TheSZWeb | Shenzhen News and Commentary

A new name has been coined for foreigners living (/drifting) in China long term: “halfpat“. “Expat” on the other hand, according to this definition, means temporarily-relocated big-corporation type people… those people who never get into “the real china” and enjoy salary/benefit packages from their firms virtually identical to what they get at home.

There are pros and cons for hiring either of these types of Western-trained non-local staff. The strength of an expat is their long-term understanding of an industry and their ability to manage business units back home. Halfpats, on the other hand, are more stable and committed to China in the long-term and they have significant cultural, linguistic and market understanding.

For many companies though, the bottom line is a financial one. The staff retention, and overall success rate, of expats is not particularly impressive – particularly in contrast to that of halfpat staff, who do not require expensive relocation packages or language training as they have already taken on those costs themselves.

…

There are more than simply financial benefits to hiring halfpat staff. Perhaps the greatest advantage is their cultural understanding and language skills – which simply cannot be underestimated in a market like China. These two characteristics allow halfpats to hit the ground running and give them a sustainable advantage over traditional expat managers.

Probably the strongest advantage of halfpats is their weird ability to live in China and not get sick of it…

The overall stability and long-term commitment of halfpat staff is also superior to that of the average expat. In fact, many remain in China for a 5-10 year period which makes them less of a risk in terms of failing to complete their assignment. Its estimated that 60% of expats are unable to complete the duration of their assignments.

Grab the full report here.

Via: Allroadsleadtochina

Leppert welcomes China’s ZTE Corp. to locate HQ in Dallas 6:47 AM CT
Dallas Morning News – Dallas,TX,USA
By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News SHENZHEN, China – A major Chinese telecommunications company will establish its US headquarters in Dallas, …
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CIWT Joint Venture Enters into Equipment Supply and Technical …
Earthtimes (press release) – London,UK
… Inc. (BULLETIN BOARD: CIWT) , entered into an Equipment Supply and Technical Support Agreement with Shenzhen Dongjiang Environmental Company Limited to …
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China launches investigation into claims of child slavery
The Associated Press –
… Sichuan province, and ended up working in electronics and other factories in Guangdong’s Dongguan city as well as Shenzhen and Huizhou, the paper said. …
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China Display Technologies Appoints New CFO
CNNMoney.com (press release) – USA
From 2003 to 2004, he was Senior Client Manager in the Credit Department of China Minsheng Banking Co., Ltd. Shenzhen Xiangmi Sub-Branch. …
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Listed China firms post 50% rise in 2007 profit
Xinhua – China
Net profit of the 1574 companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges totaled 949.7 billion yuan (136 billion US dollars) last year, the Shanghai …
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Team set up to rescue factory kids
China Daily – China
By Chen Hong (China Daily) SHENZHEN: A citywide drive has been launched to rescue children working in Dongguan, a manufacturing base in Guangdong province. …
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Ping An Insurance reports Q1 profit up 25.2%
Xinhua – China
Net income rose to 4.96 billion yuan (about 709 million US dollars), the Shenzhen-based company said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. …
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China’s Small and medium-sized public companies 1Q net profit soars
International Business Times – New York,NY,USA
Over 222 small and medium-sized public companies listed in China’s Shenzhen Stock Exchange gained an average operating income by 308 million Yuan ($44 mln) …
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Shenzhen Stock Exchange: Restrictions Set For Top Management Of …
Exchange News Direct – London,England,UK
The Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) and China Securities Depositary and Clearing Corp. Shenzhen Branch yesterday jointly issued the Notice on Further …
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Is Renminbi Appreciation Slowing?
Seeking Alpha – New York,NY,USA
A few days ago he sent me another message: “Remember I told you about the banning of the use of HKDs in Shenzhen golf clubs? Ha ha I again used HKD today to …
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Blogs talking about Shenzhen

post 15
By ryannn(ryannn)
heres my flight schedule for the next few weeks. in order to save some money we bought a lot of tickets from different airlines shanghai to shenzhen [shenzhen, boarder of china near hongkong] shenzhen to bangkok bangkok to krabi …
shanghai 08 – http://shanghairyan.blogspot.com/

China Investigates Forced Child Labor
By Natasha(Becky Grossman)
The police in Guangdong said Wednesday that they had formed teams to search for child laborers in several coastal cities, including Dongguan and Shenzhen, another big manufacturing center, but disclosed nothing about the companies …
Blog for Human Rights – http://cmcholocaustcenter.blogspot.com/

SHENZHEN | China Resources Dachong reconstruction | 300m+ | 984ft+ …
By williamhou2005
by RTKL, includes a supertall, a 180000m^2 shopping mall and 2.28million m^2 of apartments.
SkyscraperCity – Supertalls – http://skyscrapercity.com

355 Airport Bus
By AnDeLu
While waiting for my US colleague and a client at the mecca of expat life in Shenzhen two foreigners approached me and asked ‘Do you speak English?’ Being the sarcastic guy, and sometimes jerk that I have been known to be, …
Andelu’s Rants from Shenzhen – http://andelu.org

Growth in China property prices more sustainable
By lushhomeonline
In South China, luxury residential prices did slip in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Xiamen this quarter as further macroeconomic controls went into effect. In Guangzhou, luxury apartment prices fell 2.8 per cent. …
Lushhome :: Online news and informati… – http://lushhomemedia.com

Tags: shenzhen, news,, shenzhen,, china

Shenzhen experiences realty rip-off
China Daily – China
By Hu Yuanyuan (China Daily) Business circles in Shenzhen were stunned when they heard Zhongtian Real Estate Evaluation Co, one of the country’s top-100 …

China B-shares end morning lower led by property stocks – UPDATE
Forbes – NY,USA
The Shanghai B-share Index fell 4.94 points or 1.39 pct to 351.02 while the Shenzhen B-share Index was down 16.44 points or 2.39 pct at 670.95. …

Aecom takes over architectural design company in Shenzhen
China Knowledge Online – Singapore
CityMark, Shenzhen’s largest private-owned design company, has designed many famous buildings including Da Meisha Sheraton Hotel in Shenzhen.

Shenzhen port passes 20 million box mark
Cargonews Asia – Hong Kong
Shenzhen in south China handled more than 20 million TEUs by mid-December and it strives to climb the world’s container throughput ladder. …

Great Wall Technology to Purchase Stakes in Iomega
Trading Markets (press release) – Los Angeles,CA,USA
As ExcelStor Group, which is partly owned by Shenzhen Kaifa Technology, holds 23% stakes in IOM, Shenzhen Kaifa Technology would indirectly hold 7.67% …

LCD upgrades boost promotion effectiveness
Global Sources – Singapore
Similarly, Shenzhen Q-ying Gifts & Toys Co. Ltd’s latest models are fitted with 35x19mm screens and can flash alternating photos. …

US architecture, engineering tycoon acquires Chinese CityMark
Xinhua – China
Established in Shenzhen in 1998, CityMark has become a rising star in China’s architectural design and building engineering industries with notable projects …

The passion and enthusiasm of Confucian Asia
On Line opinion – Australia
A recent visit to Shenzhen, which was untouched rice paddy fields on the way to Mao’s Beijing in 1976, brings home the productivity of such passion and …

Chinese stocks recover on Fri boosted by favorable policies
China Knowledge Online – Singapore
The Shenzhen Component Index on the smaller Shenzhen Stock Exchange surged 2.8% to 16483.5 points. The combined trading turnover on the two bourses shrank …

BYD Electronic completes difficult IPO
FinanceAsia – Hong Kong
The company currently has one outstanding lawsuit against BYD in Shenzhen and one in Hong Kong where it is also seeking damages for losses suffered. …

Blogs mentioning Shenzhen:

TEACH MATH IN SHENZHEN! 8000-10000 RMB\month ASAP
Job 20: School in Baoan, Shenzhen. (GXZZY) 8000-10000 RMB\month for teaching Math. 16-22 classes\week.

Patent Lawyer – Shenzhen based
Title: Patent Lawyer – Shenzhen based; Company: Michael Page International; Experience: >5; CT Job Ref: 3013983-01#17; Date Posted: Mon, 17 Dec 2007.

3 Essential Places To Visit In Shenzhen, China
By Travel(Travel)
Shenzhen’s incredibly fast growth is the reason travel books are out of date, and perhaps Hong Kong people’s snobbishness about the city stems from a certain fear and envy of this shiny wealth center on their doorstep! …

Andy encourage photographer JC and The Warlords craze in Shenzhen
By Leonard(Leonard)
Many Hong Kong singers had their albums photographs taken by photographer JC, recently a group of friends help him to prepare Awakening Photography Exhibition which will be held from tomorrow till 4 January 2008 in Central. …

TEACH MATH IN SHENZHEN! 8000-10000 RMB\month for teaching Math ASAP
Job 20: School in Baoan, Shenzhen. (GXZZY) 8000-10000 RMBmonth for teaching Math. 16-22 classesweek. 100 RMBclass for over time. 40 minutesclass. Monday to Friday. Free housing and free meals. Roun……

Sunday afternoon, Shenzhen Public Library
Shenzhen has a relatively new public library building, a twin structure to its new concert hall, the entire complex designed by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki. (Flickr photos of the complex here and here. …

Road Group(Shenzhen Branch)
By admin
Purple Peng (Shenzhen). Company Address:, Meisheng Industrial District,Chongqing Road,Heping Village,Fuyong Town,Bao\’an District. City/Town:, Shenzhen. Province/State:. Country/Region:, China. Zip/Postal Code: …

Shenzhen is apparently accelerating the construction of the new lines (or trying to catch up on behind schedule projects?) meaning 2008 will see hundreds of new construction sites all opened up at the same time, unsurprisingly leading to huge transport disruption.

SHENZHEN will see about 18 months of serious traffic congestion starting from the end of this year, caused by the construction of five Metro lines in five districts.

A total of 150 construction sites will be seen around the city along the planned Metro lines, affecting traffic on 24 main roads and at 37 intersections within the Special Economic Zone, according to a government announcement published in Chinese-language newspapers yesterday.

Read the article here

The Shenzhen Metro is supposed to be all finished by 2011, with the aim to relieve pressure on the roads, where the number of cars is growing 20 percent year on year.

The 2 obvious points that seem to be missed are that:

• People with a car are extremely unlikely to stop using their car and use the metro instead. Maybe in other parts of the world, but not SZ, where a car is a hard-won status symbol still. (And the new metro lines, presumably, will be like lines 1 and 4 when they opened up: 1 train going up and down, and 20 minute waits at soulless underground stations.)
• The problem with Shenzhen is not really the density of traffic. You get that in any city. It’s a total lack of transport control. Almost total absence of transport police. Dangerous, rule-less driving. People leaving their cars in the middle of the highway to argue over a small scratch for two hours. Maniac bus drivers who used to drive minibuses and now drive the big ones with the same king of the road mentality.

Putting out a bulletin to warn people about transport disruption, without any description of how the disruption can be controlled, is just another example of the problem: lack of road transport control/policy.

Anyway, better stop complaining. It’ll all be fine by 2012.