Capital Account: Apps Get China's Stick, Factories Get Carrots

 "To Western investors, China's regulatory crackdown on superstar companies such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Didi Global Inc. must seem suicidal. How better to undercut growth than to kneecap some of the world's most successful technology companies?

President Xi Jinping would beg to differ. In his estimation, technology comes in two varieties: nice to have, and need to have. Social media, e-commerce and other consumer internet companies are nice to have, but in his view,national greatness doesn't depend on having the world's finest group chats or ride-sharing.

Mr. Xi thinks the country needs to have state-of-the-art semiconductors, electric-car batteries, commercial aircraft and telecommunications equipment to retain China's manufacturing prowess, avoid deindustrialization and achieve autonomy from foreign suppliers. So even as the Chinese Communist Party unleashes a multifront regulatory assault against consumer internet companies, it continues to shower subsidies, protection and "buy-Chinese" mandates on manufacturers.

Mr. Xi described these priorities in a speech published by the party journal Qiushi last year. He acknowledged the online economy was flourishing and said China "must accelerate construction of the digital economy, digital society and digital government," according to a translation by Georgetown-affiliated researchers. "At the same time, it must be recognized that the real economy is the foundation, and the various manufacturing industries cannot be abandoned."

As most countries develop, manufacturing displaces agriculture and then services displace manufacturing. In recent decades, manufacturing's share of GDP in most advanced economies has declined, especially in the U.S. and Britain, which have seen swaths of factory employment migrate overseas, especially to China.

While manufacturing's share of Chinese GDP has declined, at 26% it remains the highest of any major economy, and the government wants it to stay there -- in effect insisting that China not follow others down the path of deindustrialization.

"It cannot be like the U.K., which is so successful in the sounding-clever industries -- television, journalism, finance, and universities -- while seeing a falling share of R&D intensity and a global loss of standing among its largest firms," Dan Wang, a technology analyst at China-focused research service Gavekal Dragonomics, wrote this year.

Politicians tend to fetishize manufacturing; investors don't. Most manufacturing is fiercely competitive and requires enormous amounts of capital and labor, all of which weigh on profits. By contrast, a consumer internet company with a dominant platform can generate boatloads of cash with minimal incremental investment. Facebook Inc. is worth 11 times as much as semiconductor manufacturer Micron Technology Inc., though Facebook employs only 50% more people. In February, before the recent selloff, Alibaba, affiliate of online finance giant Ant Group, was worth 20 times as much as Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., the heavily subsidized "national champion" of China's chip sector.

But in the view of Chinese leaders, consumer internet companies inflict costs on society that aren't reflected in private market values. Companies such as Ant threaten the stability of the financial system, online education feeds social anxiety and online games such as Tencent's represent an "opium for the mind," as one state-owned publication put it this week.

Conversely, Chinese leaders think manufacturing confers social benefits. For decades, it has been how the country created jobs, raised productivity and disseminated essential skills. Now, to achieve parity with the West, they think China must make the most advanced technology, and will use subsidies, protectionism and forced technology transfers to achieve that.

U.S. leaders, too, worry that big tech suffocates competition, violates privacy, propagates misinformation and encourages online addiction. They are ready to emulate China in their readiness to subsidize manufacturers seen as essential to national security. But in the U.S., the government takes a back seat to private markets in allocating capital. In China, it's the reverse.

This doesn't mean China is right. Allocating capital to industries deemed necessary for national development yielded big returns when the economy had catching up to do. As China caught up, returns have plummeted, and industries are often awash with excess capacity and debt. Moreover, China's domestic market can't absorb everything its factories churn out.

Yet whether the Communist Party's priorities make sense in the long run, the recent turmoil in Chinese shares shows they can make or break a company's future in the short run."The state runs capitalism to serve the interests of most people," Ray Dalio, founder of the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, wrote. "Capitalists have to understand their subordinate places in the system or they will suffer the consequences of their mistakes."" [1]

1. U.S. News -- Capital Account: Apps Get China's Stick, Factories Get Carrots
Ip, Greg.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 05 Aug 2021: A.2.

Is Lukashenko guilty of us rotting and transporting smuggled cigarettes from Belarus?

 "It is obvious that someone in the port takes those cigarettes from Lithuanians, it is obvious that border guards miss them, it is obvious that the railway managers contribute to it, so don't start with Lukashenko, Lithuanians live like kidneys in fat with lamborgines, Neringa housing, etc. super successful companies unexpectedly ... :: :) "

Lukašenka kaltas, kad mes supuvome ir vežame kontrabandines cigaretes iš Baltarusijos?

 "Akivaizdu kad uoste kažkas tas cigaretės iš lietuvių pasiima, akivaizdu kad pasieniečiai praleidžia, akivaizdu kad geležinkelių kazkukurie vadovai prisideda prie to, tad nepradėkite nuo lukasenkos o kuopkite mėšlą Lietuvoje kurio pilna nuo nepriklausomybės atgavimo ir po šiai dienai jų pilna ir kurie iš to lobsta ir gyvena kaip inkstai taukuose su lamborginiais, Neringoje būstų ir t.t. super sėkmingomis įmonėmis netikėtai...:::)"

With the cessation of cooperation with Belarus, we would lose about 100-150 million euros income.

 "Lithuanian Railways says that it cannot terminate contracts for the transportation of goods from Belarus on its own - this requires a decision by the authorities. 

"Again, it would depend on all the fluctuations, but in this place, if there is such a legal or other environment, we have to adapt to it," said Lukas Danilevičius, Head of Strategy and Development at LTG Cargo. According to the Minister of Transport and Communications Marius Skuodis, the railway losses are approximately 60 million euros could be covered by an increase in tariffs for business. "Since the state, of course, has an interest in making our business competitive, the state should contribute with a subsidy so that infrastructure costs are covered and tariffs do not increase," he explained. 

 If the cargo is banned from Belarus, the port of Klaipeda would also suffer - Belarusian cargo makes up one third of all cargo. "It simply came to our notice then. And the most important thing is that such cargo flow, which is now transit from Belarus, would not be compensated very quickly, "said Algis Latakas, General Director of Klaipeda Seaport Authority." 

 It is important that Queen Martha's kindergartens and schools do not suffer, because this is the basis of Landsbergis' personal well-being, which is much more important than the well-being of other Lithuanians.

Nutrūkus bendradarbiavimui su Baltarusija, mes netektumėme apie 100-150 mln. eurų pajamų.

 "„Lietuvos geležinkeliai“ sako, kad patys nutraukti sutarčių dėl krovinių iš Baltarusijos vežimo negali – tam reikia valdžios sprendimo. O jei toks būtų, nors patirtų nuostolių, nepraleistų nė vieno vagono.  „Nutrūkus bendradarbiavimui su Baltarusija, mes netektumėme apie 100-150 mln. eurų pajamų. Tai vėlgi, priklausytų nuo viso susvyravimo, bet šioje vietoje, jeigu yra tokia teisinė ar kitokia aplinka, turime prie to prisitaikyti“, – teigė „LTG Cargo“ strategijos ir plėtros vadovas Lukas Danilevičius. 

Anot Susisiekimo ministro Mariaus Skuodžio, geležinkelių nuostolius – maždaug 60 mln. eurų, būtų galima padengti, padidinus tarifus verslui. „Kadangi valstybė, na, natūralu, turi interesą, kad mūsų verslas būtų konkurencingas, valstybei prisidėti su subsidija, kad infrastruktūros sąnaudos būtų padengtos ir tarifai nedidėtų“, – aiškino jis. 

Uždraudus krovinius iš Baltarusijos nukentėtų ir Klaipėdos uostas – baltarusiški kroviniai sudaro trečdalį visų krovinių. „Be abejo, neigiama įtaka būtų labai didelė. Ir svarbiausias dalykas – tokio krovinių srauto, kuris dabar yra tranzitinis iš Baltarusijos, labai greitai kompensuoti neišeitų“, – kalbėjo Klaipėdos jūrų uosto direkcijos generalinis direktorius Algis Latakas."

Svarbu, kad karalienės Mortos darželiai ir mokyklos nenukentėtų, Juk tai Landsbergių asmeninio gerbūvio pagrindas, kuris yra daug svarbesnis už kitų Lietuvos gyventojų gerbūvį.

 

Kaip suvienodinti sąlygas nuotoliniams darbuotojams

 "Tokios įmonės, kaip "Zillow" ir "Salesforce", siekdamos suvienodinti sąlygas nuotoliniams darbuotojams, yra pakeitė, kaip jos veda susitikimus. Užuot įpareigoję darbuotojus susirinkti į konferencijų salę, kai skambina tik nuotoliniai darbuotojai, jei nėra bent vieno asmens kambary, kiekvienas susisieks su savo nešiojamuoju kompiuteriu, nepriklausomai nuo to, ar jis yra biure. 

Siekdama skatinti biuro sąveikos spontaniškumą, iš tiesų tyrinėja technologiją, apimančią ekranų įrengimą savo biuro virtuvėse, kurios leistų nuotoliniams darbuotojams užmegzti atsitiktinius „vandens aušintuvo“ pokalbius su kolegomis (galbūt matant tikrą vandens aušintuvą). Įrodyta, kad biuro pokalbiai skatina didesnį priklausymo jausmą. Tokie pakeitimai gali padėti sumažinti tam tikrą šališkumą prieš nuotolinius darbuotojus, bet tik iki tam tikro taško. 

Vienas iš didesnių veiksnių, galinčių paskatinti nelygybę tarp nuotolinių ir biure dirbančių darbuotojų, yra artumas įmonių vadovams, kurie iki pandemijos buvo linkę visą darbo dieną būti biure. Kai vadovai patys dirba nuotoliniu būdu, tai sumažina pranašumą, kurį suteikia galimybė susitikti su sprendimų priėmėjais biure. „Slack“ vadovai sutiko kiekvieną savaitę dirbti biure ne ilgiau kaip tris dienas, sakė Brianas Elliottas, vadovaujantis bendrovės ateities darbo idėjų centrui. „Kalbant apie pavyzdį, jie bus lankstūs“, - sakė jis."

How to level the playing field for remote workers

 "Change that companies such as Zillow and Salesforce are making to level the playing field for remote workers is in how they conduct meetings. Instead of having in-office employees gather in a conference room while remote employees dial in, if one person is not in the physical room, everyone will dial in separately on their laptop, regardless of whether they’re in the office.

To foster the spontaneity of office interactions, Indeed is exploring technology that includes installing screens in its office kitchens that would allow remote workers to engage in casual “water cooler” conversations with their co-workers (perhaps in sight of an actual water cooler). Office small talk has been shown to foster a greater sense of belonging.
Changes like these may help reduce some of the bias against remote workers, but only up to a point.

One of the bigger factors that could drive inequality between remote and office-based workers is proximity to company leaders, who tended to be in the office full time before the pandemic. When executives are themselves working remotely, it lessens the perceived advantage of getting face time with decision makers in the office.
At Slack, executives have agreed to work no more than three days in the office each week, said Brian Elliott, who leads the company’s future of work think tank. “In terms of setting the example, they are going to be exhibiting flexibility,” he said."