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2008-11-25 | All chapters

European Chamber Business Confidence Survey 2008 reports business growth potential in China despite rising concerns and challenges

Beijing, 25th November 2008. The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China today launches its fifth annual European Chamber Business Confidence Survey, which is published in partnership with Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. More than 250 European companies active in China reported their optimism and concerns about doing business in China. 

The Survey shows that "European companies in China are generally optimistic and committed to the Chinese market and its future, despite mounting challenges". Although the Chinese economy is slowing down, the rising number of European companies in China, especially small-and medium-sized companies, demonstrates that China remains an attractive destination to investors. More companies are reporting greater profitability than last year and over two-thirds of the surveyed companies generate less than 10% of their current global revenue in China. This means the business growth potential still remains high.

Joerg Wuttke, President of the European Chamber, commented, "This year's survey re-confirms that the Chinese market is the most important emerging market for European businesses, and given the global slowdown it might actually rise in significance. European business operates in China with a focus on China, not on exports. However, investment opportunities are still too constrained by a substantial lack of regulatory transparency, increasing economic nationalism, ongoing challenges in the area of protection of intellectual property rights and the discriminatory enforcement of environmental regulations. The Chamber is convinced that resolving these issues could effectively stimulate sustainable domestic growth."

Charles-Edouard Bouee, President & Managing Partner of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants Greater China, said, "We included additional questions that get to the heart of European companies' business strategies and then conducted more in-depth analyses to reveal relationships between companies' operations and their size, industry and duration of operations in China. This year's survey is better able to capture the business rationale for decisions made by European companies in China and the particular challenges they are facing in the fast-changing business environment."

Marianne Friese, Secretary General of the European Chamber, said, "the survey provides our member companies and also business policy makers in Europe and China with insight that can help them maximise the opportunities and overcome the challenges in this growing market. We must assume that the recent events on the financial markets will influence our members’ business decisions. Considering China’s continued growth and the underlying confidence of the European businesses in China, we hope to see positive developments in the year to come".
 
The European Chamber Business Confidence Survey 2008 will be presented to government and regulatory agencies in China, to the European Commission and EU Member State Governments, as well as to a wide range of business organisations and companies in China and Europe.

Key findings of the European Chamber Business Confidence Survey 2008

Ongoing Trends

More European companies, and especially more small- and medium-sized companies, are operating in China "Old China hands" tend to be larger companies; newcomers are mostly SMEs Profitability increases the longer a company does business in China European companies tend to structure their China operations as Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises (WFOEs) when given this legal freedom Companies are optimistic and committed to the Chinese market: "In China for China" Rising labour costs and greater domestic competition intensify pressure on European companies Regulatory issues make European businesses in China uneasy, with transparency and IPR protection persisting to be major concerns

New Findings

China is increasingly important for European businesses and the market offers plenty of growth potential: over two-thirds of surveyed companies generate less than 10% of their current global revenue in China, leaving plenty of room for companies to grow their China business More companies are reporting greater profitability than last year Companies that have been in China longer tend to be structured as holdings or joint ventures, reflecting the evolving constraints on foreign ownership structures Smaller companies are more upbeat about future profitability Two strategies are emerging to combat the talent wars: management localisation (for the large and experienced) versus maintenance of expatriate management (for smaller and newly arrived companies) Focusing on career planning and development is an important tool for retaining staff and reducing costs Inflation is playing a growing role in the talent war Organic growth is preferred over M&A Small "r" & BIG "D": when European companies engage in R&D in China, they generally focus on the "D(evelopment)" component CSR programmes are perceived to have a positive impact on recruitment and retention rates European businesses feel disproportionately targeted when it comes to the enforcement of environmental regulations Many companies claim that pollution is causing their healthcare costs to rise Concerns are increasing about protectionism, anti-foreign sentiment and the adverse impact they have on the enforcement of laws and regulations

Click here to download this press release.

Click here to download the PowerPoint presentation on the press conference.

For further information, please contact:
Grace Yao, Press Officer of the European Chamber
Phone: +86 (0)10 6462 2066 – 30; Mobile: +86 1367 1168 084
E-mail: gyao@euccc.com.cn


《中国欧盟商会商业信心调查2008》显示在华欧盟企业面对更多忧虑和挑战，但仍有发展潜力

北京，2008年11月25日。中国欧盟商会与罗兰·贝格国际管理咨询公司合作，于今日发布了《中国欧盟商会商业信心调查2008》。在华经营的250多家欧盟企业在调查中表达了他们对中国业务的乐观态度及忧虑。

本次调查显示，“尽管面临着越来越多的挑战，在中国的大部分欧盟企业还是对中国市场以及企业在中国的发展前景表现出了乐观的态度”。尽管中国经济增长放缓，但在华欧盟企业数量的增多，尤其是中小型企业的增多，证明中国依然是具有吸引力的投资热土。更多企业在调查中表示他们比去年实现了更高的利润率，而且超过三分之二的受访企业的在华业务仅占其全球业务的10%以下。这表明在华的欧盟企业还有巨大的发展潜力。

中国欧盟商会主席伍德克评论道：“今年的调查再次证实，对欧盟企业而言，中国市场是最重要的新兴市场。在全球经济衰退的情况下，事实上，中国市场有可能显著成长。欧盟企业在华经营的重点是中国市场本身，而不是出口。然而，监管透明度的严重缺乏、经济民族主义的滋长、知识产权保护领域所面临的持续挑战以及环境法规执行中受到的不公平待遇，这些都仍然限制着欧盟企业的投资机会。商会认为，解决这些问题可以有效地激励中国国内经济的可持续增长。”

罗兰·贝格国际管理咨询有限公司大中华区总裁及执行合伙人常博逸先生介绍道：“我们在今年的问卷设计里加入了一些新的问题以深入探讨欧盟企业的战略方向，并且进行了更透彻的分析，希望借此反映出欧盟企业的运营状况与企业规模之间的联系、以及所在行业与在华运营时间长短之间的联系。今年的调查让我们可以更好地了解欧盟在华企业的决策制定的原因，以及在快速变化的商业环境中所面临的特殊挑战。”

中国欧盟商会秘书长玛莉莲说：“本次调查为我们会员企业以及中欧双方的商业政策决策者们提供了参考信息，有助于他们充分利用机遇，在市场发展中赢得挑战。我们必须承认，近期金融市场的动荡会影响我们会员企业的商业决策。但就中国经济的持续增长趋势和欧盟企业的信心来看，我们有望在来年看到积极的发展。”

《中国欧盟商会商业信心调查2008》将被呈递给中国政府和监管机构、欧盟委员会、欧盟各成员国政府以及中欧双方众多的商业组织和企业。

《中国欧盟商会商业信心调查2008》内容要点

延续的趋势

越来越多的欧盟企业，尤其是中小型企业，选择来华拓展其业务 “中国通”更多是大型的企业，而新来华的企业大多为中小型企业 盈利能力随着企业在华开展业务时间的增加而提高 随着法律环境的逐渐宽松，欧盟企业开始选择外商独资形式开展在华业务 受访企业普遍表达了对于中国市场的乐观和信心，“立足中国，服务中国” 人力成本上升以及国内竞争加剧加大了欧盟企业所面临的压力 法规问题使得欧盟企业在华业务开展具有一定的复杂度，知识产权保护和法律法规执行的透明度仍是主要的顾虑

新的现象

中国对于欧盟企业的重要性在不断地提高，并且为欧盟商业的发展提供了巨大的潜力：调查显示，超过三分之二的受访企业在华业务仅占全球业务的10%以下，这个数字意味着，欧盟企业在中国还有非常大的发展空间 调查显示，更多的企业比去年实现了更高的利润率 拥有一定在华经验的企业倾向于选择控股（Holdings）或者合资（JV）为主要操作方式，这也反映出中国对于在华外资企业所有制结构的限制 规模稍小的企业对于未来的利润情况更加乐观 两种关键性战略在人才战中慢慢浮现：管理层本地化（主要对于大型并且拥有丰富经验的企业）、管理层外籍化（主要对于中小型以及新进入中国市场的企业） 重视员工的职业规划和发展对于留用员工和控制成本来说，是一个非常重要和有效的手段 通货膨胀在人才战中的影响也在逐渐提高 自然成长比收购与兼并更受青睐 轻研究重开发：当欧盟企业决定在华开展研发项目时，他们会更加重视对于产品开发而非基础研究 企业社会责任（CSR）项目对于找到人在和留用人才起到非常积极的作用 遇到环境法规的执行问题时，欧盟企业感到不公平地受到针对 许多企业表示环境污染造成了人员医疗成本的提升 对于地域保护主义、排外情绪以及在法律法规执行中由此带来的负面影响，欧盟企业表示愈加忧虑

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希望了解更多信息，敬请联系：
姚辰
中国欧盟商会新闻官
电话：+86 (0)10 6462 2066 - 30
手机：+86 1367 1168 084
电邮：gyao@euccc.com.cn

For more information please contact

Xinhe Fan