China4B2B Blog

Dear Friends,

Just came back from another Asia trip. This one in February and March in three Asian countires (or shall I say two countries and one special region). Yes, again, I traveled to Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

What a big difference a month or two makes. In October the economies and activity in these three cities was vibrant and seemed that the global slowdown had not reached them. But now, you can see even in Shanghai how restaurants and hotels are feeling the global recession. Most hotels in Shanghai are 60% occupied, the same in Hong Kong and Singapore.

The streets continue to be vibrant and filled with people coming and going, selling, buying, walking, talking, and parks and gardens are the delight of Shanghainese and Singaporean people. However, now it is noticeable that these economies have slowed down.

I visited a couple of factories in Shanghai and Ningbo looking for business opportunities and found that their management are actively seeking new deals, transforming their business to adapt to new opportunities to export to Asia, Europe and south America. It is always amazing to see how the Chinese adapt, look for new practical ways to change their focus and use their resources to open new business opportunities in Asia and abroad. Their factories are working at 60% or less of their capacities but still vibrant and positive in their outlook.

The pace of construction in Shanghai seems that it has accelerated, especially along the Bund (south side). I had the opportunity to eat at Jean Georges’s restaurant (he has several in New York) well located on the Bund at #3. The building is an experience by itself and the elevators are a unique experience with its dimmed lights, that reminds you of a disco, and their narrow space puts a signature of their own. The food was out of this world!! Congrats to Jean Georges and wish him success in Shanghai. By the way, the view from the restaurant (located in the fourth floor) is fantastic overseeing the haungpu river and the skyline of the new Pudong area with a full view of the skyscrapers rising tall.

I also visited a new restaurant just openned a few months ago. The Nam-1975 is a new fusion and authnetic Vietnamese food restaurant openned by my friend Brandon Lee. He hired actual real Vietnamese chefs to prepare real authentic Vietnam dishes. The experience is really great, the place is cozy and well located along the traditional Huaihai Zhong road. Well what can I say? both places are a sampling of what Shanghai has to offer in culinary excellence. Definitely next time that I take my customers to Shanghai a visit to these two restaurants is a must see, eat, wine and dine.

Singapore now is bracing for a slow down but the entrepreneurial sprit is still well and alive. I visited with a reverse logistics company, Rigelsoft. Their new venture is to link individual consumers to the repair and service centers with manufacturers by automatically registering their products’ warranties through Rigelsoft’s software in a one-for-all easy to use website. They are a good example of where the new business opportunities in Asia are, in the electronic frontier, the internet, the mobile world.

Hong Kong, is always vibrant and a power house. Our client, SCStorage continues to lead the self storage business in Hong Kong and in spite of the recession its strategies are demonstrating to be very effective. Its occupancy is higher than 95% and still growing. The recession strategies that Kevin She has implemented worked wonders and Hong Kong customers continue to seek his services in the self storage business. 

Soon I will tell you more about Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore. But keep in mind, that now may be the right time to look for business opportunities in Asia in sourcing, manufacturing, exporting or a Joint venture. Everyone is ready to do business in better conditions than before.

Jesus PoncedeLeon