Hi White paper: Gateway to China — the world's fastest-growing economy.

Hi White paper: Gateway to China — the world's fastest-growing economy.

‘Gateway to China: opening doors for manufacturers in the world’s fastest-growing economy’

Burgeoning industrial and manufacturing development throughout China will be one of the most influential driving forces that will determine global growth in the decades ahead. 

For ambitious, expansion-seeking companies in Europe, access to this vast marketplace is an essential step to enable them to capitalise on new and emerging opportunities for business growth. 

Building on its strong presence in Asia, the CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) has a pivotal role both to create and to support greater European involvement in expanding Chinese market sectors through a groundbreaking initiative, Gateway to China (G2C).

Click the following link here to download whitepaper. 

A Hi Green Building Market Overview "Hi Must & Hi Recommended Read!."

A Hi Green Building Market Overview "Hi Must & Hi Recommended Read!."

Green building is going to be a massive, but it’s not as easy to understand as other markets.

MICHAEL KANELLOS: JUNE 8, 2009

Most Read Article Of Its Kind To Date!

Hi Clients Are Increasingly Demanding the right to Certified Sustainable Products For Green Building Projects & Markets. Basic Requirements include High Performance at a low running cost and reduced energy consumption with minimal Environmental Impact effecting our living standards.

The Green Market future Vs demand as overviewed in the following article:

If you want to get a sense of the scale of the opportunity in green building, look around.

If you're reading this while inside a U.S. office building, there is an 85 percent chance you're under or near a fluorescent tube bulb. General Electric and Westinghouse began selling them in 1938. They were a big hit, along with the television and an IBM typewriter, at the World's Fair a year later.

Modern drywall? 1916. Joseph Aspdin invented Portland cement, which is still the world standard today, in 1824. The cement is made by crushing rock and cooking it to 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit. With the right tools, the Flintstones could have figured that one out. Electric air conditioning? Willis Carrier invented it in 1902. And you can thank Albert Butz for the devising the thermostat in 1885.

And if you think about it, you could probably take care of your cooling and lighting needs if you could only open your office window.

It's that handsome combination of IOU (inefficient, old and ubiquitous) technology, the potential for inexpensive solutions and the "wow" factor that green design techniques lend buildings like the California Academy of Sciences that lay at the heart of the market. Building hasn't been as popular with VCs as solar or biofuels -- but many believe we are on the verge of a two-decade boom in retrofits and new types of construction. (It's why we are holding our Green Building Summit next week on June 11.)

Besides, if the economics won't drive it, legislation will. In California, new homes will likely have to meet net-zero energy standards by 2020 and commercial buildings will have to hit it by 2030. An estimated $21.65 billion is baked into the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. And to get grants in other parts of the program, applicants have to show they are "shovel ready."

But it's also a more complex market with more moving parts than solar or biofuels. We've broken it down into five segments.

1. Construction and Design;

If you talk to contractors and architects, they claim that most energy savings can be accomplished through proper design and construction. While that point can be debated, green construction has clearly become commercially attractive. Various studies report that LEED-certified or LEED-like buildings generate higher rentals and property values. Employers claim environmental construction reduces sick days and serves as a recruiting tool. A much-touted retrofit of the Empire State Building dropped energy consumption by 38 percent.

In China, A skyscraper being erected in Shanghai will have municipal parks on most floors while buildings by upscale developer Shui On Land can rent for 1.5 times that of competing properties, according to sources.  Retrofitting or building green also does not necessarily add costs.

_{Source: Department of Energy}

Limbach Energy Solutions, a large HVAC contractor in Pittsburgh, has begun to take a program developed in Ohio for cash-flow neutral energy retrofits. In the commercial market, large builders like Webcor and Weitz already gain a substantial portion of their revenue from LEED. A few startups like Project Frog, which builds energy efficient schools, have also emerged.

The consumer space has moved slower than commercial or government. Prior to the economic downturn, mass home builders such as Lennar reported fairly strong sales of homes equipped with solar panels. Since then, it's been tough to sell homes. Michelle Kaufmann Designs, one of the early modular home builders, recently went under while others such as Living Homes and Zeta Communities are in startup mode.

Hi Social Media Plays 'A Key Role' In Employment in Saudi Arabia.

In Hi' summary: "Social Media"

Social media is significantly impacting entrepreneurship and helping create employment opportunities in the Arab world, according to the first ever comprehensive study on the connection between social media and Mena employment, launched this week.

Close to 5,000 respondents from around the region contributed to the Dubai School of Government (DSG) report titled "Social Media, Employment and Entrepreneurship - New Frontiers for the Economic Empowerment of Arab Youth", which indicated that social media is playing a key role in promoting social advancement, job creation and business growth in the region, particularly in terms of supporting SMEs and facilitating start-ups.

"It is critical that companies use social media to engage both existing and aspiring employees.

Harnessing value from the flow of big data generated from social media is critical for driving greater operational efficiency, cutting costs, boosting profits and unlocking new routes to innovation," said Sam Alkharrat, Managing Director of SAP Mena, who was a partner in the study.

Nearly 80% of those surveyed agreed that social media, and associated technology, helps provide access to important job market data, allowing users to both advertise and locate job opportunities, with 75% agreeing that a new 'virtual job market' has emerged as a result of engagement with social platforms.

While perhaps being weaker in terms of case studies and quantitative research on how social media engagement is leading to successful entrepreneurship, the study did cover the range of uses for social media.

"Of course this is just based on peoples' perception and it doesn't necessarily translate onto the ground yet," Racha Mourtada, Research Associate with Dubai School of Government told AMEinfo. "But we do know that people are willing to utilise social media to create enterprises and promote job creation, so the willingness is there as well as the realisation of the benefits of social media."

"It's mostly been a qualitative approach, but we did have a few questions about peoples' actual experience with social media. We specifically asked entrepreneurs what they use social media for - mostly promotion and outreach. We're not quite at the stage where [social media] is used as more of a collaborative tool for crowd sourcing and crowd funding."

Report shows enthusiasm toward social media in business:

Close to 5,000 respondents from around the region contributed to the Dubai School of Government (DSG) report titled "Social Media, Employment and Entrepreneurship - New Frontiers for the Economic Empowerment of Arab Youth", which indicated that social media is playing a key role in promoting social advancement, job creation and business growth in the region, particularly in terms of supporting SMEs and facilitating start-ups.

"It is critical that companies use social media to engage both existing and aspiring employees.

Harnessing value from the flow of big data generated from social media is critical for driving greater operational efficiency, cutting costs, boosting profits and unlocking new routes to innovation," said Sam Alkharrat, Managing Director of SAP Mena, who was a partner in the study.

Nearly 80% of those surveyed agreed that social media, and associated technology, helps provide access to important job market data, allowing users to both advertise and locate job opportunities, with 75% agreeing that a new 'virtual job market' has emerged as a result of engagement with social platforms.

While perhaps being weaker in terms of case studies and quantitative research on how social media engagement is leading to successful entrepreneurship, the study did cover the range of uses for social media.

"Of course this is just based on peoples' perception and it doesn't necessarily translate onto the ground yet," Racha Mourtada, Research Associate with Dubai School of Government told AMEinfo. "But we do know that people are willing to utilise social media to create enterprises and promote job creation, so the willingness is there as well as the realisation of the benefits of social media."

"It's mostly been a qualitative approach, but we did have a few questions about peoples' actual experience with social media. We specifically asked entrepreneurs what they use social media for - mostly promotion and outreach. We're not quite at the stage where [social media] is used as more of a collaborative tool for crowd sourcing and crowd funding."

Report shows enthusiasm toward social media in business

The landmark report excels in providing vital clues to the mood of young professionals - the majority of those surveyed were in their twenties. The research team from DSG had a specific profile in mind to reflect the demographics and gender breakdowns on which the study was focussed, which was about a 60% male and 40% female, leaning more towards younger people under 30. Respondents were mostly within the private sector, but generally all were social media savvy.

"We were pleasantly surprised about the overwhelmingly positive view that social media can impact entrepreneurship and employment," explained Mourtada.

The big surprise is due to the fact that, for young Arabs, the job market outside of the public sectors of wealthy GCCmember states is not at all bright. A UN survey released earlier this year referred to Arab youth unemployment as 'disturbingly high', while noting that Middle East and North African countries had the highest unemployment youth rates in in the world in 2011 - at 26.2% and 27.1%, respectively.

However, DSG's report tells a sunnier tale, hailing social media as a vital component for start-ups in the Arab world, with 86% of respondents agreeing it contributed to success. Among the reasons cited were the multifaceted marketing potential (90%), a capacity to tap into wider markets (86%), substantial customer engagement options (85%) and its overall potential to raise awareness and instill entrepreneurial mindsets (84%).

Social media is significantly impacting entrepreneurship and helping create employment opportunities in the Arab world

Fadi Salem, Director of the Governance and Innovation Program, DSG, and co-author of the report, said in a statement: "Despite having few stable economies in the region today, the most active part of the Arab population; the youth, is increasingly feeling empowered. Our on-going research over the past two years has shown that close to 50 million Arabs are actively connected to social media and primarily use the platforms to change social and political realities in their countries.

Finding the balance between the UAE public, private sector

Salem chaired an expert panel at the launch of the report in order to facilitate discussion around where the responsibility lies in facilitating employment and business growth, in the context of an increasingly digital environment.

Speaking after the discussion, Mourtada admitted there was 'a bit of a way to go': "The panellists have been very candid about what needs to be done, their weaknesses and what issues need to be addressed - it seems from what's been discussed that the public sector is carrying a lot of the burden for job creation and the private sector needs to step up. So, I think just recognising this is an important step," she said.

It may be true that the government route may be a safety net for many, particularly in the UAE, though there is no shortage of incentives. The emirates are peppered with Free Zones, where businesses can be established at very limited cost, though Mourtada pointed to a shift in attitude being the real key.

"In the UAE there hasn't been that much of a hunger or need to succeed, because things are provided on so many levels, which is another contributing factor. It's about creating public-private partnerships. I think both have a lot to shoulder, but both need each other in order to create any sustainable initiatives."

"I think the government has been a bit of a safety net for a lot of people. A lot of youth expect to finish school and go into a stable government job, but now a lot of young people are changing and a lot of people want to create their own jobs and be their own boss. That's a big step forward," she continued.