I found an interesting PR tool for all you PR gurus and start-up founders in need of new ways of spreading the word about your product or service. Check out PitchEngine. It was created by a PR executive with the idea to assist web 2.0 PR social media releases. If you don’t have a clue as to what I am talking about, well then your may want to start reading here. SMRs are becoming the buzz words in PR these days. To be honest I do not fully grasp what is going on with SMRs, but in a nut shell your press releases and press page need to be more dynamic. This may include RSS feeds, video, audio, applications, and a whole laundry list of other convenient media tools. You can have a look at the NextStepDirectory.com Press page to get a look at the basics, we still have a long way to go with that page. We are still learning ourselves. Another good Press Page to look at is Uptake.com, it can give you an idea of where we are going with our own press page. Take notes. Elliott Ng and the gang know what they are doing,they have been at it for quite some time. So if you haven’t updated your Press Page, or never really thought twice about the page or your current press releases, you may want to think again.

It has been more than a month since our Green Business Forum, and I have finally found the answer to a pressing question that was repeated several times that July 12th afternoon, “Can I personally purchase carbon offset credits on the open market, a-la Ebay or a similar auction site?” Surprisingly no on had heard of any projects offering such services, and to be fair I have been looking for this type of information for quite a long time without any luck. I happened to come across an interesting site today, PopTech!, that has a clear mission, “A network of remarkable people, extraordinary conferences, powerful ideas and innovative projects that are changing the world.” Being the serial entrepreneur that I am, I was immediately intrigued to dig deeper. In doing so I came across PopTech!’s carbon offset program. They got it right, they made it simple to understand, an easy to use platform integrated with Ebay, and a moderately successful PR campaign (frankly I never heard about it) to push the message. Although the auction period has long since expired, you can easily get the point of what they are trying to achieve–allow the masses to particpiate easily in creating a social change in the appreciation for the environment and a call to action at the individual level to effect change.

But, here is the thing that still has not yet been answered, and please someone comment on this blog. Does carbon offsetting really work, or are we just passing the buck to the guy who can do it cheaper that allows us to feel better about the CO2 we are individually pumping into the air? Does it not make more sense to simply reduce our dependency on the activities that necesiate fossil fuels that in turn pollute? That sounds a heck of a lot easier than any solution out on the table today. Combine that with actively taking the steps to offset whatever carbon emmissions you do emit, and you have a truely well armed environmental change agent.

As I was devouring my 33 RMB pasta special at Wagas this evening I came across an interesting article in the the Shanghai Daily.

So as if the tax authorities didn’t have enough on their hands trying to collect taxes from brick and mortar establishments in the Middle Kingdom, now they are turning to the online world in attempt to suck the pittance of margins from mom and pop online retailers who are domiciled in Beijing. Can someone please tell me how in the name of god they plan to carry this hair brain idea out? First of all, a majority of online retail transactions in China remain to be a cash and carry affair, no different than the standard street markets. In reality there is no need for an individual retailer to pay one single “mao” to the tax authorities.

But, unlike their brick and mortar sisters and brothers the Chinese government may just have the upper hand in this ordeal, it is as simple as a flick of a switch on your TaoBao or independent enterprise and it is lights out.

Considering last year’s TaoBao transactions exceeded RMB 43 billion, I think the tax man is going to come “a-hunting”. So if you are selling those fake Abercrombie and Polo shirts at TaoBao that you picked up at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, Mr. Taxman will be coming for his well deserved tax dollars, oops I mean yuan.

To speak frankly this is a wasted effort by the tax authorities. They need to spend the time and money on organizing the personal income tax system that only last year became “mandatory” for individuals to pay taxes. I think there is a better chance of me winning a gold medal in the Beijing Olympics in the 400m back-stroke than changing a society of tax avoiding individuals. One need not go any further than the Shanghai Railway Station to be pestered by loiterers hawking fake-fapiao, yes they have taken the time to create illegitimate receipts–you have to admire them for their ingenuity.

Good luck Mr. Taxman!

If you are still unsure of what your tax implications may be, I will now shamelessly plug the Accounting category at NextStepDirectory.com, your source for the most comprehensive business services in Shanghai. Tax implications in China are enormous for any company, large or small. Make sure you have a reliable accountant to keep your books in order, and more importantly keep you abreast on tax code revisions.

As an entrepreneur, finding an adapted solution concerning your office issue is vital. All the people that have been in China for a certain time know it: the simplest thing can become a nightmare here, it’s all the more true for Real Estate! The commercial Real Estate market is much more organized and professional than the residential market but only top Grade A and Premium buildings have an international professional management. Most of the buildings in Shanghai are managed by local landlords.

As an entrepreneur, you have to face a lot of questions concerning your office: where? How much? Under which conditions, what can I get from my landlord? For how long? Do I really need a Grade A building to register my Rep. Office? … NextStep Answers can help you.

Market presentation:

In Shanghai, you have 3 major central business districts (CBDs):

-The first on in Jing’An, around Jing’An temple and Nanjing West Road with major developments like Plaza 66 Tower I and II, CITIC Square or Parkplace.

-The second in Huai Hai Middle Road and Xin Tian Di.

-The third one in Lujiazui, the financial district with famous buildings like Jin Mao Tower, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the World Trade Financial Center…

You also have two sub-CBDs:

-The first one in Hongqiao. It was the first CBD in Shanghai to develop but it was soon caught up by the 3 areas below.

-The second one in Xujiahui. The retail activity is very important here and the office leasing has also well developed.

Shanghai counts more than 5,000 buildings; you can find every range of prices.

Market Figures:

The average rent in Shanghai for Grade A is currently estimated at RMB8.4/sqm/day, the two most expensive districts being Jing’An (average asking rental of RMB9.15/sqm/day) and Pudong (RMB8.2/sqm/day).

The average vacancy rate is below 6% for Grade A buildings. The lowest vacancy rate in Puxi are in Luwan (1.4%) and in Xuhui (1.2%) , that’s why the landlords have more and more leverage during the negotiations: we were before in a tenant-oriented market but the trend is now changing. Every year, the rental increase by 10% to 15%, that’s why the landlords are usually reluctant to sign more-than-3-year lease agreements.

More and more MNCs choose to relocate to decentralized locations, especially in business parks, because of the continual rental raise. Nokia, Microsoft or Unilever for instance have already or are about to move out in sub-centers, less expensive and easier to access now thanks to the municipality’s relentless effort to develop transportation infrastructures. For instance, Da Ning district offers very good quality buildings at a much lower rate than downtown.

You can find all the companies who could help you with those on http://www.nextstepdirectory.com/real-estate

(Contributed by Yves Roulleau yvesroulleau@gmail.com)

If you don’t want to become another victim of the new visa laws, I recommend you have your passport with you and make sure you are registered at the police station of your residential area.

Someone reported to me from SOS Expat recently that policemen are particularly focusing on the Jing An District (I heard about a building being surrounded by 80 cops checking foreigners for the visa status and even arresting some of them).

When they come to you, they will show you a small card with the following written on it:

“Notice:

1. In accordance with Chinese laws, you should go to the local police station to complete the Registration Form of Temporary Residence within 24 hours of arrival at your residence each time. It can be done by the hotel if you stay with a hotel. Once you change your place of residence, you should repeat the above procedures again.

2. If you want extend visa, you should go to local police station to apply for temporary residence permit first.

3. You should always carry your passport and relevant certificates with you for possible examination by police.”

Here are some address of the police stations per district :

Jing An Si Police station at : No 55-5 Wan Hang Du Rd

Nanjing Xi Rd Police Station at : 931,Yan An Middel Rd

Shi Men Er Rd Police Station at : 351, Da Tian Rd

Jiang Ning Rd Police Station at : 1332, Xin Zha Rd

Cao Jia Du Police Station at 684, Wan Hang Du Rd

So, if you want to stay in China, you’d better make sure that your visa and other documents are okay.

Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any updates.

So the Economist has once again released its International Big Mac Report, you can find more if you click onto our NextStep News Feed above.

So not to ruin the story for you, but as we all know we are eating incredibly cheap burgers in China. With commodity prices going through the roof, and with the equally astonishing rise in the price of basic necessities in China, just how is Mickey Dees pulling off this amazing feat of staggeringly low prices? Watch out fastfood company shareholders, margins are surely thinning in China, and that cannot be good for your holdings in McDonalds, and YUM! (the holding company for KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and others). To be honest, I eat fast food  on a regular basis, I won’t lie, I don’t have time to cook, and I want something filling and I want it NOW. There has been no noticeable change in the prices at McDonalds or KFC, but if you frequent the home of the Whopper, Burger King, value meal prices have breached the 30 RMB threshold–impressive. And from the looks of it, sales at BK are still strong.

The question is, has McDonalds and KFC mastered their supply chain to the point that the current commodity prices rises in China have absolutely no effect on their bottom line numbers? To be honest, not even Ronald McDonald is that intelligent. Somebody is going to be slapped with taking on the burden of higher commodity prices, and I doubt it is going to be the shareholders, it is most likely going to be the Mr and Mrs. Chang’s and their children of China who will be stuck footing the bill.  No more 12 RMB Big Mac’s. Hello Supersize me 40 RMB Crispy McChicken value meals.

I just read an article about a new search engine called www.cuil.com (pronounced cool) in the New York Times. I think its a far better search engine ‘experience’ than anything else I’ve used including google. Cuil offers relevant information/links through two separate tool bars for certain results that I found quite useful. However, google seems to have better quality search results. Check it out and judge for yourself. I also copied a few key points about how Cuil differentiates itself from others below.

Summary of Cuil’s features:
Biggest Internet search engine—Cuil has indexed 120 billion Web pages, 3x more than any other search engine

Organized results—Cuil’s magazine-style layout separates results by subject and allows further search by concept or category

Different results—Unlike other search engines, Cuil ranks results by the content on each page, not its popularity

Complete privacy protection—Cuil does not keep any personally identifiable information on users or their search histories

So apparently from now until August 25th, no one will be allowed access to server facilities in China.  This is obviously a huge concern for anyone who runs their own web company or uses a dedicated server.  Also, many if not all ‘.cn’ domain names with the word Olympics and some just related to the Olympics will be shutdown without any arbitration or court ruling.  There are a lot of people who spent a lot of money and time preparing their business around this event and they will simply be turned off.

As a consultant, I am learning how to juggle with the chinese authorities every days. And lately what’s taken most of my time has been related to visas…. Since every one reading this blog may be concerned, or at least knows someone who could be, I thought you might be interested to hear that this news that was sent to me by the French Authorities based in Beijing.

“Olympic cities block foreign business visas (SCMP)
Curbs tightened ahead of Games

Quinton Chan and Celine Sun
Updated on Jul 24, 2008

Five of the six Olympic cities on the mainland - including Shanghai and Beijing - have in effect suspended the issuing of business visas to foreigners until after the Games.

In the latest entry restriction introduced ahead of the Olympics, authorities in the five cities have stopped providing invitation letters, also known as notification letters, which are required in support of applications to visit the mainland for business visits, market research and training.

The move has shocked businesspeople with interests on the mainland, some of whom say it could cost them millions of dollars.

The Shanghai Foreign Economic Relations and Trade Commission, the municipal authority dealing with foreigners’ visa applications, posted a notice on its website on Monday saying all applications for notification letters would be suspended until mid-September. Read the rest of this entry »

I just signed onto a very popular Shanghai blog and here are the first three ads through google adsense, “Tantric massage Shanghai”, “Ecstasy Massage” and “Massage Shanghai”. All three offer outcall service and of course all three list mobile phone numbers. Now it seems like this is quite a very common occurrence these days. These massage girls are obviously bidding very high for google adwords because I see it on almost very Shanghai centered site, including the NextStep Directory (Although its pretty nominal on our website). On the flip side, it also means that not only are people clicking on the links, but they are utilizing the services. Why else would the massage services continue to pay so much money per click. Anyway, what it comes down to is the fact that all these websites are acting as pimps.

On another note, I’ve read a couple articles recently that talk about how there are several cities/towns in the US called Shanghai, such as Shanghai, Virginia. Since the keyword Shanghai is bid at such a high rate, these massage ads are appearing in these towns throughout the US.

Lastly, just to give this post an ounce of respectability, the consistency of these massage ads on Shanghai related websites says something about google’s adsense/adwords business model. After all, it was just announced they had missed their projected earnings and that click through rates for adsense were going down on a global scale. This seems fairly obvious when you think about it. If you see the same ads on every site you go to, how many times are you really going to click on them? So it seems all these sites have started to cannibalize each other. My recommendation, and what we will probably do for the NextStep Directory, is using a different service for delivering ads to your site. This way, you are distinguished from the rest of the sites and might actually offer something unique.