Wharton Cafe Chat in Shanghai

I am just back from Wharton's coffee chat in Shanghai, held by 4 first year Wharton's MBA students. It's a good chance to see what are the MBA like and how they think about their career development. Here are some conclusions I can make after the chat with the nice gals and guys from this top MBA school.

- 2 of them have finance background. One was GE's management trainee working in controlling; one was in the operation function of a state-owned mutual fund. The background of the other two, unfortunately, I have no idea.

- Mostly I've heard the information from Richard and Xinghua Zhou, 2 students sitting left to me. While the other one girl from Hawaii, a half ABC, seemed more american style and not so talkative. The last girl from Wharton was sitting so faraway that I didn't hear much from her. They are all very young in fact. I am getting too old to be an MBA!

- The questions we have asked include essay writing, career, school life, and recommendations. The only interesting answer to me is that Wharton, even other business schools, normally will postpone the deadline, including the application deadline and the toll deadline.

- The candidates having applied these years all have strong background. One from PWC, one from Eccenture, one finance analyst from a chemical manufacturer, just to name a few. Most of them have 4 years W/E.

- Talking with people is great, to learn the other's thought, the other's consideration.

Chinese Building Materials' Opportunity in Russian Market

Russia is our neighbor, but I really know little about this country, except for the super power in the cold war and now the emerging super energy power cross Europe and Asia. In my eyes, it should be difficult to do business in this country. The country had bad credit record. Many reported ethnic violence and some big terrorist attack in the last years. But these difficulties have created and are creating fortune opportunity for bravers and risk takers. And I think just like other BRIC countries, Russia is doing better and better for business.

I met one guy from Wenzhou who does trading business in Russia. He earned quite a lot several years ago, selling Wenzhou shoes in the country. He told me several of his ventures in Russia. I think many people imagine Russia a dangerous land. But I don't think so. The worst experience he told me are only the bribery and violence of the police. Anyway, he was still alive after he got much money from the country. And in St. Peterburg and Moscow, real estate market is really hot. The average price for apartment is already 3000-4000USD/sqm, the central area even higher, reaching 8000USD/sqm. In the last two years, the construction area for residential and commercial buildings has already past the summary of last 10 to 20 years! Russians are investing in their own land for a better life! They definitely need a stable and safe society, for life and for business. So I think even there is potential risk, the things are just changing to be better off.

Let's look into the building materials market. The booming of the real estate and the rise of living standard lead to more invest in building materials, both new and old housing. Shortage of some products even occur in some places. The Chinese goods with low price are really very competitive. Trading building materials is good chance. But we must keep close eyes on some trends:
- Russian customs. To many smuggle nowaday. The Russian government will make efforts and the market price of import goods will increase with a better customs.
- Restriction on foreign investment in retailing.
- Restriction on worker immigration.
- Credit risk

The Value of Assistant

Today, I looked for some executive assistant positions for a friend in Shanghai. The result looks interesting since from the requirement to the salary the jobs vary a lot. While some employers look for candidates with a college degree, paying less than 3000 rmb per month, the other look for people with 5 years or more experience or even with a MBA from oversea school, willing to pay more than 12000 rmb per month.

Just as in every market, the requirement for an assistant depends on the employer's expectation and affordability. In my opinion, American and European companies, esp. starting ups in China are more willing to invest on a highly eligible assistant position, and normally want to coach the person into a general management position. On the contrary, small foreign investor from HK or Taiwan tend to squeeze the budget and normally a candidate with college degree can meet be the fit.

So look out if you meet someone with an assistant title. In some case, an assistant is more expensive than an associate in the job market. And when you are looking for a job to ease your economic pressure, don't even overlook such positions just because of their name, assistant. Sometimes, there are really good deals after the 'Ace'.

SoundTex Was Beated By Some Local Nonwovens?

In our business center in Shanghai, people have long been complaining about the weak sound insulation between rooms. I even doubt that there is no sound insulation materials behind the walls and ceilings.

Last weekend, finally, the landlord decided to replace the sound insulation materials and I got the chance to see what's the secret behind the walls.

To my surprise, they took out from the ceiling many small dark grey fabrics with the logo SoundTex. I was told that they were going to replace SoundTex with some voluminous nonwovens, which look less decent and are probably from some Chinese local supplier.

I examined the removed SoundTex a little bit. They are thin like paper, coated. I am not sure the composition of it, but I just wonder whether this thin material can act as a sound barrier. On the contrary, the nonwovens the workers use are more like the EcoZero product from Politex, my company.

Today, when I sit in the office, I do find that I have more privacy. The neighbor's talk cannot easily be heard any more. Possibly, SoundTex was defeated by the voluminous nonwovens.