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Chinese survey shows manufacturing rebounding

| Thursday, April 02, 2009

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese manufacturing expanded slightly in March following a painful months-long decline that wiped out millions of jobs as the global financial crisis battered exports, a business group said Friday.

The state-sanctioned China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said its purchasing managers index, based on a survey of manufacturers, rose to 52.4 in March, up from February's 49. Numbers above 50 show an expansion in manufacturing.

"This month's manufacturing PMI index continued to maintain recovery momentum," the federation said in a statement.

The collapse in trade has forced thousands of Chinese factories to close and the government says at least 20 million people have been thrown out of work. Communist leaders worry about unrest if more jobs are lost.

President Hu Jintao said this week before the Group of 20 summit in London that problems with employment and other areas due to the crisis were "clearly increasing" despite Beijing's 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus package.

Economists said the latest data point to a recovery but cautioned that China still depends on the United States and other export markets.

"Manufacturing may soon rebound in China," said Moody's Economy.com analyst Sherman Chan in a report.

However, "China's growth will not return to the pre-crisis pace without a global economic recovery," she said. "It remains a challenge for the government to reach its ambitious growth target of 8 percent for 2009."

The chance the index will fall back into contraction territory in coming months is "quite small," said Merrill Lynch economists Ting Lu and T.J. Bond in a report.

"Export growth is stabilizing and fiscal stimulus is gaining traction," they said.

The manufacturing component of the logistics federation's survey rose to 56.9 in March from February's 51.2, with new domestic orders at 54.6, up from 50.4. Trade shrank further, but its 47.5 reading was better than February's 43.4.

The federation did not say how many companies took part in the survey but has said in the past it covered more than 700 enterprises.

A similar survey released this week by Hong Kong brokerage CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets showed Chinese manufacturing still contracting in March for an eighth month.

Forecasts by private sector economists of China's growth this year range from 8 percent to as low as 5 percent — the strongest of any major economy but a sharp drop from 2007's 13 percent expansion.

On Tuesday, the Asian Development Bank cut its 2009 growth forecast for China and other developing Asian economies to 3.4 percent from 5.6 percent. It said China should grow by 7 percent, down from last year's 9 percent.

On Wednesday, state media said Beijing will send a trade mission to the United States this month ahead of the first meeting of a high-level U.S.-Chinese economic forum since President Barrack Obama took office.

Hu and President Barack Obama agreed this week to renew a high-level dialogue on trade and economic issues and to raise its political level.

Beijing sent missions ahead of past rounds of the dialogue to buy U.S. jetliners and other goods in an effort to diffuse trade tensions. The news reports did not say what the latest mission would do and the Commerce Ministry declined to give more details.

In February, a 200-member delegation of Chinese businesspeople and officials visited Europe in what Beijing said was an effort to promote trade and combat protectionist sentiment amid the global slowdown. The government says the group signed contracts worth more than $13 billion in Britain, Germany, Switzerland and Spain.

A second group followed in March to look at investment opportunities in autos, textiles, chemicals, energy conservation and other industries.

Source: http://www.cw11tv.com/

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Foreign trade deficit narrowing through intermediate goods production

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Turkey has begun to shrink its foreign trade deficit thanks to an increase in intermediate goods production, Industry and Trade Minister Zafer Çağlayan told Today's Zaman on Thursday.

Noting that they expect the foreign trade deficit to decrease since Turkey's imports will fall along with its exports in 2009, Çağlayan highlighted the importance of producing intermediate goods. He said it would be wrong to emphasize the decrease in exports, noting that exports are expected to total around $100 billion in 2009.

Çağlayan added that they had extended support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) producing intermediate goods in Turkey. "We have enacted the necessary regulations to meet the demands of our industrialists regarding this issue. We especially want SMEs to increase their competitive power, and we will make regulations accordingly. Producing intermediate goods in Turkey instead of importing will also affect employment in a positive way. I hope we will close the deficit fast," he stated.

Emphasizing that rising exchange rates will have a positive impact on the results of the support provided to SMEs, Çağlayan continued: "When foreign exchange was low and interest rates were high, we were importing considerable amounts of intermediate goods since it was more profitable to process imported intermediate goods. With the increase of exchange rates, it is no longer profitable. Now, it is more reasonable to produce them in Turkey. We have enacted regulations to make production more attractive. In order to support SMEs, we have decreased the employer's share of Social Security Institution [SGK] premiums. We have decreased corporate income tax rates and, most importantly, let them deduct research and development expenses from their taxable income. All these have helped companies produce intermediate goods instead of importing them. The decline in exports is related to the global economic crisis, but we aim to decrease the negative impact of this decline and shrink the foreign trade deficit with these regulations."

Stating that he understands the problems of companies since he has worked in the private sector, Çağlayan said the economic system of today was stronger than that of 1994, 1999 and 2001, when economic crises occurred. He also noted that it was normal for Turkey to be affected by the economic depression in Europe, which is the destination of more than half of Turkey's exports. "The financial and budgetary discipline and macroeconomic balance of Turkey are incomparably stronger than past periods. Therefore, we say Turkey will be the first country to recover from the economic crisis. We expect markets to return to normal from April on. We hope European markets will also normalize in the third quarter of 2009."

Having faced a 30 percent contraction in exports due to the depression in global markets, the ratio of Turkey exports to imports rose from 69 percent to 99 percent in 2008.

According to recent data released by the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat), Turkey's exports decreased by 24.9 percent in February compared to the same month of 2008. However, imports also fell by 47.6 percent in the same period.

Source: http://www.todayszaman.com/

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DOTW to aggressively promote outbound and domestic holiday packages on DOTWconnect

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Destinations of the World (DOTW), a B2B global wholesale company, is aggressively selling holiday packages through their online reservations system, ‘DOTWconnect’ to their network of travel trade customers in India. DOTW, which recently launched 'Super Saver Packages' for Thailand with 154 itineraries is now looking at introducing similar packages for outbound destinations like Maldives, Australia, Kathmandu and domestic ones like Goa, Kerala, Shimla, Manali, Corbett National Park and North East. “We have seen a healthy demand on our 'Super Saver Thailand' and general packages for international and domestic destinations and we will launch more exclusive deals before April second week so that our agents can meet the needs of their clients,” informed Kanwer Deep Singh, Country Head Indian Subcontinent, DOTW. DOTW has a strong B2B network of travel trade customers on a pan-India basis and is looking at acquiring more market share by targeting 120 new travel trade customers to sign up for their B2B network each month. The company also plans to expand business relationship with large tour operators and consolidators.

Another key strategy for DOTW is to focus on further developing the MICE business for outbound destinations across the globe. The company has set up a dedicated team that caters exclusively to the B2B MICE market. “We are targeting about 100 per cent growth in revenue which will be generated through our MICE business this year as compared to the previous year. For the first two months of 2009, we have already catered to over 50 MICE groups and are in-line to achieve our targets,” added Singh. DOTW witnessed a sharp increase in the domestic and outbound business demand in the FIT segment with a healthy conversion rate of 70 per cent. Having a huge market share of outbound destinations like Thailand, Malaysia and Dubai, DOTW is now focusing on expanding its market share for Europe, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Maldives.

Source: http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/

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GM, Chrysler bankruptcy could hurt TCS the most

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NEW DELHI/BANGALORE: The grave financial crisis at US automobile companies General Motors (GM) and Chrysler has put at risk deals worth nearly $1 billion (Rs 5,000 crore) annually for Indian auto parts suppliers and some of the country’s top software firms.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest software exporter, faces the biggest impact among IT companies, while vendors of auto components will be particularly affected if GM files for bankruptcy, analysts and executives from the two industries said.

On Sunday, the US government gave GM 60 days to come up with a new plan to cut debt and prevent bankruptcy. Chrysler has been ordered to finalise a partnership with Italian carmaker Fiat within 30 days.

A Delhi-based auto parts supplier to GM said there has already been some reduction in orders from the American firm. “We are worried and closely watching the developments in the US to gauge the impact. The decline in auto sales in the US has already hit the order books of Indian suppliers,” he said.

A GM bankruptcy will have a crippling effect as production lines will be reduced and a number of models scrapped. “Even if the firm doesn’t file for Chapter 11 (bankruptcy), it’s likely that payments will be delayed. We have already reduced our supplies to GM,” an executive at a leading auto component company said.

GM and Chrysler’s woes-the two have been struggling in recent years-have also put their new IT outsourcing projects in a limbo.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

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B2B Technologies Celebrates 10 Years with Record Revenue for 2008

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City: ATLANTA
State: Georgia
Body of Announcement:

Frank Fuerst, President of B2B, announced today they celebrated their 10th year in business with a record increase in revenues for 2008. According to Fuerst, “Our investments in expanding our sales team, allowing us to target enterprise, mid-market and public sector organizations, were keys to our growth last year. In addition, on-going engagements from our existing customer base continued to be a significant percentage of our revenue. These long term relationships are extremely important to us and we place an unusual amount of emphasis on our people to maintain them.” B2B is now one of the leading Microsoft technology service providers in the area, recognized in 2006 by INC Magazine as one of the 500 fastest growing companies in North America.

Revenues for the 2008 fiscal year saw a growth of over 45% with substantial expansion into the Education sector, providing technology services to K12 school districts and higher education institutions throughout the Southeast. In this time of economic recession B2B has been able to continue growing by delivering innovative information technology solutions that enable organizations to be more competive and profitable. Organizations need to continue projects vital to their operations and need experienced consultants to do the work – particularly since they may not be able to hire staff. “B2B’s and our customers’ mutual success depends on our ability to always be on the forefront of the tools and technologies, apply industry best practices learned from numerous previous engagements and to deliver projects quickly and efficiently. It is often more economical to bring an experienced company like ours to a project than to hire permanent employees,” continued Fuerst. “This was true even before the current economic conditions.”

About B2B Technologies

The Company, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, has been delivering technology solutions to Fortune 2000 companies and the Public Sector since 1998. . Previously named to Inc. Magazine’s list of 500 Fastest Growing companies in North American, B2B helps organizations derive maximum benefit from the latest Microsoft technologies in solving business problems critical to their operations. For more information, contact Ken Guthrie, kguthrie@b2btech.com.

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888's Dragonfish Offers 'Total Gaming Services' including Poker, for B2B

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Pacific Poker parent 888 Holdings yesterday announced the launch of their new business-to-business (B2B) white-label enterprise, called Dragonfish, so named to help distinguish it from its traditional B2C business. Dragonfish will work with online gaming operators and media companies looking to either monetize their existing database, brand loyalty and media assets or to enhance existing online gaming operations across poker, casino, bingo, sports and quickplay.

Dragonfish's tagline is 'Total Gaming Services' as it offers services in technology, operations and ePayments, as well as offline and online marketing, management of affiliates, SEO, CRM and business analytics.

In 2007, Israel-based 888 made the strategic decision to leverage their B2C experience in online gaming with the goal of becoming the largest B2C operator to move into the B2B arena. During that year, agreements were signed with Riley's, Tower Torneos and LuckyAce.

2008 saw several more B2B deals signed in Western, Central and Eastern Europe, including the ground-breaking partnership with the UK Football Pools (Sportech Plc). Dragonfish currently provides Sportech with a full managed service including all technology, operations and marketing of Sportech's Littlewoods brand.

Dragonfish this week signed a deal to provide the Racing Post. 888 will provide a comprehensive online poker and casino product for the company including back-end software, payments processing, and customer support.

The Company believes that Dragonfish will provide a significant portion of 888's profits by the financial year 2010.

Earlier this week the company announced its poker revenues fell 4 percent in 2008.

Source: http://www.pokerpages.com/

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