City unveils measures to boost business environment

08 24, 2020

The Shenzhen Municipal Market Supervision and Regulation Bureau on Thursday released 36 measures in six aspects to further improve the city's business environment and better serve market entities, Shenzhen Economic Daily reported.Among the measures, eight are aimed at facilitating starting and operating businesses. The city will explore the reform of business registration from administrative approval-based to administrative confirmation-based. The registration authority can issue a business license as long as the application materials are complete and in accordance with the legal form.Authorities will integrate multiple approval items involved in the entry of an industry into one comprehensive industry license. The bureau has selected retail pharmacies as the first batch of pilot projects, integrating the drug business license and medical device business license into one license, so as to create a unified license for the retail of drugs and medical devices.The market supervision bureau will pilot the enterprise "dormancy" system in view of the short-term difficulties faced by many enterprises to suspend business.Business entities are allowed to apply for "dormancy" according to the actual needs of production and operation. Businesses will not be included in the list of abnormal operations during "dormancy" and can apply for restoration of normal business before the expiration of "dormancy."Other measures aim to reduce the production and operation costs of enterprises, increase efforts to better serve foreign trade enterprises, and ensure a level playing field.The newly registered business entities in Shenzhen reached 282,000 between January and July this year, an increase of 8.8 percent year on year, statistics from the city's enterprises registration bureau showed recently.

Huawei ranks 1st in global phone sales

08 11, 2020

Huawei Technologies became the world's top smartphone seller, passing rival Samsung for the first time due to strong demand in the second quarter of this year, according to Richard Yu, CEO of the Huawei Consumer Business Group, at the 2020 China Info 100 Summit that kicked off in Shenzhen on Friday.Huawei consumer business revenue in the first half of the year was 255.8 billion yuan (US$36.74 billion) and global sales of smartphones reached 105 million units, Yu said. He said the increase was due to strong sales of high-end products, but gave no further details.Yu also said the production of Kirin chips, designed by Huawei's own engineers, will stop Sept. 15 because they are made by contractors that need U.S. manufacturing technology.He said Huawei lacks the ability to make its own chips."Unfortunately, in the second round of U.S. sanctions, our chip producers only accepted orders until May 15. Production will close Sept. 15. This is a very big loss for us," Yu said at the summit.

2,000 foreign-funded firms set up in city in H1

08 11, 2020

Nearly 2,000 foreign-invested companies were set up in Shenzhen in the first half of the year, attracting approximately US$8 billion of contractual foreign investment, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported Saturday.The actual use of foreign capital exceeded US$4 billion from January to June this year in the city, an increase of 5 percent year on year.Optimistic about the vitality of sci-tech innovation and the advantages of industrial chain agglomeration, ABB Group, a Swiss-Swedish multinational corporation, opened an innovation center in Shenzhen at the end of last year.The center focuses on the development of core areas including artificial intelligence, cloud services, cybersecurity, intelligent building and other core areas, and promotes the application of global intelligent building solutions."The open and excellent industrial investment environment and the government's proactive investment policy have made ABB and Shenzhen closely linked with each other," said Zhao Yongzhan, senior vice president of ABB China.Most of the newly established foreign-funded enterprises set up in Shenzhen in the first half of this year belong to the service industry, according to the city's commerce bureau.By the end of June this year, Shenzhen had approved a total of 94,000 foreign direct investment projects involving US$296 billion of contractual investment. The total amount of foreign capital that has been utilized had amounted to US$117.8 billion.The fact that foreign-funded companies keep coming to Shenzhen in large numbers is a clear demonstration of the city's good business environment, said the Daily.According to Qualcomm's innovation center in Shenzhen, the city has attached great importance to the establishment of the center at the time it was set up, not only providing support in terms of site selection, but also financial subsidies that could effectively reduce the company's operating costs.In July, Shenzhen released a series of measures to promote high-quality development of foreign investments to help foreign businesses get through this challenging time.To improve services, Shenzhen will formulate a comprehensive service mechanism to maintain communications with foreign businesses and understand their difficulties in resuming businesses.With the mechanism, the city will be able to understand foreign-funded enterprises' basic information including the progress on returning to work, rate of employee return, capacity utilization and turnover.Efforts will be made to attract more foreign investment to fields such as advanced manufacturing, emerging industries and cutting-edge technologies. Foreign-invested companies will be encouraged to participate in government procurements in a fair way.Channels will be opened for suppliers to address complaints and issues.

SZ consumer market recovers growth in H1

08 10, 2020

With foot traffic rising steadily in key business circles, Shenzhen's consumer market has gradually warmed up and demonstrated obvious momentum of growth, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported yesterday.In the first half of 2020, total retail sales of consumer goods in Shenzhen reached 364 billion yuan (US$52 billion), down 14.8 percent year on year, but increased by 8.1 percentage points compared with the first quarter of the year, according to official statistics.Shenzhen has introduced a broad swath of measures to boost consumer spending and foster steady growth in the economy since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.Various districts across the city have issued a total of 550 million yuan of electronic consumer vouchers to attract residents to dine out and increase spending on retail, accommodation, dining and automobiles.According to statistics, in the first half of the year, Shenzhen registered 325.62 billion yuan in retail sales, accounting for 89.5 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods, down 13.8 percent year on year, but 8.1 percent higher than in the first quarter.The city's top 100 retail enterprises have showcased strong resilience. In the first half of 2020, the growth rate of Shenzhen's top 100 retail enterprises in retail sales was 3.8 percentage points higher than that of the total retail sales of consumer goods, and nearly 40 percent of the enterprises maintained positive growth.The dining sector has also accelerated recovery, with the number of dine-in customers rising steadily.In the first half of the year, Shenzhen recorded 38.39 billion yuan in food expenses, a year-on-year decline of 22.6 percent. In June, the turnover of the dining industry had recovered to about 90 percent of that in the same period of last year.Residents' restrained consumption has been further unleashed with the epidemic under control in the city. Statistics showed that since the first quarter, the growth rate of retail sales of automobiles, daily necessities, gold and silver jewelry, and cosmetics has risen by 17.4 percent, 15.2 percent, 15.3 percent and 11.4 percent, respectively.

Huawei listed in Forbes' Most Valuable Brands of 2020

07 30, 2020

Shenzhen-based telecom giant Huawei became the only Chinese technology brand listed in this year's list of the world's most valuable brands, released by Forbes on Tuesday.Ranked 93rd on the list, Huawei registered US$8.5 billion in brand value and US$188.6 billion in brand revenue.Forbes' annual list looks at the top 100 companies from fiscal year 2019, valuing their revenue and earnings. Companies with substantial brand value gains in 2019 like Amazon, Netflix and PayPal also seem to be big winners during the pandemic, following overall upward trends for e-commerce, streaming and digital payments.Apple once again topped the list as the most valuable brand with US$241.2 billion in brand value, followed by Google (US$207.5 billion), Microsoft (US$162.9 billion), Amazon (US$135.4 billion) and Facebook (US$70.3 billion), the rankings showed.The tech sector was the most common in the rankings with 20 companies, followed by 14 in financial services, 11 in auto and eight in retail.The top 100 most valuable brands this year were worth US$2.54 trillion in total, up from US$2.33 trillion last year. U.S.-based companies made up more than 50 of the top 100, followed by Germany (10), France (9), Japan (6) and Switzerland (5).In January, Brand Finance, a leading brand valuation and strategy consultancy headquartered in the U.K., named Huawei one of the top 10 most valuable brands for the first time ever.In the Brand Finance Global 500 2020 report, Huawei was the third Chinese company on the list with a brand value of US$65.08 billion, up 4.5 percent year on year."Clearly the next big opportunity for the telecoms industry, the 5G space is inviting fierce competition, with Huawei expanding into markets traditionally covered by Western providers. Despite sparking controversy, the Chinese giant is making clear headway, and with a brand value of US$65.1 billion, now counts among the world's top 10 most valuable brands for the first time," wrote Brand Finance in the report.Huawei's brand value growth can be attributed to its commitment to innovation to continually improve product competitiveness and consumer experience.In 2019, Huawei shipped 240 million units of smartphones and retained its position as the world's second-largest smartphone manufacturer.The company shipped more than 44 million units of its Mate Series and P Series flagship devices, recording a 50- percent increase year on year. Huawei's 5G smartphones recorded 6.9 million unit shipments as of December 2019.Huawei's products and services are available in more than 170 countries and are used by a third of the world's population.

5G smartphone shipments gain momentum

07 24, 2020

Shenzhen-based Huawei shipped over 15 million 5G handsets in the first quarter this year, ranking it first in China's 5G market. It seized 63 percent of the domestic 5G smartphone market and 40 percent of the global market as well in the first three months, according to Shenzhen Economic Daily, quoting executives of Huawei Technologies at a recent summit.A report released by Counterpoint Research showed that Huawei had overtaken Samsung in April in the global smartphone market due to COVID-19 forcing the closure of physical stores and damped down the smartphone demand in Samsung's markets in India, the U.S., Latin America, and parts of Europe.The growth of Huawei could be attributed to the Chinese market that has recovered since April, while demand for new smartphones has collapsed in most international markets.The Counterpoint Research report shows sales of 5G smartphones in China jumped over 15 percent in the first quarter with Huawei accounting for over half of the total sales.Huawei has released more than 19 models of 5G phones with prices ranging from 2,000 yuan to 16,000 yuan (US$285-2,284), targeting different consumer groups. 5G handsets like the Mate 30 are in great demand across China, as many users have shown interest in upgrading to a 5G phone.

City to promote foreign investment

07 23, 2020

Shenzhen recently released a series of measures to promote high-quality development of foreign investments to help foreign businesses get through this challenging time, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.To improve services, Shenzhen will formulate a comprehensive service mechanism to maintain communications with foreign businesses and understand their difficulties in resuming businesses.With the mechanism, the city will be able to understand foreign-funded enterprises' basic information including the progress on returning to work, rate of employee return, capacity utilization and turnover.In terms of level of openness, Shenzhen will protect foreign-funded businesses' rights and strictly implement the negative list for foreign investment projects.Efforts will be made to attract more foreign investment to fields such as advanced manufacturing, emerging industries and cutting-edge technologies.In addition, foreign-invested companies will be encouraged to participate in government procurements in a fair way. Channels will be opened for suppliers to address complaints and issues.Concerning business operation, Shenzhen will help foreign-funded businesses to apply for financial support and encourage districts to release more preferential policies on top of the provincial and municipal policies.Property owners are advised to reduce rents for foreign-funded enterprises. Financial institutions are encouraged to provide more loans and credits.At the same time, the city will take further measures to make foreign investment more free and convenient in the city. Efforts will also be made to reduce costs for foreign-invested companies.In addition, Shenzhen will continue finding ways to improve the investment environment.Commerce authorities at both municipal and district levels will work to make regulations on protecting foreign investment, make it easier for foreign-invested enterprises to lodge a complaint and improve intellectual property protection.

SZ releases policy to support scientific research

07 15, 2020

The Shenzhen Municipal Development and Reform Commission has recently unveiled a supportive policy for the construction of major scientific research platforms in the city, Shenzhen Economic Daily reported yesterday.The policy will focus on supporting technology foresight, principle exploration, concept verification, key technology research, equipment R&D and engineering verification in the early stages of building major scientific research platforms, as well as the transformation of scientific and technological achievements and project management.Major scientific research platforms include platforms related to major sci-tech infrastructure and frontier research.The policy proposes to focus on the fields of information, materials and life science and technology, and predict key and disruptive technologies that will lead to future economic and social development in light of the foundation and needs of local industries.In terms of system promotion technology research and equipment R&D, an eligible project will receive government funding of up to 200 million yuan (US$28.5 million), according to the policy.In another development, the city will also subsidize the establishment of city-level key laboratories, according to the newspaper.The city's science, technology and innovation commission has released guidelines for the application of setting up such laboratories. Applicants can log onto https://sticapply.sz.gov.cn/ to apply online until Aug. 10.According to the guidelines, the number of the newly built city-level key laboratories will be capped at 15 for 2021. Laboratories will be funded to carry out basic research and applied basic research, skilled talent training, industrial development and social development.The laboratories should focus on such fields as new-generation information technology, high-end equipment manufacturing, biomedicine, digital economy, new materials, new energy and marine economy.The maximum government funding for the preparations of setting up a city-level key laboratory will be 5 million yuan, and the amount of funding for labs operated by firms will be no higher than 50 percent of the total project budget.Applicants shall be institutions of higher learning, scientific research institutions or other legal entities with original innovation ability that have legally registered in Shenzhen and Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone.

Huawei owns over 85,000 patents

07 10, 2020

Huawei, a Shenzhen-based global leading provider of information and communication technology, had more than 85,000 valid patents as of Dec. 31 last year, making it one of the companies with the greatest number of patents in the world, according to the company's 2019 Sustainability Report released Tuesday.More than 30,000 patents were approved by China while the rest, greater than 50,000, were approved by foreign countries. More than 90 percent of the patents are invention patents.The report explains the progress Huawei made last year from four aspects: digital inclusion, security and trustworthiness, environmental protection and healthy and harmonious ecosystem.In 2019, Huawei maintained network availability during more than 200 major events and natural disasters."Over the past year, we faced challenges the likes of which we have never seen. And we stood strong," said Liang Hua, chairman of Huawei."We have worked day and night to patch the holes and overcome the difficulties in this beleaguered business of ours, ensuring business continuity and the timely delivery of products and services to our customers. We have helped roll out networks worth hundreds of billions of dollars in more than 170 countries," added Liang.Huawei also added more resources to enhance 5G security. Last year, Huawei provided 385 proposals on network security to the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), accounting for over 24 percent of the total network security proposals. 3GPP is a collaborative project aimed at developing globally acceptable specifications for mobile systems.Working towards emissions reduction, the energy efficiency of Huawei's main products were improved by up to 22 percent.In 2019, Huawei used 1.25 billion kWh of clean energy, which is equivalent to reducing 570,000 tons of CO2.To contribute to a recycling economy, Huawei is committed to maximizing the utilization of resources throughout the product lifecycle. For example, 86 percent of the products returned to the company were reused, and only 1.24 percent of its e-waste was landfilled.Additionally, Huawei applied smart solutions to reduce energy consumption. The B zone of Huawei's Bantian Base in Longgang District reduced 1.4 million kWh of electricity consumption during the second half of last year.Huawei had a total of 194,000 employees from 157 countries and regions, as of Dec. 31 last year.