2000 IT forum on the way
A HIGH-profile gathering of IT users and industry leaders will be held in Shanghai in the middle of the year.
Before you settle down to business here...
ARRIVING in Shanghai can be a little disorienting, even for a tourist.
Somerset confident in housing market
SINGAPOREAN property developers are still showing strong interest in the local market though the city has many empty houses.
Emery offers you quick delivery
LOOKING for somebody for a jumbo delivery to the US? Contact Emery Worldwide, which recently expanded its guaranteed "Gold Priority Express" service for shipments from Shanghai to 48 states in the United States, plus Puerto Rico, Canada, and major points in Mexico.
Government to survey commercial framework
HOW many commercial enterprises are there in Shanghai? What is the city's commercial structure?
Robin Smith: from movie child to top business woman
ROBIN Smith grew up as a Hollywood movie child.
Seek future card users
IN the 21st century, cash payment will be replaced by bank card payment, a senior Visa Inter-national executive said last week.
Website bids to be good medical guide
JUST one click, you might be interviewing with a psychologist in Shanghai, or a traditional Chinese doctor in Guangzhou.
Higher prices, larger capacity for cargo
SERVICES bound for the United States are expected to have more cargo this year thanks to the economic recovery in Asia.
GDP target 9%
THE city government is striving for a 9 per cent increase in GDP growth in 2000. The city achieved a 10.2 per cent increase in GDP growth in 1999, halting the decline in the GDP growth rate for the first year since 1992, said Li Liangyuan, director of Shanghai Planning Committee. The services industry achieved an over 20 billion yuan ($2.4 billion) increase over 1998. At the end of 1999, exports to Asia, the former major export destination for Shanghai, recovered, with those to Japan increasing by 16.8 per cent and those to ASEAN countries increasing by 36.5 per cent. Contracted foreign investment in Shanghai as a whole decreased by 29.8 per cent to $4.1 billion, while investment in fixed assets began to recover in 1999.
‘Waixiao' houses cheaper
THE price gap between properties available for sale to local people and those accessible to foreigners is closing fast.
New Apple products on market
APPLE Computer International Co, one of the earliest and largest computer manufacturers in the world, announced the launch of two of its new series of PC products.
Rumous quashed, IDD access to stay
By Huo Yongzhe
SHANGHAI's chief telecommunications operators have denied rumours they are set to ban all IDD business for new mobile phone users in the local market. "We have not, to date, received any instructions from top policy-makers to change tolling regulations for new applicants," said Zhang Liyou, spokesman for Shanghai Mobile Telecommunications Co (SMTC) - one of only two telecommunications operators in the local market. Zhang said any official policy changes would be regulated by the industry's chief watchdog - the Ministry for the Information Industry. "For now, all new customers will continue to receive the same services enjoyed by older customers," said Zhang recently during a telephone interview with Shanghai Star. Zhang said mobile phone users will be able to apply to the SMTC for IDD once they have started using local call services as usual. Rumours that China Mobile Telecommunications Co planned to withhold the IDD service from new users from January 1 surfaced on the Internet. Speculation ran that huge numbers of mobile phone users deliberately skipping payment of IDD rates had caused a substantial dent in profits, causing both service providers to consider refusing IDD to new applicants. Cai Huiying, director of SMTC's tolling department, did admit that many of her company's customers have not paid their IDD bills. "The problem has resulted in very heavy losses for national assets," said Cai. She said annual losses related to unpaid bills had hit more than 40 million yuan ($4.83 million) over the past few years. Wu Zhongyi, spokesman for China Unicom Shanghai Branch, also confirmed his company forfeited nearly 1 per cent of its turnover in both 1996 and 1997 to customers who didn't pay up for IDD. But he insisted the situation had improved in more recent years as the company had strengthened supervision of bill payment and cracked down on offendors. Wu also said he is confident mammoth increases in numbers of mobile phone users predicted for the next few years will not exacerbate the problem. "I think the problem will become a far less serious one as we further improve our services including supervision and charging of customers," said Wu, adding that most of the company's 330,000 customers are very active in paying their bills.
Copyright 2000 by Shanghai Star. All rights reserved.