Archive for February, 2008

Overheard in Xintiandi

Overhead in an upscale restaurant in Xintiandi, while having lunch there today on their terrace in the sun. At the table next to me a couple sits down, an old Italian man in a suit without tie wearing dark sunglasses, and his young Chinese girlfriend who, judging from the way she acts, seems to be here for the first time. He wants to order beer, but she is a bit reluctant. He does not care, under the motto "a day without alcohol is a day not lived". The waiter arrives at their table.Man (in a...
READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

HiPhone, the Chinese iPhone

I am a big Nokia fan, and for that reason I did not buy an iPhone, but stayed with my Nokia E61i. Probably a good idea, because an iPhone is nothing special anymore in China with a rumored 400,000 iPhone users (I actually do not believe that number, it must be much less, and it's likely a part of China Mobile's negotiation strategy with Apple). But when I saw that a Chinese company came up with the HiPhone, an iPod clone for about RMB 1000 (EUR 100) I decided to order one just for fun.Today the...
READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Views from my apartment

It was a relatively clear day today, and I decided to take some pictures from my balcony and out of my windows. The top picture is a picture of the almost-finished Tibet Hotel. Construction companies have been working on this building for years, but each time they had to stop because of (I assume) financial problems. The hotel is as good as ready now, but I do not see much activity on the site. In the background you see the 262 meter tall Grand Gateway towers. This picture is the outdoor...
READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Presentation at CEIBS

Last night I was invited to speak for MBA students at CEIBS, the China Europe International Business School. I heard a lot about the school over the years, but I had never actually visited the campus in Pudong.The school started in 1994 and has grown quite a lot over the years: in 2007 a total of 542 EMBA students and 164 MBA students graduated here. Even though the education is in English, I expected that there would not be too many non-Chinese studying here. But it turns out that actually 30%...
READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Shanghai gets tallest skyscraper in Asia

The almost-finished finished World Financial Center (that I can see from my study while writing blog entries) is currently the tallest building in China, at 492 meters. Right next to it is the long-time number one, the Jinmao Tower, the one with the Grand Hyatt Hotel in it. But it looks both of them will get an even taller neighbor.A new project, the Shanghai Center, will start construction before the end of this year. The tower will be 112 stories tall, and at 580 meters will be 72 meters...
READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Free museums not a good idea

All national and provincial comprehensive museums in China stopped charging visitors entry fees this year. But the measure has some unwanted consequences according to the Shanghai Daily. Suddenly huge crowds appear in the museums, making it difficult to appreciate the art. The museum in Jiading district attracted about 20,000 visitors during Chinese New Year, although normally just 100-200 people would visit.Big crowds is one thing, but another is there behavior. According to a quote in the...
READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Valentine's dinner at Jade on 36

Last week was Valentine's Day, and Grace and I decided to celebrate with a nice dinner outside our home. Since Scott was born we hardly ever get out of the house anymore together, and it was only the second time since his birth that the two of us had dinner in a restaurant. We made reservations at Jade on 36, on the top floor of the new wing of the Shangri-La hotel, overlooking the Huangpu river and the Bund. We were not the only ones making a reservation and first we were told no tables were...
READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Big changes for the Bund

If you travel by car in Shanghai, the by far nicest view you can have is when you drive down from Yan'an elevated road to the Bund. In the lefthand curve you have a magnificent view of both the Bund, the Huangpu river and the Pudong skyline. Most first-time visitors to the city are stunned when they see this, and even I am still impressed each time I drive that stretch of road.But by the end of this month the nice view will be gone. Actually, the view will still be there, but the curved road...
READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Ever wanted to be an actor? Here is your chance!

If you are a foreigner in Shanghai it's relatively easy to land a small role in a film or TV commercial. Most foreign crews filming here only bring their main talents from overseas, so when foreigners are needed they look for them locally. A few years ago even I have been in some TV commercials, just because I thought it would be fun. Well, fun it wasn't, you had to show up at 6 AM, it was always cold and the main part of the day would be spent waiting and waiting and waiting. And sometimes...
READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Casual Connect conference to stay in Amsterdam?

Last week the Casual Connect convention was organized in Amsterdam, a big conference (1200 participants from all over the world) focusing on the casual games industry. Of course Spill Group was one of the main sponsors, as the biggest Dutch casual gaming company. I attended last year, but this year I decided to stay with my young son, so only Thijs Bosma represented Spill Group Asia in the Dutch capital. The conference was a big success, with big gaming companies such as Microsoft, Real and...
READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

T-Ventures invests in 1bib.com

In early 2006 I participated as an angel investor in Chinese online marketplace and brokering service for second-hand vehicles 1bib.com. The company was set up by former DaimlerChrysler colleague and friend Honglian Tan, and her management skills together with the upcoming market for used cars in China convinced me to invest.The company has grown steadily since, and has several offices in China already. T-Ventures, the VC arm of Deutsche Telekom, also believes in the future of this company and...
READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Firework sales

Ever wondered how fireworks are sold in China? In my native Holland there are strict rules on how and when these dangerous good can be sold. China does it differently, the goods are hawked on the street just like most other products. Sometimes even by sales men smoking cigarettes (no picture of that one yet, unfortunately).Notice how quiet the streets are, these pictures were taken on the afternoon before Chinese New Year. I assume everybody was playing games on game.com.cn, because we broke...
READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

E-Book readers: some thoughts and business opportunities

Over the past couple of days I had my annual Chinese New Year holiday. Having some time to relax means for me that I get lots new business ideas. Most related to things I am currently involved in, like games, where I have thought about some ideas for the next frontier in gaming: the combination of mobile gaming and social networking. But also in other fields, for example in the field of e-books. I won't have time nor the resources to something with this, therefore I post some of my thoughts...
READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Mistake

This afternoon we had an appointment for our baby Scott at WorldLink with our doctor. We were a bit late already, when I realized that the baby was still asleep in his bed. So I went over and took him out of his warm bed. He woke up and looked at me angryly, because he just went to sleep an hour earlier. And when I tried to put him in his Maxi-Cosy baby stroller he started crying out loud. Really, really loud. I would do the same in his situation, so I did not blame him.But my wife blamed me....
READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

BebeMamie – Fresh yogurt in Shanghai

Some companies need serious help to market their products.I have been in Shanghai for many years, and am an avid yogurt eater. At least three times a week my breakfast consists among others of yogurt with muesli. The problem is that the yogurt for sale in every Chinese supermarket is of the sweet variety. You just cannot buy unsweetened yogurt in a normal supermarket (Carrefour may be an exception, but likely at astronomical prices, and I hardly ever go there). It does not taste bad, but it's...
READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Spill Group keeps on growing

When I joined Spill Group just over two years ago to set up their business in Asia, it was still a relatively small Dutch company. I had actually never heard of the company before Reinout te Brake contacted me, and also could not find a lot of information on the internet about Spill. Fast forward 26 months and things are completely different. Spill is now a VC invested company with over 130 employees, offices in Holland, Poland and China, and with leading online flash game websites all over the...
READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Happy Year of the Rat (or Mouse)

Last night was New Year's Eve according to the Lunar Calendar, marking the beginning of the Year of the Rat. Some people also call it the Year of the Mouse, and especially Walt Disney is using that with lots of Mickey Mouse related New Year's events and ads for Hong Kong Disney Land.We stayed in Shanghai this year, because a 6-week old baby is a bit too young to take to a South-East Asian beach resort, or to fly to Beijing to meet Grace's family. However, her parents are here now to take care...
READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Getting a passport for Scott

This afternoon I went to the Dutch consulate to apply for a passport for Scott. Finding out exactly which information we would need to apply for the passport was a bit difficult. When I called the consulate last week at 10:30 AM I got an answer machine saying that the consular section would only be open between 9:00 and 11:30. Huh? I was calling in that time frame.The information available online did not answer all my questions, but the next day I reached their receptionist who gave me a list...
READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>