In this edition:
-- China's largest trade fair, the Canton Fair is getting underway in China's southern city of Guangzhou. While the global recession has made buyers reluctant to place long-term orders, the country's huge consumer market and its rapid economic growth are still inspiring confidence in the future of global business;
-- Chinese firms are luring talented managers and executives away from multinational corporations by offering generous compensation, more decision-making power, and a faster career track. How should multinationals respond? What kind of smart recruiting and retention strategies can they utilize to maintain their edge in this competitive market?
Stay tuned to this edition of "Biz China" for details on these stories and more.

The 110th China Import and Export Fair - also known as the Canton Fair -is getting underway in China's southern city of Guangzhou. Held twice each year, the Fair has been considered an important barometer of economic activity for the nation ever since it first began back in 1957. Though the outlook for this year's event is not overly optimistic, given the appreciation of the Chinese currency, the continuously rising cost of labor and the global debt crisis, purchasers and sellers are still enthusiastic about exchanging information and doing business at the nation's largest trade fair.

report:
(ambience: Premier Wen announces the opening of 110 Canton Fair)
That was Chinese Premier Wen Jiaobao announcing the opening of the 110th Canton Fair on October 15th.
Lasting three weeks, this session of the Canton Fair boasts over 57,800 booths prepared for Chinese exporters, 10 more than the last time it was held, and some 24,000 export-oriented enterprises are in attendance to display their goods.
According to data released by the fair's organizer, there has been a slight growth in applications from developed regions, including the US and the EU. Meanwhile, applications from emerging markets, including Russia, Brazil, India, South Africa and the Middle East have surged greatly.
The emerging markets are no doubt the focus of attention for the small-and medium-sized enterprises taking part in the fair as they are busy adjusting their strategy to revive business amid the complicated economic situation both at home and abroad.
Li Hong, the manager of a mechanical manufacturing company in Wenzhou, says rising labor and material costs and the appreciation of the Yuan in recent years has greatly reduced the exporting companies' profitability; small- and medium-sized enterprises are now trying to find the breakthroughs which will help them overcome their problems.
"Our company has improved our products' quality and developed new markets. We used to sell our products to Europe where it could have a high price. Now we also sell them to some middle-eastern and southeast Asian countries where the prices are lower."
Zhu Xian-mu, general manager of Anzhi Lighting & Electronics from Anhui province, says the number of orders has increased after his company made emerging markets their main target.
"The economy in America and Europe is sluggish, but we've seen a 30 to 50 percent sale increase from emerging markets, such as Latin America, Eastern Europe and Africa. It makes up for the low demand from America and European countries caused by the sluggish economy. Generally speaking, the outlook is promising."
While the global recession has made buyers reluctant to place long-term orders at the ongoing Canton Fair in Guangzhou, exporters there say that the country's huge consumer market and its rapid economic growth are still inspiring confidence in the future of global business.
According to Pierre Dominique Oubrier, president of Carrefour's Global Procurement Center, China is still the best place for his company to source products:
"We like the Canton Fair. I think it has very big suppliers, very pragmatic, reactive suppliers. China represents a huge advantage in terms of working with us: prices are competitive and the scale of the Chinese factories and their ability to react is improving."
But Hasni Abdelmalek, a merchant from Nigeria appears pessimistic about the prospect of doing business with Chinese counterparts as the RMB is appreciating:
"The RMB now is so high that we can't buy so much. We can't strike big deals as before. Now the RMB to Dollar is 6.2…. Not good business for us, I think."
China has pledged to promote imports over the next five years to balance trade and to help transform the nation's economic development mode.
This businessman from the Netherlands is happy that there is an increase of space for foreign exhibitors at the Fair:
"In terms of the amount of visitors, I think it's dropped a bit since the crisis is up again and… but they now have an international pavilion, which I think is a very good development."
According to Customs data, China's imports have increased by 26.7 percent year-on-year between January and September.
This year, the exhibition area for imports covers 20,000 square meters, and a total of 529 companies from 49 nations and regions are expected to participate in the fair, which will run through to November 4th.
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Anchor: For Chinese professionals, joining a multi-national corporation has long been viewed as an attractive opportunity for improved social and career mobility. MNCs have traditionally offered competitive salaries, handsome benefits, business training, and the possibility of an overseas assignment. Now, with the number of private Chinese employers expanding and offering similar benefits, fresh graduates and senior executives alike view Chinese enterprises as a legitimate—even preferable—career option. That is the finding of a recent report published by Korn/ferry international, the world's largest executive recruiting firm.
For more on the rise of the Chinese enterprise as employer of choice, we are joined by Steve Jiang, co-author of the report and a senior client partner at Korn/ferry International.
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Intro:
(violin piece in )
What's 300 years old, made of wood and easily outperforms most mutual funds?
A Stradivarius violin, an antique guitar, or even an antique mandolin for that matter.
A growing group of Chinese investors is viewing music—as in unusual and expensive instruments—as a wise place to invest their cash. They believe rare musical instruments not only offer substantial financial returns; but are also more functional and emotional than paper investments.

report:
(ambience)
A record number of 1400 enterprises from 30 countries have participated in the International Musical Instruments Exhibition, recently held in China's eastern metropolis of Shanghai. One highlight of the exhibition is an auction in which 21 rare pianos and 87 violins made at home and from abroad are on offer for interested collectors.
(auction ambience)
The price war first broke out between bidders for mid-range pianos. One piano, made by famous Chinese piano maker Cao Shukun, started at ten-thousand Yuan and was finally sold for 130-thousand.
Two vintage violins, one made by Italian master Guadagnini, with an initial bidding price of one point four million Yuan, also found their new owners within a matter of minutes during the auction.
This investor who declines to give his name shares his observations as to why musical instruments are being considered as a great investment.
"Value added by collecting musical instruments is not as high as collecting other art pieces such as paintings. But this market has no bubble. During the financial crisis in 2008, prices of paintings decreased drastically. But the prices for musical instruments remained quite steady. It's a relatively safe investment."
With little faith in stocks and shares, some Chinese investors are turning away from paper investments and choosing emotional assets in an effort to secure their wealth. But experts are warning that investors need to do sufficient homework before stepping into the market.
Ren Jun, a master maker of the Er-hu, a traditional Chinese stringed instrument, says that in order to pursue instant profits, many manufacturers are keen on using unnecessary luxury materials and packaging when making instruments:
"For example, some enterprises use rosewood when making Er-hu in order to push the price up. That doesn't make the sound of the Er-hu any better, it's just more expensive."
According to Gong Yujie, general manager of Shanghai-based Previous River Auction, though recent sales of rare instruments suggest this is a wise investment, the market still has its share of problems.
"Similar to the art market, the musical instrument market has also been flooded with fake products. Unless one has the knowledge to properly identify, appraise and determine the originality of the pieces, there is a great potential for loss."
Gong believes that the musical instrument market is heating up in China as the worlds of collecting and investing are converging. He feels that this phenomenon will attract more and more investors. However, Gong points out that a sound knowledge of music is a "must" for these investors. He uses a vintage Italian violin as an example:
"For instance, a Gagliano violin is unique in appearance, tone, color and paint. It somewhat represents the master's personality, which can be easily recognized by violin connoisseurs. For those amateur collectors, it is critically important for them to confine their dealings to reputable dealers who will provide written certification of authenticity and appraisal."

With that we end this edition of "Biz China". For more business stories, please log onto our website at www.cribeyondbeijing.com, I'm Yao Yongmei, thanks for being with us, until next week, goodbye!!