New wealth buys makeovers in China
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The beautician from Chairman Mao's hometown looks at herself in the mirror and bursts into tears of joy. Forty pounds lighter, jaw slimmer, eyes and nose refined, breasts lifted, 30-year-old Chen Jing has just been through an extreme makeover for a Chinese reality show called "Lovely Cinderella."
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BEIJING - A 22-year-old student who has had cosmetic surgery on her eyelids and cheeks was crowned the winner Saturday of China's first pageant for such "manmade beauties." Feng Qian received a $6,000 country club membership after being picked from among 20 finalists, who ranged in age from 18 to 62.
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Wal-Mart Stores , the world's largest retailer, said on Monday it acquired a 35 percent stake in China's Bounteous Company, expanding its presence in the world's most populous country.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft wants to play a bigger role in China's living rooms, and the company is willing to spend millions of dollars to get there. The company's latest home-entertainment moves in China include aÂ planned $12.3 million investmentÂ in Sichuan Changhong Electric. The deal, announced earlier this week, gives Microsoft a small stake in one of China's largest TV makers, which in turn agreed to develop TVs and other products able to link with the Internet. "Microsoft and Changhong have partnered in exploring the use of digital media technologies to benefit the consumers for a better in-home networked digital entertainment experience," Microsoft said Friday in an e-mail statement. Its investment is intended to build goodwill, rather than bring a specific product to market. "The investment is more like a gesture of saying, 'We're friends strategically,'" said Jason Yin, managing director at In-Stat China. Critics have compared the Changhong deal to Venus, an ill-fated project launched in 1999 to develop Windows CE set-top boxes for the Chinese market. But that's not an accurate comparison. "It's very different," Yin said. Unlike Venus, Microsoft isn't trying to bring a new piece of hardware to market. Current versions of Windows are capable of connecting a TV with the Internet, and these types of systems are already available in China. Changhong's own M10 Living Room Entertainment Center is an example. Based on Windows XP Media Center Edition, the M10 is designed to connect with a television and comes with a remote control and wireless keyboard, allowing users to access music, videos and the Internet from a couch instead of a desk. Changhong also offers other consumer products that connect to the Internet. For instance, it sells a 32-inch LCD (liquid crystal display) television with a camera that can be used for Internet video calls. And the company has worked with China Telecommunications Group Corp., one of the country's two major fixed-line operators, to sell IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) set-top boxes. Microsoft hopes closer ties with Changhong will strengthen the channel through which its home-entertainment software reaches Chinese consumers. Those products include Windows Media Center and Mediaroom, the company's IPTV software. "Microsoft now has a better understanding of the value of local partners in penetrating China's market," Yin said, citing the example of Xiamen Amoi Electronics, which develops and sells Windows Mobile smart phones in China. Whether Microsoft's small investment in Changhong yields the desired result remains to be seen. In past years, the company used investments to build closer relationships with Chinese partners to varying degrees of success. "The investment doesn't always mean they get what they want," Yin said. The Changhong investment is just one part of Microsoft's home-entertainment push in China, and the company continues to seek out new deals and alliances. On Thursday, Microsoft signed an agreement with Shanghai Media Group (SMG), the country's second-largest media company. Under the terms of that deal, SMG will use Microsoft products across its new-media division, which includes Internet video, IPTV and mobile television. The partners hope their combined strengths in software and content will convince more companies to join them. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Â
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The global wealth boom has created a new breed of billionaire in once-destitute countries, and a number of them are using their wealth to push for social changes.
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The Hong Kong company that bought global label Guy Laroche last week says it plans to use the prestigious French brand to spearhead its push into the yet untapped fashion riches of China.
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Privately-owned British fashion retailer New Look may be sold for 2 billion pounds ($3.91 billion) after private-equity firms Apax and Permira received at least three bid approaches for the firm, The Sunday Times said.
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HSBC Holdings , Europe's biggest bank, is acquiring The Chinese Bank Co. in Taiwan and will provide it with additional capital of between $300 million and $400 million, it said on Friday.
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With the Beijing Olympics fast approaching, China has given six well-known domestic brands, some centuries old, a fresh look and new official English names, but not everyone is happy with them.
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The retailer does a little gold digging, aiming at affluent customers with a new fashion collection.
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China plans to spend close to 4 billion yuan (262.5 million pounds) over the next three years to ensure that all of its villages has a cultural centre where residents can learn, play and be entertained, state media said.
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The China market is finally for real. To the country's new consumers, Western products mean one thing: status. They can't get enough of those Air Jordans
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A major Chinese insurer has announced plans to raise up to $22 billion (euro15.0 billion) for acquisitions at a time when U.S. and European banks, battered by mortgage losses, want infusions of Asian capital to replenish their balance sheets.
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A new generation of affluent parents in China are trying to cement their childrenÂs place in a fast-emerging elite.
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Morgan Stanley  said on Monday it has acquired China's Nan Tung Bank, a deal that would give the U.S. investment bank a coveted onshore commercial banking license in China ahead of its international rivals.
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A local version of the  hit reality TV franchise "America's Next Top Model" is coming  to China in January.
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THE perfect home for stressed househunters is on the market.  A woodland house designed entirely on the ancient Chinese principles of feng shui is available for pounds 1.1million.