China’s Free Trade Zones
Despite China’s amazing transformation and economic progress over the past 30 years, there remains one unanswered question that continues to frustrate their leaders: “why won’t foreign companies establish their regional headquarters on Chinese soil?”. Imagine how successful China would look to the rest of the world if the likes of Google, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon […]
From Third World to First
While I was living in Hong Kong in the 80s and 90s, an economic miracle was taking place to the south, with Singapore emerging as the high growth market of the South East Region and one of four “Asian Tigers” (along with HK, South Korea and Taiwan) to benefit from the spectacular rise of Japan.
The Jewel in the Crown
When I lived in Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s, it was often referred to as “the Gateway to Mainland China”, a critical role that has propelled Hong Kong to become one of the wealthiest and most successful financial centres and commercial ports in the world. With a major capitalist service economy characterised by […]
Nine Bend Bridge
Regular visitors to the famous Yu Garden in the Old City of Shanghai will know of the “Nine Bend Bridge” which links the beautiful gardens to the famous Huxinting Teahouse (built in 1855) enabling thirsty and weary travellers to safely cross the artificial lake to enjoy an immensely satisfying cup of China’s finest tea. The […]
Introducing “The Gateway”
We live in the Asian Century. In the coming decades, China, Japan, India and Indonesia will rise to become amongst the largest economies in the world, driven by an explosion of innovation, productivity and domestic consumption from their large and fast growing middle class and high net worth populations. Smaller Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand, […]
Happy New Year
I hope you’ve had a good break over the holiday period and, assuming that you’re now back into work mode, I’m sure you’re ready for me to resume China Bites in 2021. I will be keeping at least one eye on China while the rest of the world is transfixed by the daily news and […]
Beyond “Clean and Green”
Australia enjoys a reputation for high-quality FMCG products as a result of our “clean and green” environment, our high regulatory standards and a strong commitment to quality control. However, it’s clear from recent research that “clean and green” is no longer a competitive advantage in China, and in fact it’s become a baseline requirement for […]
Investing in China – A Global Mega-Trend
By all accounts, without gaining much media attention, large amounts of money are flowing into China and Hong Kong right now, particularly from large institutional investors in the US and Europe. I’ve heard this from friends in Hong Kong who are finding it hard to make sense of the contrast between the negative media reports […]
Inside FMCG – August 2020
How is China’s economy recovering post-Covid? For a start, they have introduced a nationwide scheme to conduct regular Covid-19 tests on all of its citizens, particularly workers returning to their offices and factories, and is rapidly improving both the availability and affordability of test kits. After a massive testing blitz, costing nearly $US127 million and […]
The New Daily – July 2020
Australian Businesses increasingly concerned about stoush with China. Australians with business interests in Hong Kong and mainland China fear they could be caught in the middle of the stand-off between Beijing and Canberra. The Sino-Australian relationship has worsened dramatically since April, when Australia called for an independent international inquiry into the outbreak of COVID-19. The tit-for-tat between the […]