Understanding Chinese business culture and etiquette (Courtesy-www.chinese-culture)

The Initial Approach

Chinese business contacts are mostly referrals; essentially a business relationship is struck based on another business associate recommendation. The best prices and deals often comes from a strong recommendation.

However, it is common today for cold calls and direct contacts, given the availability of the internet and the competitive nature of Chinese businesses. You may source from the internet, trade fairs, catalogues and brochures, advertisements and approach the Chinese companies directly through a call or email.

Alternatively, if you are seeking to invest in a factory in China, you can approach a investment committee or a business advisory directly. They will be able to advise you on your best location based on your industry, raw material and manpower needs. Please contact us directly if you have such a need and we'll be glad to advise accordingly.

Business Relationship in China
Chinese business relationship inevitably becomes a social relationship after a while. Unlike Western business relationship which remains professional and perhaps, aloof, even after a long time, Chinese business relationship becomes a social one.

The more you share your personal life, including family, hobbies, political views, aspirations, the closer you are in your business relationship. Sometimes, a lot of time is spent discussing matters outside of business, but then a lot of time, the other party is also making up his mind about your deal based on how much he sees your personal relationship with him.

Seniority is important in China
Seniority is very important to the Chinese especially if you are dealing with a State owned or government body. Instead of addressing the other party as Mr or Mrs so and so, it is always appropriate to address the other party by his designationie Chairman So and So, Director So and So or Manager So and So.

When giving out namecards or brochures, make sure you start with the most senior person before moving down the line. When giving out a namecard or recieving one, ensure that you are stretching out with both hands with the card. Remember to face the card you are giving out in a manner such that the recieving party gets it facing him correctly.

Giving Face or Gei MianZi
Giving face (aka giving due respect) is a very important concept in China. You must give the appropriate respect according to rank and seniority. For example, if you are buying gifts for an initial contact, make sure you buy better gifts for the senior managers instead of buying similar gifts across the board.

Similarly, sitting positions in a meeting room or a dining table is accorded accordingly to rank, importance and seniority. It is good to seek advice before embarking on your first meeting with Chinese business contacts to avoid making the wrong move.

Gifts and Presents
Unlike earlier days when China was very poor, gifts, especially of Western origin was especially appreciated. Today, China produces and imports almost anything imaginable and gifts are no longer a novelty.

However, gifts are always appreciated and especially in the smaller cities or towns, will continue to play an important part in your business relationship. Do note that if you are indeed giving gifts, make sure the senior people get a better gift or at least gifts perceived to have a higher value than their junior staff.

Similarly, expect to recieve gifts from the Chinese, especially Chinese art products. It is polite not to refuse, especially if it is not of too high a monetary value.

Lunch/Dinner in China
There is no business talk in China without at least one trip to a restaurant. Sometimes, a trip is made to the restaurant even before any business discussion take place! Inevitably, the restaurant will always be a grand one and you are likely to be hosted in a private room.

There is an elaborate seating arrangement for a Chinese business meal. There are fixed seating positions for the host and the guest and then they are seated again according to seniority. This is a very important aspect of a formal dinner and it is important that you follow the rules accordingly. However, it seems that the Northern Chinese are very particular to this formal seating arrangement while the Southern Chinese has loosen the formalities somewhat.

Controversial Issues in China
There are some taboo areas in social conversations with the Chinese. Try to avoid these conversational topics as much as possible. I have seen many nasty arguements as a result of these topics:

1. You must not mention that Taiwan is an independent state or a country.
2. You must NEVER praise the Japanese or be seen to be good buddies with them
3. You can condemn Mao Tse Tung but avoid critising Deng Hsiao Ping
4. You must not praise Shanghai in front of natives of Beijing and similarly vice versa

Other than that, you are pretty safe to converse with the Chinese anything under the sun!

Old metal to become a big Afghan business (Courtesy-Sada-e Azadi Magazin)

After three decades of war, scrap metal has become one of Afghanistan’s “natural” resources.

Old military equipment such as Soviet tanks and other metal vehicles and destroyed buildings have all become sources of metal, available to be reprocessed and used to make new metal products.
The Afghan government recently entered the metal recycling business in Kabul. In early February, officials sold 750 old public Millie Buses, most of them destroyed during the urban battles of the 1990s.
This is the first time that the government has announced the sale of scrap metal. The normal route for such metal is illegal: smuggling to neighbouring countries for reprocessing.
It is hoped that a steel processing capacity will be developed in Kabul, like the factory that opened last year in Herat. The Afghan Folad factory employs more than 100 workers who make steel building products.
The initiative to process metal in Kabul will help the government reduce the eyesore created by the wrecked buses, which have become surrounded by garbage and other unpleasant waste.
Selling the metal will also make money for the government to spend on development projects.
Officials have committed to sell the metal in a transparent, three-step bidding process. They also hope it will develop a domesic metal recycling market. That way, Afghan processors will benefit from business previously done in Pakistan and the metal will be available for use in Afghanistan.
Old metal is everywhere around the country; including governmental compounds, sidewalks, highways, rivers, mountains and deserts. Besides large objects like vehicles and their discarded parts, scrap metal comes from broken appliances, wood stoves, and even drink cans made of valuable aluminium.
The department has already sold the 750 buses to an individual who bought the buses for 9,300 afghanis each, officials said.
After all the buses are sold from three compounds in the capital Kabul (Zinda Banan, Khoshal Khan and Shah Shahed areas), they will start selling old Russian-made trucks the government owns.
Recently Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s cabinet decided to rid the country of old metal. His cabinet created a commission to supervise this effort. The panel includes members from the ministries of commerce, finance, mines, justice, and the National Environmental Protection Agency.
The commission has already ordered each government ministry to gather their scrap metals, including old weapons, and put the material in once place.
Governmental officials hope they will earn tens of thousands of dollars from these metals. The money will be used in development projects.
“We will sell the metals which are useless, old and corroding,” Jan Mohammad Mohmand, chief executive for the used metal sales board and a member of the finance ministry, told Sada-e Azadi.

System cannot be run ideally

After a strong Lokpal Bill was passed by the Parliament, there is wave of victory across the Nation. But there is a need to have a law to check corruption in the judiciary and one to enact electoral reforms that would effectively control money power in elections. Lokpal would only cover public servants, including ministers, whereas the fountainheads of corruption in India were big businesses and corporates and it is said that they are running the Legislature..!! Further, Judiciary is said to be run by Legislature...!!! Isn't it strange..?? The two are always seen to be related to each other. Then to whom do one blame..??

When it comes to Legislature, Judiciary becomes unable to trap the corrupts and when it comes to Judiciary, Legislature says, no one is greater than Judiciary.

When Anna wanted the Judiciary to be brought in the view of Lokpal, the question of hurting the Supremacy of Judiciary was produced in front of them, of-course, one cannot un-trust the Judiciary, but where is its transparency..??

Also, it is damn sure that Lokpal may also misuse its powers. Then what is the use of the Graft..???

We need to refine our system just like the scientific principles. Scientific principles cannot be applied ideally, or can be, but in the extreme ideal conditions, which are not possible in practical.

Same thing is applicable with our system. We have to accept the flaws in it. One cannot think of the pure system and he cannot blame it, also. In our ancient stories and mythology also, we can see number of flaws. These incidents prove that unless there is a flaw, we cannot look for another way and so we cannot take the world ahead.




So, from the current scenario, I feel that, the time of next Revolution has come, and it is going to take us to the new era, just like I said above. Our System will take number of turns but will never run ideally.

Branding of a Product....isnt an easy task...!!!

We all study marketing mix with basic 4 P's and we are just aware with one of the P, i.e. PRODUCT..!! Just aware means..??? Have we ever wonder what that PRODUCT actually means..??? Coming with today's learning, I came to know that, when PRODUCT is to launched in the competitive market, the marketer has to prove its Brand image, then only he is going to get the result of his efforts...i.e. Revenues..!!
When a product is to be given a Brand value, it has to be introduced with a distinct image than that of the competitor's one. Here comes the Competitors Analysis System. A marketer proves the exclusivity of his product. A study focusing on the competitor's product, its features, the effect of competitors on his product; gives the probable position of his product. This study also helps in the improvements to be done to cope-up with the market demands.
The above analysis of the product with number of different competitors predicts the most probable value of the product, and if the product is made superior, then it gains the brand image....!! So, every learning marketer needs to carry out this analysis so as to create the brand image of his own or his organization's product..!!!
With thanks to Prof. Siddharth Mishra,,,
Rohit Bawankar

Japanese economy recovers post tsunami, narrows contraction margin to 1.3%

Japan's economy contracted 1.3 per cent in the three months ended June, much less than expected, indicating that the island nation is on the road to recovery after a devastating tsunami in March.

The world's third-largest economy, which is also grappling with an appreciating yen and sluggish exports, was widely expected to shrink by over 2 per cent in the June quarter.

Japan's GDP declined 1.3 per cent in the three months ended June 2011, according to figures released by the Japanese Cabinet Office on Monday. The less-than-expected economic contraction was mainly on account of better consumer spending. Nevertheless, the better economic reading from Japan boosted Asian stock markets on 16th August. Most of the key indices, including Japan's Nikkei 225, China's Shanghai Composite Index and Hong Kong's Hang Sang closed in the green. Stock markets worldwide were rattled last week amid mounting concerns about the health of American economy as well as the escalating European debt turmoil.

Coal India snatches RIL crown

Barely nine months after it listed on the stock exchanges, state-owned Coal India has mid-wived one of the most incredible stories on Dalal Street by toppling Reliance Industries from its perch and becoming the country's most valuable company.

The Calcutta-based hewer of coal today notched up a market capitalisation of Rs 2,51,296 crore, nudging ahead of Mukesh Ambani's flagship company which reported a value of Rs 2,47,129 crore.

The Coal India stock, which first listed on the bourses on November 4 last year, has risen 16.21 per cent till date, while Reliance has wilted 32 per cent during the same period.

Both are principally energy resource companies: one is the largest producer of coal, while the other is the biggest refiner of crude oil.

Coal India's push to the top came in just seven trading sessions since it burst into the sensex on August 8. That itself is a fairytale ride: no other company has leapt into the index in a short span of nine months since listing.

The change at the top, though not unexpected, is a reflection of the huge demand for natural resources such as coal in an economy that is projected to grow at 8 per cent.

The fortunes of the two companies ' Coal India and RIL ' seem to have diverged because of perceptions of investors in a market that has been extremely volatile lately.

RIL has been under-performing the markets over several months primarily because of disappointment over the company's inability to ramp up gas output at its famed KG-D6 block. Revenues from its oil and gas exploration account for just 5.7 per cent of its gross turnover of Rs 276,371 crore in 2010-11, but that doesn't seem to have weighed with investors at all.

In the trading today, the Coal India stock closed with a gain of 2.64 per cent at Rs 397.85, translating into a market capitalisation of Rs 2,51,296 crore. On the other hand, the RIL share ended lower by Rs 4.20 at Rs 754.80.

"The writing was on the wall. There were two reasons for Coal India overtaking RIL. While investors have been bullish over the prospects of the coal producer and this has only strengthened after its good first-quarter results, the RIL share price has been falling over the past few months," said an analyst with a foreign brokerage.

For RIL, the change in the pecking order is tinged with a little bit of irony: it had emerged as India's most valuable company nearly four years ago after dislodging another state-owned giant ' ONGC. It has now been beaten by a nine-month old PSU newbie on the market.

The RIL stock has also been pounded after a draft report of the CAG said the company had been shown undue favours by the Union ministry of petroleum and natural gas and the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) in its Krishna-Godavari (KG) block.

Experts point out that there are many things that are going in favour of Coal India, which is the largest coal producer in the world.

Akhil Jain, analyst at Aditya Birla Money, said in a report that the company enjoyed a competitive advantage over its global peers on account of its large coal reserves, lower cost of mining and lower capital expenditure costs.

The availability of huge reserves in India will see many coal-based power projects coming up. Moreover, after the Fukushima nuclear power disaster in Japan, concerns over safety are likely to result in a slowdown of future nuclear projects.

Another analyst says Coal India has huge cash reserves and will not be affected by the current environment of high interest rates or the economic uncertainty overseas.

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