Recruiting in China

HONG Kong's unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 3.3 percent, matching the lowest in a decade, helping to boost consumer spending and sustain growth in the city as global demand fades.

The seasonally adjusted jobless rate was for the three months ended April, the government said yesterday on its Website. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected the rate to stay at 3.4 percent.

An improved labor market, lower interest rates and tax relief may support domestic household consumption and shield the city from weaker overseas demand.

"Export, visitor and capital flows from Chinese mainland have created most of the jobs for Hong Kong in the past few years," said Kevin Lai, senior economist at Daiwa Institute of Research in Hong Kong. "Domestic demand will remain robust amid a solid labor sector, negative real interest rates and fiscal stimulus."

Deutsche Bank AG, Germany's largest bank, plans to triple its office capacity in Hong Kong by 2010. The expansion will allow employing as many as 4,000 workers, up from 1,500 currently, the company said on May 6.

Last month's jobless rate matched February's as the lowest in 10 years. The government calculates Hong Kong's unemployment on a rolling three-month basis to smooth out seasonal factors.

Hong Kong's economy grew 7.1 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, the fastest pace in two years. Household spending jumped 7.9 percent.

Rising incomes are spurring consumption. The average wage rose 2.7 percent in December from a year earlier.

The increase in wages may also escalate inflation as companies pass on higher labor costs to buyers.

HONG KONG, May 16 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's jobless rate probably stayed at 3.4 percent in February-April as the pace of hiring slowed amid uncertainties over the economy, a Reuters survey shows.

"The economy was still doing well in the first quarter but employers became more cautious about hiring due to the weakening external environment," said Peng Chen, an economist at JPMorgan.

The unemployment rate has fallen much further than expected, hitting 3.3 percent, a 10-year low, in December-February, as a strong economy has created jobs and a tight labour market. However, the rate crept back up to 3.4 percent in January-March as hiring slowed sharply.

The trade sector is one of the territory's biggest employers and a possible recession in the United States -- Hong Kong's biggest export market after mainland China -- is a particular concern.

As the territory's exports are expected to slow this year, economists see economic growth falling to 4.6 percent, according to a Reuters poll, from 6.3 percent last year and average annual growth of 7.2 percent over the past four years.

In April, growth in business in the private sector virtually stalled and new orders fell for the first time in more than three years, according to the Hong Kong Purchasing Managers' Index, prompting companies to add few staff. Wages however continued to increase, although at the slowest pace since September.

Demand for professionals across sectors is still buoyant amid a shortage of suitable qualified people and the retail and tourism sectors continue to hire amid strong consumption, which has been underpinned by wage growth.

The unemployment rate has fallen from a record 8.5 percent four years ago. Economists say the economy is now close to full employment and while the jobless rate should stay below 4 percent this year it is likely to keep fluctuating.

Forecasts for the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for February-April (percent): Daiwa Research Institute 3.3 ING Financial Mkts 3.3 Bank of East Asia 3.4 DBS Bank 3.4 JPMorgan 3.4 Standard Chartered Bank 3.4 Hang Seng Bank 3.5 UBS 3.5

ORANGE Business Services, the business communications subsidiary of France Telecom Group, said China is the fastest growing regional market in Asia and it will bring great-volume investment into the country.

OBS' customers come from two segments: multinational companies in China and home-grown firms which want to expand globally, said Yee May Leong, OBS' senior vice president of Asia Pacific.

"Our strategy focuses on the emerging markets (this year) as China and India," Leong told Shanghai Daily from the sideline of the Women's Forum in Asia in Shanghai.

China is the company's third biggest regional market in Asia Pacific.

"China will finally outrank the leaders (like Australia) and it will come very soon, I think," Leong said.

Leong declined to reveal the detailed investment plan in China but she confirmed the company will invest a lot in the country in future.

OBS has expanded into about 200 tier-two and tier-three cities in China through cooperation with domestic carriers like China Telecom, covering Dongguan, Dalian, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Xiamen.

OBS has 2,000 multinational clients in Asia Pacific, including Airbus China and port and finance clients based in Shanghai.

BEIJING, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese companies' foreign direct investment expanded 353 percent in the first quarter compared with the same 2007 period as domestic firms sought out a more open global market.

The investment hit 19.34 billion U.S. dollars in the first three months, Vice Minister of Commerce Chen Jian said Sunday at a forum. The figure stood at 18.76 billion U.S. dollars for the whole last year.

China set forth the "going-beyond-the-border" strategy in 1999,encouraging domestic enterprises to invest and do businesses abroad.

To support the outbound investment momentum, the government also offered help, including scrapping unnecessary controls on foreign exchange reserves and simplifying administrative procedures.

More than 12,000 Chinese companies have established firms in about 172 countries and regions by the end of 2007. Foreign investments rose nearly sevenfold from 2002 to 2007.

BEIJING, May 15 -- Toyota plans to invest 1.5 billion yuan to boost production capacity at a facility in northern China by 50 percent to 150,000 vehicles a year. The expansion at the plant in Tianjin Municipality is due to be completed by the end of 2009.

The move would boost annual capacity of FAW Toyota, its venture with China's FAW Group, to 470,000 units, and Toyota's overall capacity in China to roughly 690,000 units.

Annual reports from several Chinese banks over the weekend reveal sky-high salaries for the senior management boards in China's banking sector. China Minsheng Banking Corporation stands out with the highest paycheck.

Dong WenBiao, the president of China Minsheng Bank, tops the income chart. His annual pre-tax salary reached over 17.5 million yuan last year.

China Merchants Bank is also being generous to senior executives. In 2007, it doled out 53 million yuan to 26 board members and executives, and its CEO, Guan MaWei, earned nearly 10-million yuan pre-tax.

The Industrial bank paid out nearly 16-million yuan to 15 board members and executives. And its president, Gao JianPing, earned nearly 3 million yuan.