This Week in Hunan

Changsha, the provincial capital, has a population catchment of around 8 million, a serious city even by Chinese standards.  It is the national centre for the manufacture of equipment used in the construction industry : once a boom town, but now not the best place to be because local big boys, Sany and Zoomlion are both retrenching as their end user markets falter.

First stop a Zoomlion concrete truck assembly plant.  The share reflects hard times, off about 75% from its peak; but that is the whole point of visiting now.  No need to look when everything is going well; rare to find value when shares are at all times highs.  The factory is immense.  There is a reasonable degree of assembly work in process, though no-one looks especially busy.  There was a large number of the finished product in the back parking lot.  One to watch.

Wasion is the Chinese market leader in smart meters and data collection terminals; now gearing up to be a central player in the Smart Grid, a key priority for the next 5 year plan.  Lots of pictures of President Xi who was there last November as well as prominent photo display of a bunch of senior suitors from Siemens at a ribbon cutting ceremony.  Wasion has a J-V with the German giant.

This plant is a hive of activity.  Everyone looks relieved when the bell goes for a five minute break.  Impressed by the layout and workflow but slightly surprised at its labour intensity.  Liked the way management talk about the economic payback for clients who purchase their products.  Interesting extra: they have a corporate Code of Conduct that is first rate. 

Changsha itself is undistinguished architecturally though it sits (like Khartoum) at the meeting point of two rivers.  Airport street lights are solar powered : a nice touch.  The city has suffered from overbuilding.  Central Changsha seems fine but there are too many nearly completed tower blocks in the burbs.  A lunchtime meeting with Hopefluent, a leading real estate broker, confirms that there is excess inventory and prices are stagnant, though interestingly modern retail is in short supply and the CBRD has an office vacancy rate of only 5%.

Visiting Changsha has become easier and more agreeable with an increasing number of flights and several new hotels opening over the last 2 years.  I stayed at the Wanda Vista.  It has the top rating on Trip Advisor.  That seems deserved.  My room was spacious and comfortable.  Service was excellent.  A highlight was the tea selection in the lobby bar : over 30 varieties brewed on demand.  From white to red, the range has something for every taste; but skip the Haagen-Dazs ice cream.  It has freezer burn.

Lastly my brief encounter with internet censorship.  Struggled to get a good search engine connection.  BBC blocked.  Mail on line no problem.  What does that say about Chinese views on western media?  Essex girls good : Islington liberals bad?