Job offensive

China woos foreign managers

The government in Beijing is poaching on tour. To make their state corporations fit, the Chinese authorities want to set international executives. The problem is that foreign forces must add top politically.

Beijing - China is booming and growing steadily - but the state-owned companies are lagging behind the global competition. That should change: The Chinese government has announced to occupy top positions in twelve of its largest state-owned corporations with international talents.

Although there were such actions before, but with the announcement of Monday, the largest poaching-start maneuvers for managers in Chinese history.

Beijing wants to establish 30-50 state corporations as a national "champions". The plan covers all industries, from airlines to banks on oil companies. Although some of the state enterprises are already the largest in the world because they enjoy the huge Chinese economy a special status. Nevertheless the authorities as they apply internationally not competitive enough. Companies like China Telecom and the oil giant PetroChina work hard even more efficient and more profitable to be.

Therefore, the state administrative authority SASAC (State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission ") announced in a two-page newspaper ad, she was looking for" domestic and foreign candidates, "to strengthen the company.

These are in a constant dilemma: On one hand they are to make money, the other forces, the communist government, they become costly initiatives, such as investments in poor regions or to a China-wide UMTS network. New managers should be clear, that political decisions would have priority, says the Beijing business consultant Albert Louie. "Poaching is not to give them decision-making power," says Louie, "the important decisions still the government."

That could complicate the Chinese, foreigners to apply for the positions. The balancing act between loyalty and expertise, would provide the government with more local or Chinese, which she brings back from abroad. Albert Louie cites the example of Dongfeng Motor, China's largest car manufacturer: "The local managers are loyal to the party and the same time knowing how to lead such a huge company."

The SASAC lay but not fixed. Each body has its own criteria, it was said from the authority on the question of whether Chinese would prefer. Last year started the aviation Aviation Industry Corp. Group. Of China, a worldwide campaign to recruit managers. After six months of search, but the Board had six Chinese jobs.

The state authority united 123 groups under its umbrella, including the Bank of China or the insurer China Life Insurance and many are among the largest in the world. Petro China is the world behind Exxon Mobil, the company with the second largest market value.

The SASAC announced profits of state companies were in the first half of 2010 increased compared to the same period by 60 percent. The state industry has benefited enormously from the economic program of the government - highway construction and other infrastructure projects resulted in more demand in traditional state-dominated sectors such as cement or steel industries.

The private sector feels let down, however. The gap between state enterprises and the private sector is so large that the Chinese press has invented a slogan: "Guo-jin, min tui" - or in English: "The state is taking off, the private sector remain."