Peter Vent (Commerzbank) between the chairs Marcus Malatitsch (Hubner Interface Systems) opening the Q&A Simon Aliband (Otto International) weighing the facts Dr. Anne Daentzer (SCHOTT AG) listening in compliance 2009/2010 December - January 55
CHAMBER NEWS End of the Gloom? Speaker Dr. Gerhard Hinterhäuser Opening his presentation, speaker Dr. Gerhard Hinterhäuser challenged the audience with an unusual question: “Where is the financial crisis in China?” With 8.9% economic growth, a record of 150,000 sold Volkswagen cars in September, and even positive profits and bonus expectations in the US, talks of a crisis may seem overly gloomy. A year ago the picture was quite a different one. The housing bubble in the United States had triggered an avalanche of global Bigger City, Better Life When envisioning the future face of Shanghai, who better to ask than Prof. Dr. Zheng Shiling, one of the pioneers in developing urban areas such as Taikang Lu and – in his role as Director of the Committee for Urban Development Strategy – a key driver of the city’s long-term development far beyond the World Expo in 2010. To put things in perspective of the explosive growth that the city has witnessed, Prof. Zheng started with a short overview of Shanghai, a city that had grown from an urban area of 82.40 km² in 1949 to currently 2,580km². Shanghai’s urban master plan was initiated in the 1990s with the decision to develop the city eastwards and form a multicentric urban structure. The fundamental idea behind was to build Shanghai into a world economic, finance, trade and shipping centre by 2010. The development of Pudong, the further development of the suburbs and the Expo area are the three main factors that affected the future face of the city most. 56 December - January 2009/2010 SHANGHAI PAGES JV Roundtable recession and China’s growth rates were cut in half. The traditionally low savings ratio in the US had picked up to 7% in light of increasing unemployment. US imports slumped and Chinese exports suffered. The governments of both countries reacted to the crisis by flooding the market with liquidity. Interest rates were lowered to 0% in the USA and 5% in China. However, Beijing used the money to only support the economy, whereas Washington mainly used the money to bail out big companies in debt. Workshop Construction The Expo’s theme has also led to paying more attention to cultural facilities and the quality of urban space, to preserving historical areas and heritage architecture and to protecting the urban ecologic environment. The Conservation Program for Historical Areas and Heritage is an important aspect of the master plan. As part of it, previous constructions like the 1993 transformation of the Bund into a traffic artery are now being reversed to reinstall the cultural and heritage value. But also green spaces are being expanded to reach a total coverage of 38% in the city, up from the current 30%. A city of such dimensions and population density also needs a transportation network to go with it. Currently at 223km track length, Shanghai’s subway network will still be extended to a total 970km, aimed to handle 35% of all city traffic in 2010. A particular focus over the next decade will be given to the new business district in formation around the expanded Hongqiao Airport. The Event: Weltfinanzkrise – ein Jahr danach: Wo stehen wir? Die besondere Rolle Chinas! Date: 22 nd October 2009 Presenters: Dr. Gerhard Hinterhäuser | Vice President, PICC Asset Management Co. Ltd. & Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, MEAG Chair: Kurt Fasser | Senior Advisor, AHK Shanghai & General Manager, CON MOTO Consulting Group Shanghai Office The worst seems to be over now. Stock markets are on the path to recovery, but discussions of pulling out some financial stimuli have caused concern. The speaker expects China to still keep the financial stimulus package in place in order to promote continuous economic growth. The realisation of capital gains through stocks is expected to be much lower in the near future moving down from 40/50 to 20/30. Nevertheless, unexpected changes can always happen, so the gloom may not be over quite yet. area, including a high speed railway terminal, intercity railway, subway and bus stations is planned to become a transport hub for the whole Yangtze Delta Area. Event: Shanghai’s Future – An Overview of Current Major Urban Planning Projects Date: 27 th October 2009 Presenters: Prof. Dr. Zheng Shiling | Director of the Committee for Urban Development Strategy, Shanghai Planning Commission Chair: Ms. Magali Menant, Manager econet china
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