EUROPE

Airbus opens first Asian logistics center in ChinaAn Airbus logistics center opened for business on November 18 in the northern port city of Tianjin - home to an Airbus final assembly line and delivery center， Xinhua reported.The European aircraft maker hopes to ramp up its logistics network in China with the help of Airbus (Tianjin) Logistics Company， according to Airbus China.The logistics company， Airbus’ first logistics center in Asia， will provide logistics support to Airbus and its parent company European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company in China， according to the aircraft maker.Laurence Barron， president of Airbus China， said the logistics company will also support the production of the A350 XWB， a new wide-body Airbus jumbo， of which 5 percent of the airframe will be manufactured in China.The country received its first Airbus-made jet in 1985 and now has over 600 Airbus airliners serving in its fleets， according to the official website of Airbus China.Airbus also produces manufacturing parts and components for Airbus jets in a number of Chinese cities.Pirelli targets China’s luxury car sectorChina Daily reported that Pirelli C. SpA， the world’s fifth-largest tire maker， has placed China’s premium car market at the heart of its industrial plan updates for the coming three years.The Italy-based company’s supply of tires to luxury car manufacturers in China is expected to grow from less than 600，000 units in 2011 to about 1.4 million units in 2015， it announced in London on November 9.“China is a great opportunity for us because its premium car market has only started growing rapidly in the last two to four years，” said Marco Tronchetti Provera， chairman of Pirelli.Provera also said that China’s rising cost of labor， inflationary pressures and currency appreciation will have negligible effect on the company’s growth in the Chinese market because of high premiums placed on Pirelli’s products.“To support our strategy， we are spending quite a few million euros each year in order to cover all major and midtier cities in China by increasing the number of Pirelli point of sales，” said Francesco Gori， managing director of Pirelli Tire Parts.In China， Pirelli’s points of sales will increase from less than 1，000 in 2011 to over 3，000 before the end of 2014， the company said.Pirelli announced in June that it intends to develop its factory in Yanzhou， Shandong province， into the company’s largest facility in a few years.By 2012， Pirelli’s plans to double passenger car tire output in China and produce 1 million motorcycle tires each year.China， UK to enhance military cooperationAccording to Xinhua， a senior Chinese military official said on November 14 China valued friendly relations with Britain and hopes to enhance military cooperation.Chen Bingde， chief of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)， made the remarks while meeting with Stephen Dalton， British Chief of the Air Staff.Hailing the establishment of the Sino-British comprehensive strategic partnership and cooperation in various fields， including technology， education， culture， business and trade， Chen said he hopes both sides will work to strengthen bilateral ties for the long-term.“As an important part of bilateral relations， the Sino-British military ties has developed well; we hope to advance the relationship to new heights with the joint efforts of Britain，” Chen said.Dalton said the British side attaches great importance to its military cooperation with China and hopes to further boost communication and exchange with China in both international and regional affairs.InBev’s Stella performanceBelgium-based brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) unveiled plans on November 6 to tap into China’s highend beer market with the launch of its Stella Artois brand in the country， China Daily reported.“We launched Stella Artois in China， for the super premier market，” said John Hsu， president of BU North Business of AB InBev， which also makes Beck’s， Budweiser， Corona and Harbin.In China， Stella Artois will retail at 40 yuan ($6.3) for a 330ml bottle， while most beers in the country are under 10 yuan. Hsu said the company will offer unique marketing strategies for Stella Artois， such as targeting private sports car clubs， luxury bars and restaurants.“We have witnessed rapid economic development in China， as well as increased demand for high-end products，” Hsu said.Last year， China’s beer consumption hit 450 million hectoliters - nearly twice that of the United States. It is expected to grow 5 percent annually over the next few years.“China is the third-largest market for AB InBev globally， after the US and Brazil，” said Hsu. “And the country is the world’s largest and fastest-growing beer market by volume. In the next 10 years， volume will increase 62 percent in China， compared with the 5.8 percent volume growth in the US.”Premium draught beers account for just 5 percent of China’s overall beer market， compared with 50 percent in developed markets such as France and Germany， and 30 percent in the US， according to Reuters.Analysts expect premium beer to account for a quarter of China’s annual production in five to 10 years， largely driven by rising brand awareness and lifestyle changes as China’s wealthy grow in number.Bayer to sharpen Asia focus with investmentBayer AG plans to increase its presence in Asia and its revenue in the region to more than 11 billion euros ($14.88 billion) by 2015 by expanding production capacity， distribution network and research activities， a top executive said on November 16， according to China Daily.“We aim to achieve a more than 60 percent increase in our sales in Asia by 2015. We want all of our subgroups in China to continue their rapid growth，” Management Board Chairman Marijn Dekkers said in Shanghai.The German-based pharmaceutical and chemical company’s revenue in the Chinese market grew by 30 percent year-on-year to 2.9 billion euros in 2010. It intends to increase that figure to 6 billion euros by 2015， with its material science business accounting for about 3 billion euros， healthcare sector for 2.5 billion and crop science for 300 million， Dekkers said.In the first nine months of 2011， Bayer’s sales in China totaled 2.2 billion euros， 8 percent of its global sales. If the company achieves its goal for Asia， its annual global sales would exceed 11 billion euros by 2015.Over the past two decades， Bayer’s business in Asia has grown significantly， Dekkers said. Twenty years ago， the region accounted only for about 10 percent of the global sales， equal to slightly more than 2 billion euros. By 2001， it was about 15 percent， and by 2010， its 2.9 billion euros in sales in China accounted for 20 percent of its global sales.“We have made capital expenditures of 3.4 billion euros in Asia over the past 10 years， creating a basis for outperforming market growth in this region，” Dekkers said.As Bayer’s biggest market in Asia and third-biggest worldwide， China remains strategically important for the pharmaceutical giant.Over the past decade， the Chinese economy has grown by more than 9 percent annually - and is on track to do so in 2011 - despite the global financial downturn in 2008 and ongoing economic difficulties.“As a result， China’s economy last year became the world’s second-largest. And we have no doubt that economic expansion in this country will continue at a similar pace in the coming years. For the period 2011 through 2015， the International Monetary Fund predicts an average annual growth rate of nearly 8 percent，” Dekkers said.The eurozone debt crisis has forced many multinational companies to rethink their strategies， with emerging economies such as China becoming their focal point for growth， Zhang Youwen， director of the Institute of World Economy at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences， was quoted as saying by the Jiefang Daily in November.Central Europe draws on support from ChinaChina is providing vital economic support to countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) that otherwise might be dragged down by the eurozone crisis， according to a keynote speaker at a major investment forum in Prague， China Daily reported on November 10.Milan Hovorka， vice-minister of industry and trade of the Czech Republic， spoke at the China Investment Forum at the Czech National Bank.“Once again， we will be counting very much on China’s economic resilience at a time when recession is knocking on the European door，” he said.Trade between China and the CEE countries increased 34.1 percent last year to $41.1 billion， according to China’s Ministry of Commerce.Trade with the region is more than 10 times the level in 2001， having grown 32 percent a year over the past 10 years.“Doing business in China makes very good economic and commercial sense. We need to redouble our efforts to enter the market and develop our business interests there，”added Hovorka.China recognizes that CEE nations could be a major bridge to the lucrative Western European markets by serving as a manufacturing and distribution center for Chinese goods.On his visit to Hungary in June， Premier Wen Jiabao announced 400 million euros ($548 million) of support for a European logistics base， including an airfield with road access， which would be a hub for Chinese goods in Europe.Many leading Chinese companies are making substantial investments in the region. Great Wall Motor Co Ltd is set to open a factory in Bulgaria at the end of the year， where it will assemble 50，000 cars annually.Huawei Technologies Co Ltd said in May that it would expand its distribution center in Hungary， where it expects to employ 3，000 people.Peter Hyl， executive chairman and founder of the Forum， whose general partner is the Czech car maker Skoda Auto AS， said that international trade was key to the development of China and the CEE countries.“China is both a growing and developing market and as such it gives European companies the opportunity to be part of the development， profitably of course.”Ren Hongbin， vice-president of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation at the Ministry of Commerce， said that some CEE countries still needed to be more welcoming to Chinese investment.Many CEE countries have substantial trade deficits with China， with their imports often being eight or 10 times that of exports to the world’s second-largest economy.Maris Elerts， deputy director of Latvia’s Investment and Development Agency， based in Riga， said one of the difficulties a country like Latvia faced was amassing sufficient quantities of a particular item to be of interest to China.“Not having very large volumes of delivery is sometimes an obstacle to trade，” he said.Ren said that CEE countries represent attractive markets and major investment opportunities for Chinese companies and he expected to see significant foreign direct investment in the region over the next decade or more.Airbus opens first Asian logistics center in ChinaAn Airbus logistics center opened for business on November 18 in the northern port city of Tianjin - home to an Airbus final assembly line and delivery center， Xinhua reported.The European aircraft maker hopes to ramp up its logistics network in China with the help of Airbus (Tianjin) Logistics Company， according to Airbus China.The logistics company， Airbus’ first logistics center in Asia， will provide logistics support to Airbus and its parent company European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company in China， according to the aircraft maker.Laurence Barron， president of Airbus China， said the logistics company will also support the production of the A350 XWB， a new wide-body Airbus jumbo， of which 5 percent of the airframe will be manufactured in China.The country received its first Airbus-made jet in 1985 and now has over 600 Airbus airliners serving in its fleets， according to the official website of Airbus China.Airbus also produces manufacturing parts and components for Airbus jets in a number of Chinese cities.Pirelli targets China’s luxury car sectorChina Daily reported that Pirelli C. SpA， the world’s fifth-largest tire maker， has placed China’s premium car market at the heart of its industrial plan updates for the coming three years.The Italy-based company’s supply of tires to luxury car manufacturers in China is expected to grow from less than 600，000 units in 2011 to about 1.4 million units in 2015， it announced in London on November 9.“China is a great opportunity for us because its premium car market has only started growing rapidly in the last two to four years，” said Marco Tronchetti Provera， chairman of Pirelli.Provera also said that China’s rising cost of labor， inflationary pressures and currency appreciation will have negligible effect on the company’s growth in the Chinese market because of high premiums placed on Pirelli’s products.“To support our strategy， we are spending quite a few million euros each year in order to cover all major and midtier cities in China by increasing the number of Pirelli point of sales，” said Francesco Gori， managing director of Pirelli Tire Parts.In China， Pirelli’s points of sales will increase from less than 1，000 in 2011 to over 3，000 before the end of 2014， the company said.Pirelli announced in June that it intends to develop its factory in Yanzhou， Shandong province， into the company’s largest facility in a few years.By 2012， Pirelli’s plans to double passenger car tire output in China and produce 1 million motorcycle tires each year.China， UK to enhance military cooperationAccording to Xinhua， a senior Chinese military official said on November 14 China valued friendly relations with Britain and hopes to enhance military cooperation.Chen Bingde， chief of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)， made the remarks while meeting with Stephen Dalton， British Chief of the Air Staff.Hailing the establishment of the Sino-British comprehensive strategic partnership and cooperation in various fields， including technology， education， culture， business and trade， Chen said he hopes both sides will work to strengthen bilateral ties for the long-term.“As an important part of bilateral relations， the Sino-British military ties has developed well; we hope to advance the relationship to new heights with the joint efforts of Britain，” Chen said.Dalton said the British side attaches great importance to its military cooperation with China and hopes to further boost communication and exchange with China in both international and regional affairs.InBev’s Stella performanceBelgium-based brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) unveiled plans on November 6 to tap into China’s highend beer market with the launch of its Stella Artois brand in the country， China Daily reported.“We launched Stella Artois in China， for the super premier market，” said John Hsu， president of BU North Business of AB InBev， which also makes Beck’s， Budweiser， Corona and Harbin.In China， Stella Artois will retail at 40 yuan ($6.3) for a 330ml bottle， while most beers in the country are under 10 yuan. Hsu said the company will offer unique marketing strategies for Stella Artois， such as targeting private sports car clubs， luxury bars and restaurants.“We have witnessed rapid economic development in China， as well as increased demand for high-end products，” Hsu said.Last year， China’s beer consumption hit 450 million hectoliters - nearly twice that of the United States. It is expected to grow 5 percent annually over the next few years.“China is the third-largest market for AB InBev globally， after the US and Brazil，” said Hsu. “And the country is the world’s largest and fastest-growing beer market by volume. In the next 10 years， volume will increase 62 percent in China， compared with the 5.8 percent volume growth in the US.”Premium draught beers account for just 5 percent of China’s overall beer market， compared with 50 percent in developed markets such as France and Germany， and 30 percent in the US， according to Reuters.Analysts expect premium beer to account for a quarter of China’s annual production in five to 10 years， largely driven by rising brand awareness and lifestyle changes as China’s wealthy grow in number.Bayer to sharpen Asia focus with investmentBayer AG plans to increase its presence in Asia and its revenue in the region to more than 11 billion euros ($14.88 billion) by 2015 by expanding production capacity， distribution network and research activities， a top executive said on November 16， according to China Daily.“We aim to achieve a more than 60 percent increase in our sales in Asia by 2015. We want all of our subgroups in China to continue their rapid growth，” Management Board Chairman Marijn Dekkers said in Shanghai.The German-based pharmaceutical and chemical company’s revenue in the Chinese market grew by 30 percent year-on-year to 2.9 billion euros in 2010. It intends to increase that figure to 6 billion euros by 2015， with its material science business accounting for about 3 billion euros， healthcare sector for 2.5 billion and crop science for 300 million， Dekkers said.In the first nine months of 2011， Bayer’s sales in China totaled 2.2 billion euros， 8 percent of its global sales. If the company achieves its goal for Asia， its annual global sales would exceed 11 billion euros by 2015.Over the past two decades， Bayer’s business in Asia has grown significantly， Dekkers said. Twenty years ago， the region accounted only for about 10 percent of the global sales， equal to slightly more than 2 billion euros. By 2001， it was about 15 percent， and by 2010， its 2.9 billion euros in sales in China accounted for 20 percent of its global sales.“We have made capital expenditures of 3.4 billion euros in Asia over the past 10 years， creating a basis for outperforming market growth in this region，” Dekkers said.As Bayer’s biggest market in Asia and third-biggest worldwide， China remains strategically important for the pharmaceutical giant.Over the past decade， the Chinese economy has grown by more than 9 percent annually - and is on track to do so in 2011 - despite the global financial downturn in 2008 and ongoing economic difficulties.“As a result， China’s economy last year became the world’s second-largest. And we have no doubt that economic expansion in this country will continue at a similar pace in the coming years. For the period 2011 through 2015， the International Monetary Fund predicts an average annual growth rate of nearly 8 percent，” Dekkers said.The eurozone debt crisis has forced many multinational companies to rethink their strategies， with emerging economies such as China becoming their focal point for growth， Zhang Youwen， director of the Institute of World Economy at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences， was quoted as saying by the Jiefang Daily in November.Central Europe draws on support from ChinaChina is providing vital economic support to countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) that otherwise might be dragged down by the eurozone crisis， according to a keynote speaker at a major investment forum in Prague， China Daily reported on November 10.Milan Hovorka， vice-minister of industry and trade of the Czech Republic， spoke at the China Investment Forum at the Czech National Bank.“Once again， we will be counting very much on China’s economic resilience at a time when recession is knocking on the European door，” he said.Trade between China and the CEE countries increased 34.1 percent last year to $41.1 billion， according to China’s Ministry of Commerce.Trade with the region is more than 10 times the level in 2001， having grown 32 percent a year over the past 10 years.“Doing business in China makes very good economic and commercial sense. We need to redouble our efforts to enter the market and develop our business interests there，”added Hovorka.China recognizes that CEE nations could be a major bridge to the lucrative Western European markets by serving as a manufacturing and distribution center for Chinese goods.On his visit to Hungary in June， Premier Wen Jiabao announced 400 million euros ($548 million) of support for a European logistics base， including an airfield with road access， which would be a hub for Chinese goods in Europe.Many leading Chinese companies are making substantial investments in the region. Great Wall Motor Co Ltd is set to open a factory in Bulgaria at the end of the year， where it will assemble 50，000 cars annually.Huawei Technologies Co Ltd said in May that it would expand its distribution center in Hungary， where it expects to employ 3，000 people.Peter Hyl， executive chairman and founder of the Forum， whose general partner is the Czech car maker Skoda Auto AS， said that international trade was key to the development of China and the CEE countries.“China is both a growing and developing market and as such it gives European companies the opportunity to be part of the development， profitably of course.”Ren Hongbin， vice-president of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation at the Ministry of Commerce， said that some CEE countries still needed to be more welcoming to Chinese investment.Many CEE countries have substantial trade deficits with China， with their imports often being eight or 10 times that of exports to the world’s second-largest economy.Maris Elerts， deputy director of Latvia’s Investment and Development Agency， based in Riga， said one of the difficulties a country like Latvia faced was amassing sufficient quantities of a particular item to be of interest to China.“Not having very large volumes of delivery is sometimes an obstacle to trade，” he said.Ren said that CEE countries represent attractive markets and major investment opportunities for Chinese companies and he expected to see significant foreign direct investment in the region over the next decade or more.