After a long period of economic development and expansion, the world is at a turning point in its history. But some of the world’s most prominent academics, business leaders and political representatives met recently in the south of France to define the outlines of a new future – one in which the world will want to invest.
Along with President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Korea, the hype surrounding Korean companies entering the Chinese market continues to grow. CKGSB Associate Dean and a world-renowned scholar on Strategic Alliance, Professor Teng Bingsheng, said that the Chinese market has experienced significant changes over the years. He pointed out that MNCs will face difficulties in winning the competition with local Chinese companies. Professor Teng said, “MNCs should not be satisfied with their standards. Because China is no longer a cheap consumption market, global companies should apply high standards in China and target customers with high-end products, not low-end ones. They also need to change their strategies to adapt to the new business environment in China. For example, they need to target the fast-rising, middle-class consumers and transform themselves from labor-intensive to technology-intensive companies”.
CKGSB Professor of Marketing Juliet Zhu has been named to the World Economic Forum’s Network of Global Agenda Councils as a Member for 2014-2016. This highly prestigious appointment recognizes Prof Zhu as among the most relevant and knowledgeable thought leaders in her field, and her expertise will be instrumental in helping the China Council collaboratively develop pertinent insights and solutions to address global challenges.
Consider the case of the adult student attending night school to earn a degree that will result in a better job with higher pay. From sacrificing time with friends and family to missing a relaxing evening watching TV, this type of long-term gain often comes with short-term pain. But a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research – co-authored by CKGSB Professor of Marketing Juliet Zhu – has found that people are more likely to achieve their goals and avoid temptations when they are able to remove themselves from the big picture.
3Nod Group, a leading digital audio manufacturer world-wide, announced a joint scholarship with CKGSB to help qualified Chinese and Korean professionals pursue business education at CKGSB’s full-time MBA Programme. Applications are now being accepted.
China is no longer resting on its ‘Made in China’ laurels. These days, China’s main economic driver is the ICT industry, including smartphone manufacturers and gaming firms, as well as the e-commerce and internet search market sectors. CKGSB Professor Li Wei said, “To highlight Chinese ICT companies’ common reasons for success, their customer-oriented businesses have correctly anticipated what a good portion of Chinese customers want and have strived to serve them. A significant percentage of Chinese customers are well-educated, but their income is not as high as their western counterparts. They want smartphones that have high-end specs, incorporate the latest designs and best implement software elements. Some of them have the technical skills to redesign or tinker with a phone's hardware and software. This has given rise to Xiaomi, whose business model is fundamentally different from global brands such as Samsung and Apple.”
Several global companies are making a series of U-turns from the ‘promised land’ of China, while those that stay are not always faring well. However, the Chinese economic recession doesn’t explain how some global companies have continued to manage successful businesses in China. CKGSB Associate Dean, Professor Teng Bingsheng, who visited Korea on June 19th to introduce the CKGSB-IMD Dual EMBA Program, said: “Until the 1990s, multinational companies (MNCs) were considered by young Chinese people the best companies to work in, which unfortunately is no longer true. It’s also true that many global companies who have been successful over the last 25 years are now struggling in the Chinese market. The ‘Chinese Dream’ is becoming even harder to achieve”. Prof. Teng also pointed out that high competition with local companies could be another threat to MNCs and warned that some companies are still not aware of the changes in perceptions among Chinese consumers. He advised global companies to target emerging (Tier 2-4) cities and rising middle-class consumers.
Juliet Zhu, Professor of Marketing at CKGSB, discusses the effect of noise on creativity, in The Economist’s Intelligence Unit Executive Briefing.
Founding Dean and Leading World Economist from China’s leading Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business shared insights during FT-ODX “Essential China” Conference
In a written interview with Fortune Korea, CKGSB Professor Ou-Yang Hui said “the wealth management products related to shadow banking in China account for a relatively small portion of China’s total banking assets”, adding that China’s shadow banking situation is still under control. Professor Ou-Yang explained that the scale of China’s shadow banking has reached 40% of the country’s overall GDP and is worth over RMB 27 trillion, which is still lower than that of the UK (480%) and the U.S. (160%). However, he agreed that shadow banking has witnessed a rapid growth in recent years. He said this stems from “a strong loan demand from corporations due to relatively low real borrowing rates compared to nominal GDP growth rates, especially from private companies and SMEs, that could not be satisfied by the formal banking system because of loan quotas or sector loan regulations.”
CKGSB alumna Wu Yajun, who is the co-founder and chairwoman of Longfor Properties, has been named as the 41st most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.
On May 28th, CKGSB, in partnership with KPMG, held its second breakfast panel on the topic of internet finance. Shedding light on the implications of this hot topic in China and globally were two distinguished speakers, CKGSB Associate Dean and Professor of Finance, Chen Long, and KPMG Partner, Raymond Cheong.
