On the topic of foreign direct investment:
“The Russians are the best chess players in the world; they think long-term and strategically. They invest in partners who can help them develop their industries at home.
Americans look for a quick return.
The Chinese hide their imperial thinking behind a mask of confucian peacemaking.”
- Joachim Schroeder-Hohenwarth, Vontobel

The so-called “BRIC” economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are growing so fast, that they are expected to catch up with and pass the current largest economies of the world. The big question is, “how long will it take?” to raise the per capita GNP up to the levels of the US and Europe. 10, 20, 30 years?
China has already “left us behind in the dust” when it comes to the emission of carbon-dioxide. According to USA Today, China is now responsible for 24% of the worldwide CO2 emissions, easily passing the US which is ranked at “only” 21%.
The polluters …read more

Tata, the Indian car manufacturer which purchased British Jaguar this year, continues to face protests at its manufacturing plant in Singur, West-Bengal (a state in eastern India). Controversy began when the government purchased farmland for the plant in support of the new micro-car, the Nano. The Nano will start at $2300 to make purchasing a car affordable to the growing middle class in India. The protesters continue to threaten workers at the plant. Ratan Tata, CEO, is considering moving the plant.
Source: Süddeutsche Zeitung
My previous post about Tata.
See also Nano on Wiki.

The Beijing Olympics are almost over and I am still waiting to see advertising from Lenovo, the Chinese company which produces and distributes the ex-IBM ThinkPad Laptop (refer to my previous post). Lenovo was one of the few “global” Olympic advertisers. At least their ads are showing up here on our blog. They seem to be sponsoring US beach volleyball, so maybe they are focusing on the US market and not Europe, where I live.
Speaking of Lenovo, they also have a few blogs themselves. One of them is called “Worldsourcing” and is written by the Lenovo VP for Corporate Communications, …read more

Pallavi Aiyer moved from India to Beijing to be an English teacher in China (and to be with her boyfriend). Her memoir “Smoke and Mirrors: An Experience of China” thus includes many comparisons between her native country and her new country of residence. Combined, the two are refered to as “Chindia”.
Aiyer’s experiences as a teacher of English to Chinese journalism students and her travels to different parts of the country provide for fascinating insights into the modern Chinese culture. Almost all of the millions of students in China today are only-children who, compared with their parents, have obtained great material …read more

With the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics just days away, I am looking forward to learning more about China. Hopefully, we will get some human interest stories and documentaries about China in between the sporting events on television.
In case the TV studios shy away from anything more “political” (meaning anything which might be seen as controversial), today I will look at two new books on China which have made my reading list.
“The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom” by Simon Winchester portrays Joseph Needham (1900-1995) a …read more

Raise your hands – how many people out there use an IBM ThinkPad? And how many more have used it in the past? The ThinkPad is one of the most popular brands in computer laptops, but how many people know the name of the Chinese company who has been making and selling the “IBM ThinkPad” since 2005?
The company’s name is Lenovo and if you plan on watching any of the Olympics this summer, you will be seeing their name more often, as they are the only Chinese company with worldwide sponsorship of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
I remember reading that the …read more

A number of countries which subsidize the price of gasoline (among other essentials) can no longer take the pain of the rising price of oil and are raising prices at the pump. This past week, India joined Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Malaysia when it raised prices at the pump 10%, up to about $4.80 per gallon.
Blockades and protests closed down many big cities in India; analysts expect this to be the straw which breaks the camel’s back for the ruling Congress Party, as their popularity was already decreasing.
It’s the economy, stupid. People vote with their pocketbooks.
That said, I …read more

In the US, it used to be “Soccer Moms” driving their kids from one after-school event to another. Japanese “Education Moms” are dedicated to making sure their offspring get into the best schools. But Chinese parents are now taking the cake – 92 per cent want their children to earn a college diploma – and they are investing early in pre-school programs ranging from piano lessons, English classes and “Early MBA” sessions to make sure it happens. Studies show that 60 per cent of urban Chinese families spend one-third of their income for their children’s education.
In Shanghai alone, 3000 pre-school …read more

Quick follow-up on a previous post about the price of gasoline in several countries around the world. There are two reasons why prices at the pump for this commodity vary so greatly around the world: taxes and subsidies.
In a post from January 2008, Pablo at www.triplepundit.com asks,  What is the True Cost of Gasoline?  The data from 2005 he looks at show that the US government subsidizes gasoline at the pump by over 100%; that is, the “true” price of gasoline in 2005 (not including costs to the environment) would have been over $5.00 a gallon without subsidies.
Other countries, including …read more