In 2006 the Shanghai Chapter grew strongly in membership welcoming many new service providers, most of them being active in the field of human resources. The HR Working Group already meets on a monthly basis to discuss relevant topics, share information and also work on the Position Paper. In addition, a yearly HR Conference was initiated in 2005, with the second held in December 2006. The conference provides an additional platform for the HR Working Group by creating a comprehensive full-day event bringing together experts from across the human resources spectrum. With a very good response to the afternoon roundtables conducted during the Conference, the need for more individual seminars and in-depth analysis of topics was identified. In order to meet this need and respond to the growing requests from service providers, the Chamber decided to hold a number of customized "HR Series" events in 2007.

This year-round platform is open to all interested members and covers a wide range of HR-related topics, facilitating the exchange of knowledge among members and fostering networking opportunities. For every event a different member is appointed to provide a workshop/seminar/demonstration on a specific, pre-determined topic, which should be at least half a day long.

The first 2007 HR Series event was held in January, organised together with Celemi. Members had the opportunity to experience a full-day board-based business simulation, finding out how to successfully manage intangible assets in the company in order to boost profitability, retain talents, attract profitable clients and win their loyalty.

This series of HR seminars delivered by members for members is designed to keep companies abreast of the challenging HR environment in China, providing the industry and service providers with an additional opportunity to learn, share and meet. We look forward to welcoming you to future events in Shanghai.

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DCCC New Staff: Mathias Boyer

The Danish Chamber is pleased to welcome Mathias Boyer as membership manager.

Mathias has had a long love affair with China. Moving to Beijing for the first time in 1986, he has now been in China for a total of 15 years on two separate occasions. After studying at Peking University for one year and receiving his bachelor's degree from the School of Oriental and African studies in London, Mathias did a five-month internship at the EU Delegation, where he worked in the Trade and Investment Section.

As membership manager his task at the Danish Chamber will be to increase the number of members and generate additional revenue streams for a growing organisation. Companies in the north China region who wish to join the Danish Chamber or wish to reach out to our members through advertisement are welcome to contact Mathias by e-mail at mathias.boyer@dccc.com.cn or by phone at +86 (10) 6467 5748.

Salary Surveys presented In April, the Human Resources Working Group in Guangzhou and Shenzhen discussed the Salary Surveys, with presentations being given by Peter Zhang, General Manager of Mercer's Guangzhou branch, and Nancy Wu, Senior Consultant of Hewitt Associates in Guangzhou. They both showed the participants the content of the salary survey, how it was managed, and how the results of the survey can be used.

The purpose of these presentations was to provide the most comprehensive and up-to-date information to our members in a neutral way, rather than promote any of our specific member companies. The presentation was followed by a roundtable discussion, which was not attended by the consulting companies to help keep the discussion open and neutral.

We were able to discuss the potential value of each of the consulting companies and each of the Working Group members were able to make a decision on which survey would best fulfill the needs of their companies. The Working Group members decided it is imperative that as many companies as possible participate in the survey to make it sufficiently reliable.

Although most of the Working Group participants have not yet used the surveys, they are of the opinion that participating in such surveys can help a company design a successful working environment for their employees, and enable the HR manager to benchmark and define a real HR policy.

Meeting with FESCO

The Human Resources Working Group of the Chamber's Pearl River Delta office will meet in June with Representatives from FESCO. In Shenzhen, as well as in Guangzhou, the Working Group will listen to a presentation about FESCO's services and the benefits companies can gain from FESCO's relationship with the government. Furthermore, the presentation includes data and figures about employment trends and employment contract management. This useful and relevant data are provided by the Chinese authorities.

China's booming economy is causing several Human Resources issues which have to be solved through further communication with the local and national government. This Working Group meeting is set up to help our members to get in contact with FESCO and its connection with the government. The participants of this meeting will have the chance to meet FESCO representatives in person and ask questions. We will set aside a large part of the roundtable discussion to give participants of the Working Group the opportunity to discuss their experience with FESCO's highly qualified and experienced representatives.

Legal & Tax Working Group kicks off



The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China PRD Chapter held a kick-off meeting for the new Legal & Taxation Working Group on May 21st.

In this Working Group, the participants are legal and tax experts: lawyers, tax advisers, auditors, consulting companies. They will meet regularly and discuss new laws, policies and issues European Companies face in China and in particular in the Pearl River Delta.

The Legal and Taxation Working Group aims to mobilize the legal community with a view towards promoting greater legal transparency and awareness of legal developments, which are key factors affecting foreign investment in China. The objective is to engage an effective dialogue with the authorities to work out a more flexible, coherent and integrated due process of law and taxation rules in line with international best practice.

The Working Group is a forum for participants to exchange information and know-how across various industries, and represents the interest of all members of the European Chamber.

In the kick-off meeting, the participants decided which topics they will talk about in future. The venue was the office of Rouse & Co International in the Teem Tower in Guangzhou. We thank Rouse & Co International for their support.

Happenings in Tianjin Factory visit

Some members of European Chamber Tianjin office paid a visit to Siemens Mechanical Drive System (Tianjin) Co, Ltd on April 11th. The General Manager of Siemens Mechanical Drive System (Tianjin) Co, Ltd, Dr Jaufmann, gave a welcome speech and briefly explained the origins and history of the company, as well as its business in China. Afterwards, Dr Jaufmann kindly guided the group on a tour in the production facilities. The Tianjin office would like to thank Dr Jaufmann for his great explanation. At the end of the visit, the participants showed their strong will for the next visit to the factory.

The 14th China Tianjin National Fair & Investment Conference

The Tianjin office organised a very successful fair from April 18th to 22nd at the Tianjin International Exhibition Centre. More than 40 European members attended the fair, such as Siemens, Airbus, HengAn Standard Life, Lufthansa, Boxinves, Zanussi, Gamesa, Clariant, Cola Cao, Arcelor, Santa Fe, Telefonica, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Santander Bank. We are pleased to receive support from European companies.

The fair was specially supported by the Ministry of Commerce of China, combining commodities trade and investment recruiting. Based on the motive of expanding opening-up policies and a harmonious win-win situation, the fair aimed to promote opening up domestically and internationally for Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei province and the Bohai Sea Rim area, to achieve balanced development among different regions in China and construct a platform for investment promotion and achieve regional economic cooperation and collaborative development. Therefore, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China was pleased to take this opportunity to bridge the connection between Chamber members and China.