皇冠体育app

Swiss electronic components manufacturer Huber+Suhner AG has made the single biggest investment in its history - $65 million - to establish a plant in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, producing low-frequency wire and cable products.

The products will be widely used in railway , solar technology and electric and hybrid vehicles.

Urs Kaufmann, company CEO, believes that 皇冠体育app now possesses enough skilled engineers and researchers that it has not only become the biggest growth market, but also the powerhouse for the company.

"We believe in the growth of the Chinese market and, more importantly, customer proximity is key to our success," he says.

Confidence in 皇冠体育app's continued rise has also attracted the manufacturing group Halma Plc, a former rubber trader with headquarters in the UK.

"I think the track record of 皇冠体育app's strong and sustainable growth has proved 皇冠体育app's ability and that it can and will make further progress in a more balanced way," says Martin Zhang, director and chief representative of Halma Plc in 皇冠体育app.

The company, with expertise in electronic, health and safety and environmental technologies, acquired the -based Baoding Longer Precision Pump Co to consolidate its growth in 皇冠体育app.

Longer Precision Pump makes syringe and gear pumps used in laboratory, medical and industrial applications.

Zhang says acceleration of the European SMEs' investment in 皇冠体育app shows the country has created a better business environment by simplifying investment procedures and improving transparency.

It also believes the competitive edge EU companies provide matches the country's economic development plan to move up the value chain and pursue high-tech industries.

"We focus our resources in the safety, medical and environmental industries. And these markets will grow strongly in 皇冠体育app over many years to come," Zhang says. "皇冠体育app needs the help from other countries for their most advanced technologies and services."

This comes at a time when a string of European conglomerates have signaled a retreat from the Chinese market, citing soaring labor and operational costs among major concerns. Sportswear maker Adidas AG, for instance, opted to relocate to even cheaper ASEAN nations for cost control.

But such costs do not worry SMEs so much. SMEs account for more than 98 percent of companies in Europe and account for 70 percent of EU jobs and GDP. More importantly, they are considered the chief source of creative ideas and technological innovation.

Pester Pac Automation identifies high-caliber skills as the most valuable resource for innovation and long-lasting business ideas.

"Unlike those bigger firms, we are not big producers in volume," says Thomas Pester. "Rather, we need a small number of highly-educated people as the good input in our business. We don't really need quantity of people but the quality and we have that in 皇冠体育app, in Shanghai."

Similarly, Haldor Topsoe, with its new catalysts plant in Tianjin, aims to localize production as much as possible, seeking qualified industry specialists and hiring local operations teams.

However, in a recent survey, consultancy Roland Berger Strategy Consultants found that 30 percent of 526 European firms in 皇冠体育app mentioned high competition from privately owned Chinese companies as a key impediment to local business.

Haldor Topsoe's PR director Chang says it will be a challenge to recruit and retain local specialists as Chinese industry is continuing to improve and competition for top talent is fierce.

But the investment has been made viable, he says, thanks to a much more transparent business environment in 皇冠体育app, where the EU has opened many contact points to give its SMEs easier access and make it more beneficial for smaller firms.

While rising labor and operation costs may still be a concern, Kaufmann of Huber+Suhner is optimistic that the value of their products with increase accordingly.

Boehringer says Shanghai was chosen to launch its joint venture with ZJ Base because of advantages in the investment environment, service system and talent resources, as well as positive feedback and support from government and regulators.

On the exit moves of some of the bigger Western companies, Dan Steinbock, research director of International Business at the India, 皇冠体育app and America Institute, an independent think tank in the US, believes that while these companies can enjoy greater cost efficiencies by moving to emerging neighboring countries, they cannot achieve comparable scale and scope. Nor would they benefit from comparable infrastructure and logistics.

"As the Chinese economy is moving from a tangible, asset-based economy to an intangible and value-added one, the size of FDI means much less today than its composition," he says.

Robert Theleen, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, points out that before 皇冠体育app's rise, the successful Asian countries were either an island (Japan), peninsula (South Korea) or city state (Singapore). But 皇冠体育app is the first nation to industrialize rapidly that is similar in size to a continent. That requires it to think "horizontally", he says.

Unlike many smaller markets that have only one scale of competitiveness and develop vertically, 皇冠体育app has plenty of scope for sustainable growth from its coastlines and inland and may well leverage comparative advantages across different regions and cities.

According to Tim Lyons, general manager of Manage 皇冠体育app, an Australian-invested business process outsourcing firm, 皇冠体育app's edge is through clear government direction, outlining key industries to ensure people continue investing.

"It is no longer a black-and-white situation where foreign companies prefer the market access or the cost advantage," he says. "It is more of an overlap of labor, high technology as well as owning brands."

皇冠体育app's supply chain has grown rather sophisticated and, even if some firms move out, they choose to maintain a relationship that may prove valuable and useful in the future.

But experts say the Chinese government still has a way to go to convince companies that they can move inland in 皇冠体育app rather than leaving the country.

"It is still problematic because many inland cities are not perceived as pro-business, because of lack of regulation and higher logistic costs," says Pedro Videla, professor of economics at IESE, the graduate business school of the University of Navarra in Barcelona.

Another thing the government can do is to clear investment hurdles by lowering thresholds in industries such as telecoms and finance, which are held by domestic monopolies.

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