Executive Search in China – 2019 Outlook
Growth of 6.2 % in 2019, after 6.6% in 2018
Moderation will be the key word in China this year as it is impacted by how global trade will develop and also how the US-China trade dispute will emerge. Based on the Goldman Sachs real GDP Growth forecast for 2019, China grew 6.6 % in 2018 and the projection for 2019 is still at a good number of 6.2%.
China’s economic health will impact the world economy as China is the second largest global economy and the largest importer of many major resources including iron ore from Australia and soybeans from USA. Prices for natural resources are heavily influenced by how much China buys.
The employment market for Chinese executives will remain strong overall. More executives who have both international and multinational company experience are looking at joining a Chinese company as a possible career option. Companies in previously hot sectors such as VC/PE, Information Technology, Transportation Services, Financial Management and Real Estate are cutting back on hiring. The manufacturing and consumer/retail sectors are also expected to restructure to reduce costs in 2019.
China signed off an economic plan for 2019 that featured aggressive stimulus measures such as a tax cut which came into effect January 1, 2019 to spur domestic demand. The China Central Bank also offers low-cost funding to help private sector businesses’ cash flow and investing new infrastructure projects under the Belt & Road initiative.
In the automotive sector, China is the world’s largest market. In the electronic vehicle (EV) sector, China accounts for 35 percent of global electronic vehicle sales according to Bloomberg. Tesla has partnered with the Shanghai Government to open its first overseas factory to produce EV vehicles only for the China market. A new automotive manufacturer, Byton, founded by former BMW and Infiniti executives is said to be on track to complete production of a plant in Nanjing by May 2019.
Contact Simon Wan for further discussion simon-wan@cornerstone-group.com