Recruiting in China

CHINA has closed 205 Websites in a crackdown on video, music and software piracy, authorities said yesterday.

Investigators checked out 436 reports of intellectual property theft between the end of September and January - including 130 complaints from overseas industry associations - and ordered 361 offenders to halt their activities. They also handed out fines totaling hundreds of thousands of yuan and confiscated servers and other equipment.

"Piracy of intellectual property on the Internet has seriously harmed the interests of copyright owners, leading to a large number of disputes and disrupting order on the Internet," Yan Xiaohong, deputy director of the National Copyright Administration, told a news conference in Beijing yesterday.

Authorities imposed fines totaling 705,000 yuan (US$91,000), confiscated 71 servers and transferred six cases to prosecutors for court action, Yan said. One has already led to a conviction, he added.

The overseas complaints came from the Motion Picture Association, the International Federation of Phonographic Industry and the Business Software Alliance, Yan said.

"China treats domestic and foreign copyright holders equally, without discrimination," Yan said. "The administration will prosecute all proven cases of intellectual property infringement."

A Chinese regulation that bans uploading or downloading Internet material without the permission of the copyright holder went into effect last July.

Prominent cases included sites that offered downloads of software, textbooks, music and television shows.

In one case, all the Internet cafes in Changchun in northeast China's Jilin Province were found to be linked to a database of pirated films.

One Website in southern China's Sichuan Province was found to have provided illegal downloads of 400 movies since it was set up in 2004.

Authorities closed the site and fined its operator, Sichuan Telecom, 10,000 yuan. Sichuan Telecom is a subsidiary of the state-run China Telecom Group.

"This latest action had a limited time frame and limited results," Yan acknowledged. "It did not solve all the problems we are facing on the Internet."

China is home to about 843,000 Websites and 140 million Internet users, making it the world's second-biggest Internet market.

The Internet penetration rate in China has developed at lightning speed in recent years. The country's online population is expected to overtake the United States as the world's largest in about two years.

About 210 million of the America's 300 million people are online, according to the US government. China currently has 137 million people online.

Yan said there are 843,000 Chinese Websites at present.

Cisco, the world's biggest computer-networking equipment maker, clocked 40% rise in profit. The company said that the profits rose as customers upgraded their communications systems for video. CEO John Chambers lists out the company's India plans going forward. CNBC-TV18 has more.

we have always been successful in recruiting some of the best and brightest wherever we go, but it does speak about both our commitment to Asia and our admiration for what countries like China and India are doing in terms of the numbers of engineers that graduate, and the environment they are creating,?says CEO, John Chambers.

Clearly hinting towards what one can expect from Cisco here in Asia, he further says, see us expand in China, specially in Shanghai, you’ll see us expand in Bangalore in India.?/FONT>

we have moved our Chief Globalisation Officer there, which really speaks to not just supporting that region, but supports our entire global operations from that region. So there a major commitment there; I think we will recruit well there and attract the talent well,?he concludes.

Move Will Solidify Position as Asia's Market Leader in Mid- to Senior-Level Recruitment

"This deal brings together two leading recruitment brands in the Chinese market," said Gary Lazzarotto, chief executive officer of Hudson/Asia. "The combined expertise and geographic reach of one of China's leading IT recruiters and our mid- to senior-level recruitment capabilities should be extremely attractive to U.S. multi-nationals seeking top talent to help enter the market or expand their operations in this high-growth region of the world."

"Hudson's global reach, talent network and client base will enable us to better serve our existing clients and candidates, and broaden our reach to other companies that could benefit from our specialized recruitment capabilities," said Raymond Wong, partner of Tony Keith. "What's more, and just as important, Hudson's organizational culture and values mirror ours."

Hudson, which has operated in four key Asia markets (Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and China) for nearly a decade -- will now number more than 350 professionals and seven offices primarily serving U.S. multi-national clients throughout that continent. Recently, the global recruitment and talent management firm was recognized by China's World Management Review magazine as "Greater China's Best Headhunting Firm of the Year" for 2006.

Hudson

Hudson (Nasdaq: HHGP - News) is a leading provider of permanent recruitment, contract professionals and talent management services worldwide. From single placements to total outsourced solutions, Hudson helps clients achieve greater organisational performance by assessing, recruiting, developing and engaging the best and brightest people for their businesses. The company employs more than 3,600 professionals serving clients and candidates in more than 20 countries. More information is available at http://www.hudson.com.

Special Note: Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for historical information contained herein, the statements made in this release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the company's strategic direction, prospects and future results. Certain factors, including factors outside of our control, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including our ability to complete the Tony Keith acquisition, economic and other conditions in the markets in which Tony Keith operates, risks associated with operating Tony Keith as part of Hudson Highland Group, unexpected developments relating to Tony Keith's business after closing of the acquisition and other risks discussed in our Form 10-K and our other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which discussions are incorporated in this release by reference.

Mayfield Fund has announced the closing of a US$200 million fund, dedicated to investing in China's technology sector.

'We look forward to a deeper relationship with Mayfield Fund and know that our portfolio companies will benefit from the venture capital and sector expertise of their team,' said Richard Lim of GSR Ventures. 'Together, we are confident of building the next generation of global Chinese companies.'

The fund, GSR Ventures II, was formed in partnership with GSR Ventures, a China focused fund. The dedicated fund follows a two year affiliation between Mayfield and GSR, during which the firms say they made eleven direct investments in China.

GSR Ventures II was over-subscribed and has a mix of existing Mayfield limited partners and GSR's limited partners from its first fund. It will target investments in the semiconductor, wireless and Internet media sectors and will have representative offices in Menlo Park and Beijing.

Mayfield Fund reports to have US$2.6 billion under management and a team of twelve investing professionals. Since Mayfield's founding in 1969, the firm has invested in more than 470 high-growth companies, taken more than 100 public, and more than 150 have merged or were acquired.

Privately owned Chinese enterprises are set to become the new force among China's overseas investors.

So said Hou Zhirui, an official from the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, based on data from an eight-year period.

The organization's statistics showed that the growth rate of private enterprises has seen more of them become large companies with sales volumes of 300 million yuan. And these firms will be ready to go abroad when they reach a certain level.

"It will not take a long time (for Chinese private enterprises to become a new force in overseas investment). Maybe only three to five years," he said.

A large number of private Chinese firms have already increased their presence in overseas markets.

Outbound investment includes overseas processing, technology and equipment exports, establishing sales channels, and mergers and acquisitions. But most of the firms still focus on small-scale projects.

The federation's Zheng Yuewen said the Chinese government should remove restrictions on private enterprises "going out".

He said the government should, for example, remove the approval process for outbound investment.

The outbound investment of Chinese firms totaled $16.1 billion last year, according to statistics from the commerce ministry. China went from being the 17th largest investor in the world to the 13th in 2005.

Although the figure reflects a 31 percent increase from a year earlier, it is still small compared with the $64.5 billion of foreign investment China attracted last year.

Chinese overseas investors are facing major obstacles such as a lack of core technologies, cultural differences and a lack of well-known brands, according to a report on Chinese transnational corporations by the Research Institute under China's commerce ministry.

"But enterprises cannot go out until everything is ready," said Wang Zhile, a researcher with the institute.

The report suggested the Chinese government should offer more policy support to Chinese enterprises for their overseas investments, quoting the successful experience of South Korean companies.

"Only by cultivating a large number of Chinese transnational companies can the country concentrate its limited resources to lay a solid foundation for economic strength," the report said.

Meanwhile, the report said Chinese enterprises must improve their abilities in overseas investment and management.

"Chinese investors must learn how to shun trade obstacles such as safeguards, tariff barriers and trade conflicts brought by foreign countries," it said.

INTERNATIONAL Business Machines Corp is seeking as much as 990 million Hong Kong dollars (US$127 million) selling part of its stake in Lenovo Group Ltd, according to a sale document e-mailed to investors.

The world's largest computer-services provider is offering 300 million shares, or a 3.5 percent stake, in Lenovo, at HK$3.20 to HK$3.30, according to a sale document sent to Bloomberg by an institutional investor. The range represents a four percent to seven percent discount to the HK$3.44 closing price of the Chinese company's Hong Kong-quoted shares yesterday.

Lenovo moved its headquarters to Raleigh, North Carolina, last year after acquiring IBM's personal-computer business for US$1.25 billion in May 2005. Under the original deal, IBM held an 18.9 percent stake in Lenovo that could only be sold in stages over three years. The two companies agreed last year to allow IBM to dispose of the shares within a shorter period.

"IBM could sell down its stake further in the future when the lock-up expires," said Mona Chung, who helps manage US$950 million at Daiwa Asset Management in Hong Kong. The impact on Lenovo shares will be limited, as "they are currently not very pricy," she said.

IBM's stake in Lenovo will be reduced to 11.5 percent after the most recent sale, according to today's term sheet.

The Chinese company said in a statement on May 26 last year that it will allow IBM to sell its shares more quickly than previously agreed. Under the new terms, IBM can sell as much as two thirds of its stake from May 25, and the balance from November 1, 2007.