Companies.asia » shenzhen china

Coca-Cola Share Price On The Rise; Considers Shanghai Listing

admin — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 02:11:52 +0000

Global soft drinks juggernaut The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is considering a possible future listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange to coincide with part of its plan to expand into China. “We continue to have positive discussions with Chinese government officials as we look at this opportunity,” Geoff Walsh, Coca-Cola’s public affairs and communications director for Asia Pacific region recently told a major newspaper in Hong Kong.

As of now, no foreign companies are allowed to list in China’s domestic stock exchanges. China had indicated earlier in 2009 that it would eventually allowed qualified foreign companies to list in Shanghai, with rules and regulations that have yet to be announced.

Currently, Coca-Cola share price ($68.75 as of July 7) is enjoying a gradual upward climb towards its record high of US$88 a share reached in 1998. Chief Executive Officer Muhtar Kent is continuing the corporate strategy started by his predecessor E. Neville Isdell to refocus the company more on its core products, which include Coke, Diet Coke, and Coke Zero, rather than on its other noncarbonated drinks. Kent also reconfigured serving sizes globally and introduced minicans and smaller bottles with new pricing to meet consumer demands and boost profit margins. In 2010, Coca-Cola purchased its largest franchised bottler in Atlanta, essentially bringing it in-house to cut supply-chain costs, and giving the company control of 90% of its North American distribution.

As close to 80% of Coca-Cola’s sales are done outside the United States, Kent plans to spend at least US$27 billion through 2020 for new bottling and distribution facilities in emerging markets such as China and Mexico. Last year, the company opened three bottling plants in the Inner Mongolia region at a cost of about US$246 million, part of the company’s three-year, US$2 billion expansion plan in China. A Shanghai listing seems like a logical extension of Coca-Cola’s plan as it would provide access to China’s huge local currency deposits as well as increase the already strong brand value of the best selling soft drink in the world.

The 3 Best Emerging Cities For Starting A Business In China

admin — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 06:40:14 +0000

A recent survey conducted by Companies.Asia Group has identified the top 20 new cities in China with the most potential for starting a business. These 20 selected cities were ranked based on information gathered from interviews of business managers, entrepreneurs, both foreign and Chinese, working in China, as well as data from independent sources regarding the costs of doing business, the local talent pool, and the overall general business environment of these cities. Here are the top three:

The Kempinski Hotel In Suzhou

No.1 SUZHOU (population of 6.3 million; located in the province of Jiangsu)
Suzhou became a foreign investment center in the 1980s and now has the 5th largest local GDP in China, at $113.4 billion (GDP per capita is $17,169). It is the 2nd largest factory town after Shanghai.

By the end of 2007, foreign-invested companies in Suzhou had a total registered capital worth of US$13 billion, and the city’s Hi Tech Industrial Zone now hosts more than 1,500 foreign companies. Nike, Samsung, and Epson all have factories and offices here. Suzhou is currently evolving into a center for biotechnology and alternative energy.

Ad For A High-Tech Metal Components Company In Suzhou

No.2 SHENZHEN (population of 8.9 million; in the province of Guangdong)

Shenzhen City

As a small town in close proximity to Hong Kong, Shenzhen began as China’s first Special Economic Zone in 1978. Now it has the highest local GDP at US$120.1 billion (GDP per capita at $13,580) in the nation.

Being southern China’s major financial centre, Shenzhen is home to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) as well as the headquarters of numerous high-tech companies. Shenzhen is also the third busiest container port in China, ranking only after Shanghai and Hong Kong.

A thriving real estate market and a sophisticated financial services sector are putting Shenzhen on course to be the next mega city.

No.3 QINGDAO (population of 8.5 million; Province of Shandong)
Its close proximity to Japan and Korea, and its roots as a former German colony made this city a destination for foreign investments since the late 1970s. By 2009, due to extensive investments from Korea, more than 100,000 Koreans were working or studying in Qingdao, making it the 2nd largest Korean population (after Beijing) in China. Today Qingdao, also known as Tsingtao, is a premier tourist attraction and home of the famous Tsingtao Brewery.

Qingdao, Home Of The Famous Tsingtao Beer

Qingdao’s port will open the world’s largest iron ore terminal by late 2010 and the city plans to invest close to US$4.3 billion on downtown subway construction to be completed before 2016. Global Fortune 500 companies have invested in over 50 large-scale projects in the Economic and Technical Development Zone, and more than 2000 projects have been approved for the Free Trade Zone. Qingdao’s GDP has surpassed US$66.7 billion with a GDP per capita at US$7,948.

Insurance Industry In China

admin — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 08:24:48 +0000

China’s insurance industry is one of the fastest growing in the world with an expected compound annual growth rate of 28-30% for the 2009-2013 period. While many countries are still slowly recovering from the devastating effects of the global financial crisis, China’s insurance industry is already making headways in the country’s economic growth. In 2008, the insurance industry grew at the fastest pace since 2002 with a record year-over-year growth of over 39%. Insurance products such as life, health and personal accidents led most of this growth, accounting for over three-fourth of total insurance premium for policies written in China.

Non-life (property) insurance products are also growing at a rapid rate. The market is mainly focused in two segments: auto and commercial property insurance. The introduction of compulsory auto insurance in July 2006 has brought back much needed capacity to the Chinese non-life insurance market. Also, it is expected that by 2015, China will overtake the United States in car sales, creating tremendous opportunities in this segment. Currently, auto insurance accounts for over 70% of the premium in the non-life insurance sector.

Other non-life insurance products including product liability, credit, marine insurance are also emerging in significance as they will play a part in determining the long-term viability of the non-life insurance market.

However, the insurance market in China still remains largely untapped. With insurance penetration (in terms of GDP) at just 3.2% at the end of December 2008, China stands far behind the global average of over 7%. Although it has one of the lowest per capita spending (at US$1,399 in 2010) among emerging market economies (compared to UAE at US$22,728 for 2010), China continues to be viewed by global insurers and reinsurers as the region most likely to provide growth in the longer term as well as helping to balance global risk concentration away from Europe and North America. Taking advantage of China’s opening up its financial and insurance market, many foreign insurers and reinsurers have already expanded their operation into the region.

The outlook for the insurance industry in China is extremely optimistic due to favorable market conditions such as high economic growth (surpassing Japan to become the world’s 2^nd largest economy), its rising GDP, China’s accession to the WTO and the 2004 reforms, including the CEPA agreement between Hong Kong and the Mainland that made the entry of foreign players much easier. Other factors, such as the introduction of compulsory auto insurance in 2006, increasing individual wealth and a high savings trend as well as the low insurance saturation rate of slightly more than 3% of the GDP, create immense opportunities in the most rapidly expanding and largest potential insurance market in the world.