Upcoming Conference

The Globalization of Chinese Enterprises
Transformational Politics, Business Strategies, and Future Paths
October 9-10, 2008
Harvard University, Cambridge, USA

Overview
Among scholars and students of China, whether from economics, management or politics, a question looms: whither China? Will China replace the US economic, political and business leadership in the 21st Century? China is not only the world's most populous nation, but is also the world's third largest trader, second largest economy in PPP GDP, and the largest recipient of foreign direct investment, surpassing even the United States of America. China has 170 cities with more than 1 million people, 400 million subscribers to wireless phone services, and accounts for over 12% of the world's luxury goods. Also, China has over a trillion dollars in foreign reserves. On the other hand, China fast economic growth is unbalanced and, perhaps, unsustainable. New or modified models for the globalization of Chinese enterprises are needed given the unique position of China's emergence into the world stage. Can Western models of economic and political theory help explain China's current trajectory, either on a macro or a micro level?

Topics
This conference is about the Globalization of Chinese companies and the political and business contexts.
List of proposed topics include:
· Outward Direct Investment (ODI) of China and Chinese companies
· Impacts of Chinese outward investment on host markets
· Chinese global competitiveness and export performance
· The impact of Chinese business and firms on global business environment
· New models for global enterprise in the Chinese context
· Political transformation, institutional change, and globalization of China
· Organizational design, structure, and outcomes of globalization related to China
· Dissemination of knowledge on the emergence of globalizing Chinese firms
· Chinese forms of business, family ownership, and state-owned enterprises
· Forms of engagement with foreign firms used by internationalizing Chinese firms (e.g. partnerships, acquisitions, OEM, ODM, OBM, etc)
· China's policies towards acquisition of natural and strategic resources

Organized and Sponsored by
Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Asia Programs
Rollins College, Crummer Graduate School of Business & Rollins China Center
Georgia Institute of Technology, Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER)
University of Potsdam, Corporate Governance & E-Commerce

Co-Sponsor
Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung - TransCoop Program
Journal of Management and Organization Review (MOR)

Register for this conference at http://www.chinagoesglobal.com/services.html

15 - 18 July 2008
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
Hong Kong, China

The Broadband World Forum Asia www.iec.org/events/2008/bbwf_asia is designed to help service providers meet the challenges of offering revenue-driving broadband-enabled services while evolving their networks, operations, and business models in a new world of competition.

Session programming will examine the range of broadband content, entertainment, applications, access strategies, service management, and integration that form the backbone of the profitable network operator while providing a unique venue to evaluate strategy and make informed decisions. Programming is complemented by a cutting-edge technology exhibition where attendees can receive a firsthand look at the latest broadband applications, solutions and services from leading technology organizations.

As a member of ICA, enter code VIPICA when registering to receive complimentary Exhibits PLUS access or 30% discount from standard conference rates. Register

World Trade Indicators 2008 - Benchmarking Policy and Performance produced by the World Bank Institute, has good news: in the past decade most developing countries of the world improved their trade policies and moved closer to an integrated business world. And the evidence is that those countries that followed freer trade policies also enjoyed better trade outcomes. This publication supports the theory that the volume of trade correlated with the facilitation of trade and institutional improvement, freer the trade larger the volume.
This is an important and most useful database to anyone in the business of world trade. It amalgamates data available with the International Trade Center (ITC), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the World Bank.
Other findings of the study are:
· As measured by the average MFN tariff, Georgia, Haiti, Armenia and Mauritius are among the top ten countries with the lowest tariffs in the world, and not the European Union or Japan.
· Average MFN tariff came down from 32% in India to 15%, in Egypt from 47 to 17, Seychelles from 28 to 8, and in Mauritius from 18 to 3.5%.
· This publication is unique in that it is an online database for 210 countries and customs territories enabling benchmarking and comparisons of multiple trade-related indicators.
· Amongst developing countries the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa impose the highest average tariffs. Amongst countries with the highest tariffs about a half are in Africa.
· If low-income countries learn to make better use of the provisions under the General Agreement on Trade and Service (GATS), they can boost their export performance. Improvements in trade logistics and reduction in costs, could also vastly improve trade statistics for these countries.
· Average tariffs faced by low income countries at 3.8% are higher than average tariffs at 2.8% faced by high-income countries.

The WTI overview report, country briefs and Trade-At-A-Glance (TAAG) tables, full database, and user's guide are available at http://www.worldbank.org/wti2008.

India's Singh Makes Last Attempt to Seal Nuclear Pact (Bloomberg.com, Jul 3)
Singh is trying to rescue the biggest foreign policy initiative of his four-year government before meeting Bush, the co-architect of the 2005 accord, during the Group of Eight summit on July 9. Singh needs backing from regional parties to stay in power because his communist allies have pledged to withdraw support if the nuclear deal is pushed through. India's National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan briefed leaders of the regional Samajwadi Party yesterday on the accord, which seeks to give India access to nuclear fuel and technology without signing the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

China Money: Central bank may resort to special bills (Reuters India, Jul 3)
China's central bank is having increasing difficulty draining funds from the money market without destabilising the market, suggesting it may resort to selling special bills to individual banks. That could be good news for most banks, allowing the authorities to tighten monetary policy while avoiding big spikes in money market rates and reducing the risk that weaker banks could run into funding trouble. "The central bank may start selling special bills soon, because they're now the most appropriate administrative tool to tighten policy," said Zhang Yujie, a money trader at Industrial Bank in Shanghai. "This should reduce the panic in the market."

Analysis
The China-North Korea Relationship (Washington Post, Jul 2)
China is North Korea's most important ally, biggest trading partner, and main source of food, arms, and fuel. In the hope of avoiding regime collapse and an uncontrolled influx of refugees across its 800-mile border with North Korea, China has helped sustain Kim Jong-Il's regime and opposed harsh international economic sanctions. After Pyongyang tested a nuclear weapon in October 2006, experts say that China has reconsidered the nature of its alliance to include both pressure and inducements. But Beijing, arguably, continues to have more leverage over Pyongyang than any other nation and has played a central role in the ongoing Six-Party Talks, the multilateral framework aimed at denuclearizing North Korea.

India, Iran to seal gas pipeline deal by August: report (Market Watch, Jul 3)
India expects to finalize a deal "by next month" on a pipeline that will transport gas across the subcontinent from Iran, Indian Oil Minister Murli Deora told Agence-France Presse on Thursday. He said the $7.5 billion project to bring gas from Iranian fields to India and Pakistan had been discussed on the sidelines of the World Petroleum Congress industry event in Madrid, AFP reported. "We discussed this here again yesterday (Wednesday). There should be an end to dialogue now," Deora was quoted as saying.

Special report: New pricing system, not adjustments, will curb China's oil demand (Interfax-China, Jul 3)
In the face of high inflation rates and an eventful year, China is unlikely to bring domestic pump prices in line with their higher international counterparts in the near future. Instead, if crude oil prices continue their bullish run, authorities are likely to continue adjusting fuel prices by small increments periodically, while subsidizing the worst hurt sectors, such as agriculture, fishing and transportation, and state-owned refiners that are producing oil products at a loss. Under this scenario, the recent and future retail price adjustments will have no significant impact on China's robust oil demand. In fact, rather than curbing demand, the country may see a jump in crude imports in the coming months as higher retail prices offer an incentive for state-owned refineries to resume or increase fuel production.

ICT's smart answer to climate change (CSR Asia, Jul 2)
Many know about the impact of airlines on Climate Change and some have started to offset their carbon emissions from air travel in an attempt to reduce their carbon footprint. Few, however, are aware of how information and communication technologies (ICTs) affect climate change. With emissions of 830 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent (CO2-e in 2007) the ICT sector accounted for 2 percent of global carbon emissions, as much as aviation. With more and more people entering the digital age, the most significant growth is seen in developing countries, which will account for 60% of ICT's carbon emissions by 2020. By that time 70% of China's population will be able to afford ICT devices and in just 12 year's time 50% of all households will be connected by broadband.

India bans export of corn till Oct 15 (Forbes.com, Jul 3)
India has banned the export of corn (maize) with immediate effect till Oct. 15, the country's commerce and industry ministry said. However, no reasons were provided in the statement issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) of the commerce ministry. Analysts believe that this measure was taken in order to tame spiraling inflation. For the week to June 14, India's inflation was clocked at 11.42 percent, its highest in more than 13 years, from 11.05 percent a week earlier. Corn contributes for 0.185 percent to the wholesale price index (WPI), the widely watched inflation tracker. India's corn exports are expected to stand at 2 million tonnes for the year to end-June according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

India may let sugar firms sell entire produce without prior approval (Forbes.com, Jul 3)
India's central government may allow sugar companies to sell their entire produce in the open market without its prior approval from the new crushing season, starting Oct. 1, the Hindu Business Line reported quoting sources. Currently, sugar mills are obliged to deliver 10 percent of their sugar produce as 'levy' to the public distribution system. The government decides how much of the remaining 90 percent can be offloaded in the open market by each company each month. The report said the government might scrap this regulation as well.

India's manufacturing story (The Economic Times, June 28)
It is interesting to note that a ranking of private sector companies by revenues has four manufacturing players among the top five. Headed by Reliance, the top five include Tata Steel, Hindalco, ICICI Bank and Tata Motors. This dominance of commodities/manufacturing players shows how India has managed to turn the tables on the idea that in the new world order China would emerge as a manufacturing play while India would dominate services.

Manufacturing growth improves in June: PMI (India Infoline, July 1)
Companies attributed new orders to an improvement in market conditions and robust demand. Overall, new business increased at the strongest pace in four months.

China's Manufacturing Growth Slows, PMI Survey Shows (Bloomberg News, July 1)
China's manufacturing expanded in June at the slowest pace in almost three years as growth in export orders weakened for the third month, a survey of purchasing managers showed.

'India's climate change plan is better than China's' (The Times of India, July 1)
As India heads into the G-8 summit to face the world on its climate change strategy, the government's policymakers believe India has a more evolved and far-sighted climate change policy than China.

Foreign governments help China map out plans for climate change (Xinhua, June 30)
A joint initiative by foreign governments and international agencies was launched here on Monday to assist China's ecologically fragile provinces to map out plans to cope with the climate change.

India tackles climate change with renewable energy (The Guardian, July 1)
Solar power and other renewable energy sources will get priority under India's climate action plan unveiled by prime minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi yesterday. The plan does not commit to a target for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, placing a greater emphasis on continued economic growth. However, it does seek to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and increase energy efficiency.

China's Hu says 'time is limited' in curbing climate change (AFP, June 28)
Chinese President Hu Jintao urged renewed efforts to curb global warming on Saturday, stressing "time is limited" in finding efficient solutions to the problem, state media reported. "How we cope with climate change is related to the country's economic development and people's practical benefits. It's in line with the country's basic interests," Hu said according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Indian MBAs can benefit from learning Chinese (NDTV, July 1)
Bala V. Balachandran, the Indian origin expert who is to have an endowed chair in his name at the Kellogg School of Management in the US, says a management student today "has to learn the culture of each country. Today's MBA has to understand that the world is a village and he or she has to learn the culture of each country," Balachandran, who is retiring after 35 years at the Illinois-based Kellogg School told.

Chinese Websites Call On Establishing New Internet Culture (China CSR, June 30)
More than 50 Chinese websites, including xinhuanet.com and people.com.cn, have held an activity in Beijing, calling on Chinese Internet service providers to jointly welcome the Beijing Olympic Games by setting up a new online ethos.

Chinese innovation in construction exemplified by venues (Beijing 2008, June 28)
More than 20 modern venues that make use of environmental-friendly and energy-saving technology now decorate Beijing. Thanks to the innovation of Chinese engineers and builders, two venues in particular have use Chinese-made materials in their construction.

IIM-A, Piramal to scale up healthcare innovation (Business Standard, June 30)
Buoyed by the response for its Piramal Prize in its first year, Piramal Foundation along with its partner The Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) is planning to attract more applications next year.

Maternal And Child Health In India (Voice of America, June 29)
This month, the United States Government and India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched a health program aimed at improving maternal and child health and nutrition in India. More women in India die from complications associated with pregnancy and childbirth than anywhere else in the world. Annually, more than one-million-two-hundred-thousand newly-born Indian babies die within a month. Diarrhea is a leading cause of child mortality in India due in part to the lack of access to safe drinking water and toilets for nearly half of the population.

Indian American doctors resolve to boost healthcare in rural India (The Economic Times, July 1)
The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI, a powerful professional body of about 42,000 doctors, concluded its 26th annual convention in Las Vegas on Sunday reaffirming its resolve to boost healthcare in rural India, a move applauded by Indian Health Minister A. Ramadoss in his keynote address.

DHL eyes Rs 190 cr logistics biz in SAARC region (The Economic Times, July 2)
DHL, the global major in international express, transport, courier and air freight, is eyeing a bigger share of the logistics business in the SAARC region.

Millions of Truckers in India Begin Strike (News VOA, July 2)
In India, millions of trucks have gone off the roads to protest rising operating costs triggered by higher fuel prices and rising taxes. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, high oil prices are hurting India's economy. ndia has hiked petrol and diesel prices twice this year by about 17 percent, following the spiraling cost of crude oil in the international market. Truckers want the government to reduce other taxes levied on them to compensate for the rising cost of diesel. For example, they are asking for a repeal of a hike in tolls gathered on highways.

Publisher: L. Roxanne Russell
Editor of Academic Resources: Dr. S.V. Char
Co-Editor: Abhijit Agrawal
Co-Editor: RJ Paulsick