China's business confidence bounces back in Q4

By He Wei in Shanghai (China Daily) Updated: 2013-01-19 11:05

PPLive Co Ltd, an online TV media company with 300 million registered users, saw a "historic surge" in revenue last year and is poised to file an initial public offering under favorable market conditions, Chief Executive Officer Tao Chuang said.

"I am hoping to see signs of improvement in the second half of 2013, notably in the capital market. I expect more mergers and acquisitions in the industry and better opportunities for investment," he said.

Real estate firms saw the biggest rebound, of 5.8 points, though the sector's overall reading of 113.8 was among the lowest.

The central government's tight grip on home mortgages and purchase limits have cooled property trading, but the first year-on-year pickup in nine months was recorded in December, according to Beijing-based real estate research institute the China Index Academy.

Liu Xi, real estate specialist at Career International Consulting, a recruiting and human resources management firm, said:"We have spotted this warming trend since the second half of 2012, because China's improved economic outlook and the slowed release of new property fueled market expectations of further price hikes."

According to a January survey by the company, 70.4 percent of 79 real estate companies interviewed had increased hiring in 2013. Two-thirds of respondents said they were primarily looking for salespeople, followed by project managers and industrial designers.

The results also suggested that State-owned companies were the least concerned about the downturn and, as a result, were leading the rebound.

Bright Food Group Co, the country's second-largest food maker by revenue, is expecting revenue in 2013 to surpass 100 billion yuan ($16 billion) after completing two overseas acquisitions in the past two years.

Company spokesman Pan Jianjun said: "Generally speaking, the gloomy world economy offers a golden opportunity for us to reach out to overseas assets. But it also brings about challenges in managing them in the long run."

He said boosting domestic consumption - a government pledge to create new growth - is a policy bonus for Bright Food.

"Domestic growth has quickened and we can definitely count on double-digit growth," Pan said.

hewei@chinadaily.com.cn

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