hua Mulan Foundation and the China Federation of Hua Mulan at the beginning of 2013 and women's federations across the country have been working out new ways to boost employment prospects for women graduates.

Posted in News of China | Send feedback »

China to recruit 19000 national-level civil servants

October 22nd, 2013

China's national-level government agencies, their affiliated public institutions and local branches will recruit over 19,000 civil servants in 2014, a slight decrease from 2013.

The 2014 public service exam for national-level governments will open to applications on Wednesday, the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) announced on Monday.

In 2013's exam, 20,839 positions were open to application.

According to authorities, the 2014 public service selection will continue favoring candidates who have worked in grassroots communities.

Most positions in government agencies above provincial level will require two years of grassroots working experience. About 10 percent of all vacancies will be set aside for college graduates-turned-village-heads.

A civil servant role remains the most sought-after jobs in China, despite the country's efforts to cool public service "fever," such as encouraging young people to start their own businesses or to work in grass-root communities.

Statistics show that qualified applicants in the 2011, 2012 and 2013 annual national-level public service exams totaled 1.3 million, 1.23 million and 1.38 million respectively. They stood a slim chance of securing a job in the public service.

Officials and scholars attributed popularity of the public service exam to people favoring a stable job, worship of officialdom and benefits civil servants enjoy.

Yin Weimin, MOHRSS minister, said employment pressure contributed to the exam's popularity, besides the public service exam provides an open and fair channel for job hunters.

Also, civil servants usually enjoy a stable job, social respect and handsome welfare, Yin said.

Ma Qingyu, professor with the Chinese Academy of Governance, said as many jobs become more competitive and less stable, a civil service job stands out for its stability and welfare benefits.

Chi Fulin, executive president of the China Institute for Reform and Development, believed Chinese people's traditional worship for officialdom also plays a role behind the high popularity of civil service jobs.

The growth of the market economy has created considerable job opportunities, broadening the space for personal development, Chi said. However, if people still covet power and the benefits it brings along, it signals regression of society.

Ma said even today, many people regard climbing up the official ladder as the one sure path to success.

Zhang Yuan, a civil servant who was recruited by the Ministry of Finance two years ago, said, "To my farmer parents, being a civil servant is a glorious job. The day when I received recruitment notice, my father who never drinks gave me a toast."

Additionally, scholars argued that extra benefits attached to a civil service job also makes it appealing, such as government-covered health care, subsidized housing, high pension rates, among other benefits.

Chu Jianguo, public management professor with Wuhan University, said only when the current health care and pension reforms for civil servants prevail and they enjoy the same welfare benefits as other social groups, will people's career choices diversify.

Chi Fulin suggested stricter evaluation and exit mechanisms be established for civil servants so as to destroy the "iron rice bowl", byword for stable jobs.

Posted in News of China | Send feedback »

Shanghai Metro glitch delays morning rush hour crowds

October 21st, 2013

THOUSANDS of commuters were delayed this morning as a passenger's foot was stuck in the platform gap on the Dongchang Road Station of Metro Line 2.

Metro operator is handling the emergency and expects at least 30-minute delay for the operation between the Century Avenue Station and the People's Square Station.

Crowds swelled at the People’s Square Station that is a hub for transfer to other lines.

It's the second breakdown on Metro Line 2 in a week as a system glitch caused trains on Line 2 to drive at a slower speed during the rush hour last Wednesday morning.

Posted in News of China | Send feedback »

Shanghai Disney Resort emerges from underground

October 18th, 2013

The building of the Shanghai Disney Resort saw a milestone Thursday with the installation of the first steel column, company officials said.

This marks the completion of the majority of the foundation work and the official beginning of the vertical construction, said Howard Brown, senior vice president and project development executive of Shanghai Disney Resort.

"The construction team has been working very hard at the build site since groundbreaking and we are excited to see the progress every day," Brown said.

Construction of the resort began on April 8, 2011.

With the majority of foundation work complete, work has shifted to substructure construction to support the construction of buildings and infrastructure, the company said.

Over 23,000 concrete piles have been installed, and the amount of structural steel needed for the overall resort could reach 72,000 metrics tons, Disney said.

The resort will initially include Shanghai Disneyland, a Magic Kingdom-style park, two themed hotels, a large retail, dining and entertainment venue, recreational facilities, a lake and parking and transportation hubs, the company said.
"This is a really exciting moment for everyone working on this project, and for Shanghai," said Mike Crawford, general manager of Shanghai Disney Resort.

The resort is scheduled to open at the end of 2015.

Posted in News of China | Send feedback »

China regulates TCM ingredients

October 18th, 2013

China's drug watchdog has acted to regulate the 17 markets of traditional Chinese medicine ingredients(TCM) and banned the opening of new markets.

At Wednesday's press conference, the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, among eight central departments announced joint regulation on TCM ingredients.

Supervision of growing, processing and market management for medicinal herbs should be stepped up, said Li Guoqing, director of the CFDA's department of drug and cosmetics sales supervision.

According to the CFDA, improper use of pesticides and fertilizers has caused harmful substances to remain in TCM ingredients. Dyeing and counterfeiting problems have seriously affected TCM quality and harmed public health.

According to a CFDA inspection in Anhui, Gansu, Guangdong and Sichuan provinces, 22 batches of TCM, including saffron, of nearly 400 batches examined have the dyeing problem.

The announcement prohibited planting in inappropriate areas and the use of certain pesticides, antibiotics and fertilizers, especially animal hormones, plant growth regulators and herbicides.

It also banned fumigating herbs with sulfur, adding the amount of sulfur dioxide residue should accord with national standards.

Posted in News of China | Send feedback »

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