China Internet controls codified

Much discussion in the industry today about the significance of new regulations in China, immediately effective, describing more precisely controls over Internet distribution of news. The FT's Asian print edition headlined the story "Beijing promises to keep online news healthy".

It's online edition carries a different headline but the meat of the piece is the same. Although the thrust is that the new regulations make it harder for publishers to circumvent print media regulation by going online, there is a ray of hope for b2b and specialist media. The FT says:

"...the rules appear to give a green light to online coverage of areas such as entertainment and the technology industry, since they define online news as reporting and commentary on politics, economics, military affairs, diplomacy, public issues and social “incidents”."

According to the print version of the story, "the rules [also] restate China's ban on foreign investment in local news organisations". As Mr. Murdoch pointed out in New York the other day, things appear to be tightening up in China.

More steps on China e-commerce

China Stock Blog reports on another move towards facilitating e-commerce in the PRC:

Global Payments (ticker: GPN) which processes electronic transactions for merchants, multinational corporations, financial institutions, consumers, government agencies, and other profit and nonprofit business enterprises reached agreement with HSBC (ticker: HBC) that will give them access to the debit and credit card markets of Mainland China and India.

We have been following this trend this month here, here and here. Once the fluff settles from the crazier deals being done, the facilitation of real commerce online in China could be the most important B2B and general business trend we see emerging there in the next 2 - 3 years.

Marshall moves on

Former CMP Asia CEO Gary Marshall has left the top job at CMP Media in the US, handing over the reins to his number two, Steve Weitzner. Marshall moved to the Manhasset, Long Island HQ of CMP from Hong Kong in 1999 when the company was acquired by the UK's United Business Media. After two years of dotcom boom times, he held the reins during the dramatic decline of technology media in the US after the bubble burst in mid-2001 and subsequent restructuring of the business. The company has made a number of acquisitions in the healthcare sector in recent months as well as announcing an alliance on outsourcing publications with Cybermedia in India.

Chinapages Bokee deal

Mark Natkin's Marbridge Consulting picks up an interesting piece in its weekly newsletter on telecoms and IT news from China. Quoting tech.qianlong.com, it notes that blog portal Bokee, of which much is expected by investment bankers, has acquired Alibaba Jack Ma's original company, Chinapages.

It will now, the newsletter says, "launch a new platform designed to help enterprises and merchants develop online business activities, build client trust and enhance interactive communication. The service, called Bizblog, is accessible at www.bokee.net."

It goes on to say that "The new Bizblog portal includes both enterprise blogging and merchant blogging, blogging facilitates communication among employees, managers, shareholders and clients, while merchant blogging combines the features of blogging with a traditional e-commerce platform, allowing bloggers to post supply and demand information."

ITE in Xinjiang move

I don't usually report on new event launches. However, ITE's 14th September press release did catch my eye. The London-based company has announced nine new fairs to be launched jointly with the Xinjiang International Exhibition Centre in Urumqi, the capital of China's most north-westerly province. A quick glance at your trusty atlas will show you that this puts them as near to Turkey as it does to Beijing. Xinjiang, long known only for melons and sand, is of increasing importance, partly because of its strategic location and partly because it sits over a massive natural gas field.

The press release picks up these points:

Representing a door to the neighbouring oil-rich states of Central Asia, Xinjiang has become the focus of China’s oil and gas interests. China has been actively strengthening its hand in the industry, having purchased PetroKazakhstan to add to its interest in Mangistau in the Caspian Sea, while also developing its own fields in the Junghar Basin. A major oil and gas pipeline running through Xinjiang province from Atyrau on the Caspian Sea has ensured future supplies from Central Asia and delivery to the East.

The capital Urumqi is beginning to reap the benefits of these developments as well as profiting from the racing Chinese economy. The signs of a forthcoming boom are everywhere, with new building projects dominating the skyline, fully booked hotels and 50 weekly flights, as businessmen flock to see what the region has to offer.

"India works"

Hong Kong-based Steve Vickers is one of Asia's most respected business risk consultants. Financeasia.com reports today on some remarks he has made about doing business in India. Highlights of this: he thinks that reports that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India is one-tenth of the level going into China may be misleading:

The International Finance Corporation suggests the gap is narrower between China and India. Applying a standard measure of FDI, the IFC estimates that China's inflows on average may halve to $20 billion a year while India's more than doubles to $10 billion, reports International Risk.

He also concludes with a suggestion that India business risks are manageable if addressed properly:

"..provided companies take appropriate action to address the risk accordingly and conduct robust due diligence - India works," says Vickers. "It represents a huge opportunity for the investor who has an appetite for detail, is patient and looks to the long term."

As companies find their profits increasingly squeezed in China, and as regulators tighten rather than loosen the boundaries of what can be done in print and broadcast media and, to a lesser extent, the Internet, India will certainly look increasingly attractive. It is not without its challenges, but increasing numbers of people seem to feel that those challenges are worth addressing.

Angel investor service for China media

Fons Tuinstra posts an interesting piece today on Neilsen Media's new report on advertising in China. Good eye-catching stuff.

Total ads spending in China reached 143.4 billion Renminbi (US$17.7) in the first six months of this year, 20 percent more than the same period last year, according to Nielsen Media Research, writes Variety.

What really caught our eye, though, was his advertisement on the same page for an angel investor service with a medical trade magazine as its first offering. Much has been written recently about the difficulty of entrepreneurs in both China and India getting a start. The VCs are much more interested in 'safely' skimming the cream in pre-IPO round financings. Much written, little done about it. So, good luck with this initiative Fons.

(advert)

China Herald Angel investor service
A market place for great projects, looking for initial investment

A medical trade magazine with great future in China looks for an angel investor for USD 100,000. Interested? Ask for more details at the angel-investor service of the China Herald

(Having a great idea for a business in China and looking for exposure to get seed money? Try this 'no cure, no pay' service by the China Herald.

(Via China Herald.)

Asian benchmarks for UBM bonus plan

United Business Media's shareholders (disclosure: including me) have been circulated with a proposal to approve new long-term incentive plans for senior executives at an EGM on 26th September. Like many of these plans, share awards are made if the company's total shareholder return exceeds the median performance of a comparator group.

We were interested to see the list of those the company sees as its peers. There are 20 in all and, of these, two are from the Asia Pacific region; Global Sources and the O'Reilly's APN News & Media in Australia.

Others are:

• Aegis Group
• CNET Networks
  
• DMGT
• Dow Jones
• Emap
• McGraw Hill
  
• Euromoney
• VNU
• Johnston Press
• Wolters Kluwer
• Pearson
• Axel Springer
• Reed Elsevier
• Lagadere
• Reuters
• T&F Informa
• Trinity Mirror
• Thomson
  

China challenges mount for eBay

eBay's development in China remains of keen interest to those tracking how the web will evolve as a tool for small business there. The Yahoolibaba deal may present challenges enough as Alibaba's Taobao.com gains serious muscle, but eBay's mystifying purchase of Skype seems to carry with it the potential for further challenges in China. Stephen Baker's post on Business Week's Blogspotting gets right to the point:

"The Chinese government is cracking down on Skype usage and blocking downloads. Chinese users are figuring out ways to get around this ban, and sharing info about where else to download Skype. But once Skype becomes part eBay, a blue-chip multinational company with interests in China, will it be easier for the Chinese to get Skype to cooperate with this communications crackdown?"

Keeping the Stockholm clause alive...

Stockholm has an oddly close connection with China business: Sweden was one of the first countries in the world to recognise the fledgling PRC back in 1950 and, as such, has long been favoured by the Beijing authorities. For many years, the standard international dispute resolution clause in most Chinese contracts with foreign partners called for arbitration in Stockholm.

The interest obviously remains as we read about the country's top business magazine and a new China special:

Top Swedish business magazine devotes special issue to China: "Veckans Affarer, the largest business weekly of Sweden, held a symposium on Chinese economy in Stockholm on September 20, and launched a 156-page special issue on China."

(Via People's Daily Online.)