Recruiting in China

BASF says India and China will be among the first countries to get access to its latest pipeline insecticide, metaflumizone.

After successful market introductions in Japan and Korea earlier in 2006, BASF in December received registration for its fungicide boscalid in China under the name Kai Tse. This product is tailored for use in the fruit and vegetables segment. Additionally, new products with the fungicide F 500 are scheduled for launch in India in the coming months, both in solo products and in combination with other active ingredients.

"As the Chinese and Indian economies grow, there is a rising demand for high-quality fresh produce," says Michael Heinz, President of BASF's Agricultural Products. "BASF is expanding in this fast-growing segment with solutions that help domestic growers offer superior produce in terms of quality and safety. We are excited about bringing our newest insecticide, metaflumizone, to these countries. Recent progress made in the protection of intellectual property is also encouraging."

With yearly sales of around $1.7 billion in 2005, China is the world's fifth-largest crop protection market. Analysts put yearly growth at between 3%-5%. Of the other top-ranked markets, only India shows similar growth.

"Of course, the high-value segment in China today is still small compared to other countries. But it is growing faster than the overall crop protection market," says Heinz. "We target this segment of the market with our innovative products, and here solutions for fruit and vegetables are key."

Sales in China have more than doubled in the past two years. BASF has ambitious plans for the Chinese market through 2012. In addition to the introduction of numerous BASF innovations, label extensions and new active ingredients will help raise the standard of agriculture in the country.

To bring the right crop protection products to China, BASF has formed working relationships with several top-tier agricultural research organizations such as Nanjing Agricultural University, the Institute of Plant Protection of Beijing Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and the Institute of Plant Protection of Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences. In December, BASF set up a scholarship program with NAU to extend the partnership. Earlier this year, BASF launched two projects with this university in the area of resistance monitoring and mode of action studies of fungicides. This is the first project of its kind that BASF is working on with a Chinese agricultural university at the research level.

"We are impressed by the hard work and new ideas coming from these bright young talents," says Peter Eckes, head of research and formulation development at BASF's Agricultural Products division. "We also look forward to working with these partners to bring our pipeline of innovative new active ingredients to growers in China."

PUDONG New Area was elected by locals as the most ideal place among 18 local districts and Chongming County for starting a business, according to a recent survey by the Shanghai Labor and Social Security Bureau.

More than 15 percent of the 23,000 respondents said that they would choose Pudong if they were to open a company in the city, followed by Nanhui, Huangpu and Xuhui districts.

ABOUT 70 former employees of a restaurant in Hongkou District went to the district Labor and Social Security Bureau yesterday afternoon seeking help to recover 175,000 yuan (US$21,875) they paid in deposits after the business suddenly closed four days ago.

Following a three-hour meeting, workers were told it would be difficult to get the money back and a bureau official suggested they should file a lawsuit, according to the employees.

Wu Tao, the restaurant's general manager, was nowhere to be found. His attorney Chen Daidi refused to talk to reporters yesterday.

On top of the deposits owed to workers, the Wuhusihai Restaurant, which was located on the fourth floor of a supermarket on Yixian Road, allegedly owes more than one million yuan to suppliers.

"I received an order call at 9pm on Saturday demanding we deliver livestock the next morning. I came, and found the restaurant was closed," said a livestock dealer surnamed Ding.

Restaurant staff were more astonished to find the business was closed when they went to work on Sunday morning.

THE Shanghai-based human resource directors of foreign enterprises earned more than 200,000 yuan (US$25,641) on average last year and their salary is set to jump 10 percent year on year in 2007, Shanghai Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment said in a recent report.

The body attributed the rise in local HR directors' income, some even higher than their counterparts of the same level in the United States, to a shortage of talent as a result of surging demand.

The average pay of a Shanghai HR director was 230,600 yuan last year, a 10.03 percent growth year on year. The average salary of HR managers was 115,000 yuan while HR specialists and assistants earned from 50,000 yuan to 70,000 yuan each, according to the association.

Demand for high-level HR talent is growing rapidly as more foreign companies move operations and facilities to Shanghai, the association said.

"I am afraid if clients ask us to find a high-level HR manager. It's a tough task, especially in Shanghai," said Edward Zhao, a consulting manager of ChinaHR, one of the country's leading Web-based head hunters.

Besides possessing specialized skills such as training and drafting an enterprise salary structure, top HR directors often need work experience of more than 15 years and at least seven to eight years for a HR manager, according to Zhao.

ALMOST 40 percent of office workers in China are planning to land a new job after the Spring Festival holiday, according to a key human resources survey.

ChinaHR.com, one of the leading Web-based headhunters in the country, asked more than 700 white-collar workers, mostly in Shanghai, in 15 different industries, via the Internet about their career plans for the Chinese Lunar New Year.

More than 37 percent of people surveyed said they had resigned from their previous job, and were planning to work for a new boss after the Spring Festival break.

Most of those planning to change jobs are ordinary to mid-level employees aged between 25 and 35. Only 2.6 percent of decision-makers plan to change jobs, according to the survey.

Terry Ouyang, director of ChinaHR's human resources research center, said the high turnover rate reflected the conflict between young white-collar workers' career-development demands and employers' staff-retention targets.

"People aged between 25 and 35 are undergoing the highest career-progress pressure, especially in high-tech companies." Ouyang said.

"A strong wish for achievement motivates them to change jobs if they see no development prospects in their present positions."

The week-long Spring Festival holiday seems to motivate people to focus on careers and ponder their options, as nearly 21 percent of survey respondents listed "mapping out new year career plan" as their most important task during the break.

Michael Shen, a local sales manager, said the traditional concept of "new year embraces a new beginning" also pushed the decision-making along.

ChinaHR's human resources analysts estimated that the large-scale job-changing peak will come in mid-March.

The survey also suggested that more than 41 percent of HR managers are taking measures to head off the effects of any impending staff losses.

Twenty-two percent of HR managers said they plan to recruit staff after the festival. Another 20 percent are offering additional training, or strengthening communication with their staff.

Sinopec, the Fujian Provincial government, ExxonMobil and Saudi Aramco have together signed a contract for the Fujian Refining and Ethylene Joint Venture Project, marking a significant milestone in the development of China's first fully integrated Sino-foreign project involving refining, fuels and chemicals marketing.

At the same time, Sinopec, ExxonMobil and Saudi Aramco signed a contract for the Fujian Fuels Marketing Joint Venture Project.

The Fujian Refining and Ethylene Joint Venture Project, located in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, will expand the existing refinery from 80,000 barrels-per-day ¡ª 4 million tons-per-year ¡ª to 240,000 barrels-per-day, or about 12 million tons-per-year. The upgraded refinery will primarily refine and process sour Arabian crude.

In addition, the project will construct an 800,000 tons-per-year ethylene steam cracker, an 800,000 tons-per-year polyethylene unit, a 400,000 tons-per-year polypropylene unit and an aromatics complex to produce 700,000 tons-per-year of paraxylene. Support facilities including a 300,000 ton crude berth and power cogeneration will also be built.
This joint venture company will be owned by Fujian Petrochemical Company Limited (50%), ExxonMobil China Petroleum and Petrochemical Company Limited (25%) and Saudi Aramco Sino Company Limited (25%). Currently, the project is expected to start up in early 2009. The Fujian Fuels Marketing Joint Venture Project will manage and operate approximately 750 service stations and a network of terminals in Fujian Province. It will be owned by Sinopec (55%), ExxonMobil (22.5%) and Saudi Aramco (22.5%).

Together, the Fujian Refining and Ethylene Joint Venture Project and the Fujian Fuels Marketing Joint Venture Project aim to meet China's rapidly growing demand for petroleum products and petrochemicals.

Fujian Petrochemical Company Limited is owned 50% by China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) and 50% by the Fujian Government.