Job hunting

Despite the chilly weather, hundreds of job hunters went to the job fair put on at the Hongtong Primary School of Jiangbei on the morning of Feb. 12

Labor market hot as Spring Festival holiday ends

Labor market hot as Spring Festival holiday ends

Feeling optimistic about the job market, entrepreneurs in Ningbo have been busily recruiting factory workers for the past week

Peach blossom in Tianyi Square

Peach blossom in Tianyi Square

On the lantern Day, local residents in Tianyi Square were enjoying the beautiful artificial peach blossom trees , which mark the coming of spring

Ningbo launches venture capital fund program

Ningbo has launched a venture capital investment fund program that targets cooperation projects to be collected in public from today on.
With 250 million yuan earmarked for the first phase and 1 billion in total, the fund is non-profit. It aims at motivating the financial fund to give its leverage effect. By supporting commercial venture capital enterprises, the fund encourages social capitals to enter the field of venture capital, which is expected to improve the environment for venture investment in Ningbo.
According to the city's industrial development plan, the fund will mainly flow to areas of new materials, new equipment, new energy, new communication technology, marine high-tech, energy saving and environmental protection, health and creative designing. The fund will be for sharing but not holding equities, so as to ensure the decision-making independence and commercialized operation of venture capital businesses and startups.
To insure that the fund is wisely used, the government of Ningbo specially sets up a management committee as a decision-making body for the fund. Also, Ningbo Industrial Investment Group sets up an initiation fund management company, which is in charge of fund and investment. It will largely boost the development of startups and high-tech enterprises.
The projects to be collected mainly include two kinds. One is temporary equity projects, for which the fund will be introduced to venture capital businesses in the form of equity investment and it will retreat within an agreed period of time. The other is follow-up investment projects, for which the fund will be invested on startups selected by venture capital companies (which will be jointly funded by the fund and the venture capital companies). Projects of this kind must be in the administrative regions of Ningbo Municipality
All of the venture capital companies and high-tech enterprises that meet the conditions can apply. The fund will be available for projects that meet specific requirements, so as to better contribute to the transformation and upgrading of industries in Ningbo.

More than 500 medical workers donate blood

As type A and type O blood is in short supply in the central blood bank of Ningbo, many medical workers volunteered to donate blood in response to the call from Health Bureau of Ningbo. Till the afternoon on February 3rd, more than 500 medical workers from about 10 medical establishments have donated 160,000ml blood.
More blood is needed as hospitals receive more surgical patients after the Spring Festival, especially type A and type O. To relieve the pressure of blood supply and ensure the sufficient supply of blood for clinical use, Ningbo Blood Organization has started the emergency mobile blood bank donation campaign since January 1st. Till the afternoon on February 3rd, more than 500 medical workers from about 10 hospitals have donated 160,000ml blood.
During the Spring Festival, blood supply in the central blood bank of Ningbo amounts to 60,000ml per day. But the demand increases after the festival, which leads to a lack of blood in the bank., Xu Haidong, Deputy Party Secretary with The Second Hospital, together with other 20 people went to the blood bank February 3rd for blood donation. "Blood is in short supply recently. As medical workers, it is our duty to donate blood to surgical patients voluntarily", he said
Thanks to the emergency mobile blood bank campgain and voluntary blood donation by medical workers, the supply of blood for medical use has been largely improved. It is said that in the following days, more medical workers will donate blood, making the total number of donors reach 1000

Retail sales grow in 2011

Statistics released by the Municipal Trade Bureau on February 8 show that in 2011, 20 large department stores in Ningbo achieved a total sales of 9.168 billion yuan, an increase of 15% year-on-year, while 19 large supermarket chains achieved a total sale of 19.146 billion yuan, an increase of 9.9% year-on-year.

With growing urban and rural markets, branches and outlets of major shopping malls and supermarket chains sprung up last year. Statistics show that 20 large shopping malls opened 31 branches while the 19 large supermarket chains set up 939 outlets last year. With more stores opened in suburbs and rural area last year, the rural consumer market saw a large sales growth. Large shopping malls including Ninghai Pacific Department Store, the Beilun Jinhui department store, Lisi department stores, and Yuyao Tianyi shopping mall have gained a sales growth of 20% or more. Meanwhile, the supermarket chains targeting in suburbs like Jiabei, Kaikai, RT-Mart saw an average sales growth of 15% or more.

Last year, due to the uncertainties from both domestic and international market, a large gap in sales loomed among department stores and supermarkets. Last year, 3 shopping malls and 5 supermarkets reported their negative growth of annual sales, with one supermarket going bankrupt

Ningbo earmarks 74.7 billion in traffic improvements

In the past five years, Ningbo has achieved remarkable results in traffic infrastructure construction including highway, railway, aviation and shipping. Investment in traffic construction is booming with a total input of 74.76 billion yuan within 5 years.

Highway
With the accomplishment of Hangzhou Bay Bridge, Zhoushan Mainland-Islands Linking Project and Ningbo Round-city Expressway, Ningbo has equipped with a well-developed highway system, shortening the journey to any city in the Yangtze River Delta to 2 hours' ride. Currently, the total length of highways open to traffic reached 415 km and the total length of road has reached 10,455 km, with 937 kilometers as arterial road. Road density (km per 100 sq. km area) is reported as 106.5, reaching the level of moderately developed countries. At present, except several villages on islands, all the administrative villages in Ningbo can be accessed by regular buses.

Rail
The construction of the Ningbo-Taizhou-Wenzhou Railway has changed the Ningbo unfavorable position as a terminal of railway to that of a regional hub. The total length of railway reaches 259.31 km, with 93.3 kilometers as newly built railway. Through the Xiaoshan-Ningbo line, a railway network has formed, connecting Zhenhai, Beilun Port with Zhejiang - Jiangxi line and Shanghai-Hangzhou line.

Shipping
In 2007, the container throughput of Ningbo Port was 9 million TEUs and the cargo throughput stood at 344 million tonnes. Until last year, the container throughput has reached 14.51 million TEU while the cargo throughput reached 433 million tones, resulting in Ningbo's current ranking in terms of container volume move up to the third place nationwide and sixth place worldwide. Currently, The port has a network consisting of 236 shipping lanes, covering over 600 ports in more than 100 countries in the world. The indirect hinterland of Ningbo Port has expanded to Anhui Province, Jiangxi Province, Hubei Province, Hunan Province and Sichuan Province, making Ningbo port a main line port for ocean-going container transport.

Services
Improvement of transportation facilities goes long with better services. Ningbo bus stations offers the online booking system and telephone booking system, which enable passengers to make payment at home and collect tickets in a nearby bus station. Meanwhile, the railway station, the taxi company and airport also offer new services to enhance the convenience for the public

Private kindergartens to cut tuition fees

According to a news briefing held by Ningbo Municipal Education Bureau on Feb 7, in 2012 the municipal government will set regulations on identification and management of non-governmental inclusive kindergartens. The upcoming regulation aims to bring down the tuition fees of inclusive private kindergartens to the same level of the public counterparts. "In this way, the tuition fees of some private kindergartens will be reduced. This will be an important move in the field of education in Ningbo this year." an official from Ningbo Municipal Education Bureau said.

Of the 1197 kindergartens in Ningbo, more than 900 are private kindergartens, with public kindergartens only accounting for 20 percent. It is learned that most private kindergartens, with inadequate facilities and teaching resources, charge more than public ones. In 2012, Ningbo Municipal Education Bureau pledged to give support to certain private kindergartens.

Sources said that the special funds for pre-school education in 2011 rose from 10 million yuan to 30 million yuan. The figure will rise to 50 million in 2012, with 20 million yuan intended to be used in support of private inclusive kindergarten.

Meanwhile, the municipal government vows to improve the quality of rural kindergartens in relatively less developed areas by increasing the input in pre-school education. Legally, there shall be at least one public kindergarten in each township. According to the plan, 100 rural kindergartens in relatively less developed areas shall be renovated and all the rural kindergarten in Ningbo shall be qualified and standardized.

In 2011, 80 kindergartens were renovated and expanded. In 2012, the municipal government will continue to improve the quality of pre-school resources, with another 80 kindergartens to be renovated and expanded according to the plan.

First cross-border RMB loans in Ningbo

Recently, a shipping company in Hong Kong has obtained 135 million yuan loans from the Export-Import Bank of China Ningbo Branch, initiating the first cross-border RMB loans in Ningbo.

In November 2011, the Export-Import Bank of China Ningbo Branch signed a RMB loan contract with the Hong Kong shipping company. The loans, taking the form of export buyer's credit, shall be used to pay a Ningbo shipbuilder. In December 2011 and January 2012, the bank has issued 101 million yuan and 34 million yuan loans respectively to the Hong Kong shipping company.

The major cross-border RMB loan enables buyers and sellers to avoid the losses they might otherwise have incurred due to exchange rate changes. In addition, it opens a new financing channel for overseas buyers.

It is learned that the People's Bank released guidance of RMB loans of overseas projects in October 2011, clarifying the specific procedures of the cross-border RMB loans. The experts believe that the cross-border RMB loans service not only promotes the internationalization of the RMB but also offers more support to foreign trade enterprises in Ningbo.

Ningbo to turn into a wireless city

The Wireless City Project, which offers free wireless service in public places, is not only a move to improve the competitiveness of Ningbo but also an important livelihood projects for the general public. In 2012, the local government of Haishu District, in corporation with three mobile operators, has kicked off "the optical wireless city construction", aiming to achieve full coverage of commercial buildings, commercial blocks, and other major public areas by the end of 2012. Many internet-users expressed a strong interest in the service.

In July 2011, the local government has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Ningbo Branch of China Mobile on Wireless City Project. As the leading operator, Ningbo Branch of China Mobile shall invest 70 million yuan, offering wireless service for 235 hot spots including government offices, public service buildings and other public places. At present, more than 150 hot spots have been on service. "The public wireless network is more than an easy access to internet. With it, people can enjoy convenient intelligent services like traffic guidance, travel management, bus schedule, etc." said Chan Kam Feng, deputy manager of Ningbo Branch of China Mobile.

"There is huge market potential for the wireless businesses in the urban center, with lots of commercial complexes and office-buildings." an official from Ningbo Branch of China Telecom said. He added that they plan to invest 150 million yuan in Haishu in the next two years, optimizing and expanding wireless coverage.

"Local residents or tourists would have free access to wireless network any time at any place in urban center like Tianyi Square, and Heyi Road with their computer or smart mobile phone, as long as their machines supports WiFi Internet access, " an official from Haishu Economic and Information Technology Bureau said. According to the plan, the local government will pay China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom for the wireless services they provide. Wireless urban construction still has a long way to go. More efforts will be made to expand and optimize the network

2012 Lantern Festival: dazzling lanterns with delicate cuisine

How to Celebrate the Chinese Lantern Festival this year has been a topic of concern for the local residents in Ningbo recently. Resources from the Municipal Bureau of Tourism said, the Lantern Day in 2012 will be highlighted by traditional elements like the lantern shows and riddle guessing as well as a number of delicate cuisines. In addition, more Lantern Festival events will be held in squares and museums downtown, not limit to temples and old towns in the past.

In Ninghai, the annual Lantern Festival carnival presents a beautiful landscape for the locals and visitors. The unique Drums and Pavilions Parade will be held in Qiantong ancient town, a town renowned in Zhejiang and Jiangsu Provinces for its cultural flavor.
In Ninghai, the 14th day on the first lunar month, instead of the 15th day, is celebrated as the Lantern Festival, which is commonly known as "the 14th Night". Besides traditional activities like eating "yuanxiao" and watching lantern show, the local residents will enjoy the magnificent drum pavilions parade, rich-contented customs and firework displays.

From February 4 to February 12, a series of lantern fairs will be held at Wanda Plaza, Jiangbei district. From 10:00 am to 22:00 pm, visitors can participate in riddles guessing and different games while eating "yuanxiao".

Lantern Fair this year has six areas, which are the performance area, the riddles-guessing area, food service area, flower display area, exhibition area and recreation area. Riddles guessing are the highlight of this Lantern Fair. The organizers have invited more than 20 star hotels, restaurants, and more than 30 traditional snacks sellers to provide food service for the visitor

Container transport hits record high in January

According to Ningbo Port Group, in January container throughput in Ningbo Port totaled 1.39 million TEUs, an increase of 10.2 percent, hitting a record high.

Since the beginning of 2012, while several international shipping companies are further integrating their Europe and Asia routes, Ningbo Port took initiative to ensure the total number of routes. The number of container flights per month reaches 1357, boosting the container volumes. So far, the ocean-going main lines have completed a throughput of 1.049 million TEUs, an increase of 14.3%.

Meanwhile, Ningbo Port Group strives to reduce transport costs for their clients by introducing more shipping routes and extra ships. The group also tries to expand north and south coastal container hinterland. In January, the "dry port" has contributed 16,838 TEUs to its throughput, an increase of 13% year-on-year. In addition, taking the opportunity of the central government's call for expanding domestic demand, Ningbo Port Group has launched new services like the rail-sea intermodal transportation service.