Money Magazine's Best of the Best

Money Magazine has found the cheapest deals on everything from mobile phone plans to credit cards, the best home loan package, super funds.
The list goes on and on - all the hard work has been done for you.
So get ready to save a fortune and start thinking about what you're going to do with all that money.
This is a brief summary of the best deals – the full list and all the details can only be found in the November issue of Money magazine.

Mobile Phones
Money Magazine's Effie Zahos says the first place to cut costs is on your mobile.
"The ones that are advertising with the big marketing budgets, often don't have the best deals," Effie tells ACA.
If you don't use your phone very often, go prepaid with Savvytel:
Effie says the main benefit of this operator is they carry credit on at the end of the month – so your credit never expires.
"This is unique to Savvytel, it's a great plan for seniors or if you have kids and you want to give them that contact," she says.
If you use your phone regularly and send around 150 texts a month - sign up with Go Talk:
Effie's tip: "Now they actually get gold here because for $45, you get $250 worth of calls."
But if you're a continuous caller and send 300 texts a month, switch to TPG.
Cheapest High-Use Mobile Plans
1.)TPG Unlimited All You Can Eat 2.) Virgin Mobile Postpaid $99 Topless
Cheapest Low-Use Mobile Plans (Prepaid)
1.) Savvytel SIM Starter Kit $20 2.) Virgin Mobile Bean Counter

Home Loans
Founder of Money Magazine, Paul Clitheroe, has a simple message:
"A whole bunch of Australians are paying for bells and whistles in their mortgage and mobile phone contract - and most of us don't use the bells and whistles," he tells ACA.
"If you don't need stuff - don't pay for it."
When it comes to home loan packages the Commonwealth Bank and Colonial Bank both win gold.
"Get rid of credit card debt first, the high cost car loan second and then think about getting the mortgage lowered while you can," Paul says.

Credit Cards
If your credit card is already getting a Christmas workout, just remember that come February you'll need to start paying it off.
"There are great cards for the Christmas credit card hangover. If you're looking for a bank, St George or Bank of South Australia pick up gold here," Effie reveals.
"If you want a credit union, a number pick up gold and overall, they're a lot cheaper. For reward points, Westpac pick up gold, while in the non-banking category, Amex are the most rewarding."
Paul Clitheroe says getting rid of credit card debt should be your first stop in getting your finances under control. This year the non-banks offer cheaper credit cards than banks.

Best Value Car
If you're in the market for a car, the Mazda Neo wins gold for best car under $25,000.
And Mazda win again for best car under $35,000.
According to Paul, the best deals on cars should be arriving in 2009. "Next year there are going to be some sensational consumer bargains."

Best Value Broadband
If you spend a lot of time online, the best broadband deal goes to TPG.
"You get 50 gigs on that deal for 49.95 a month – that's a lot of downloads for a very low price."
Cheapest Broadband Plans – High Speed
1.) TPG ADSL2+ Ultimate Medium 2.) Chariot netconnect Explorer ADSL2+

Super Funds
Super funds have had a shocking year - not a rough year but a shocking year. However, according to Paul, their long-term performances are a lot better than their one-year performances.
The best balanced super fund is MTAA. But if you still have a few years left in the workforce, hand your super worries over to the best growth super fund – Hostplus.
"You'd be crazy not to have a look at what's out there - and you may save yourself a fair bit of money," Paul advises.
Depending on how long you have left in the work force, different super options will have different appeals. Balanced super funds, which will suit those looking to retire soon, tend to focus on hedging their bets to keep a pretty standard return. Growth funds, on the other hand, invest mainly in riskier areas like the stock market to try and get a bigger return.
Best Balanced Super Funds
1.)MTAA Super – Balanced 2.) AMIST – Balanced
Best Growth Super Funds
1.) Hostplus – Shares Plus 2.) AustralianSuper – High Growth

Bank Accounts
You could also be making a fair bit of money if you tip your savings into one of the competitive online accounts.
"We looked at the best online savings account in the past two years and the gold winner for that goes to Bankwest," says Effie.
But with rates constantly on the move, the best deal going today is with DragonDirect.
"Spend less than you earn – That's the best tip I can give anyone," says Paul. It's not about winning lotto, it's not about finding a share that doubles or property that doubles. Forget the fancy stuff and get your finances under control," he says.

(Source: current affairs)

The Property Professor's Top Australian Suburbs

Real estate expert Peter Koulizos' new book, Top Australian Suburbs, tells investors which suburbs across Australia have the best capital growth potential over the next 20 years.
The book outlines each suburb's types and styles of housing, and local and state government plans for improving the suburb and surrounding areas, but what makes the book so important for investors is that it focuses on suburbs that are currently undervalued and lists streets within the suburbs which will reap the largest rewards.

We have the top 20 suburbs from Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Queensland; the top two suburbs in Canberra and Darwin; and the top three suburbs in Hobart.

Here are Peter's top picks for best suburbs in Australia.

TOP SUBURBS ACROSS AUSTRALIA

Brooklyn Park, Christies Beach, Cowandilla, Ethelton, Exeter, Flinders Park, Glanville, Hallett Cove, Hilton, Hindmarsh, Kensington, Largs North, Marryatville, North Haven, Port Noarlunga, Port Noarlunga South, Semaphore Park, The Barton, Torrensville, West Hindmarsh

Brisbane: Albion, Annerley, Brighton, Chermside, Clontarf, Fairfield, Herston, Kelvin Grove, Lota, Lutwyche, Margate, Norman Park, Redcliffe, Sandgate, Scarborough, Thorneside, Upper Mount Gravatt, Woody Point, Woolloongabba, Wynnum

Canberra: Braddon, Narrabundah

Darwin: Millner, Rapid Creek

Hobart: Glebe, North Hobart, South Hobart

Melbourne: Abbotsford, Braybrook, Brunswick, Brunswick east, Carrum, Chelsea, Coburg, Collingwood, Cremorne, Flemington, Footscray, Frankston, Geelong, Kensington, Maidstone, Mordialloc, Seaford, Seddon, West Footscray, Yarraville

Perth: Carlisle, Dudley Park, East Victoria Park, Erskine, Halls Head, Mandurah, Morley, Munster, Port Kennedy, Quinns Rock, Rockingham, Safety bay, Secret Harbour, Shoalwater, Tuart Hill, Two Rocks, Victoria Park, Waikiki, Warnbro, Yanchep

Sydney: Arncliffe, Ashfield, Banksia, Bexley, Camperdown, Campsie, Chippendale, Darlington, Enmore, Erskineville, Forest Lodge, Kogarah, Leichhardt, Marrickville, Newtown, Rockdale, Sans Souci, Turrella, Ultimo, Woolloomooloo

World's Weakest Currencies

By Bruce Einhorn

From the Arctic coasts of Iceland to the Southern Ocean shores of New Zealand, the financial crisis has humbled many of the world's currencies. As risk-averse investors have rediscovered the U.S. dollar, they have swiftly pounded down currencies that until recently had been highfliers. Especially hard-hit have been countries such as Australia and South Africa with large mining industries, as slower economic growth has popped what had been a steadily inflating resources bubble.

There are some holdouts against the dollar's rise. In Japan, the yen is up 13% year-to-date against the greenback. China's yuan is up 6.8%. Having a strong currency has its disadvantages, especially for exporters in both countries. Japanese giants like Sony (SNE), for instance, are now less competitive against Korean rivals, as the Korean won has dropped 27% against the dollar this year, making it one of the weakest of all the major currencies. The Chinese currency's appreciation is causing problems for manufacturers in coastal China's industrial centers, where many recession-hit factories are in danger of going out of business.

Brazilian Real
Down 18%
Brazil's real has tumbled 18% this year. Other Latin American currencies have been hurting, too. The Mexican peso, for instance, is down 15%. Government intervention has helped slow the decline, though. And with over $200 billion in foreign currency reserves, Brazil's central bank can continue to keep selling dollars for a while.

Indian Rupee
Down 19%
Until recently, India's currency had been rising steadily, causing headaches to the country's big IT outsourcers like Infosys (INFY) and Wipro (WIT). The rupee's sudden turnaround should help those companies become more competitive, since their Indian employees won't be as expensive for their dollar-paying customers. But the weaker rupee might hurt Indian companies that have been actively seeking deals overseas such as Tata Motors (TAMO), the automaker that agreed to pay Ford (F) $2.8 billion for Jaguar and Land Rover in March.

Norwegian Krone
Down 20%
The end of the oil bubble has contributed to the big fall in the Norwegian currency. The Bank of Norway's recession-fighting efforts haven't helped, either. The central bank cut rates twice in October. The latest, a 50-basis-points cut on Oct. 29, put the overnight deposit rate at 4.75%, its lowest in a year. And with plenty of room for more cuts ahead, the downward pressure on the krone is likely to continue.

British Pound
Down 21%
After sinking to a six-year low on Oct. 27, the pound briefly staged a modest recovery, climbing 6% by Oct. 30. Stabilization of equities markets after several volatile weeks helping the currency. But with the Bank of England cutting interest rates to fight the economic downturn, a strong comeback for sterling will be difficult.

New Zealand Dollar
Down 23%
The New Zealand dollar was one of the major beneficiaries of the yen carry trade. Now, with the crisis diminishing interest in borrowing yen to buy currencies benefiting from high interest rates, the Kiwi is one of the biggest victims. New Zealand's economy is heavily dependent on exports of products such as wool and dairy, and the currency is therefore also suffering from the end of the global commodities bubble that has pushed down global demand.

Australian Dollar
Down 24%
For five years, the Australian dollar couldn't be stopped. Earlier this year, the Aussie (which at the start of 2002 was worth only U.S. 51¢) was approaching an important psychological threshold of parity with the U.S. currency. Those days are long gone, though. After a long economic boom, the Royal Bank of Australia is now in recession-fighting mode. The central bank on Nov. 4 announced a 75-basis-point cut in interest rates, following a full percentage point cut in October.

Turkish New Lira
Down 25%
The new aversion to risky emerging markets has depressed the Turkish new lira. That's hurting Turkey's effort to fight inflation, which the government on Nov. 3 announced was up 2.6% in October. Turkish leaders are currently in talks with officials from the International Monetary Fund about renewing an agreement that lapsed in the spring providing the country with access to $10 billion in stand-by funds in case of financial strain.

South Korean Won
Down 27%
A month ago, South Korea's currency was down 33% for the year, making it the world's worst-performing major currency. Since then, though, the won has staged a mild comeback thanks to government measures to support the currency. Although the central bank has used billions of dollars to defend the won, Seoul still has a big pool of foreign-exchange reserves (over $240 billion as of August) to help the currency from falling further.

South African Rand
Down 32%
Fears of a severe global recession have taken their toll on the South African rand. The currency had a terrible October and in early November fell to a seven-year low. Manufacturing is slumping, and consumer spending is falling. Moreover, since South Africa's export economy is heavily dependent on gold and other resources, slower growth worldwide is likely to lead to slumping demand for South African products—and South African currency.

Icelandic Krona
Down 50%
No country has suffered more dramatically from the global financial crisis than Iceland. The country is on the brink of bankruptcy, with Norway announcing on Nov. 3 it was prepared to lend Iceland $635 million on top of the $2.1 billion the country is receiving from the IMF. The Icelandic currency's collapse and high inflation led the central bank in October to raise interest rates 600 basis points, to 18%.

(Source: Businessweek)

Rule of 72

How long compound interest will take to double your investment?

A rule of thumb - called Rule of 72 can tell you:

Simply divide 72 by the rate of return on your investmenr.

For example:

For rate at 6%, will take you 12 years.
For rate at 10%, will take you 7.2 years.

Copy - one of the element lead to success

Tang Jun, the former CEO of Microsoft China said in one of Chinese buisness show No Free Lunch:

One of the successful way for him to regulate or standardise businesses is that - to copy the rules he learned from Microsoft after he served the company for 10 years.

要想使企业规范化运作，就要复制成功的体系。 —— 唐骏

网上购物——4秒商机

我们的宽容等候似乎并没能从超市收银台前的排队延伸到互联网上。

根据一项新的对消费者行为的报告，四秒钟是网上购物者在网站加载之前准备等待的最长时间。

该报告调查了1058位网上购物者的购物习惯。

它发现，如果页面加载超过4秒时间，一般购物者就会放弃这个网上商店。

事实上，网站的加载时间被认为是仅次于高的产品价格和运输费用而导致网上购物者不满的因素。

“这一研究得到的结论是，网上购物者不仅要求网站性能的是高质量的，这也是他们的期望。 ”

调查公司的高层说到 。

“四秒，是一个判断零售网站的新基准，零售商想要保持一个忠诚的网上客户群就几乎不能有任何的错误。”

调查的起因是，由于越来越多澳大利亚人采用了宽带互联网连接，网上购物也增加迅速。

澳大利亚统计局在06年6月的互联网活动统计调查中，就已经发现，百分之五十一的澳大利亚家庭现在拥有宽带。

此外，在市场研究公司AC尼尔森当年9月的进一步报告中发现， 590万澳大利亚人如今在网上购物，比一年前增了长百分之十三。顾客的平均每年支出也有所增加，增长了百分之十九，达到一千九澳元一年。

该报告发现，机票，住宿及活动门票是最受欢迎的项目，而eBay是排名第一网上的零售商。

Online shopping: it's click or miss

Our tolerance for waiting in the supermarket checkout queue doesn't appear to extend to shopping on the internet.
According to a new report on consumer behaviour, four seconds is the longest that online shoppers are prepared to wait for a site to load before backing out of the transaction.
The report - commissioned by JupiterResearch and carried out by web services company Akamai - surveyed 1058 online shoppers on their buying habits.
It found that the average shopper will abandon an online store if forced to wait more than four seconds for pages to load.
In fact, website loading times were found to be second only to high product prices and shipping costs as the leading determinants of online shopper dissatisfaction.
"The critical takeaway from this research is that online shoppers not only demand quality site performance, they expect it," said Akamai's Brad Rinklin.
"Four seconds is the new benchmark by which a retail site will be judged, which leaves little room for errors for retailers to maintain a loyal online customer base."
The findings come as more and more Australians are shopping online, thanks to an increased take-up of broadband internet connections.
The Internet Activity Survey, conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in June, found that 51 per cent of Australian households now have broadband.
Further, a report, released by market research company ACNielsen in September, found that 5.9 million Australians are now shopping online, up 13 per cent from a year before. Average spending by each shopper is also on the rise, up 19 per cent to $1900 a year, it said.
Airline tickets, accommodation and event tickets are the most popular items, while eBay is the No. 1 online retailer, the report found.

Source: smh.com.au

Fwd: The golden rules of investment

• Never invest in something you don't understand.
• Risk can be reduced by spreading investments across different asset classes - property, shares, and cash.
• Stop trying to predict the direction of the share, property or interest rate market; concentrate on buying an investment that makes long-term common sense.
• Buy things with a strong history of profitability.
• Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful.
• Do not take annual results too seriously; focus on five year average growth.
• Focus on return on equity employed; not on earnings per share or gross rental.
• Remember that high returns normally equate to higher risk.
• Always invest for the long term. Think 'Does this investment have a favourable long term prospect?'
• Stick with your plan if it still makes sense when market conditions change. Recognise that short term volatility happens and that change costs money.

How to motivate your employees

It takes a lot more than an annual barbeque and a bonus cheque at Christmas to motivate staff - anyone can tell you that. But what exactly is the "a lot more"?
It's too simplistic to say that motivation the result of a goody salary, perks and training opportunities. Inspiration takes time, effort and consistency. It's about creating a culture that inspires self-motivation as well as providing the security to develop and innovate. In fact, there is increasing evidence that creating a motivated workforce is less about monetary rewards and more about management styles.
So what can business owners and managers actually do to motivate employees? What really works?
The Harvard Business Review has just completed two major studies aimed at answering that question. In one, 385 employees of two global businesses were surveyed. In the other, employees from 300 Fortune 500 companies were surveyed.
The secret, HBR reports, is to focus on four basic emotional drives: the drive to acquire, bond, comprehend and defend. Each of these drives can be managed by business owners or managers with a particular lever. Here are the drives and levers explained:
1. The drive to acquire. The lever: rewards
Individuals are driven to acquire goods that boost our sense of well-being and wealth. Delight is experienced when this is fulfilled, discontent when it is thwarted.
It's also important to note that the drive to acquire tends to be relative and insatiable: we compare what we have with those around us. And regardless of how much we have, we want more.
Businesses can use this drive to their advantage by creating a reward system that discriminates between good and poor performers, ties rewards to performance, and gives the best people opportunities for advancement.
2. The drive to bond. The lever: Culture
The drive to bond is associated with strong positive emotions like love and caring. When these are missing, negative emotions like loneliness take hold. When employees feel proud of belonging to an organisation they are motivated; when businesses betray them they feel demoralised. This also explains why employees find it hard to move around businesses internally: people become attached to those around them.
So how do you boost morale? Create a culture that promotes teamwork, collaboration, openness, and friendship.
3. The drive to comprehend. The lever: job design
We want to make sense of the world around us, we are frustrated when things seem senseless, and we are invigorated by the challenge of working out answers. In the workplace the drive to comprehend accounts for the desire to make a meaningful contribution.
Employees are motivated by jobs that challenge them and help them grow and learn. They are demoralised by jobs that seem to be monotonous or lead to a dead end.
Design jobs that are meaningful, interesting and challenging - whether or not the task is stacking shelves or managing clients. Talented employees that feel trapped look for new challenges elsewhere.
4. The drive to defend. The lever: performance management
We all naturally defend ourselves, our property and accomplishments, our family and friends. Instinctively we want what is fair and just.
It's important to make sure the way you measure performance and calculate salaries and bonuses meet this employee's drive to defend. If employees feel they're being taken advantage of, or others are being unfairly advanced, they will go elsewhere.
Each of these drives is independent and there is no heirarchy.
This means that you can't pay your employees a lot and hope they'll feel enthusiastic about their work in an organization where bonding is not fostered, work seems meaningless, or people feel defenceless. Nor it enough to help people bond as a tight-knit team when they are underpaid or toiling away at deathly boring jobs.
Here's the evidence: If a business owner whose business ranked in the 50th percentile on employee motivation improved job design, the business would only move up to the 56th percentile. In comparison, an improvement on all four drives would catapult the business up to the 88th percentile. Does this research ring true? How do you get the most out of your employees, or reduce the risk of losing them, when a better job comes along?

(Source: smh blogs)

Shop til you drop (over the keyboard)

It seems that Australians and Kiwis share the rare distinction of being the nationalities most likely around the globe to make online purchases. Who would have believed that?
A survey conducted by Coremetrics, a digital marketing company revealed that Australian and New Zealand consumers are twice as likely to buy products online, when compared to their UK counterparts. With a conversion rate of 4.4 orders per 100 online sessions for Australians and 4 for New Zealanders, the ANZ region sits above the average global conversion rate of 2.96 orders per 100 sessions.
The analysis is based on a six-month benchmarking study undertaken in the US. The study looked at buyer activity across 72 million e-commerce retail web sessions, with a specific focus on analysing the habits of nearly one million Australian and New Zealand visitors.
Kevin Mackin, general manager for the local operations of Coremetrics commented that “The US and UK are thought to be the most tech-savvy, but the conversion rates suggest otherwise when it comes to e-commerce. US consumers tend to place 3.3 orders every 100 sessions, while the UK only place an average of 1.7.
Interestingly, the participating businesses that enjoy the lengthiest visits from consumers are the ones engaging consumers with relevant content, including third party references and recommendations. These sites were also experiencing a higher number of page views, demonstrating a strong ability to hold people’s attention by capitalising on the more engaging Web 2.0 technologies.

(Source: MyBusiness eNews)

商人语录（一）

严介和

企业的“好”“差”：
市场化很低的企业是好企业，高的是差企业。

讨债：
能不采取法律措施就尽量不采取。
常作被告是无赖，常作原告是无能。
对待无赖就用无赖的方法，如有背景的就找他的上级部门；对有头有脸的则用媒体的方式。

企业相对优势和绝对优势：
相对优势——turnover
绝对优势——profit

用人的标准和留人的方法：
用人——
高管看心胸；
中层看道德；
基层看才华。
留人——
高管用事业；
中层用情感；
基层用钞票。

（source: extract from CBN programme)

Extract: Awaken the Giant Within (2)

Different actions produce different results:
Any action is a cause set in motion, and its effects builds an past effects to move us in a definite direction. Every direction leads to an ultimate destination: our destiny.

The power of decision:
It's in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.
If you truly decide to, you can do almost anything.

The Ultimate Success Formula:

1. Decide what you want
2. Take action
3. Notice what's working or not
4. Change approach until you achieve what you want

The three decision that control your destiny are:

1. Your decision about what to focus on.
2. Your decision about what things mean to you.
3. Your decision about what to do to create the results you desire.

工商银行（601398）

Price: 4.76 (16/7/08 Close)
Change; -2.46%
总股本(万股)：33401885.0026
流通股本(万股)：33401885.0026
所属行业：银行业
所属地域：北京市
每股收益(元)：.2455
每股经营现金流(元)：.3281
每股资本公积金(元)：0
每股净资产(元)：1.6963
净利润(万元)：8199000
每股未分配利润(元)：0
净资产收益率(%)：15.06
股东户数(户)：1732169

建设银行 （601939）

Price: 5.71 16/7/08 Close)
Change: -2.56%
总股本(万股)：23368908.4
流通股本(万股)：23368908.4
所属行业：银行业
所属地域：北京市
每股收益(元)：.3017
每股经营现金流(元)：-.0565
每股资本公积金(元)：0
每股净资产(元)：1.9129
净利润(万元)：6914200
每股未分配利润(元)：0
净资产收益率(%)：16.37
股东户数(户)：1810075

WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION (WBC)

Price19.430 (16/7/08 Close)
Change0.750
% Change4.015
Bid19.430
Ask19.450
Open18.870
Volume10,465,766
High19.450
Low18.870
52-Wk High31.320(11/01/07)
52-Wk Low18.360(07/15/08)
1-YrReturn-22.137

Shares(Millions)1,894.286
Market Cap(Millions)36,805.980
Earnings1.869
Price/Earnings8.987
RelativeP/E0.700
ROE22.920
Last DividendReported0.700 Interim
Dividend Yield(Trailing 12mo.)10.146
Rel. DividendYield2.016
90-DayVolatility43.407
Betavs. AS511.017

(Source: Bloomberg)

Extract: Awaken the Giant Within (1)

How to create lasting change:
Step 1: Raise your standards
Step 2: Change your limiting beliefs
Step 3: Change your strategy - find a role-model

The five areas of life that impact us most:
1. Emotional Mastery
2. Physical Mastery
3. Relationship Mastery
4. Financial Mastery
5. Time Mastery

Woolies shares jump on Big W sales

AUSTRALIA'S largest retailer Woolworths reported a 7.5 per cent rise in total fourth-quarter sales, but sales in its key supermarkets and liquor division slowed as food inflation moderated.

Total sales, adjusted for the timing of Easter, rose to $11.4 billion for the three months to June 29 from $9.83 billion a year ago.

Like-for-like growth at its key Australian Food and Liquor division rose 4.9 per cent for the quarter, slowing from 6.7 per cent growth in the third quarter. The growth rate was below analysts' expectations of around 5.9 per cent, but appeared mainly due to a sharp decline in food prices.

Inflation during the quarter declined to 2.9 per cent from 4.5 per cent in the third quarter, due to significant deflation in fruit and vegetables, Woolworths said.

By late morning, Woolworths shares were up 74 cents, or 3.15 per cent, at $24.20, against a 0.1 per cent rise in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index.

Fourth-quarter sales at Big W rose 2.6 per cent on a like-for-like basis. Analysts had forecast 1.7 per cent growth, according to the average of three brokers surveyed.

Several retailers, including fashion retailer Just Group, have recently downgraded their earnings guidance due to the tougher economic conditions.

Woolworths' consumer electronics division, which includes the Dick Smith chain, posted a 3.8 per cent rise in like-for-like sales.

In New Zealand, where Woolworths owns the country's second-largest supermarket chain, like-for-like supermarket sales rose 3.5 per cent, which it said reflected the tighter macroeconomic environment.

Hotel sales in the fourth quarter fell by 1.6 per cent on a comparable basis, which Woolworths said was due to the effects of smoking bans together with tighter trading conditions. Gaming sales decreased by 2.6 per cent in the quarter.

(Source: The Australian, Business)

11,000 Aussies join the millionaire club

THE commodities boom and strong domestic economy helped Australia's millionaires amass a $US551 billion ($576 billion) fortune in 2007, outranking the growth in numbers of Asian and US millionaires.
The turmoil in financial markets and the slump in stock markets spoiled the pace of growth in wealth attained and those joining the elite club compared with recent years.
Eleven thousand people joined Australia's millionaire ranks in 2007. The number jumped 7.1 per cent to 172,000 people and their combined fortune rose by $US43 billion, the World Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini says.
The rate of growth was down from 2006, when numbers swelled by 10.3 per cent, and 8.5 per cent seen in 2005, but globally Australia was above the average rate of 6 per cent, thanks to higher GDP and savings.
"The growth in Australian high net worth individuals ranked ahead of Japan, the US, Britain, Germany and France," Capegemini senior manager Wayne Li said yesterday.
"Last year, the Australian economy grew at 3.9 per cent, which was relatively stable in comparison with the G7 countries, and our stock markets did well. For the entire year of 2007 we were above 18 per cent."
Globally, total wealth amassed by high net worth individuals rose by 9.4 per cent last year to $US40.7 trillion, compared to 11.4 per cent in 2006. The increase in wealth was driven largely by the rise of emerging markets such as China and India, which had the largest jumps in millionaire numbers -- by 22.7 per cent and 20.3 per cent respectively.
They helped the world's population of millionaires to top the 10 million mark for the first time, up by 6 per cent for the year, but down from 8.3 per cent growth in 2006.
"This is a deceleration from 8.3 per cent in 2006, which should not be surprising since global real GDP dropped to 5.1 per cent from 5.3 per cent in 2006 and financial markets had a difficult second half," Merrill Lynch global wealth advisory head Thomas Alexy said.
The numbers of ultra-high net worth individuals, who have more than $US30 million in assets outside their primary home rose by 8.8 per cent, above 100,000 for the first time.
The world's largest economy, the US, had the highest number of high net worth individuals at 3.03 million, followed by Japan and Germany, while Australia maintained its No10 ranking out of 71 countries.
The uncertainty that hit markets in late 2007 also prompted high net worth individuals to shift assets towards the safety of fixed-income investments and cash.
Unlike global millionaires who have taken their profits out of real estate, Australia's property investments have remained steady for the moment.
"Australia has lagged the US and British markets in the credit issues we've experienced in the last 12 months," Merrill Lynch private wealth manager Peter Opie said.
"In Australia, we experienced the credit problems in December-January, so we're six months behind."

(Source: The Australian)

Game shows kids how to play

DID your share portfolio return 33 per cent during the past few months?
If not, then read on to learn the strategies of the ASX schools share market game winners.

While the All Ordinaries gained 7.5 per cent during the recent game trading period, the winning share market game syndicate achieved a share portfolio return of 33 per cent (from March 15 to May 13).
Each year ASX runs two share market games for high school students around the country.
Players receive $50,000 virtual dollars to trade in 100 stocks over a 10-week trading period.
This year, students again battled against one another and volatile markets for the main prizes.
With almost 40,000 students playing, over 68 per cent were able to increase the value of their portfolios.
The 2008 game one winners were Alex and Elliot, Year 11 students from Trinity Grammar School in Kew, Victoria.
They were kind enough to share their winning strategy with us.
"We focused on buying stocks that were either performing below the ASX 200, or well below their all-time price high," they say.
"In the end our strategy of buying stocks performing below the market, but in existing strong sectors, in the hope that they would realign with the market, proved to work and work well."
Hannah from Orange High School, who came first in NSW, has some wise words on how to outperform the market. "Throughout the game I would look at the performance of the companies I was investing in, whether through observing their (price) history charts or simply paying attention to the media.
"I tried to stick to companies I invested in so they had time to progress.
"I also kept some cash on hand so if one of my companies did decrease in value, I still had more cash to invest."
While the schools game is great for those still at high school, adults can play their own version of the game.
Twice a year the ASX Sharemarket Game is open to the public and runs over a 16-week trading period.
The public share market game is an easy way for new investors to test their skills in share selection and trading decisions.
Regular players state they appreciate being able to test strategies using live share prices with a hypothetical cash amount.
Players learn more about the charting, company research and watch-list tools available on the ASX website. The game offers great cash prizes and is free to play.
Once you have mastered the art of trading shares, the ASX also provides a safe online environment for you to practise trading ASX CFDs and futures.
The ASX CFD Trading Simulator and the SFE Futures Trading Simulator are both open for people to practise buying and selling these products, using live prices but without any risk to their capital. Both are free to play and accessible from the ASX website.

(Source: ASX Investor Education)

Auctions on eBay: A Dying Breed

by Catherine Holahan

As consumers opt for fixed-price purchases, what happens to the company that perfected the art of online bidding—and the scores of e-auctioneers?

Bruce Hershenson, who auctions vintage posters online, is hanging up his eBay gavel. For almost a decade, Hershenson's business epitomized the e-commerce that made eBay (EBAY) famous. He sold rare, collectible, sometimes kitschy memorabilia in online auctions that had a starting bid of 99¢. But as the business of buying and selling over the Internet has matured, the thrill and novelty of auctions have given way to the convenience of one-click purchases. Hershenson will hold his last eBay auction June 3. "The auctions are nothing like what they once were," he says. "They won't ever come back."

Auctions were once a pillar of e-commerce. People didn't simply shop on eBay. They hunted, they fought, they sweated, they won. These days, consumers are less enamored of the hassle of auctions, preferring to buy stuff quickly at a fixed price. Hershenson is emblematic of the legions of small business people who built their livelihoods on eBay but—like eBay itself—are having to rethink their whole approach to online sales.
Sales at Amazon.com (AMZN), the leader in online sales of fixed-price goods, rose 37% in the first quarter of 2008. At eBay, where auctions make up 58% of the site's sales, revenue rose 14%. "If I really want something I'm not going to goof around [in auctions] for a small savings," says Dave Dribin, a 34-year-old Chicago resident who used to bid on eBay items, but now only buys retail.

E-Commerce Continues to Evolve
Executives at eBay have gotten the message. Since taking the helm in March, eBay Chief Executive John Donahoe has made it clear that fixed-priced items are key to future growth. EBay's "Buy It Now" business, where shoppers can purchase items at a set price even when the merchandise is also listed in an auction, makes up 42% of all goods sold on eBay. It's growing at an annual 22% pace, the fastest among eBay's shopping businesses. "As [Web] search has developed, you can get a great deal in a fixed-price format," Donahoe said in an Apr. 16 interview after his first earnings call as eBay's top executive. "We are going to let our buyers choose." Donahoe did not comment for this story.

At the current pace, this may be the first year that eBay generates more revenue from fixed-price sales than from auctions, analysts say. "The bloom is well off the rose with regard to the online-auction thing," says Tim Boyd, an analyst with American Technology Research. "Auctions are losing a ton of share, and fixed price has been gaining pretty steadily."

To hasten the growth, Donahoe is spearheading changes to make eBay more friendly to users who favor one-click shopping. While former CEO Meg Whitman ended her tenure amid an ad campaign that championed auctions, urging consumers to "Shop Victoriously," Donahoe has taken steps to increase fixed-price inventory. In May, eBay announced a partnership with Buy.com to sell a large swath of the retailer's inventory for set prices. "EBay has significantly de-emphasized dynamic-priced items in favor of fixed-price listings in the last six months," says Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Derek Brown.

EBay Fees Favor Fixed Prices
Perhaps the biggest example of eBay's new fixed-price focus is the new fee structure, announced in January. The changes gave breaks to many large vendors who sell fixed-priced goods on the site, while hiking fees for many eBay users who sell using a traditional auction structure.
(Source: BusinessWeek.com, 1/29/08).

今天的因特网

今天的Internet已不再是计算机人员和军事部门进行科研的领域，而是变成了一个开发和使用信息资源的覆盖全球的信息海洋。

在Internet上，按从事的业务分类包括了广告公司，航空公司，农业生产公司，艺术，导航设备，书店，化工，通信，计算机，咨询，娱乐，财贸，各类商店，旅馆等等100多类，覆盖了社会生活的方方面面，构成了一个信息社会的缩影。1995年，Internet开始大规模应用在商业领域。当年，美国Internet业务的总营收额为10亿美元。
提供联机服务的供应商也从原先象America Online和Prodigy Service这样的计算机公司发展到象AT&T、MCI、Pacific Bell等通信运营公司也参加进来。由于商业应用产生的巨大需求，从调制解调器到诸如Web服务器和浏览器的Internet应用市场都分外红火。在Internet蓬勃发展的同时，其本身随着用户的需求的转移也发生着产品结构上的变化。1994年，所有的Internet软件几乎全是TCP/IP协议保，那时人们需要的是能兼容TCP/IP协议的网络体系结构；如今Internet重心已转向具体的应用，象利用WWW来做广告或进行联机贸易。Web是Internet上增长最快的应用，其用户已从1994年的不到400万激增至1995年的1000万。Web站的数目1995年到三万个。Internet已成为目前规模最大的国际性计算机网络。今天，Internet已连接60,000多个网络，正式连接86个国家，电子信箱能通达150多个国家，有480多万台主机通过它连接在一起，用户有2500多万，每天的信息流量达到万亿比特(terrabyte)以上，每月的电子信件突破10亿封。同时，Internet的应用业渗透到了各个领域，从学术研究到股票交易、从学校教育到娱乐游戏、从联机信息检索到在线居家购物等，都有长足的进步。据统计，目前在Internet的域名分布中，.com--即商业所占比例最大，为41％；.edu--（科教）已退居二线，占有30％分额。去年在Internet的成长中，商企界的成长占了其中的75％。

看看以下令商家振奋的的数据吧：

• 截至2005年6月的Internet World统计，世界上有9.28亿的因特网使用者，有75%的网络消费者表示，他们从不介意网上卖家是大公司与否（资料：TNS 2004）
• 2003年有1.6万亿美元在电子商务中成交，预计2007年达到7.1万亿美元（资料：IDC 2004）
• 去年，有1亿成人在进行网上调查后产生了购买行为，这个数字接近于通过目录、直邮广告和电话直销购买的总和。
• 运用因特网的小型商家比不用的增长要快46%
• 有超过72.4万的人承认ebay是他们主要的或第二收入来源。另有150万的人说他们通过在ebay销售来增加收入。（根据2005年7月ACNielsen的调查报告）
• 据统计，富有的消费者更喜欢在网上购物。34%的受访者说他们在去年进行了网上购物，而50%的富裕受访者和57%的极富裕受访者使用了电子商务。
• 2006年，1.36亿新人第一次加入了网络人口大军，也就是说每分钟有259个新的网络使用者，1小时就有超过1.5万的新用户！

因特网是怎样开始的

在1969年的时候，“信息高速公路”这个名词还无人知晓。而同一年，人类登上了月球，美国见证了横贯大陆的铁路干线的百年庆典。正是这一年，美国国防部高级研究计划署（ARPA-Advanced Research Project Agency）资助的工程师和科学家们开发出了尚未公布于众的ARPAnet。

ARPAnet的主导思想是把分布于不同距离的计算机实时共享，让处于不同计算机终端的人们可以共享一个大型主机。通常,要把程序从一个计算机传输到另一个，必须通过穿孔卡片或胶带之类的媒介。当时没有象联邦快递的那样的快速通路，可以在一夜之间把程序从比如说，麻省理工发送到加州科技。

刚开始，一些人认为，要建立一个合理的计算机体系，必需要有一个庞大的中央计算机来供给远程客户终端。然而，计划署人员证明了只要用一个计算机网络，就可以象电话网络一样，不需要依靠一个单一的链接。

得以让一台计算机远程联系另一台的技术之一是一个称为“信息包转换”的电讯方法。在信息包转换中，一个信息被拆分成不同的电子信息小包，每一个都被标注上接收者的地址，然后在目的地组合起来。

到了1969年9月，这个系统已经准备好接受测试，一个基于加利福尼亚大学洛杉矶分校和史坦福研究院计算机之间的链接被建成。到1971年，有超过20个站点或网点连接入了网络。一年以后，第一个电子邮件信息被发出。

1983年，该网络将军用和民用功能分开，由此创立了Milnet。1986年，美国国家科学基金网NSFnet建成。1988年，ARPAnet正式功成身退，因特网（Internet）这个名称被启用。

从一开始，网络的创始者们就知道，他们在技术上的进步比起社会意义来说是微小的。他们的主要贡献更多地体现在了和大学有关的，以及在非商业和无规则状况中的一种无序而非正式的人类关系。从某种意义上来说，整个因特网体现出了第一批使用者的价值观。在那个计算机还被真空管子充斥着的时代，网络计划署的人们已经明白，这些机器将不仅仅是计算机设备——他们注定会成为历史上最强大的沟通工具！

Made in China

(Journalist Kristen Le Mesurier recently visited Shanghai to study supply chains. She writes exclusively for Mysmallbusiness on how SMEs can recognise and avoid the pitfalls when dealing with the world's largest manufacturer. )

Just about everyone has heard a horror story about importing goods from China.
Between June and September last year, three of the world's largest toy manufacturers, including Mattel and Fisher-Price, were forced to recall more than 20 million toys worldwide because the toys' paint was found to contain lead.

While these high-profile incidents are unlikely to stop the thousands of business owners looking to shift manufacturing offshore, they should serve as a clear warning: nothing short of an intricate strategy is needed to make manufacturing in China a success.

The experts warn that challenges arise at every stage in the sourcing process. Reputable manufacturers are hard to find. Some factories promise more than they can deliver, some ignore the order specifications altogether, and others simply pocket the cash without producing a product.

Trading companies are known to masquerade as manufacturers; product regulations are often misinterpreted or not followed; quality needs to be monitored during the production process and tested before the goods are shipped; contracts with dispute resolution clauses need to be negotiated; and delays are common at any stage in the process.
On top of all of this, when things go wrong there are few roads to recourse. Once container loads of goods arrive in Australia it becomes too expensive to send them back. The alternative, pursuing Chinese manufacturers through the courts, is time consuming, expensive, and hit and miss.
The bottom line, according to the experts, is that all of these variables must be controlled. Chinese manufacturers must be micromanaged.

Yet here is the frightening reality: few business owners follow any kind of strategy when outsourcing to China.
Lisa Goodhand, trade consultant and director of AJL Global, says the cost savings give business owners tunnel vision.

''Or worse than that, business owners import blindly. They figure that the different culture, the different laws, the work that needs to go in to building maintaining a relationship with a manufacturer, is all too hard. The goods are so cheap they figure they'll risk it. They mentally prepare to throw their money to the wall,'' Goodhand says.

No one knows this better than John Hunt, who sits on the Australia China Business Council's committee in Queensland, and runs Mox Group, an industrial hardware and software provider with more than 400 employees.
He says that alongside wilful blindness, many business owners who come to the ACBC for advice have been arrogant in their dealings with Chinese manufacturers.
''The dictator approach runs something like this: 'We know exactly what we want and we're going to tell you how it needs to be done.' That attitude is hardly conducive to a long term relationship,'' Hunt says.

DealsDirect.com.au, a fast-growing online retailer with revenue of about $40 million in 2006-07, has been buying direct from Chinese manufacturers since 2005.
The founders, Michael Rosenbaum and Paul Greenberg, started out as most Australian business owners do - attending trade fairs and using a local agent.
But the big profits were out of reach while middle men carved out commissions.
''The future of retail is selling direct from the manufacturer in China to the customer's front door,'' Greenberg says.
They spent the first few months of 2005 testing their business model with trading companies (these are similar to wholesalers in Australia).
''It's important to get comfortable before committing to sourcing on your own,'' Greenberg says.
Their next step was to hire a Shanghainese buyer that had spent the previous decade working with Go-Lo - the pioneers of discount retailing in Australia - and open a small office in Shanghai.
Their representative then started sorting through the factories that presented at trade fairs and building relationships with those that had a strong reputation.
''Now that we've been in China for a few years manufacturers will travel to us [in Shanghai] and line up in the passage way to show us their wares,'' Greenberg says.

Their Shanghai representative now runs an office of eight. He receives a commission for each product he sources himself, and he is paid a fee for maintaining close relationships with each of the factories DealsDirect buy from.
A big part of his job is quality control. He gives factories 3-4 hours out of Shanghai spot checks and arranges for each container load to be randomly sampled before it leaves China's ports. If faults are found the goods are sent back to the factory.
''We do visit factories and I've never seen sweatshops. We wouldn't deal with sweatshops. We go to professional factories that are impressive by any standards. Quality is important so the goods can't be manufactured in a backyard,'' Greenberg says.
Faulty products do occasionally reach Australian customers, but Greenberg says he has never dealt with a manufacturer that refuses to send replacements in a later shipment.
''If you go in there with the right attitude and work with courtesy you're not going to be left in the lurch. In any case, the Chinese are looking for repeat business. They don't want to sell one container, they want to sell 101 and more,'' Greenberg says.

For business owners without the resources to hire a Chinese representative, the experts stress the importance of researching the manufacturer you plan to buy from.
''Especially with business to business portals like Ali Baba, it can be difficult to establish the true nature of the person holding themselves out as the manufacturer,'' Goodhand says.
Goodhand outlines a common scenario. ''You strike up communication with someone who claims to be a manufacturer, you're sent a sample and asked whether you like it. If you like it, you're asked to transfer the money to a bank account and you're told the goods will arrive soon. After waiting patiently, nothing arrives.
''But the only record you have of the contract of sale is a bank account number and a hotmail address. Impossible to track,'' Goodhand says.
The importance of local knowledge and an understanding of business culture cannot be underestimated.
Gaffs are often made by Australian business owners when they jump on a plane to check out the Chinese manufacturer and turn up in board shorts and thongs while claiming loudly that they are the manufacturer's next biggest client.

''Chinese businessmen would never send their CEO to do the groundwork straight away so it sends the signal that you're not nearly as important as you present,'' Goodham says.
If you're small, talk yourself up, says Austrade's senior trade commissioner in China, Peter Osborne.
''Talk about who you sell to, who your buyers are. Spruik your big clients. And make sure you meet the Chinese equivalent of yourself in the factory. If you're the chief executive but you've never met your counterpart, they're not taking you seriously,'' Osborne says.
One lesson often painfully learned by Australian business owners is that every order placed has to be extremely clear and detailed.

Emails between DealsDirect staff and Chinese manufacturers are in dot points to minimise the risk of miscommunication.
''Ordering whatever you've seen in a picture, or even ordering the sample, will get you into trouble. You need to spell out exactly what you want. If you want the blue MP3 player you've got to specify the exact colour, size, and what accessories, if any, you expect to be included,'' Goodhand says.

Negotiating a contract with each manufacturer is important. It forces each party to settle on procedures that kick in when something goes wrong. It is also an opportunity for the Australian business owner to gain respect and build a relationship with the manufacturer.

''The Chinese are likely to say yes to any order. They want to get their products out of the country. But they'll work out the other party's weaknesses very quickly.
''If in your eyes you don't offer long term potential they will take advantage of whatever short term opportunity you represent. But if you can convince them that you're serious and you're the right company to work with, long term benefits will flow,'' Hunt says.

(Source: Smh)

Can you speak American?

Australian businesspeople operating in American markets know this all too well – they do not speak English in the 50 States. They speak American. And they will ask you if you do too.

This is not just parochialism in action – there is a grain of truth to it. Oscar Wilde knew this when he remarked, “We really have everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language” – and 120 years later, the language of Corporate America presents even more of a communication challenge than you might expect.

The trap for young players is to assume that a lifetime of watching American TV is adequate preparation. It is not.

Sure, you may be comfortable translating ‘economy’ to ‘coach’, ‘lift’ to ‘elevator’ and ‘jumper’ to ‘sweater’. But it’s the first ‘reaching out’ that gets you. To the Australian ear it sounds a little more dramatic than ‘contacting’ someone should really be. This is followed closely by ‘relevancy’ and ‘normalcy’, which one assumes at first to be Bush-style ‘mis-speaks’. ‘Planning ahead’ becomes ‘being planful’, and ‘healthy’ follows suit as ‘healthful’.

If you’re brave enough to speak, you’ll find your reference to meeting ‘fortnightly’ will be met with confused expressions, a rhetorical question like “have we just gone back to mediaeval times?” and some advice to use ‘bi-weekly’ in future.

At all times avoid mentioning your ‘diary’ – no one wants to hear about your personal musings or indeed the prospect of a memoir. Talk about ‘schedules’ and ‘calendars’, and ‘sked’ instead of ‘diarise’.

When you hear that you’ve ‘lucked out’ you can rest assured that you have not missed out but are in fact, counter-intuitively, in luck.

Expect to hear expressions like ‘quarterbacking the project’ (shepherding it every step of the way), ‘hit the cover off the ball / knock the ball out of the park’ (knock them for six), ‘we’ll take care of the blocking and tackling’ (the basics, the everyday stuff), ‘clipping coupons’ (not adding any value), ‘from the get-go’ (from the very beginning) and – my personal favorite – ‘off the reservation’ (off-message, lost the plot).

Invited to go on a boondoggle? That’s a junket. A catywumpus? A mess, a debacle. Circle back? Get back to you. Soup to nuts? End-to-end my friend, because apparently meals start with soup and end with nuts. Somewhere. In America.

When you’re ready to pull your hair out over all this, you can safely express this as ‘going third rail’ – a wonderfully New York City expression that refers to the third rail on subway tracks, which electrocutes on contact.

Of course, I’m sure an American in Australia would find its equivalent, ‘going berko’, just as indecipherable.

Advil*, anyone?
* American Panadol

(Source: Smh)

Stepping into China

In Shanghai, it's easy to stare transfixed at the streams of shoppers trampling over half-finished roads to get to the big, new shopping centres. Open 14 hours a day, longer on weekends, these shopping centres are hives of activity.
But this buzz is a double-edged sword for Australian exporters. It means big opportunities, but it also means fierce competition as the world's brands clamour for a slice of the burgeoning market.
Long and involved negotiations, enmeshed and often conflicting regulations at provincial and local levels, heavy bureaucracies, local partners that may or may not be trustworthy - these are just some of the challenges that threaten to trip most small businesses.
Toss in the market entry strategy - whether or not to open a representative office, sign away an exclusive distribution licence, form a joint venture, or go the whole way and set up a wholly-owned foreign enterprise - and watch what started out looking like a money spinner morph in to a nightmare.
It took one Australian environmental consultancy, now owned by GHD, almost 10 years to crack China.
"It was quite a number of years before we could say, 'We're making a dollar out of here,'" says Peter Wood, founder of the business and now general manager of GHD's operations in China.
More Australian businesses than ever before want to sell to China. The proportion of small businesses exporting to China has doubled in the last two years, according to recent data compiled by Sensis and Austrade, and more than 50 per cent of Australian exporters have China tagged as their biggest growth market in the next twelve months, according to the latest Austrade and DHL export barometer.
With a large and rapidly urbanising population, China's demographics are a big drawcard. By 2020, 55 per cent of Chinese households will have climbed into the ranks of the middle class, according to the Policy Research Office of the Community Party of China Central Committee. Right now, just 5 per cent of households are middle class.

Demand for branded goods and services, hot new technology, infrastructure, and finance is expected to grow with these annual incomes. Based on similar projections, AC Nielson in its report titled China Trend Watch 2007 estimates that manufacturers and retailers have an untapped market of about 850 billion RMB ahead of them.
It's not just coal and resources that Australians are good at selling to the Chinese. Food and beverage exporters have doubled their shelf space in the last five years, and products and services trading on Australia's clean and green image such as organic products, body care, fitness training are in high demand, according to Austrade's senior trade commissioner in China, Peter Osborne.
With China expected to be home to half of the world's building construction between now and 2020, there is also an unprecedented appetite for green technology. Subsidies offered by the Chinese government in the lead up to the Beijing Olympics and mandatory energy reduction targets are driving demand. "When you've got a country that has 16 of the most polluted cities in the world incentives like those will only grow," Osborne says.
Business owners who think that turning up with some expertise or a container load of goods is enough to make a sale, think again. Consumers are brand conscious and spoilt for choice. And as customers or partners, Chinese businesses want to know you are there for the long term before they commit to doing business with you.
"In Australia, if you tender a bid and it is clearly the best there's a good chance you'll get that contract. In China, if you haven't developed a strong personal relationship with the organisation it really wouldn't matter what your proposal was like. From their perspective you're too risky. If they don't trust you, you won't win the work," Wood says.
The first challenge for exporters to nut out is how to enter the market. There are four options: open a representative office, cut a deal with an agent or distributor, form a partnership or joint venture, or set up a wholly owned foreign enterprise (WOFE).
The majority of Australian exporters start small by selling via an agent or distributor. Online trade portals such as Ali Baba may be the easiest way to make contact with potential agents, distributors, or retailers, but the ease belies many challenges.

It's important to research distributors or agents to make sure they will take your product, which is often one of tens of products they are trying to sell, seriously.
Hotch-potch networks of agents and distributors can give rise to disputes regarding who has the exclusive right to sell what, where.
And it can be difficult to assess whether or not agents have the muscle to get the shelf space they promise.
Partnerships or joint ventures, while requiring investment and long-term commitment, can be the best of both worlds because partners offer local knowledge of the market and contacts with key decision makers in government or retail. Rather than handing agents or distributors a fixed fee, joint venture partners share in the profits.
But choosing a suitable joint venture partner takes time. Wood met with about 25 prospective partners over two years before settling on one in Wuhan. "The decision was really based on countless discussions, meetings, and when it came down to it, gut feel about the partners and how well we could work with them," Wood says.
Austrade and a Chinese born and educated engineer he had hired in Australia ended up helping him sift through the potential partners. "If you can develop strong personal relationships there's a good chance you will succeed. If you can't or don't there's a good chance you won't," Wood says.
Going one step further and setting up a wholly-owned foreign entity means skipping the challenges that arise with joint venture relationships.
Legislative reform in the last five years has made the registration process simple and easy, but experts warn this is the most involved business structure - in time, effort and money.
Richie Guo, who runs Business Strategies International's China consultancy, advises his clients to have the paperwork ready to submit to China's Ministry of Commerce as early as possible. "China is so fast moving, if you're an exporter that spots an opportunity you've got to be ready to move then, at that moment. Gaps in the market disappear so quickly," Guo says.
A mistake Guo sees business owners make is leaving the debate about business structure to the last minute. By the time the business entity and bank accounts are sorted in China, for example, the opportunity has been snatched by someone else.
China's deference to hierarchy throws many Australian exporters. Multiple people will work on a single transaction and there can be a long ladder to climb to get to the main decision makers.
Wood warns that formal meetings with six Chinese negotiators does not necessarily mean that the Chinese party is serious about working through the tough issues.
"The real negotiation rarely happens around a table with lots of people. If there are half a dozen negotiators that meeting is all about process and formality. Serious negotiations are always done one-on-one, behind closed doors, between the key decision makers on both sides," Wood says.
"You do need to get the support of the people doing the negotiating, though. They have the key decision maker's ear," Wood says.
And beware of Chinese business culture. Guo recounts a meeting between one of his Australian clients and a Chinese business owner. His client was looking to acquire the Chinese business and at the first meeting the Australian asked within minutes whether or not the Chinese business was turning a profit.
"What a disaster. Those sorts of questions, if they can ever be asked, require a relationship of trust and mutual respect. To the Chinese, that question was rude and arrogant," Guo says.

(Source: Smh)

Biggest slump

Almost all markets are down today.
Shanghai, over 7%'s slump.
Australia, worst fall since WII.

I feel it might be a beginning of a bear market for Aust. and other western countries.
But not for China.

In the past, China was always the one escape from the effect of US. Why not again this time? Sounds to me like someone (might be the fund companies) purposely gave out some negative information...

It's said US would lower the interest rate 75bp tonight.

Let's wait and see.