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Bizbites

2007/01/16

Discovering ‘The Power of Ren’

Coaching theory, a concept that originated with coaches trying to help athletes achieve their goals, has been widely used in the West to enhance the skills of executives and employees. It taps people’s every day work and living potential to efficiently solve problems. In 1995, this model was brought to China by Eva Wong, founder and president of the TopHuman Company.

In the past 11 years, TopHuman has worked to integrate this coaching system with the Chinese culture and to create a Chinese coaching and management theory. The result is “The Power of Ren” (Ren = People), which strives to enhance corporate values, growth and sustainability and to explain how to manage family relations and the demands of work and family life.

At the end of 2006, Eva Wong published The Power of Ren, a book that summarizes TopHuman’s decade of experience, highlighting ten examples of Chinese business people who have benefited from the Ren coaching model.

Ronald A. Heifetz, author of Leadership without Easy Answers and co-founder of the Center for Public Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, said, “Tapping the deep wisdoms of the East and the West, The Power of Ren provides a unique, practical, and inspirational synthesis useful to anyone from the West doing business in China. It is also profoundly useful to managers and citizens throughout China as they create a glowing future for their economy and country.”

Wong said, “I’m bringing to western audiences my perspective as a ‘coach’ in China, which is a direct avenue into understanding the cultural aspects that drive this nation. In this way, I want to enhance exchanges between China and the rest of the world.”

The book is published by John Wiley & Sons and is available through the publisher and online retailers Amazon.com and Yoyo.com.

HSBC in Asia Named Best Trade Finance Bank

HSBC has been named the “Best Trade Finance Bank” in FinanceAsia’s annual Achievement Awards for the tenth consecutive year.

The award recognises HSBC’s success in developing innovative products and services, while expanding its business in existing product categories such as letters of credit (LC).

HSBC had bucked the market trend of decreasing LC volumes across the region, said FinanceAsia. In 2006, HSBC in Asia recorded an increase in active LCs of more than 15 percent, and increased its LC market share in 16 Asian markets.

HSBC’s trade services business grew among its customers in Asia, especially in India, China and Malaysia.

The award citation said: “For a bank to defend its title on a yearly basis is no mean feat; for the same bank to consistently excel for 10 years straight is a testament to its ongoing brilliance.”

Vincent Ho, head of Trade Services China at The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited said: “This award is a testament to our rich trade heritage in Asia and on the Chinese mainland and to our focus on developing pioneering services that help our customers do business throughout the world. HSBC has been providing trade services to importers and exporters on the mainland and the rest of the world since its establishment in 1865. Our thorough understanding of the local markets and our extensive global network enable us to provide world-class services that best meet our customers’ trading needs.”

Ho added: “Thanks to the momentum in mainland trade and strong support from our customers, we witnessed a year of significant growth, both in terms of numbers of customers and business volume. We look forward to building on this in 2007.”

Yuyang International Ski Resort Opens

The Yuyang International Ski Resort, established by Beijing Yuyang Group, opened for the 2006–07 winter season on December 17, 2006. Three thousand distinguished guests, including celebrated Chinese artists and the Ambassador of Austria to China Dr. Hans Dietmar Schweisgut attended the opening ceremony.

The Sino-Austrian International Ski & Snowboard School also opened during the event, the first school of its kind in China. The school was jointly developed by Yuyang Ski and The Association of Ski- and Snowboard- Instructors and Schools of Province of Salzburg, Austria (SBSSV).

Located in scenic Pinggu District, 60 kilometres from Beijing’s Siyuan Bridge, the 6,000-square-metre Yuyang International Ski Resort is the largest of its kind in Beijing. The resort has advanced international-style facilities. It features nine trails for beginners, intermediate and advanced skiers, along with snowmobiles and sledges for customers’ amusement.

For more information of Yuyang International Ski Resort, see: http://www.yuyangski.com.cn or dial +86 10 5869 3355.

Delta Eyes China’s Skies

US-based Delta Air Lines hosted an exclusive media event in Beijing on December 14 to tout the company and to announce plans for its China market development, including its application to fly to China in 2008, which is pending governmental approval. Four US passenger carriers serve China with US-China routes.

Delta operates the largest domestic air travel network in the United States, the largest trans-Atlantic route system and the second-largest route system to South and Central America. It offers flights to 460 destinations in 97 countries.

In Asia, Delta flies non-stop daily to Tokyo from Atlanta. Other locations in Asia are served via SkyTeam, a global airline alliance in which Delta is a founding member, partnering with the networks of Korean Air and Northwest Airlines, and code-sharing with China Southern and China Airlines. Delta believes its planned non-stop daily flight from Atlanta to China could be a new channel for economic development and cultural exchanges between the United States and China. Atlanta International Airport is the busiest airport in the United States and Delta’s flight operations in Atlanta make it one of the biggest air traffic hubs in the world.

Delta has been active in China’s aviation market since 1987, focusing on air traffic controllers, flight dispatchers and pilot training in the United States. As part of it’s commitment to corporate citizenship in local communities around the world, Delta joined the Guangdong Youth Development Foundation in donating funds for the construction of a new elementary school in Gaozhou, Guangdong Province, in 1999.

Delta Air Lines began ticket sales in China in 2005. It now has sales offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou; its sales performance indicates broad acceptance of Delta’s brand and its potential in the China market.



	Article featured in Business Beijing, January 2007 Publication sponsored by Information Office of the Beijing Municipal Government, Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce, Development & Reform Commission of Beijing Municipality, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (Beijing Sub-Council)