Recruiting in China

China Solar & Clean Energy Solutions has announced the appointment of Yihai Yang to the position of acting CFO.

Mr Yang replaces Gary Lam, who resigned from the position of CFO to pursue other interests. Mr Yang has prior experience working for several China-based companies in accountant, controller and CFO positions.

From September 2006, Mr Yang served as the financial controller of China Diagnostics Medical Corporation, a company engaged in the business of pharmaceutical research and development.

From April 2005 to August 2006, he served as the CFO of Beijing Tanglewood Tour Development, a company engaged in the business of real estate investment and development.

Deli Du, CEO, said: "We are very pleased to have Mr Yang join as our acting CFO. We are confident that his experience in several industries will provide our management team a valuable perspective on how to grow our business."

Patrick Burnson, Executive Editor -- Logistics Management, 3/19/2008

SAN FRANCISCO—As reported here yesterday, shippers are telling LM that sourcing manufactured goods from China will have a few new wrinkles in the coming months. According to Saji Daniel, president and CEO of Tradex International, it is now time for U.S. shippers to take a fresh at look trade issues now if they are to remain competitive in this marketplace.

“The Chinese government is taking deliberate steps to shift manufacturing to high-tech industries,” he said. “Last summer, the government reduced value-added tax (VAT) rebates on thousands of products. These rebates provide tax relief for exporters, but were removed for many commodity goods and products requiring high levels of energy to manufacture.”

Daniel also made note of a new labor law enacted January 1, which substantially increased production costs by requiring employers to pay insurance, overtime, and severance benefits to eligible employees.

“Our company has experienced direct increases in cost as a result of this new legislation, with labor costs estimated to have grown between 30-to-40 percent,” he said.

In the short-term, said Daniel, businesses in and around Beijing may also be seriously impacted by the 2008 Olympics. The government plans to reduce pollution prior to and during the games by shutting down factories surrounding the city, effectively stopping production for over a month.

Not that it will require a global sporting event to earn media scrutiny, he noted:

“The most publicized example is Mattel,” noted Daniel, “which recalled millions of toys last summer following the discovery of lead in many of its products produced in China. The recalls impacted not just toy manufacturers, but all importers, as questions regarding the safety of Chinese products drew international spotlight.

Daniel said that Mattel’s lack of oversight exemplifies the complexity of manufacturing overseas; issues like lead content, long ago dissolved in the United States, must still be considered in China.

“In a marketplace characterized by instant, global communication, one mistake can significantly damage the reputation of your brand both in the United States and worldwide,” he said.

By way of transport advice, Daniel suggests shippers stick with reliable ocean carriers with a proven record in the trade lane.

“Historically, Hanjin, Hyundai, Cosco, and CMA CGM have provided us with the best lead times and service,” he said. “The nature of our business does not require the use of air freight, as our chief concern is cost rather than delivery time. We maintain ample levels of safety stock domestically to satisfy any interruptions in the supply chain.”

Nor does Daniel recommend taking on too many of the intermediary functions of goods sourcing:

“We continue to find benefit from the use of freight forwarders, and utilize several different services to varying degrees. Freight forwarders reduce our staffing requirements by handling procurement, and our EDI capabilities enable us to monitor shipments by providing automatic updates from our forwarding partners,” he said.

In conclusion, Daniel observed that freight forwarders also provide his company with “peace of mind” by enabling them to delay its insurance liability for shipments until they arrive.

China Voice Holding Corporation (CHVC) has hired Jose Ferrer as the Company's Chief Operating Officer.

CHVC's President and CEO Bill Burbank said, "Mr. Ferrer brings to CHVC over 20 years of success in Business Development and Operations. He has extensive experience in working with technology development companies in the communications space in the U.S. and abroad. Jose also possesses an in-depth understanding of emerging technologies and their commercial applications. For over ten years of his career, he was focused in the telecommunications field and has worked at a senior executive level with both private and public companies."

The Hong Kong-headquartered Chinese online and mobile media group Tom Group announced its 2007 financial results, and the once-profitable company is now operating at a loss and Tom Group Limited CEO Tang Meijuan, in the position for the last five years. has resigned due to "personal reasons". Operating Director Yang Mengguo will become the new CEO.

TOM's revenues were 2.68 billion HK dollars ($347 million) in 2007, down 4.2 percent from the year before. In 2007, TOM's losses were 297 million HK dollars ($38 million) compared to a profit of 32 million HK dollars ($4.1 million) in the prior year. The losses in 2007 were mainly due to a drop in mobile-valued added services (MVAS) revenues as the top 2 Chinese carriers, China Mobile and China Unicom, placed new restrictions on MVAS providers. More details in the releases here and here.

The losses included an HK$127 million impairment charge in its digital business after the mobile operators changed their policies, which hurt all MVAS players in China. It also lost HK$104 million from Tom Eachnet, an online auction venture with Ebay in China.

Agility, a logistics provider, has appointed James Gagne as CEO for Greater China.

Gagne’s appointment is part of a new regional management structure at Agility that will help to better manage its growing network of offices and to engage specialists for industry vertical sectors.

“We are delighted to have James on board as he brings 12 years of experience of working in China with a leading logistics services provider and he will be a key player as Agility continues to grow its business both organically and through strategic acquisition,” said Wolfgang Hollermann, CEO, Agility, Asia Pacific.

Agility is to strengthen its management team as a result of continuing high levels of growth in Asia Pacific and has set up five new regions and appointed leaders to manage these regions.

The five regions and their leaders are: North Asia (Japan, Korea, Philippines, and Guam), Olaf Tauschke; South East Asia (Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), Mykell Lee; South Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), Mahesh Niruttan; Australasia (Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and South Pacific Islands), Mick Turnbull; Greater China (China, Hong Kong and Taiwan), James Gagne.

The Asia Pacific region is part of the Global Integrated Logistics (GIL) unit of Agility. The GIL unit has four regional CEOs – one for each geographical region. In Asia the CEO is Wolfgang Hollermann, in the Americas, Mike Bible, in Europe, Beat Simon, and in Middle East and Africa, Elias Monem.

The GIL unit is headquartered out of Baar, Switzerland and is managed by Essa Al-Saleh, president and CEO, Global Integrated Logistics.

HONG KONG -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. named Cai Jinyong, an eight-year veteran of the firm, as chief executive of its Chinese securities joint venture and head of Goldman's China investment-banking business, according to an internal memo reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

The promotion of Mr. Cai, who made partner in 2006, should bring some stability to the top ranks of Goldman's China operations after the departure of Richard Ong, its most senior Beijing-based banker, this month.

Mr. Ong, Goldman's co-head of investment banking in Asia excluding Japan, is leaving to help run a new private-equity fund raising over $2 billion. He will be joined by Fang Fenglei, the chairman of the joint venture, Goldman Sachs Gaohua Securities Co. Mr. Fang continues to serve as chairman of the joint venture, which was one of the first such Chinese JVs, formed in late 2004.

Mr. Cai will succeed Zha Xiangyang as CEO of the joint venture. Goldman said in the memo that Mr. Zha is leaving the firm. Mr. Zha didn't reply to an email seeking comment.

Mr. Cai, 48 years old, brings extensive China experience. He most recently led Goldman's team of China bankers dedicated to landing deals in oil, gas and power. Born in China, Mr. Cai earned a Ph.D. in economics at Boston University, graduating in 1990. He then worked for the World Bank, before starting his investment-banking career at Morgan Stanley.