On work and life

What is the best way to break the ice with Chinese businessmen?

Sony CEO Hirai's strategy questioned by former executive Iba

Kazuo Hirai is being criticized by a former Sony Corp director who said the company's chief executive officer is abandoning its traditional engineering focus.

Tax pacts to make going global easier

Companies can face hefty expenses, and many aren't fully familiar with their rights, says official

Shanghai port group eyes German assets

Shanghai International Port Group Co Ltd is seeking a stake in the Port of Hamburg, the world's largest free port, German newspaper Hamburger Abendblatt reported on Wednesday.

Hanergy's debt web snags large lenders

One of the many mysteries behind the share price collapse of the solar panel maker controlled by Li Hejun is this: Which of the Chinese billionaire's many creditors risk losing every yuan they put into his company?

Alibaba unit buys Yueke to expand cinema reach

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's cinema unit said on Tuesday that it has acquired a major cinema software service provider in China to further expand its presence in the nation's booming film market.

'Public accounts' losing allure on social media

Last week a friend of mine who was attending a training course posted a message on WeChat: "What a boring lecture! The only benefit was I finally had time glancing through more than 60 unread articles on public accounts during the lecture."

What's news

Governments and policies

Quotes of the day

FTA experience to power new industrial park linking Yantai, S. Korea

The China-South Korea Industrial Park in Yantai, Shandong province, will take a leaf from the practices used in the country's four pilot free trade zones, including Shanghai and Tianjin, to develop e-commerce, healthcare and high-end maritime equipment manufacturing sectors to fuel growth.

Every smoke cloud has a silver lining

Chinese connoisseurs are sparking a boom in imported Cuban cigars with trendy lounges and bars springing up in major cities here

Facts and figures

Cuban cigars are usually divided into two basic forms. Straight cigars are known as Parejos. They come in different sizes, including the Robusto, Churchill, Corona, Lonsdale, Panetela and Cigarillo. They have round or conical heads. Different shaped cigars are known as Figurados and include Perfecto, Pyramid and Culebra.