Outside the Box: To know China, see the world through its eyes

Speaking Chinese without an American accent

Commentary: To know China, see the world through its eyes 

By Andrew Leckey 

PHOENIX, Ariz. (MarketWatch) -- Will the heavy national debt load of the U.S. turn it into another Greece? Could the U.S. cope if it was surpassed by China as the world's largest economy? Is the U.S. increasingly becoming a protectionist country? 

Those sound like loaded questions, yet they're fair game for an American interviewed on Chinese television, as I have been more than a dozen times in the past couple of years. You are responding on Chinese soil, after all, where the U.S. is a subject of intense analysis and criticism -- just as China is in the U.S.

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Topics such as the value of the yuan and trade relations ignite intense feelings because economic growth, investment potential and national pride are at stake. Such issues are more politically demanding than when a question is asked about something less China-U.S.-centric, such as Russia's economy or BP's management.

It seems strange to label as emerging a nation with so many centuries of dynasties behind it, but global economic power is relatively new in this nation where ancient structures coexist with skyscrapers. As China chooses its own course, developed nations are suspected of conspiring to hold it back, whether through organizations such as the G20 or the policies of individual nations.

Volatility of Chinese markets is sure to continue, impacting the world just as it is affected by other markets. China's hot economy and real estate market have likely come too far, too fast, and cycles are unavoidable.
Nonetheless, the transition of China from a low-cost assembler of exports to the West to a major consumer of products and services and a seller of products to the rising middle class throughout Asia is ahead.

This likely will depend less on developed markets and more on emerging economies that need consumer staples, information technology and automobiles. There will be dramatic growth, despite the ongoing ideological, trade, currency, political and environmental differences between China and the U.S.

What China wants

Whether it involves investing, business dealings or debate, dealing with China requires mutual respect:
• Many Chinese take personally the criticism of government policy. While we are often loudly critical of our government, they consider China one entity that includes them. Outsiders criticizing it are, in effect, disrespecting the Chinese people and heritage. Harmony is important. Stick to facts when discussing issues of conflict and make sure your points stand on their own merit, which is not a bad idea no matter what the country.

• They know more about us than we know about them. Our clothes and technology were made in China, but our information is limited to news reports. They see our movies, follow the NBA, dine at KFC and Starbucks, buy Buicks and display posters of American actors and athletes in stores. They celebrate Christmas big-time, though not the religious part. Yet that's hardly a clear picture of America or Americans.

• Negative quotes about China from U.S. politicians are taken seriously by the Chinese, much as U.S. sports coaches tack negative quotes from rivals on locker room bulletin boards. The fact that many in Congress intentionally make statements to appeal to constituents is not always evident to the Chinese.

• When significant issues are brought up, Chinese of all ages point out that we should realize they've come a long way in a short period of time, even if where they're headed isn't totally mapped out. Bridging the gap between wealthiest and poorest will be one of the biggest economic tasks.

• Young Chinese are under pressure from country and parents to succeed, far more than U.S. young people. Chinese parents who grew up under a different economic system tell children to study and work harder. The one-child rule put added pressure on the young to succeed. Shopping malls throughout China are crowded primarily with those under age 30, indication of the younger generation's financial empowerment.

• And yes, the Chinese generally do prefer to deal with people they've gotten to know well. This isn't such a rare concept in any country, but friendships definitely build bonds that turn to business and shared information in China. Drive-by meetings won't accomplish much, while repeat visits are valued.

Americans these days study China much as they studied Japan 20 years ago -- with fear and a sense of urgency that we are about to be overtaken economically. I leave you with one last non-economic question posed to me by the Chinese host on a special talk show honoring legendary television news anchor Walter Cronkite:

Why was there no journalist of Walter Cronkite's stature in the U.S. who was able to draw to an end the war in Iraq as Cronkite did in Vietnam?

Sounds like a loaded question. But for an American interviewed in China, turnabout is fair play. After all, I always have my own set of loaded questions to ask the Chinese.

Andrew Leckey is president of the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism in Phoenix, and has been a frequent guest on China Central Television (CCTV) interview programs in Beijing.

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IPTV - Astro TV conducting trials with Time dotCom; Mobile Telcos Price War?

Astro TV conducting IPTV trials with Time dotCom

By B.K. SIDHU
bksidhu@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: With Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) venturing into the broadcasting business with its IPTV (internet protocol TV) offering, Astro TV is not about to let any of its market share slip by without a fight.

It is learnt that Astro TV is conducting trials for its IPTV offering in Mont Kiara by riding on Time dotCom Bhd’s (TDC) fibre optic fast-speed network.

Astro TV needs an IPTV platform and if it were to wait till sister company Maxis Communications Bhd completes its network build-up, that may well give TM an edge in some places.

Hence, the trials with TDC which began at the end of July involving about 100 users.

Sources said this was a technical trial for the Astro b.yond to determine if the network was able to carry enough video content at fast speed. TDC is providing the GPON infrastructure for the trials.

A GPON access network not only enables telcos to build and support video services, but provides the ability to scale the network to deliver any bandwidth-hungry services such as HDTV (high definition TV) and VOD (video on demand), an IP-based broadband video service.

Astro needs a minimum of 15-20 megabits per second (Mbps) for content delivery and TDC’s network can provide up to 100Mbps. Sources said trial users were able to watch all of Astro’s programmes in HD and 3D quality.

The trials make TDC a potential contender for access to Astro besides Maxis. However, since TDC only focuses on multi-dwellings such as condominiums and apartments blocks, its reach may be limited. TDC finds it too costly to focus on fibre to the home as done by TM.

TM is bundling IPTV with its high-speed broadband service known as Unifi. But content will remain the differentiating factor in the IPTV business. For now, Astro has rights to loads of content but don’t underestimate TM as it is tying to link up with a lot of content providers to make its IPTV proposition appealing.

Maxis, on the other hand, is working overtime to get a fast-speed Internet network up. It has appointed Huawei as the exclusive supplier for the next generation network. Maxis said the job would also include the building and managing of a full-service Fibre To The X network using GPON technologies.

Maxis has also conducted trails for IPTV involving 50-odd users during the recent World Cup.
Whether Astro will need more than one player to deliver its IPTV content is unclear but Maxis certainly is building a fibre optic network in its quest to become a quad player and it will have to rely on content from Astro.

ASTRO :  [Stock Watch]  [News]
TM :  [Stock Watch]  [News]
TIMECOM : [Stock Watch] [News] 

Analysts don't expect lower prices for mobile phone services

By LEONG HUNG YEE
hungyee@thestar.com.my

Price war unlikely but telcos are expected to compete on device offerings, say analysts

PETALING JAYA: While cellular companies may have posted rosy profits during the latest reporting season, analysts say the second half will not be an easy period for them.

Analysts do not expect an all-out price war between telcos but they do see competition heating up on device offerings such as smartphones.

“Both DiGi.Com Bhd and Maxis Bhd will be offering Apple Inc’s iPhone 4 soon. Pricing details have yet to be revealed but consumers will always opt for the best bargain,” an analyst said, adding that the average revenue per user (ARPU) and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin for telcos would remain under pressure.

DiGi had earlier cautioned that its EBITDA margin for 2010 might be pressured due to higher level of handset subsidies.

“Both DiGi.Com Bhd and Maxis Bhd will be offering Apple Inc’s iPhone 4 soon. Pricing details have yet to be revealed but consumers will always opt for the best bargain,” an analyst said. Pic shows Apple iPhone 4 on display at the registration desk at the headquarters of KT in Seoul on Monday. Apple’s newest smartphone will be officially released to Korean consumers on Friday. — Reuters

 

AmResearch Sdn Bhd said that despite a recent reduction in interconnection fees to 5 sen from 8 sen previously, the competitive landscape between telcos remained status quo. “There is yet to be a full-fledged price war,” it said.

The research house said ARPU continued to decline on a blended basis and reckoned that ARPU was almost reaching saturation point.

Within the postpaid segment, AmResearch said ARPU increased 2% to 4% in all three companies in line with the growth recorded in usage minutes.

“Voice is taking a backseat to non-voice, parallel to other developed countries. This trend should persist to a saturated level, where voice usage would hit its floor – as observed in the fixed line segment – within the next two to three years,” it said.

AmResearch said all three mobile companies were recording significant growth in broadband usage, with Celcom Axiata Bhd leading with more than 50% market share followed by Maxis (35%) and DiGi (15%).

The research house said the telecommunications sector was still undervalued, with enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EV/EBITDA) ranging between 5.42 times and 8.11 times. It said regional peers were valued at an EV/EBITDA of at least 9 times.

An analyst said the possible slowdown in the second half could lead to a cut in consumer spending.
However, the analyst said he was still confident about the industry’s outlook given the number of new mobile devices being introduced into the market.

He expects non-voice revenues from wireless broadband and data value-added services, including mobile Internet, messaging and content services, to drive growth for telcos moving forward.

The analyst said his top pick was Axiata Group Bhd as it “has a good regional story with presence in 10 countries and good-performing assets in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.”

Brain drain, education,racism

Brain drain gains momentum

ZIYING'S BRUSH

Malaysia’s brain drain is not limited to adults as increasing numbers of children are also leaving the country.

RECENT reports on the two school heads accused of racist slurs bring to mind a question that an expatriate, newly arrived in Malaysia, posed to me. “Why,” she asked, “do Malaysian parents send their children away?”

I was momentarily stumped. And then I realised she was right. So many people send their children overseas when they reach a certain age, sometimes right after primary school, or more often, after third year secondary school. Their kids are in Singapore, Australia, Britain – anywhere but here at home, and the situation has become so normal it didn’t strike me as strange.

It is said that some half a million Malaysians have left the country to work or live abroad and the papers these days are full of reports on the great Malaysian brain drain. Much has been written on the whys and wherefores, with much hand-wringing over how to get these brains back.

Preparing for change: Sweeping reforms are being implemented in schools across China to meet the needs of the next stage of the country’s development.

 

All the while, under the radar, children whose families can afford it continue to leave. After finishing secondary school overseas, they attend university. Chances are, unlike a decade or two ago, many won’t come back. It seems young brains, too, are draining away.

Malaysia likes to promote itself as a centre of educational excellence. So why is this happening, and is there a reality gap somewhere?

The two school principals’ racist remarks just seem the tip of the iceberg.

Racism is at the root of these ridiculous comments but I would venture a guess that ignorance also plays a role. After all, I was told by friends that history textbooks have been revised to exclude much of world and important segments of local history. I hope this is not true but from what I have seen at the National Museum (Muzium Negara), I find that perfectly believable. If a national repository can ignore the seminal role played by one-third of the country’s population – i.e. the Chinese and Indian minority ethnic groups – then this really comes as no surprise.

Given this one-sided view of national history, should anyone be surprised that a school head allegedly called certain ethnic groups “passengers”? Clearly, that also reflects the shortcomings in their own education and poor training as well as the quality of some Malaysian schools. Being educators, they should know better but with the shrill racist and religious rhetoric of certain extremist political factions, it should not surprise anyone if there are more who think that way.

Grooming leaders: Hawaii’s Punahou School has excellent facilities and teachers, and a curriculum that fosters creativity. It is the alma mater of President Obama and well-known business leaders .

 

Recently there have been debates on whether the two crucial subjects of Maths and Science should be taught in English or Bahasa Malaysia. Looking around Asia, it is obvious that developed nations like Japan and South Korea do not teach in English and neither do rapidly developing countries like China. Yet they have surpassed Malaysia in so many ways. Rather than the language of instruction, it is ultimately the quality of the syllabus, the materials, the teachers and the teaching that make a difference.

Given the situation, it is no wonder that parents are sending their children overseas at an early age or even emigrating with them. Away, the children can have an opportunity to develop their full potential in a meritocratic system that rewards ability and results without the suffocating burden of political and ethnic strictures.

Outside Malaysia’s borders is a competitive, knowledge-driven world where there are no protective mantles and only the fit will survive. One need not look far to see what is happening. In economic powerhouse China, for example, competition is part and parcel of the national fabric.

Meritocracy has been practised since the first imperial (civil service) examinations over 2,000 years ago, and is still practised through assessments like the annual gaokao university entrance exam. And the education system is currently being fine-tuned by a series of sweeping reforms to meet the country’s future needs.

As for attracting Malaysians back from overseas, I shall never forget what a potential employer in a listed Malaysian company told me when I applied for a job after several years working with a multinational in the Asian region. He glanced at my resume and said: “In Malaysia, it is not what you know, but who you know that counts.” Later, at the Human Resources department, I discovered for the very first time my overseas education and American university degrees were a negative as “things are different in Malaysia”.

Meanwhile, young and not-so-young human capital are continuing to leave Malaysia, the country is unable to produce enough engineers, managers and other professionals to make a difference and FDI has fallen through the bottom. What is needed now is the courage to step out of the comfort zone and make the changes that are so long overdue – or brain gain will just remain wishful thinking.

This column will take a break until early November. Ziying can be reached at ziyingster@gmail.com.

Racism Malaysia NAH!!! ... 

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