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China Trend Watching

Shanghai’s Population 18.45 million and still growing

Shanghai’s permanent population is expected to hit 18.45 million by the end of the year, the Shanghai Population and Family Planning Commission said in a briefing to consulates in the city recently. The figure is 300,000 more than last year and 670,000 more than 2005…

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China Information Technology Trend Watching

Internet in China: Broandband Connections rising in Shanghai

Shanghai leads all Chinese cities for fast computer connections – half of the city’s families subscribe to broadband, according to a recent report released by China Telecom. Shanghai’s broadband subscriber base has passed three million already, 15 times up from 2002, according to Shanghai Telecom, the city’s largest fixed-line phone operator. About 85 percent of Shanghai Telecom’s broadband users are accessing the Internet at more than two MBPS (megabits per second) […]

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China Trend Watching

Shanghai the 8th most expensive Asian city for expats

The cost of living in Shanghai is catching up with more expensive locations in the region such as Hong Kong and Taipei, according to the latest global cost of living survey. The ECA cost of living survey listed Shanghai in 100th place among the top 300-plus most expensive cities in the world, up 23 spots from last year. Shanghai was also one position higher than Singapore among Asian cities, which ranked at 122nd place globally, according to the report.

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China Economics Information Technology Software

Shanghai IT income set to beat US$128billion

Revenue of Shanghai’s information technology industry is set to double last year’s figure to surpass 1 trillion yuan (US$128 billion) in 2010 when the World Expo is held here. The city will invest heavily in several IT projects for the expo, such as a citywide wireless broadband network, a digital transport management network, electronic payment and social security systems, paper-less customs application system and mobile TV, according to Shanghai Municipal Informatization Commission […]

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China Economics Information Technology Trend Watching

Information Technology Salaries in the Rise in Shanghai

People working in the information technology industry earned more than employees in all other industries on average last year, according to the Shanghai Statistics Bureau. The wage gap between different sectors widened last year. The average wage in the IT sector was 3.55 times of the average salary for those in the service sector, the lowest paid group of workers, while in 2000, the average wage in the highest sector was 3.24 times that of the lowest […]

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China Consumer Behavior Economics Trend Watching

China, Socialism & Consumer Behavior

With the opening to new markets and the growth of the Chinese economy, a new social class has emerged — to some extend, unthinkable in a Communist China: the millionaires. According to a survey from Cap Gemini/Merrill Lynch, the number of millionaires (in US Dollars) in China have reached more than 230,000. The large majority of these new riches choose Shanghai to invest their money and also spend their money

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China Economics Information Technology Innovation Trend Watching

China: Technology, Innovation and the Environment

Since the beginning of its economical opening — when the first 5-year plans were devised in 1979 — China has being growing at an incredible speed, with its GNP numbers jumping from 44 billion dollars to 1.6 trillion dollars in just 20 years. Such growth has pushed the Chinese manufacturing industry into devouring huge amounts of natural resources in a alarming way: in 2004, China — the 8th largest economy in GNP scale — consumed 8% of all the oil, 31% of all the coal, 10% of all the electricity, 30% of all ore, 30% of all steel, 19% of all aluminum, 20% of all the copper and 40% of all cement produced in the world […]