Friday, January 18, 2008
From Shanghai: Era-Intersection of Time
I wanted to post this entry about a show we saw while in Shanghai. It's called Era-Intersection of Time and you can find the website here: ERA-Intersection of Time. It was a pretty amazing show. There are actually a couple of YouTube videos up. Here's one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNKsZi1Vrn8. If you ever get the chance to get to Shanghai, you've got to see this show. It's pretty amazing.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Company Visit - TNS
Our last company visit of Vietnam, and of the trip, was with TNS, a global marketing information company (http://www.tnsglobal.com/). We were given a presentation by Mr. Ralf Matthaes, Managing Director of TNS Vietnam. The presentation was an overview of Vietnam and its key sectors. This was a really interesting overview of Vietnam and spoke to many of the advantages that Vietnam has for foreign businesses. Ralf took us through a series of slides showcasing the "Advantage of 1" of Vietnam. Some of them are:
- 1 language - Viet
- 1 government - Communist
- 1 highway - HW#1
- 1 Coastline - South China Sea
- 1 Religion - Pragmatism
- 1 Direction - Market Capitalism
There were a few others but this gives the general idea.
We also learned some interesting facts for businesses to consider for setting up shop in Vietnam. The Vietnamese government won't block the internet like China will because they don't want bad press. Vietnamese are tech savvy with a 58% urban mobile phone ownership and with Internet usage in-home at 21%, which doubled in 2007. And interestingly, the biggest role model for the Vietnamese is Bill Gates.
There are 3 big things that are no-nos for coming to do business in Vietnam:
1. "Do what you say" - Don't talk about something unless you can do it
2. The Vietnamese don't like comparisons to China
3. Never talk down to the Vietnamese
Overall, Vietnam seems like a very hospitable place to do business in. The only thing you can't really do is criticize the government, although you can voice a positive opinion about something. The government is working to crack down on corruption, although they call it "transparency" and not "corruption". It goes back to the fact the government doesn't like negative press.
I'll compare China to Vietnam here only because it seems that Vietnam is making a bolder move to open up it's economy and markets to foreigners. The Vietnamese are much better at protecting the environment and are keenly aware of protecting the environment as they grow and start building more factories. This may seem small but after having spent 5 days in Shanghai and experienced the smog there, it's refreshing to know that Vietnam is taking a more active role to avoid that.
- 1 language - Viet
- 1 government - Communist
- 1 highway - HW#1
- 1 Coastline - South China Sea
- 1 Religion - Pragmatism
- 1 Direction - Market Capitalism
There were a few others but this gives the general idea.
We also learned some interesting facts for businesses to consider for setting up shop in Vietnam. The Vietnamese government won't block the internet like China will because they don't want bad press. Vietnamese are tech savvy with a 58% urban mobile phone ownership and with Internet usage in-home at 21%, which doubled in 2007. And interestingly, the biggest role model for the Vietnamese is Bill Gates.
There are 3 big things that are no-nos for coming to do business in Vietnam:
1. "Do what you say" - Don't talk about something unless you can do it
2. The Vietnamese don't like comparisons to China
3. Never talk down to the Vietnamese
Overall, Vietnam seems like a very hospitable place to do business in. The only thing you can't really do is criticize the government, although you can voice a positive opinion about something. The government is working to crack down on corruption, although they call it "transparency" and not "corruption". It goes back to the fact the government doesn't like negative press.
I'll compare China to Vietnam here only because it seems that Vietnam is making a bolder move to open up it's economy and markets to foreigners. The Vietnamese are much better at protecting the environment and are keenly aware of protecting the environment as they grow and start building more factories. This may seem small but after having spent 5 days in Shanghai and experienced the smog there, it's refreshing to know that Vietnam is taking a more active role to avoid that.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Company Visit: Quang Trung Software City (QTSC) Development Corp
This was the first of our company visits on January 14th. The QTSC was created in 2001 as a software park, the biggest of eight software parks in Vietnam, to have all the infrastructure and people co-located to serve clients and enable Vietnam to bring more IT work to the country. You can read more about them here: http://www.quangtrungsoft.com.vn/home.jsp. Below are a few snapshots of the park as we drove in and from when we sat through the presentation.
The presentation was given by Mr. Lam Long, Chief Investment and Trade Promotion, and Ms. Pham Thi Kim Phuong, Sales Manager, pictured here.
It was very interesting insight into how Vietnam is trying to develop their resources and become a major option for outsourcing. It reminded me of an article I read a few months ago about how Vietnam wanted to become the next China. After visiting this park, I can see how they are going about doing that.
The park was created in order to offer a number of advantages to customers: tax breaks, office rental, one-stop service, dedicated infrastructure from fiber optic to uninterrupted phone and Internet, government support, and Human Resources. The park has strong relationships to 33 universities and colleges and their are 6 IT training centers in the QTSC. Their target outsourcing is for BPO, IT Training and Data Center. They are also partners with Cisco, Sun, and Microsoft. They have advantages for foreign investors in that they can own the land and houses, a plus from the way it's done in China where I don't think foreigners can own the land. They also offer the advantage of cheap labor since the typical salary for a software developer there is $250-$300 per month.
It's interesting to see how the government is supporting this whole effort and coordinating these efforts. I think comparing Vietnam to China, one can see that the Vietnamese government has a much easier time to lead the effort and enforce policies than the government in China. Vietnam is much smaller and doesn't have the independent provinces to contend with. Both countries have infrastructure problems with poor roads but it seems that Vietnam could more quickly catch up to China because of that. In China, the main problems expanding into the interior are the poor roads. Scott Jenkins from our Lowe's visit talked to us about that. Vietnam also has poor roads but they are starting to build major highways, one of which we road on going to the Mekong River for our tour.
The presentation was given by Mr. Lam Long, Chief Investment and Trade Promotion, and Ms. Pham Thi Kim Phuong, Sales Manager, pictured here.
It was very interesting insight into how Vietnam is trying to develop their resources and become a major option for outsourcing. It reminded me of an article I read a few months ago about how Vietnam wanted to become the next China. After visiting this park, I can see how they are going about doing that.The park was created in order to offer a number of advantages to customers: tax breaks, office rental, one-stop service, dedicated infrastructure from fiber optic to uninterrupted phone and Internet, government support, and Human Resources. The park has strong relationships to 33 universities and colleges and their are 6 IT training centers in the QTSC. Their target outsourcing is for BPO, IT Training and Data Center. They are also partners with Cisco, Sun, and Microsoft. They have advantages for foreign investors in that they can own the land and houses, a plus from the way it's done in China where I don't think foreigners can own the land. They also offer the advantage of cheap labor since the typical salary for a software developer there is $250-$300 per month.
It's interesting to see how the government is supporting this whole effort and coordinating these efforts. I think comparing Vietnam to China, one can see that the Vietnamese government has a much easier time to lead the effort and enforce policies than the government in China. Vietnam is much smaller and doesn't have the independent provinces to contend with. Both countries have infrastructure problems with poor roads but it seems that Vietnam could more quickly catch up to China because of that. In China, the main problems expanding into the interior are the poor roads. Scott Jenkins from our Lowe's visit talked to us about that. Vietnam also has poor roads but they are starting to build major highways, one of which we road on going to the Mekong River for our tour.
Well, I'm back stateside and trying to get back into the swing of things again. I'll be posting up analysis of the company visits I had on my last day that I didn't have time to post before and also organize the photos better. In the meantime, I thought I'd post a video of traffic in HCM. I have another longer one that is like 180 MB that I can't post. I'll try to find a way and get the URL out. It's pretty neat.
It was really something to see. The national vehicle, it seems, is the moped. There are so many of them and it's amazing to watch people, including me!, cross the street. You have to look both ways constantly in order to catch that stray driver. Plus, even with the crossing light. What was really amazing was that the moped drivers act like schools of fish you would see on some nature show. They can all shift together to avoid someone or something. Anyway, enjoy.
It was really something to see. The national vehicle, it seems, is the moped. There are so many of them and it's amazing to watch people, including me!, cross the street. You have to look both ways constantly in order to catch that stray driver. Plus, even with the crossing light. What was really amazing was that the moped drivers act like schools of fish you would see on some nature show. They can all shift together to avoid someone or something. Anyway, enjoy.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Thoughts on Ho Chi Minh City
I am totally diggin' this city. The vibe and the people is are totally awesome. It's amazing how many places to eat, hang out at and see are around here. On the way to today's company visits, we stopped at a Cantonese Temple (pics below).
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Tour of the Mekong River
On Saturday we took a tour of the Mekong Delta. It was very cool to ride in a little boat on the river and meet some locals. We got a tour of Unicorn Island and watched where some people made Coconut Candy. We also got a little entertainment. I managed to record a few and am posting them here.
Enjoy,
C
(These vids are pretty big so I can only post one now. I'm off to breakfast and an early departure for our first company visit today. I'll post the others later)
Enjoy,
C
(These vids are pretty big so I can only post one now. I'm off to breakfast and an early departure for our first company visit today. I'll post the others later)
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Company Visit - IDG Ventures Vietnam
Our first company visit in Vietnam was IDG Ventures Vietnam (http://www.idgvv.com.vn/). We met with Thu Huong Duong, PR & Operations Director, Hiep Do, VP of Business Strategy, and luckily a guy who was a client. I can't remember his name but, funny coincidence, he's a Virginia Tech grad living in Vietnam and married to a local woman (he's Korean). He started a company called iSphere. IDGVV is the first IT venture capital fund in Vietnam. They talked a little about their portfolio and it sounds like they have some good companies coming up that they hope to spin off either through IPOs or M&A. We got some valuable insight into what it would take to start doing business in Vietnam, and it's very similar to doing business in China. If you're one of the big boys, i.e. one of the true multinational companies that has a lot of money and clout, Vietnam offers you some amazing and lucrative opportunities. If you're a small or medium-sized company, than you do business at a much greater risk. One must also find the right local partner to do business with. This is crucial as they would be someone who would understand local culture and life and could keep one on the right path and avoid pitfalls.
And that's the tricky part.
Finding a good partner, just like in Vietnam, can be hard with the bad side of things leading to a disaster.
But, the opportunity and potential is there. The IT market in Vietnam is booming. Some interesting facts about Ho Chi Minh City is that about 65% of the population is below 35 years of age, and that in a city of about 8 million. The Internet penetration of the country is about 28%, which is actually pretty darn good. The mobile phone penetration is about 30%.
The strategy that IDGVV is following is to not reinvent the wheel. They copy what works and make it work for Vietnam. But, it remains to be seen if it will work outside of Vietnam.
Some of the issues that affect the IT sector and what IDGVV does is the Vietnamese education system. It doesn't encourage punctuality, professionalism, etc. IDGVV tries to set up companies to be in good positions and that involves working with the founders to make them better businessmen. That sometimes doesn't sit well with them. This is all in contrast to China where the government pushes the education system to develop more engineers, as detailed in Friedman's book The World is Flat, and even go so far as to sponsor national business contests where students design and develop a business plan and product and the winning team gets a cash prize. I read about that briefly when I was in Shanghai and got The China Daily. However, I have no doubt that Vietnam will soon follow China as they wish to be the next China. In fact, the folks at IDGVV told us that the government is letting private universities open up and they are passing tax legislation to allow for 0% taxes for education spending.
IDGVV is focusing on what they refer to as TMT - Telecom, Media, and Technology. The folks we met with told us that in the next 3 to 5 years, their biggest issue will be resources.
The folks also gave us some tips on how to do business in Vietnam. First, one has to establish a trust relationship with people. That's done by first having coffee with someone and learning about each other's families. Next they gave us these tips:
1. Find the right partner
2. Have patience since everything is done at a much slower pace
I think there was a third tip but I can't quite remember it. I'll try to ask around and get that down.
Anyway, these are my thoughts and impressions on the visit with IDGVV. It was great and the people were interesting.
And that's the tricky part.
Finding a good partner, just like in Vietnam, can be hard with the bad side of things leading to a disaster.
But, the opportunity and potential is there. The IT market in Vietnam is booming. Some interesting facts about Ho Chi Minh City is that about 65% of the population is below 35 years of age, and that in a city of about 8 million. The Internet penetration of the country is about 28%, which is actually pretty darn good. The mobile phone penetration is about 30%.
The strategy that IDGVV is following is to not reinvent the wheel. They copy what works and make it work for Vietnam. But, it remains to be seen if it will work outside of Vietnam.
Some of the issues that affect the IT sector and what IDGVV does is the Vietnamese education system. It doesn't encourage punctuality, professionalism, etc. IDGVV tries to set up companies to be in good positions and that involves working with the founders to make them better businessmen. That sometimes doesn't sit well with them. This is all in contrast to China where the government pushes the education system to develop more engineers, as detailed in Friedman's book The World is Flat, and even go so far as to sponsor national business contests where students design and develop a business plan and product and the winning team gets a cash prize. I read about that briefly when I was in Shanghai and got The China Daily. However, I have no doubt that Vietnam will soon follow China as they wish to be the next China. In fact, the folks at IDGVV told us that the government is letting private universities open up and they are passing tax legislation to allow for 0% taxes for education spending.
IDGVV is focusing on what they refer to as TMT - Telecom, Media, and Technology. The folks we met with told us that in the next 3 to 5 years, their biggest issue will be resources.
The folks also gave us some tips on how to do business in Vietnam. First, one has to establish a trust relationship with people. That's done by first having coffee with someone and learning about each other's families. Next they gave us these tips:
1. Find the right partner
2. Have patience since everything is done at a much slower pace
I think there was a third tip but I can't quite remember it. I'll try to ask around and get that down.
Anyway, these are my thoughts and impressions on the visit with IDGVV. It was great and the people were interesting.
Dan's Blog
Dan is a fellow student in my MBA program and with me on the trip. He's doing a blog for this trip as well and you can see it here: http://web.mac.com/motor.city/iWeb/Dan%27s%20Website/Blog/Blog.html.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Thoughts on Shanghai
OK, this is a quick post to give my impressions and thoughts on Shanghai itself. Whew, where to start? First, the city is big. And when I say big, I mean B-I-G. I’ve been to some major US cities – New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Washington, DC – and Shanghai blows them away in sheer size. There is no central downtown since it’s so spread out. I think there are about 23 million people in the city compared to around 8 million in New York City.
What’s really amazing is the stark contrast of old versus new. There are some stunningly beautiful modern skyscrapers in Shanghai. And they are spread out everywhere. Interspersed among them all are old buildings that have some modern influence but that they are run down, if not falling down, and filled with many who appear to be living in poverty. There are clothes hanging from clotheslines all over the city, even in the high rises. That was actually interesting. I could open my window in my hotel on the 13th floor. And there is still lots of construction going on. I can understand now how China is the number one importer of concrete, steel, and other building materials.
The roads for the most part are pretty good. One amazing thing is that there are elevated highways running all throughout the city. It’s a great way to control traffic but just shows how fast they city has grown and how local authorities decided to handle the traffic. They could probably do something like that in Washington, DC, to handle more traffic on the beltway. And talk about fast expansion, there are power lines running right through the city, including the towers that powerlines are strung on. I’m so used to seeing those in fields in the countryside, not through a major city. So many have the “not in my backyard” mentality that they would probably have a heart attack if they saw those towers.
Another thing, Shanghai is not very clean. I read coming over that the Chinese government has a problem trying to get people to stop spitting. Well, let me tell you, they have a long way to go. We constantly saw people clearing their throats and spitting everywhere, even in front of restaurants. And yes, there is public urination, even mothers teaching their kids how to pee on trees. I even saw one kid whose pants had no bottom so he could just squat down wherever he was and do his business. So, a general rule of thumb when in China is: THERE IS NO 5 SECOND RULE!!! Trust me!
I posted some pics up to show how bad the smog was. I don’t think they could do it justice. The last couple of days before we left the airport was intermittently shutting down due to smog and fog reducing visibility. Our flight was delayed a few hours as they had to clear out that traffic but it was amazing how thick the smog was. Scott Jenkins from Lowe’s talked about how a typhoon would come through and everything would clear out for a couple of days. That’s not very fun to pray for a typhoon to get some good weather. And what really amazed was that people not only dried their clothes out in the open, they even air dried chicken or duck.
What’s really amazing is the stark contrast of old versus new. There are some stunningly beautiful modern skyscrapers in Shanghai. And they are spread out everywhere. Interspersed among them all are old buildings that have some modern influence but that they are run down, if not falling down, and filled with many who appear to be living in poverty. There are clothes hanging from clotheslines all over the city, even in the high rises. That was actually interesting. I could open my window in my hotel on the 13th floor. And there is still lots of construction going on. I can understand now how China is the number one importer of concrete, steel, and other building materials.
The roads for the most part are pretty good. One amazing thing is that there are elevated highways running all throughout the city. It’s a great way to control traffic but just shows how fast they city has grown and how local authorities decided to handle the traffic. They could probably do something like that in Washington, DC, to handle more traffic on the beltway. And talk about fast expansion, there are power lines running right through the city, including the towers that powerlines are strung on. I’m so used to seeing those in fields in the countryside, not through a major city. So many have the “not in my backyard” mentality that they would probably have a heart attack if they saw those towers.
Another thing, Shanghai is not very clean. I read coming over that the Chinese government has a problem trying to get people to stop spitting. Well, let me tell you, they have a long way to go. We constantly saw people clearing their throats and spitting everywhere, even in front of restaurants. And yes, there is public urination, even mothers teaching their kids how to pee on trees. I even saw one kid whose pants had no bottom so he could just squat down wherever he was and do his business. So, a general rule of thumb when in China is: THERE IS NO 5 SECOND RULE!!! Trust me!
I posted some pics up to show how bad the smog was. I don’t think they could do it justice. The last couple of days before we left the airport was intermittently shutting down due to smog and fog reducing visibility. Our flight was delayed a few hours as they had to clear out that traffic but it was amazing how thick the smog was. Scott Jenkins from Lowe’s talked about how a typhoon would come through and everything would clear out for a couple of days. That’s not very fun to pray for a typhoon to get some good weather. And what really amazed was that people not only dried their clothes out in the open, they even air dried chicken or duck.
Thoughts on Business in China
Well, I didn't get to do this post before I left but I have a few minutes in HCM (Ho Chi Minh City) to get this out of the way. It was really interesting meeting the people we did from such different companies and industries. Again, we met with folks from the US Chamber of Commerce, Lowe's, Owens-Illinois, and Apple. They all have different views on doing business in China.
The US Chamber guys talked to us about how the central government wants to expand business from the coastal region and more into the interior of China. They talked about how the government is trying to improve the infrastructure and all that. On the other hand, Scott Jenkins from Lowe's told us how bad the roads and that they won't get fixed anytime soon. Very interesting to hear the academic/government version versus the man on the ground businessman version.
It seems that Lowe's and Apple are doing it right in that they are sourcing their products and not directly running a factory nor establishing a retail presence. Lowe's has no plans in the future to establish retail stores after watching the problems that Home Depot has had after buying a local company, I forget the name, and then realizing that what they thought they bought and what they actually bought were not quite the same. So they are now slowly and quietly fixing that and Lowe's doesn't even try that route yet. It's much more effective for them to be the middle men between Lowe's USA and the manufacturers. Apple is working the same way and it appears to be working well for them both. It seems that the business environment still has some maturing to do before companies can feel confident in merging with or acquiring Chinese companies. I don't know how long that will take but it looks like Lowe's thinks it will be a long time.
Owens-Illinois seems to have the hardest go of it since they have to deal with a lot of political issues and are much more in contact with corruption. It's an interesting contrast to Lowe's and Apple. Since O-I runs the plant in partnership with local people, they deal directly with the labor laws, the workers and their skill sets, or lack thereof, and the ramifications of running a huge plant. After working at the plant for one year, a worker is entitled to 1 year of sick leave. And they can just take it off when they decide to or when a doctor just tells them. Their concept of safety is definitely lacking from the West and can cause problems with workers getting severely hurt. Also, since the Asian culture is not of confrontation, many times Chinese workers or managers would be tasked to do something and go off and do it, with no follow up with the tasker to ensure they are doing what is wanted. So, if they do it wrong, than they have just wasted a lot of time. Another problem with running a manufacturing plant is that China has a law that no second hand equipment can be brought into the country, it has to be brand new. This is because companies were bringing in all kinds of garbage and effectively dumping it in the country.
All in all it was a great visit. The companies and the people we talked with gave us some great insights into doing business in China and many of the issues they have to deal with. As Scott Jenkins told us when someone asked him, it's like the wild west where you never know what you’re going to face and what fires you’ll have to put out that day. He loves his job and loves working like that. If someone would think about doing a job like that, they should take some time to really think about that as it takes a special kind of person to enjoy that job. Many people want some stability.
The US Chamber guys talked to us about how the central government wants to expand business from the coastal region and more into the interior of China. They talked about how the government is trying to improve the infrastructure and all that. On the other hand, Scott Jenkins from Lowe's told us how bad the roads and that they won't get fixed anytime soon. Very interesting to hear the academic/government version versus the man on the ground businessman version.
It seems that Lowe's and Apple are doing it right in that they are sourcing their products and not directly running a factory nor establishing a retail presence. Lowe's has no plans in the future to establish retail stores after watching the problems that Home Depot has had after buying a local company, I forget the name, and then realizing that what they thought they bought and what they actually bought were not quite the same. So they are now slowly and quietly fixing that and Lowe's doesn't even try that route yet. It's much more effective for them to be the middle men between Lowe's USA and the manufacturers. Apple is working the same way and it appears to be working well for them both. It seems that the business environment still has some maturing to do before companies can feel confident in merging with or acquiring Chinese companies. I don't know how long that will take but it looks like Lowe's thinks it will be a long time.
Owens-Illinois seems to have the hardest go of it since they have to deal with a lot of political issues and are much more in contact with corruption. It's an interesting contrast to Lowe's and Apple. Since O-I runs the plant in partnership with local people, they deal directly with the labor laws, the workers and their skill sets, or lack thereof, and the ramifications of running a huge plant. After working at the plant for one year, a worker is entitled to 1 year of sick leave. And they can just take it off when they decide to or when a doctor just tells them. Their concept of safety is definitely lacking from the West and can cause problems with workers getting severely hurt. Also, since the Asian culture is not of confrontation, many times Chinese workers or managers would be tasked to do something and go off and do it, with no follow up with the tasker to ensure they are doing what is wanted. So, if they do it wrong, than they have just wasted a lot of time. Another problem with running a manufacturing plant is that China has a law that no second hand equipment can be brought into the country, it has to be brand new. This is because companies were bringing in all kinds of garbage and effectively dumping it in the country.
All in all it was a great visit. The companies and the people we talked with gave us some great insights into doing business in China and many of the issues they have to deal with. As Scott Jenkins told us when someone asked him, it's like the wild west where you never know what you’re going to face and what fires you’ll have to put out that day. He loves his job and loves working like that. If someone would think about doing a job like that, they should take some time to really think about that as it takes a special kind of person to enjoy that job. Many people want some stability.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Ho Chi Minh City
I just arrived in Ho Chi Minh City. I'll post my last thoughts on China when I can.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Company Visit - Oracle
This morning we went to Oracle and we had a Mr. Charlie Lee. It was interesting to learn how Oracle was conducting business in China. Mr. Lee manages the Oracle Consulting business for Central China. The focus of Oracle in China is application development. Mr. Lee is Taiwanese and leading a bunch of Chinese consultants in China. It reminded me of reading the World is Flat again as Friedman mentioned how the world was changing and many Asian countries that have a long and sometimes very antagonistic relationships now work very closely together and have been really forced to put aside differences and cultural animosity for the sake of business.
Oracle in China has somewhat of a turnover problem as they still have competitive salaries but the students that are recruited by Oracle eventually leave because they are very smart and speak good English. They recruit from some of the top universities in the country so they get some very smart people. It's only natural that some of the clients that hire Oracle eventually want to hire their own guys to do the work. A similar problem for IT companies in the US.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Lowe's Global
After lunch we went to the Lowe's Global office to meet with Mr. Scott Jenkins, Director of Asian Sourcing. That was a great visit because he really didn't give us a long presentation but let us set the direction of the visit with our questions. He was a very good presenter, a natural and gave us some great insight what it's like to be an ex-pat here in Shanghai and what it's like to do business here.
Lowe's doesn't have a retail presence in China, like Home Depot, but instead they are the supplier for Lowe's. They are merely a representative office with no income and they only fulfill purchase orders placed back in the states. Lowe's China acts as the intermediary between factories in China and the Merchandising team in the US. It's Mr. Jenkins job to get the contracts to get the products built and shipped to the states.
It was interesting to hear Mr. Jenkins discuss how they enforce quality in the products, especially after the visit with the Embassy people. With the Embassy visit, we discussed how Matel had problems with their toys. They had Quality Assurance (QA) procedures in place, even bought the right paint for their Chinese manufacturers, but still they got in trouble. It as because their QA procedures weren't good enough. Lowe's, on the other hand, are much more aggressive in ensuring quality in their manufacturers and in the QA procedures. They have quarterly and annual visits and the second that a factory shows problems, they could be dropped if they don't fix it. This is partly because factories over here apparently work almost hand-to-mouth in their operations, they don't have a lot of cash on hand to keep operations going. So, if some company like Lowe's tells them that they are being dropped, they go out of business. That gives Lowe's a certain power.
Working as an ex-pat, Mr. Jenkins had some very interesting insights. He said there are two options for living abroad - you go hard-core and live among the ex-pat community, or, live Chinese by living in a high-rise. He chose the Chinese way and lives in a high-rise. He also has an office rule that English should not be spoken in the office to make him feel better. That's because he's the only American in the office. So, he lets people do their jobs and then just backfill him in on what is going on.
Tasty Steak
After we left from our morning visit, we headed to the Tasty Steak Restaurant. It was a very cool looking restaurant. It was modern in design and was the first Chinese restaurant we've been to that has not only western utensils on the tables but salt and pepper as well. The food was really good. Some folks had steak, which was like butter it was so soft. I had the Italian Baked Chicken and that was great too.
OK, there was something really weird about the bathroom that I just had to talk about and show a picture. It may sound strange taking a picture of a men's urinal but when it has ice in it, you just can't help it. I don't know why there was ice in there. but it was the funniest thing I've seen.
Monday, January 7, 2008
US Embassy, Political, Economic and Commercial Services
OK, I just got back from my first visit and wanted to get a few thoughts out before heading out to lunch.
We met with Mr. Christopher Beede, Political and Economic Section Chief and Mr. Stephen Jacques, Commercial Officer. This was our first visit so they gave us a short presentation on the broader economic issues and conditions in China today. It was a very interesting to hear what they had to say and it was really interesting because many of the ideas I read in The World is Flat were echoed in their presentation. The main issues that China is facing today are: 1. Unemployment; 2. Growth/Pollution; 3. A potential bubble in property prices and the stock market; 4. Income disparity; and 5. Social Stability. It was also fascinating to learn that the central government only has so much power to implement changes, that the provinces are more independent that I thought.
It's also going to be interesting to see how China moves forward with environmental laws and enforcement. Looking out my window and walking around the smog is unbelievably thick. I'm sitting here writing this now and have a slight taste in my mouth that makes me feel like I've been smoking. It's also interesting to learn that there really two sides in the growth in China - the coastal areas, from Shanghai to Beijing, and the interior of the country. When China opened up it started around Hong Kong and then worked its way up to Beijing. It's pretty much stayed there and that creates a lot of tensions as the central government wants some of that growth to move into the interior of the country but the coastal areas still want that expansion and that is creating strong competition.
The two gentlemen we talked with also discussed that March of last year marked the first time that they could discuss foreign investment in the US. Prior to that, they could only discuss the export of US products. A lot of states now are seeking direct foreign investment. Minnesota sent up a trade delegation recently seeking just that. How ironic would it be that Chinese companies started building manufacturing plants in the US.
Well, I'm off to lunch now. I'll write more later after I digest what I heard and discuss a bit with folks.
We met with Mr. Christopher Beede, Political and Economic Section Chief and Mr. Stephen Jacques, Commercial Officer. This was our first visit so they gave us a short presentation on the broader economic issues and conditions in China today. It was a very interesting to hear what they had to say and it was really interesting because many of the ideas I read in The World is Flat were echoed in their presentation. The main issues that China is facing today are: 1. Unemployment; 2. Growth/Pollution; 3. A potential bubble in property prices and the stock market; 4. Income disparity; and 5. Social Stability. It was also fascinating to learn that the central government only has so much power to implement changes, that the provinces are more independent that I thought.
It's also going to be interesting to see how China moves forward with environmental laws and enforcement. Looking out my window and walking around the smog is unbelievably thick. I'm sitting here writing this now and have a slight taste in my mouth that makes me feel like I've been smoking. It's also interesting to learn that there really two sides in the growth in China - the coastal areas, from Shanghai to Beijing, and the interior of the country. When China opened up it started around Hong Kong and then worked its way up to Beijing. It's pretty much stayed there and that creates a lot of tensions as the central government wants some of that growth to move into the interior of the country but the coastal areas still want that expansion and that is creating strong competition.
The two gentlemen we talked with also discussed that March of last year marked the first time that they could discuss foreign investment in the US. Prior to that, they could only discuss the export of US products. A lot of states now are seeking direct foreign investment. Minnesota sent up a trade delegation recently seeking just that. How ironic would it be that Chinese companies started building manufacturing plants in the US.
Well, I'm off to lunch now. I'll write more later after I digest what I heard and discuss a bit with folks.
More from January 7th...
OK, I'm writing this on the 8th but I'll finish this thought before I take off for company visits. I’m exhausted. I think the time difference and the walking around is catching up. Here’s the rest of the day after I did my little walk about.
We ate breakfast in the Tea Room in the hotel and it was pretty good. I hit the Starbucks near the entrance this morning. God bless Starbucks. Headache gone! Anyway, the Tea Room is going away after today and is going to become an Italian restaurant. Interesting little fact. After that we had some time before we had to meet our tour guides at noon. From there we left for lunch.
We ate lunch at Caihongfang Restaurant. This is a very famous restaurant in Shanghai. It’s been visited by Bill Clinton. The food was good and there was a lot of it.
From lunch we left for our tour of Old Town including Yu Yuan Garden. This was a very cool place and the architecture of the whole place was great. An interesting fact I learned is that the traditional Chinese coins that are round with the square holes in the middle is because the Chinese traditionally believe that heaven is round and the Earth is square. Unfortunately my camera battery died halfway through this so I didn’t get all the pictures I wanted.
Our tour guides also arranged for a tour of a Silk Factory. It was fascinating to learn about how silk is made from when they gather the silk worms in their cocoons to how they extract it and actually create the silk clothing. What’s really funny, and why I wish I had my camera, is how low tech the whole operation was. It was a small room where there were two machines and it was all done manually.
Next we left for dinner at Shanghai Lubolang Restaurant. This was back in the Old Town area. I thought we were going to the dumpling place I mentioned above but we didn’t, although we passed right by it. The food was good but some takes some getting used to. First, there are no seasonings available. Some of the food was bland and the texture was, shall we say...interesting. And I'm a foodie/epicurion/(I like to eat). Lots of meats and fishes with heads attached. If you're a vegetarian, you'll have somewhat limited meal options.
We still got hit by lots of beggars here. It's amazing how aggressive they are. Apparently they were also scoping out some of the guys in the group who had backpacks. It's good to travel in packs and not make yourself a target. What struck me as odd too was how many kids were actually being used to beg for money. I'll get more into that when I have time to give my impression of the city and what I've seen so far.
Our tour guide also arranged for an evening at Eris – International. This is a Chinese acrobatic show. Very impressive. The link is here: http://www.era-shanghai.com/. Very cool show. Although there were a lot of people who were really tired.
I'll have more thoughts on this stuff later but I have to get ready to go. We're going to the US Chamber of Commerce and then Lowe's International today. Should be interesting. I now have two batteries, fully charged, so I shouldn't have camera problems again. I'm trying to post pics now to Flickr but I'll see if I can get past my limit. I'll try to annotate them when I can.
We ate breakfast in the Tea Room in the hotel and it was pretty good. I hit the Starbucks near the entrance this morning. God bless Starbucks. Headache gone! Anyway, the Tea Room is going away after today and is going to become an Italian restaurant. Interesting little fact. After that we had some time before we had to meet our tour guides at noon. From there we left for lunch.
We ate lunch at Caihongfang Restaurant. This is a very famous restaurant in Shanghai. It’s been visited by Bill Clinton. The food was good and there was a lot of it.
From lunch we left for our tour of Old Town including Yu Yuan Garden. This was a very cool place and the architecture of the whole place was great. An interesting fact I learned is that the traditional Chinese coins that are round with the square holes in the middle is because the Chinese traditionally believe that heaven is round and the Earth is square. Unfortunately my camera battery died halfway through this so I didn’t get all the pictures I wanted.
Our tour guides also arranged for a tour of a Silk Factory. It was fascinating to learn about how silk is made from when they gather the silk worms in their cocoons to how they extract it and actually create the silk clothing. What’s really funny, and why I wish I had my camera, is how low tech the whole operation was. It was a small room where there were two machines and it was all done manually.
Next we left for dinner at Shanghai Lubolang Restaurant. This was back in the Old Town area. I thought we were going to the dumpling place I mentioned above but we didn’t, although we passed right by it. The food was good but some takes some getting used to. First, there are no seasonings available. Some of the food was bland and the texture was, shall we say...interesting. And I'm a foodie/epicurion/(I like to eat). Lots of meats and fishes with heads attached. If you're a vegetarian, you'll have somewhat limited meal options.
We still got hit by lots of beggars here. It's amazing how aggressive they are. Apparently they were also scoping out some of the guys in the group who had backpacks. It's good to travel in packs and not make yourself a target. What struck me as odd too was how many kids were actually being used to beg for money. I'll get more into that when I have time to give my impression of the city and what I've seen so far.
Our tour guide also arranged for an evening at Eris – International. This is a Chinese acrobatic show. Very impressive. The link is here: http://www.era-shanghai.com/. Very cool show. Although there were a lot of people who were really tired.
I'll have more thoughts on this stuff later but I have to get ready to go. We're going to the US Chamber of Commerce and then Lowe's International today. Should be interesting. I now have two batteries, fully charged, so I shouldn't have camera problems again. I'm trying to post pics now to Flickr but I'll see if I can get past my limit. I'll try to annotate them when I can.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Good morning!
Well, I woke up with a massive headache, which I’m hoping is just the fact that I need coffee. I haven’t had any for over 24 hours. Thankfully there is a Starbucks right across from the hotel entrance! Yay! I took some pics outside of my window and will try to post when I can. I had heard that smog was a problem in Shanghai but I didn’t realize how bad it was. And that’s not fog people, I’m sitting here writing this and it’s not going away with the sun rising.
ASIA...Finally!
Whew! We finally made it to China. We had a 5 hour delay in San Fran so instead of arriving at 5:45pm in China, we arrived at 10:45pm. Kind of sucked because that gave us less time to relax before going out a bit but OK. It’s kind of weird to think about it but we missed almost the entire day of the 6th.
Pudong International Airport is a really nice airport. We got in and out in no time, thankfully. The shuttle service into Shanghai to the Ritz was interesting. We passed by a number of apartment buildings and the ones with lights on that you could see into all had flat screens in them. It just struck me as funny.
A bunch of decided to go out and check out a place right across the street from the hotel. It’s called Bi Fenc Tang. We mostly got dumplings and they were excellent. We almost ordered the chicken feet but didn’t want to embarrass ourselves by eating it wrong. I apparently got introduced to something that I’ll have to get used to when over here. When the group crossed the street, we were practically mugged by a family of beggars. They’re not like beggars in the US that let you go when you say No or just keep walking. This family was aggressive, including the kid, in coming after you and shaking the cup in front of you. We even left the restaurant in the opposite direction and they found us.
So far my impressions of China are pretty good. The city itself look very clean. We’re getting a tour of Old Town on the 7th by our local guide John. That should be really interesting. He said he’s taking us to the best dumpling place in Shanghai. I’m wondering if it’s the same place I saw on the TV show No Reservations with Anthony Bouerdain (I hope the spelling is right). His guide took him there as well.
Pudong International Airport is a really nice airport. We got in and out in no time, thankfully. The shuttle service into Shanghai to the Ritz was interesting. We passed by a number of apartment buildings and the ones with lights on that you could see into all had flat screens in them. It just struck me as funny.
A bunch of decided to go out and check out a place right across the street from the hotel. It’s called Bi Fenc Tang. We mostly got dumplings and they were excellent. We almost ordered the chicken feet but didn’t want to embarrass ourselves by eating it wrong. I apparently got introduced to something that I’ll have to get used to when over here. When the group crossed the street, we were practically mugged by a family of beggars. They’re not like beggars in the US that let you go when you say No or just keep walking. This family was aggressive, including the kid, in coming after you and shaking the cup in front of you. We even left the restaurant in the opposite direction and they found us.
So far my impressions of China are pretty good. The city itself look very clean. We’re getting a tour of Old Town on the 7th by our local guide John. That should be really interesting. He said he’s taking us to the best dumpling place in Shanghai. I’m wondering if it’s the same place I saw on the TV show No Reservations with Anthony Bouerdain (I hope the spelling is right). His guide took him there as well.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Oy!
Well, I'm stuck here in the SF airport hanging out in the lounge. Seems our plane was delayed for 4 hours which makes for a VERY long travel day. We'll probably arrive past midnight in Shanghai instead of around 6pm. Oy.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Asia or Bust!
Well, I'm all packed and ready to go. Not looking forward to the trip over but I am looking forward to being there. I'm not sure if I'll be able to update this blog in China but I'll do my best. I'll try and post pics as well.
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