Life of GuangZhou - Promising Businesses amidst Economic Downturn (II)

8. Telecommunications

The long-expected 3G service was licensed to operators in China in early 2009, a jumpstart for the telecom industry that has triggered higher demand.

The massive restructuring of the country's telecom industry, along with the investment recovery after the Beijing Olympics, have laid a solid foundation for the sector's expansion.

9. Photovoltaic (PV) Generation Industry

This industry is favored by government policies in many countries such as the U.S., France and South Korea. The global PV market has seen an average annual rise of over 40% in the past decade.

10. Agriculture

The Chinese government plans to develop more practices to benefit farmers, with about 120 billion Yuan allocated for agricultural allowances.

11. Infrastructure

The government plans to invest heavily in infrastructure development, including more than 600 billion Yuan for railways (over three years), roads and highways, hydraulics, west-to-east power transmission, and grid improvement.

The construction site of the Asian Games Town in Panyu in southern Guangzhou. (GAGOC/ Xi Peng)

Guangdong province will become a hotbed of economic activity as its capital city Guangzhou continues to prepare for the 16th Asian Games of 2010. In addition, the South China province will be gearing up for further ‘Pearl River Delta Development', an important element of the Beijing Administration's strategy.

12. Debt Collection

During these difficult times, many companies are looking to collect debts and payments from their partners or customers. This increasing demand has helped debt collection agencies to flourish. In Guangzhou there are now more than 100 agencies of this kind, many of which were set up within the last year. They consist of accountants, lawyers and collecting executives.

A chief of executive squad of a debt collecting agency in Guangzhou photographed at an interview in January, 2008. (Guangzhou Daily)

13. Pawn Broking

Thanks to the soaring short-term financing demands of SMEs (small and medium enterprises), the pawn broking business has seen a sharp increase recently. The pawn broking volume in Guangdong shot up by 55% in the 3rd quarter from the 2nd quarter of 2008.

SMEs are the primary borrowers from pawn brokers, mostly on mortgage of property, because of the difficulty they face with banks – Pawn shops are mainly for convenient short-term loans while banks focus on long-term lending.

The façade of a pawn shop in Liwan District in Guangzhou. (Information Times)

14. Food and Drink

Restaurants, bars and cafes have witnessed a stable influx of guests since the latest Spring Festival.

In particular, many franchised fast food caterers have recorded double-digit profit increases and are attracting more investment. J-kungfu, Hong Kong-based Fairwood, McDonald's and KFC are all expanding their market presence and offering discounts.

(By Ronald Li and Stephen Roach)