© star5112

2Point6Billion (a blog that looks at economic issues in China and India) has a write up online on the upcoming China Cleantech Business Forum.

The July 8th forum will be Asia's first cleantech business conference.

Cleantech is a growing industry focus for venture capital and development funds:

Despite the current credit crisis, overall fundraising for cleantech has remained steady in 2008, with 29 funds raising a total of US$6 billion worldwide.

The majority of these cleantech projects have gone to venture capitalists funds with infrastructure funds also playing a big role. China has increased its investments on cleantech by three-fold to RMB1.35 trillion in the past decade.

According to 2Point6Billion, the business forum is organized by the China Entrepreneurs and will be held at the Shangri-La Kerry Center Hotel in Beijing, China.

© Dmitry Baranovskiy

I've been contributing over the last few months to the content of a vibrant and growing site that points toward the future of the Internet and has profound potential for users interested in finding potential partners in other countries. The site is NetworkingForPros.com.

When I look across the web at the moment, it's clear that the Internet of yesterday (static pages where you could find information and news) has been replaced by an interactive, social Internet that is about people instead of facts and figures.

One of those people is you. Today the Internet is about you, and about me.

Who are you? The old model of the early Internet allowed a handful of writers and bloggers to publish information about people. Most of those people that info got published on were the stars - the Madonna, Mel Gibson, Mylie Cyrus, and the like. Who where you in that mix? Probably nobody, because they didn't write about you at all.

NetworkingForPros.com is part of a trend that is changing what the Internet is about. It's helping to make the Internet more about you and less about Tom Cruise and Oprah Winfrey. And the best part is that you can even help control what gets said about you. Using a wiki format, NetworkingForPros.com lets you enter your own information. You can write about yourself and about your friends or colleagues. Like with any wiki, you can comment on and contribute to the pages that other people have started. It's an interactive space focused on providing information about real people. People like you. After all, just because you're not Madonna or A-Rod, that doesn't mean you shouldn't be on the Web.

NetworkingForPros.com is where the professional relationships of tomorrow start: a place where you can find out about real people, a place where you can contribute to what knowledge is available on the web, a place where you can find and connect to people who share your interests.

Find yourself and find your friends at NetworkingForPros.com. And if they're not there already, put them there…

China Law Blog had a case study (of sorts) this past week on employee compensation. The article looked at an employee claim for pregnancy leave that was filed after they'd been laid off.

The situation was complicated by the fact that the employee did not have a written contract and that the business site in Shenzhen did not have an employee manual. The story is a classic example of the pitfalls of dealing with China's employment laws.


© lylevincent

I came across a couple of articles recently the seemed to complement each other on the relative value of the U.S. dollar and the China's Yuan Renminbi.

Nikhil Raheja has an excellent explanation of the theory behind exchange rate.

The currency exchange rates of every country in the world are based on a concept called the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). This concept says that a currency's value is based upon the total number of products that can be bought with a single unit of that currency. So if USD$1 buys two McDonald's apple pies in the US, while RMB1 (Chinese Renminbi) buys only one McDonald's apple pie in China, then the exchange rate between the US and China would be RMB 2 = USD$1, since an American would then be able to exchange his US dollars for Chinese RMB in China and be able to buy the same number of pies there as he would have in the US.

Is that simplistic? Of course. Because the theory is simplistic. Raheja makes it pretty clear that life is more complicated that theory...

Michael Pettis asks a simple question about the exchange rate between the two countries: Can the RMB Be More Undervalued Today than It Was Last Year? While the question sounds rhetorical, he goes on to place a number on the undervaluation, saying the Yuan is about 40% undervalued. So the answer is yes. After all, mathematically speaking, it could be 50% undervalued.

Lest we get out of touch with reality, Seeking Alpha gives us a research recap to consider and draws the conclusion that the Yuan is not likely to appreciate much in the near future, regardless of whether it is undervalued or not. Keeping is touch with reality is important if you're going to make good policy and good financial decisions.


© upton

Seeking Alpha has an informative write up online at the moment for three Chinese companies that recently released IPOs on the US market.

Duoyuan Global Water Inc. listed on the NYSE. The company describes itself as "a leading China-based domestic water treatment equipment supplier." Chemspec International also listed on the NYSE. The company is the largest manufacturer of fluorinated specialty chemicals in China, with about a 25% market share.

Skystar Bio-Pharmaceutical Company recently listed an IPO on the NASDAQ. Skystar is a China-based developer and distributor of veterinary healthcare and medical care products.

Seeking Alpha provides a good bit of detail on the three companies.


© Ben+Sam

BusinessWeek had a piece this week on how China's business laws are coping with business failures as the recession progresses. In the case of very large companies, China's bankruptcy laws are having some impact and preventing complete chaos from taking hold.

With smaller businesses the story's a little different. Doors close and owners just seem to disappear into the night. The mob takes over for a while. The the police come run the mob off. At least that's what BusinessWeek is saying...

© gruntzooki

Mark Sunshine had an interesting piece at Seeking alpha last week. He says that if the Chinese let the yuan float freely, there's a good chance it would fall in value. And that would make Chinese goods cheaper.

The value of the yuan became more of an issue a few weeks ago with the confirmation to Tim Geithner as the Secretary of the Treasury.

Sunshine rightly points out that Chinese goods are cheap for a lot of reasons - not just because of currency manipulation. Then he looks at a London Times story that suggests that

A prerequisite for a strong currency is a strong government that is able to maintain social order. The Sunday London Times article, Violent unrest rocks China as crisis hits, describes labor unrest, riots, state censorship, violence and class warfare The unmistakable conclusion of the London Times article is that the fabric of Chinese society is starting to come apart.

Sunshine's conclusion:

Tim Geithner had better hope that he doesn't get what he wants, and that the Chinese don't make the Yuan freely convertible, or its crashing value may be an unwelcome surprise to the U.S. economy.

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 2322459

China is manipulating the value of their currency, the yuan renminbi. At least that's what Obama's new Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner says.

The statement came as part of his 102-page response to questions from the Senate Finance Committee - part of the confirmation process in which the Senate approved him for the job.

Naturally, the Chinese government sees things differently, and doesn't mind saying so. From the Washington Post

Su Ning, vice governor of the People's Bank of China, called Geithner's remarks misleading and "out of keeping with the facts," and said they could sidetrack efforts to manage the global financial crisis...

"We should avoid any excuse that might lead to the revitalization of trade protectionism. Because it will do no good to the fight against the crisis, nor will it help the healthy and stable development of the global economy," Su said during a visit to a Beijing business newspaper.

While much of the world seems to think that Geithner's written remarks before the Senate constitute something like the opening salvo of a new protectionist era, Felix Salmon over at Seeking Alpha had what may be a more reasonable take on the issue. He sees the remarks as tailored to a select audience (the Senate Finance Committee), and as designed to win Geithner his confirmation.

And they did...


Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 3445678

Asiajin had an interesting story a couple of weeks ago about the online mall that 100 Japanese companies are setting up for shoppers in China.

According to the Nikkei, major electronics retailer Yodobashi Camera, drugstore operator Matsumotokiyoshi, children's clothing retailer Narumiya and mail order company Cecile are among the candidates.

Chinese shoppers will be able to pay with a China UnionPay card (there are about 1.8 billion of those in circulation) and they'll get their goods in about two days via China Post.

The new mall highlights the potential of China online retail sector.


Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 7671189

From a business perspective, the main barrier to success in China is culture. Cultural difference between a European, Australian or American businessman and his Chinese partner can lead to problems in communication, trust, and understanding each other's expectations. The solution? A bi-cultural consultant...

Do you really need a consultant? Consider this when you think about doing business in China:

Many of its fundamental structures are very different and without the understanding of these differences, companies are only going to "stumble in the dark", not knowing how business is conducted.

China Business Success Stories has an excellent article this week on the importance of a bi-cultural consultant and the role that such a consultant can play in you partnership in China. You can read their article here.


Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 5715430