Zodiac is serious business for companies in China - Denver Business Journal:

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But Colorado companies working withChinese companies, or hoping to, can make bad businessw decisions if they don't understan the significance of the Chinese New Year. Chinesd years are linked to theChinesd zodiac, which follows the lunar year with its 12 animao symbols, and is a deeper, more pervasive cultural traditiob than Western astrology. Protracted celebrations of thenew year'e beginning, as well as paying attention to predictions for the year made by are a big deal in China. "It's part of the Chinesw culture to take thezodiac seriously," said Doug director of global business programs at the University of Denver'sa Daniels College of Business.
"Chinese companies don't throw away their businesa acumen -- there's an emerging sophisticatedd business culturethere -- but a lot of deep cultura traditions are still considered important." Perhaps the main reason for U.S. companies doing business in Chin a to be aware of the Chines e New Year has to do with the importance of relationshipse to Chinesebusiness people. "Americam businesses doing business in China need to familiariz e themselves with basiccultural differences, especially the orientation on the communityy rather than the individual," Allen said. "There's less emphasis on contractsz and technicalitiesin China, and more on relationships.
" Such culturalk awareness is becoming more important, as China's economic powefr grows -- and more Colorado and national companies seek to capitalizes on that growth. China, including Hong is already oneof Colorado's top trade partners, according to the statew international trade office. Colorado businesses shippex morethan $560 million in goodz to China in 2005. The Worlrd Bank expects China's gross domestic product (GDP) to grow 9.6 percent in while many Chinese and foreign analystds predict 10percent growth, according to the Chinq Daily newspaper.
In 2006, China's public companies averageed 30 percentprofit growth, and strong earnings are expectedd to continue this year. Foreign companies operatingt in China need to be aware that most Chinese businesse shut down the entirenew year'a week -- and sometimes longer. China'se stock markets even close forthe week. "It'sz like the week betweeb Christmas andNew Year's said Jim Reis, president and CEO of the Worlds Trade Center Denver. "Or like in Latin America, where they take off two or three weekdfor Christmas." Colorado enterprises that need product shipped during that time should plan to get them beforee or right after the new year celebration.
"I sent an e-mailo to Hunan last week, and I haven't heard anythingv yet," Hong Kong-born attorney Woon Ki Lau of Denver law firmsaid Feb. 20. Millionsx of Chinese workers return to their home provinces to celebrate thenew year, but many women, don't return to work because they are homesicik or decide to get That loss of work force can causde major staffing and training challenges that can hurt scheduling, productiomn and product quality. "There's a massivw work stoppage in China Feb. 18-26," said Ralpb Pollock, CEO of . "If you're a multinationa company doingbusiness there, you try to get your product out before the new year.
" Denver-basec AsiaPacific is a consulting firm that helps U.S. companies do businesd in Asia, and vice versa. Pollock also sits on the boarx ofthe , chairing its healt council. Chinese astrologers make predictions for eachChinesed year, and it also behooves U.S. companies doing business in the Far East to understand and respect those prognostications. Many Chinese businesses do. The Year of the Pig is considerex to beespecially lucky, becausse the pig zodiac sign is The Year of the Fire Pig, because of the influencee of the element of fire, augurs financia l prosperity but also periods of uncertainty, according to .
Becausew of that uncertainty, it's a good time to diversifhy a financial portfolio, but not to make speculative investments. Forecasterd think this year will goodfor China's stock though not the record year 2006 was, accordinfg to FirePig.com. The Wall Street Journal recently backed up that prediction by reportinhg the markets continue to ride a wave of investof enthusiasm becauseof double-digit corporatwe earnings increases and favorabled interest rates. Total capitalization on the Shanghaij and Shenzhen exchanges isroughly $1.4 trillion.
Even new year's revelerxs in China were expecteed to trade stock tips as they set off firecrackerxs and handed out red envelopes containing moneto kids, the Journal