London is biggest Chinese investment target in Europe: study
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London is the most popular base for Chinese companies expanding into Europe, and has attracted 15 percent of all Chinese foreign direct investment into Europe since 2002, a new study shows.
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(InfoWorld) - Chinese cities are expected to unseat Bangalore, Mumbai, and Delhi in India, and Manila of the Philippines, as favored offshore delivery centers by 2011, according to IDC. The market researcher has introduced a new Global Delivery Index (GDI), which compares 35 cities in the Asia-Pacific as potential offshore delivery centers, based on criteria such as cost of labor, cost of rent, language skills, government policies, infrastructure, and staff turnover rates. Bangalore currently tops the list, followed by Manila, Delhi, and Mumbai. The Chinese cities that figure in the 2007 list include Dalian, Shanghai, and Beijing, at numbers five, six, and seven. Indian cities have inherent challenges such asÂ cost of staff and pressure on infrastructure, said Conrad Chang, a research manager at IDCâs Asia Pacific operations, in a telephone interview on Thursday. While India has focused on the U.S. and European markets, China has large opportunities in the Japanese and Korean markets, Chang added. Chinese cities will overtake Indian cities by 2011 because of massive investments made in infrastructure, English language, Internet connections, and technical skills, which are favorable towards offshoring, IDC said Tuesday. Forrester Research,Â however, takes a less optimistic view about China as an offshore destination. Nearly two years ago, the country was widely viewed as a key challenger to India as an offshore services delivery location, however Forresterâs research shows that the market has not taken off as expected, the research firm said in a recent report. China primarily attracts business from Korean and Japanese companies, but most of them have preferred to set up their own operations in China rather than outsource, because there are not many large service providers in China, said Siddharth Pai, a partner at outsourcing consultancy firm Technology Partners InternationalÂ (TPI) in Houston, on Thursday. Many U.S. and European companies, that set up offshore services operations in India, may also have an operation in China, Pai said. â But the Indian operation will typically be the larger,â he added. China has still not overcome customersâ concerns about English language skills, intellectual property (IP) protection, and attrition in the country, Forrester said. In contrast, India has a sophisticated and time-tested legal environment built around Western common law, Pai said. Even if China invests heavily in education, the population cannot get in four to five years as fluent in English as Indians, he said. â Indians have been speaking English for over a hundred years,â he added. Indiaâs demographics also favor its continuation as a key offshore services location. On account of Chinaâs one-child-per-family policy, the countryâs population is aging. The country has about half as many people under 30 than India, Pai said. The IT industry primarily employs younger staff, he added. The IDC GDI rates the potential of cities as offshore destinations, said Chang. The actual business decision by companies to offshore to these cities will depend on a host of other factors, he added. The GDI is a moving index, reviewed every six months. âThis is not about India versus China,â Chang said. IDC expects both countriesâ offshore business to grow, he added.
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BusinessWeek Online - It sounds like a tale of woe for Europe's investment banks. One of the biggest takeover attempts in British retail history -- retail tycoon Philip Green's &#36;17 billion bid for iconic Marks &amp; Spencer Group PLC -- came to naught. A much-anticipated boom in initial public offerings has fizzled. And after a drought that started in 2001, merger-and-acquisition activity remains in a funk. But bankers in Europe's financial capital, the City of London, and its auxiliary, Canary Wharf, aren't crying in their pints. ...
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NEW YORK, May 31 (IPS) - Africa's robust diaspora in Europe will soon  have an investment facility to help people make  direct  investments to better develop their home countries thanks to a  new study by the  Brussels-based Africa Caribbean Pacific (ACP)  Business Climate (BizClim) facility.
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Portugal Telecom is analyzing possible investments in China, the chief executive of the former state monopoly said.
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Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Friday welcomed Chinese investment, saying he wanted Britain to be the top destination for money from the Asian giant.
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Beijing is pushing Chinese firms to establish a global presenceÂdespite the may risks that involves
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London investors were hoping that buoyant British economic growth would filter through to the capital's stock market next week, when a number of leading companies publish their annual results, analysts said.
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London has increased its lead over Paris as the best city in which to locate a business in Europe, a survey by an international property firm has shown.
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European stock markets rose strongly with London trading at fresh two-year high points, as English football giant Manchester United said it had received a takeover approach.
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News of a co-ordinated effort by a wide-ranging consortium of the world's central banks to address the liquidity crisis on credit markets pushed London equities significantly higher on Wednesday.
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PARIS, Nov 15 (IPS) - The new African-Chinese economic and diplomatic  partnership, manifested in the pact signed by China and 48  African countries in Beijing this month, is unsettling European  leaders and analysts, who continue to see Africa as Europe's  backyard.
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The London Stock Exchange plans to set up an Asia headquarters in Hong Kong to tap the growing number of mainland corporates eyeing listings abroad, a local newspaper reports.
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European stock markets have hit their highest levels for more than five years, after a record overnight performance on Wall Street, with London gains underscored by BAE Systems.
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LONDON (Reuters Life!) - The Bank of England, the Stock Exchange and Lloyd's insurance market may be the most powerful institutions in London's "City" financial district, but its best-loved are the ones that have been serving the capital's money men for a hundred years and more.
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State-linked investment funds in Qatar and Singapore are interested in buying almost one third of the London Stock Exchange from the US Nasdaq market, media reported on Monday.
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China Investment Corp., the nation's huge sovereign wealth fund seen as a tool to project Beijing's economic clout, was invited Friday by Britain's prime minister to set up its first overseas office.