CHINA FRANCHISE NEWS
Vol. 4 , No. 3 - March 17, 2003
TOPICS THIS ISSUE:
- The Second International Procurement Fair For Retailers
- 7-11 To Open in Beijing and Shanghai
- Japanese Group to Open New Chain Stores in Guangdong
- Deutsche Bank granted Internet banking license in China
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The Second International Procurement Fair For Retailers
China is going to host the largest ever international procurement fair for multinational retailers in Xiamen city, Fujian province from April 9 to 11.
This will be the country's second government-sponsored international procurement fair since the country joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) over one year ago. The First International Retail Group Procurement Fair was held in Nanjing, Jiangsu province in April last year. It attracted 34 international retail giants, including Walmart and Carrefour. More than 700 professional procurement agents from around the world made contacts and placed orders with over 1,100 Chinese suppliers. Increasingly, international retail giants are shifting their procurement bases to China because of lower costs and high quality of its locally manufactured products.
The State Economic and Trade Commission (SETC) is organizing this year's event. Zhang Yanhua of the SETC said the fair is expected to attract retailers from China and around the world. According to Zhang Yanhua participation in the fair is predicted to exceed that of the previous one, this time organizers are planning to provide 1,600 display booths for international retail chains and local suppliers.
A large number of Chinese department stores and franchises will be invited to attend the fair and. This year the fair's organizational work has been improved so as to offer better accessibility for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially those from mid-western China.
(Source: Xinhua Economic New Service)
7-11 To Open in Beijing and Shanghai
The international Convenience Store Group 7-11 is going to open stores in Beijing and Shanghai this year. The negotiation between the potential partners of the proposed joint venture in Beijing is almost finished. The new joint venture is expecting to open at most 500 stores in Beijing within the next 5 years.
It is reported that the joint venture has 4 shareholders, among which the Japanese 7-11 Group has the majority shareholding with 51%. The other three shareholders are Taiwan President, China Sugar and Liquor Group and Beijing Commerce and Franchise Group, with shareholding of 14%, 10% and 25% respectively.
In Shanghai, the 7-11 owned by Taiwan President Group has acquired 30% equity of Shanghai Liangyou Convenience Store Co. Ltd. It is anticipated that the mark of Liangyou will be replaced by the 7-11 logo no later than at the end of this year. The number of Liangyou convenience stores in Shanghai already exceeds 550, accounting for one fifth of the number of total convenience stores in Shanghai.
(Source: www.ccfa.org.cn)
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Japanese Group to Open New Chain Stores in Guangdong
Japan-based Jusco Stores (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd. is planning to open its next two chain stores (no. 6 and 7) in July and next year in Zhongshan and Foshan cities of Guangdong province. With the already existing five general merchandise stores in Guangdong province, the company has acquired an established market share in the mainland and according to analysts the company has more profit potential in Guangdong than in Hong Kong in the coming years. Like many other Japanese firms, Jusco has transferred its strategic development focus to southern China, attracted by China's big consumer market.
The Japanese retailer opened three chain stores in Dongguan, Zhuhai and Shenzhen in 2002, which have contributed much to the sales of Jusco. Jusco's sales between September and December last year recorded a growth of 7.4 percent. However, the retail sales in Hong Kong's eight chain stores witnessed a slight drop during the Lunar New Year period, as Jusco's customers increased their spending on comparatively low-price items such as food and clothing, coupled with the slow economic growth in Hong Kong.
Shigeru Kimura, director general of Japan External Trade Organization, Hong Kong said in an interview with the press on February 10 that China will witness at least another 10 years of fast economic growth and more Japanese SMEs are seeking opportunities to invest in southern China, especially in Guangdong province.
According to Shigeru Kimura, 54 percent of the total Japanese overseas investment was in eastern and southern China in 2001 and the figure was estimated to go up in the year of 2002.
(Source: Asia Pulse)
Deutsche Bank granted Internet banking license in China
Today Deutsche Bank announced that the Bank had been granted an Internet Banking license in China, following a review by the People's Bank of China. The license allows Deutsche Bank to offer customers an internet banking platform to place deposits as well as to facilitate both RMB and foreign currency transactions including money transfers and trade related transactions.
This is an important strategic step toward the development of the Deutsche Bank franchise in China and will provide benefits to the customers across a wide range of businesses. The license is of immediate significance to Deutsche Bank's Cash Management, Trade Services and Global Markets businesses given Deutsche Bank's market leadership in offering highly sophisticated Internet-based solutions to customers.
Using the latest in web technology, Deutsche Bank's db-direct Internet is the leading electronic banking system in the market today. It provides a platform for both corporate and financial institutions to access the Banks' Cash Management, Foreign Exchange and Trade Finance services from anywhere in the world. Flexibility is inherent with country-specific features like language support for transaction entry and approval, which translates into ease of use for customers' operations in the country. Everything within the platform is protected by a 128-bit SSL (Secure Socket Layer) and built in authentication and encryption. In addition, the use of customer defined approval functions ensures that db-direct Internet is also one of the safest electronic banking systems in the market today.
(Source: The Asian Banker)
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The China Franchise News is intended to be used for news purposes only. It should not be taken as comprehensive legal advice, and Lehman, Lee & Xu will not be held responsible for any such reliance on its contents.
