Recruiting in China

Often times we come across companies that are looking to hire sales people but don't recognize the value of an outside sales recruiting service. The reason is because they are experienced hiring managers. Certainly most sales managers, one of their key capabilities is to hire good people, but getting to those people is half the battle. This is where a good recruiting company can help. A good head hunter knows how to go in and access the best talent, where ever it may be, including companies which you could not approach directly and can make the difference between hiring B and C players for your company, those who are out looking for a job, and hiring A players, those who typically aren't out looking for a job.

The results between hiring a B or C player and hiring an A player can be truly astounding. Particularly in the sales arena, a top produce is one who can produce several times the amount of sales as a B or C player. Getting to those people is no easy task and that's where seeking outside assistance can make a real difference. What's the bottom line impact? Sometimes it can be worth several million dollars of incremental sales for your company per year. Can you afford not to hire the best in your business? If you really are trying to grow and take your company to the next level, it's important that you don't settle for less than the best. This is why a head hunter is so critical to bringing you the talent that you need in order to grow your company.

The Zhuhai Labor and Social Insurance Department has concluded after their two years of labor inspections that Taiwan companies who run businesses in Zhuhai have ranked highest in labor law violations.

Local media reports that ZLSID says many of the bosses from these Taiwan companies have inadequate legal knowledge and they therefore tend to ignore the rights and interests of the workers and of their own social responsibility.

ZLSID has checked and punished 26 companies that had refused to execute the minimum wage or asked employees to work overtime. Of those, 11 are Taiwan funded companies. Some officials from the labor department say that most of the Taiwan companies are labor intensive enterprises, so they face a shortage of labor, and that's why they often asked the employees to work extra hours. Besides, as the bosses of these companies know little about the mainland's labor laws or they intentionally disregard the employees' rights, they pay the employees less or even deduct money their salaries.

ZLSID says it will now focus on fixing the illegal behavior of Taiwanese companies as the next stage of its work.

Siemens will invest a total of US$10 million over the next five years to achieve sustainable improvements in healthcare in rural areas of China.

The project is a Siemens contribution to the Clinton Global Initiative to support poorer regions in threshold countries.

An agreement on the project was signed by Siemens and the Shaanxi Bureau of Health. Zhang Huaixi, vice chairman of the Chinese People's Consultative Conference; Dr. Richard Hausmann, president and CEO of Siemens China; Dr. Siegfried Russwurm, member of the executive management of Siemens Medical Solutions; and Dr. Bernd Ohnesorge, president and CEO of Siemens China Medical Solutions, all took part in the signing ceremony held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

"All people, regardless of their status or origin, should have access to high-quality healthcare. This is an important prerequisite for a peaceful and just society. We are especially pleased when leading companies like Siemens provide their competence for such efforts," commented Zhang Huaixi.

With the help of pilot projects, a pool of valuable experience will be built up for giving people in rural regions of China better access to high-quality healthcare. In this project, Siemens will focus on developing tailored solutions to meet the specific needs of local healthcare organizations.

Siemens will initially outfit a number of pilot hospitals with diagnostic equipment, beginning with the first facility in Luochuan County in Yan'an, in the Shaanxi Province. This equipment will include ultrasound and x-ray systems as well as computed tomography imaging systems. Not far away from each rural hospital, Siemens will equip six urban health centers with x-ray and ultrasound systems. Siemens will maintain the technical infrastructure once it is in place.

The project, headed by China's Ministry of Health, is part of the Clinton Global Initiative, which brings together key figures from politics and business, as well as wealthy individuals and philanthropists, to jointly tackle challenges faced by societies

FACING a shortage of brand management professionals, the Shanghai Economic Commission has launched a training program to cultivate managers for local big enterprises this month.

The proactive approach is to introduce the most advanced brand concepts and international experience on strategy, design, communication and management.

"Experts from universities and multinational enterprises have been invited to train qualified brand managers," said economic commission spokesman Li Bai. The program includes 80 classes in six days.

"Following a long-term neglect of brand consciousness, Chinese brands have lost out in the pace of globalization," said an official surnamed Yang in the scarce talents training center. "Now many corporations have realized the urgency to solve the shortage and improve the quality of brand management."

So far the program has attracted more than 200 leaders from state-owned businesses, which are facing challenges and opportunities in promoting their brands overseas.

CHINA Citic Bank Corp may raise as much as US$5.7 billion in a simultaneous Hong Kong and Shanghai initial public offering, the world's largest stock sale so far this year, three sources said.

The Beijing-based bank plans to offer 2.3 billion new shares in Shanghai at 4.66 yuan to 6.1 yuan to raise up to 14.03 billion yuan (US$1.82 billion), the people said. The company may raise a further HK$30.17 billion (US$3.86 billion) selling 4.89 billion shares in Hong Kong at HK$4.72 to HK$6.17, they said.

Mainland banks and insurers have sold US$61.1 billion of shares in Hong Kong and Shanghai since June 2005, when Bank of Communications Co became the first domestic bank to go public in Hong Kong. They have been encouraged by high valuations as investors seek to benefit from China's rapid economic growth, said Bloomberg News.

"This is not a bargain price" for stock in China's eighth-largest bank by assets, said Wu Xuan, a Shenzhen-based analyst at Penghua Fund Management Co. It "leaves little room for future upside gains if it's priced at the top end."

At the upper end, Citic Bank's sale could be the world's largest stock sale so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It could trump a US$5.5 billion closed-end fund launch in the United States and a secondary share sale by Ping An Insurance (Group) Co, China's No. 2 insurer, which raised slightly more than US$5 billion in February.

The price ranges value Citic Bank at 2.48 times to 2.81 times its estimated book value this year, according to the three people, who declined to be identified before an official statement. The price ranges have yet to be approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

The new shares to be listed in Shanghai represent a six percent stake in the bank, while those in Hong Kong are equivalent to 12.8 percent. The stock may start trading on April 27, Citic Bank said.

China International Capital Corp, Citigroup Inc, Citic Securities Co, HSBC Holdings Plc and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc are arranging the sale.

China has the most expensive bank stocks in Asia's emerging markets, trading at about 3.2 times estimated book value in 2007, compared with 1.7 times for peers in India and 1.4 times for Korea, according to a Morgan Stanley report.

The Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd, the nation's largest, traded at 2.79 times the consensus book value estimate for 2007 in Hong Kong, higher than 1.7 times for HSBC and 1.94 times for Citigroup.

Citic Bank was China's seventh-largest by total assets at the end of 2005, according to a preliminary share sale document. The company fell to eighth last month after the Postal Savings Bank of China was established.

Profit this year was expected to gain 53 percent to 5.69 billion yuan, according to an April 4 statement.

The company may achieve loan growth of 20 to 21 percent this year and in 2008, according to Bear Stearns Asia Ltd analysts.

April 6, 2007
News from Guangzhou Municipal Labor and Social Insurance Department is that from April 1, the minimum wage of RMB7.5/hour has been implemented among all non-full-time employees in Guangzhou, excluding Huadu, Fanyu, Chonghua and Zengcheng.

At the end of last year, GZMLSID released the province's first minimum wage standard for non-full-time employees. The standard consisted of five categories, ranging from RMB7.5 per hour to RMB4.3 per hour. The standard for Guangzhou is RMB7.5 per hour, which is the same as that of the provincial level minimum wage. The minimum wage for non-full-time workers in Huadu, Fanyu, Chonghua and Zengcheng is RMB6.6 per hour.

A representative from GZMLSID emphasizes that this minimum wage standard is only applicable to non-full-time employees, such as those who work on an hourly basis and work for no more than five hours a day, and no more than 30 hours in a week. The person says that companies should sign full-time labor contracts with those who work for more than 30 hours a week.

At present, Guangzhou's food and beverage industry uses the most non-full-time employees.