Other Briefings
Meal Breaks and Days Off as Part of China Wages?
Feb. 10 – The draft guideline for Hong Kong’s first minimum wage law has left ambiguity over whether workers’ meal breaks and days off should qualify as paid working time, a situation that could be exploited by Chinese city and provincial governments as they seek to improve workers’ conditions and quell potential social unrest by putting […]
2011 Shanghai Consumer Sentiment Report Available
Jan. 31 – DDMA, a market research firm based in Shanghai and Singapore, has just released its updated Consumer Sentiment in Shanghai report, which is compiled by data gleaned from 400 interviews given by Shanghai residents. The purpose of the update is to gauge the impact of changes in economic conditions on consumer’s prospective spending […]
China’s Mega City? Er…Hang On a Second
Op-Ed Commentary: Chris Devonshire-Ellis Jan. 27 – The Daily Telegraph has stirred up a bit of comment with this article about China creating a “mega city” of 42 million people. While usually less prone to exaggeration than much of the China focused media, on this occasion they’ve got it wrong. The area described, which encompasses […]
Using Hong Kong Incorporation to Qualify for 100% Equity in China Restricted Industries
Op-Ed Commentary: Chris Devonshire-Ellis and Richard Cant Jan. 21 – Hong Kong’s “Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement” (CEPA) with Mainland China has been in effect now since 2003. Drafted to cater for the fact that prior to this, Hong Kong companies were effectively treated in Mainland China as completely foreign entities, CEPA recognizes that Hong Kong […]
Guangdong to Lift Minimum Wage Standards Once Again
Jan. 21 – Not long after the last minimum wage lift in May 2010, China’s Guangdong Province has once again decided to raise the minimum wage standards from March 1, 2011. The Guangdong Provincial Government released the “Circular on Adjusting the Minimum Wage Standards of Enterprise Employees in Guangdong Province (yuefuhan [2011] No. 15)” on […]
China Allows Zhongguancun High-tech Enterprises to Take Enhanced Deductions for R&D Expenses
Jan. 17 – In order to promote the construction of the Zhongguancun National Innovation Demonstration Zone (NIDZ), a major technology hub in Beijing known as “China’s Silicon Valley,” China has issued pilot policies that allow high-and-new-technology enterprises (HNTEs) located in the zone to take an enhanced deduction for research and development (R&D) costs.
Shanghai Launches Pilot Program Allowing Foreign Private Equity Investment
Jan. 13 – In a statement published on January 12, the Shanghai government announced the launch of a pilot scheme titled the Qualified Foreign Limited Partner program which will allow foreign private equity firms to directly invest in the nation. According to a joint statement issued by the Shanghai Finance Office, the Shanghai Ministry of […]
High Speed Rail to Connect Nine South China Cities
Jan. 12 – Guangdong Province has begun work on the first stages of its ambitious high speed rail link which, when completed by 2020, will possess 10 routes and link the cities of Zhaoqing, Foshan, Jiangmen, Guangzhou, Zhongshan and Zhuhai on the western side of the Pearl River to the eastern Pearl River Delta cities […]
