Between them, China and India represent a staggering 10% of the global wealth, and 17% of the global increase in new wealth since 2006.
Posts Tagged ‘China’
India and China: The Wealth
December 14th, 2015Asia Investments: Is Vietnam the New China?
February 7th, 2015
For so long China has been seen as the region in which to make an Asian investment. But now it appears that Vietnam might just be “the new China” vis-à-vis business. Vietnam has low costs and a government which is eager to please. As well, licensing and operating in Vietnam are substantially easier these days than they are in China. Thus manufacturers are flocking to the region and rejecting China that is increasing costs. Thus it is not all that surprising that economic growth in China dropped to 7.4 percent in 2014 which is a 24-ytear low.
Some examples of successful investments in Vietnam in the manufacturing industry currently include making cars for both Ford and Toyota. The tech industry is also booming there with Samsung Electronics putting $11billion into production in the region.
Although China is still ahead of Vietnam in FDI, the gap is closing. For example, Vietnam’s FDI increased 60% year over year in the2014 fourth quarter, totaling around $8 billion. Given all this data, Beijing officials are thus trying to put together a new FDI law to offer foreign projects “more equal treatment alongside domestic peers,” which could result in the elimination of case-by-case reviews of foreign projects, and provide fewer restrictions.
Gold and Oil: East and West
December 7th, 2014
Asia recently encountered a drop in gold prices. Meanwhile, investors have been showing increased interest in China manufacturing data. Since the stronger US dollar made gold less appealing, there was a five year drop in worldwide oil prices. Currencies in emerging markets escalated vis-à-vis the dropping dollar but there was a dip in Japanese stocks following its credit rating.
Tokyo likewise encountered a drop in the precious metal, which was more surprising given its high record over the last year.
Moving over to India, the region recently encountered an alleviation of the rigid restrictions that have been in place on gold imports. They originally existed in order to diminish the burgeoning account deficit. But it led to frustration in the jewelry industry, simultaneously with an increase in gold smuggling.
After China, India is the biggest importer of gold. The Reserve Bank of India has now lifted the rule that requires the re-export of at least a fifth of the gold importers bring in.
Indians are Asia’s Big Spenders Says Survey
August 1st, 2012Indian business travelers have the second largest budget for spending per trip, with only Singaporean businessmen topping them, spending $339 versus $468, according to a recent survey.
The survey showed that the most important elements of a business trip to travelers from the Asia-Pacific region were the location, a free Wifi connection and competitive prices of hotel rooms. Asian businessmen based their choice of hotels on the closeness of the hotel to the business venue, with 53% saying it was an important feature of their choice. The presence of Wifi influenced their decision of where to stay 49% of the time, while competitive rates were slightly less important, with 46% saying that fact influenced their decision.
Thailand is the up and coming star as a top business destination according to the survey, which was conducted by Accor Asia-Pacific Business Traveler. The most visited destination today is Hong Kong, with Singapore following closely in second place.
The survey was done during July 10-16 and asked 2,500 travelers from a total of nine countries in the Asian region, including Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. All the respondents made business trips during the first half of 2012.
Australasian Companies Prefer Asia for Investments
October 11th, 2011According to a recent report by professional services organization, Ernst & Young, it seems that these days the most preferred region for Australasian companies to make their investments is in the Asia Pacific region. The study by the firm was conducted in September 2011, and looked at a thousand business executives around the world.
More than 70 percent of Australasian companies would choose the Asia Pacific region to make their investments, the study found. Looking internationally, almost half of investors would likewise also choose the same region. Out of the entire region, the main countries investors choose seem to be: China, India, Malaysia and Singapore.
Investors Priorities
When it comes to what investors are seeking, over half of the companies are focusing on growth (slightly more than a few months ago, when the figure was just under half) and 42 percent are concentrating on preserving stability (this figure has increased 9 percent from April). Over the same time frame, there has been a decrease in the companies looking for survival (from 18 to 7 percent) which is definitely a good thing since it is indicative that economically things are looking up and that the recession isn’t necessarily paramount on every investors mind these days. In fact, the 7 percent figure is the lowest it has been since the study began back in 2009; clearly good news for recessional worries.
China Popularity
So why is it so popular – and this has been the case for a long time – to invest in China? According to an article in Seeking Alpha, there are five main reasons. First, the country’s huge population (which is almost double of that of America) results in a large customer count. Second, the amount of different types of investments available due to the sheer volume of the companies and businesses there. Third, the national pride that exists in the country’s companies. Fourth, the idea of sovereign protection in the country; China is working on encouraging its citizens to increase consumption in the country. Fifth, the recent appreciation of the Yuan.
So it makes sense that investors are looking towards Asia – and more specifically China – to put their capital.
China’s Golden Week Highly Profitable This Year
October 10th, 2011Julius Santos, the director of marketing for the Four Seasons Hotel in Macau was pleased with the upsurge in revenue during this year’s “Golden Week” holiday in China.
Santos explained that this year not only was there more tourists occupying hotel rooms, but the average length of hotel stays was also up. In addition, the hotel was able to charge more for hotel rooms per day as a result of the increase in the number of guests.
The celebration of China’s “National Day” is one week long, and a popular place to spend the holiday is in Macau, China’s only area where gambling casinos are legal. The Macau Four Seasons is located on the highly popular Cotai Strip, where Santos said that occupancy of the Four Seasons was “pretty much 100 percent.”
Other hotels in the area reporting equally successful “Golden Weeks” were the Wynn Macau Ltd. and the Mandarin Oriental, which also described full bookings for the week.
Macau is near to Hong Kong, and was under Portuguese rule until Portugal returned the city to China in 1999.
“Business was definitely stronger,” Santos said. “The majority of the city was booked up during Golden Week.”
