Category Archives: Business and the Economy

Fake sanitary pads: Massive margins driving rampant piracy

Posted on 2013-05-03 by Barry van Wyk

A typical sanitary pad customer will use the product for several decades, so a company with a strong brand and good distribution has a license to print money. And where there is money in China, there are pirates. Southern Metropolis Daily 南方都市报 … Continue reading →

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Corporate earthquake donations and social media

Posted on 2013-04-26 by Barry van Wyk

Soon after the Sichuan earthquake of 2008, donation fever gripped China as individuals and companies lined up to donate funds for disaster relief. Some of this enthusiasm turned sour: Internet users drew up a spurious list of the top ten … Continue reading →

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Gold rush in Guangzhou

Posted on 2013-04-18 by Barry van Wyk

The global price of gold has tanked, and Guangzhou’s gold market is booming. The front page of the Guangzhou Daily (广州日报) today has images of long queues that formed the last few weeks in the city of people seeking to part with loads of … Continue reading →

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The Danwei Bulletin

Posted on 2013-04-10 by Danwei

Media intelligence and research services Contact us The Danwei Bulletin by Danwei on April 10, 2013 The Danwei Bulletin is a new weekly report produced by Danwei and published on the FT’s China Confidential website and sent to premium subscribers. The Danwei Bulletin is a briefing … Continue reading →

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Corner store consumption: profiles of small Chinese convenience stores

Posted on 2013-04-09 by Zach Hyman

Xiaomaibu literally means small selling department, and refers to Chinese corner shops or small convenience stores usually run by an individual or a family. The person who runs such stores may sleep inside the store. The range of products and services … Continue reading →

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Taking the shine off Apple’s China prospects?

Posted on 2013-03-22 by Jeremy Goldkorn

Apple in the crosshairs, and the shadow of Google’s misadventures in China On March 15 — World Consumer Rights Day — China Central Television (CCTV) broadcast its annual investigative program that seeks to expose companies that harm or mistreat Chinese … Continue reading →

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Smooth talking entrepreneurs at the Two Sessions

Posted on 2013-03-12 by Barry van Wyk

If you thought that the Two Sessions taking place in Beijing right now were boring and trite and not made for vigorous discussion and a frank exchange of ideas, the Entrepreneurs’ Daily newspaper is today intent on convincing you that the outspokenness of a … Continue reading →

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Farewell Ministry of Railways

Posted on 2013-03-11 by Barry van Wyk

China’s newspapers today slightly ruefully report the departure of an institution as old as the PRC itself: the Ministry of Railways. The behemoth ministry has overseen the rapid development of the railway network in China in the last decade but … Continue reading →

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Master Kong: How Internet rumors can affect share prices

Posted on 2013-03-07 by Barry van Wyk

The chart above illustrates how Internet rumors can ravage a company’s stock price. The company in question is Master Kong (康师傅), China’s best-loved brand of instant noodles. In 2011, Master Kong ranked second only to Sony in a survey of the … Continue reading →

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Wastelands of Beijing

Posted on 2013-01-25 by Robert Foyle Hunwick

About 20 km outside Beijing, tourists sitting in tour buses from Beijing north-eastwards towards the Badaling section of the Great Wall can spot the apparent remains of a medieval castle some distance from the expressway. Its concrete spires rising above … Continue reading →

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