China's industrial profits fall in first 4 months
Profits of China's major industrial firms fell 3.4 percent year-on-year in the January-April period, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Monday.
Combined profits of industrial firms with annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan ($2.9 million) stood at 1.81 trillion yuan in the first four months of 2019.
Major industrial firms' operating revenue reached 32.84 trillion yuan in the period, up 5.1 percent year-on-year, the NBS data showed. Zhu Hong, an NBS senior statistician, attributed the decline to lower value-added tax rate which was implemented since April 1, resulting in the earlier unleash of the demands for industrial products in March.
In the four months, State-owned industrial firms' profits dropped 9.7 percent yearon-year, while private firms' profits went up 4.1 percent. Companies in mining and manufacturing posted profit declines of 0.7 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively. Among the 41 sub-sectors, 27 saw higher profits and 14 reported lower earnings.
Moreover, China has stood out from its peers in terms of workplace equality, thanks to the increasing population of working women and their higher participation in executive roles, industry experts said. "The number of Chinese women assuming managerial positions is much higher than the world average, indicating the country's great effort regarding gender equality at the workplace. More women in China and the rest of the Asia Pacific region should play a bigger role in world economic governance and facilitate mutually beneficial cooperation," said Yu Ping, former deputy head of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade at the APEC Women Leadership Forum 2019 held in Shanghai.
A recent survey on women leadership in the tech industry released by Silicon Valley Bank showed that 70 percent of the Chinese startups have women taking senior roles within their company, which is much higher than the world average of 56 percent. In addition, half of the surveyed Chinese startups have at least one woman board member.
Chinese women's success at the workplace can be seen at more than just startups. A report compiled by the Economist Corporate Network in early March said the percentage of women on senior executive committees or boards is 11 percent in China, much higher than the 3 percent in Japan or the Republic of Korea.
Simon Lance, managing director
at global recruitment specialist Hays, said creating a balanced and inclusive culture has benefited Hays as a whole.
"People from different cultures, experience, background and mindsets can bring valuable insight and creativity to an organization. A diverse group of people can identify and define issues from different perspectives and find better solutions. It creates healthy ambition in a sales environment and we have seen the results in both individual and team productivity," Lance said.
According to a Hurun survey released in early March, China topped the list with 51 women billionaires, nearly triple the number of the second-place winner, the United States.
Among the world's 20 richest women, only Wu Jiajun, chairwoman of Longfor Properties, earned her wealth on her own, while all the rest 19 women were the beneficiaries of an inheritance.
Rupert Hoogewerf, founder of the Hurun Rich List, said they have seen the entrepreneurship and the courage to start from scratch from these Chinese women. But he also pointed out there is still more room to improve gender equality among top entrepreneurs, as women have to achieve much more than their male peers to earn career respect or recognition.