How should China’s new leadership tackle the country’s economic challenges? The 18th Party Congress is over and a new line-up of Chinese leaders is firmly in place. At the top of their agenda: steering one of the largest and fastest-growing economies in the world. What key policy challenges do China’s leaders face, and what kinds of tools do they have at their disposal to keep the engine of economic growth humming? In this podcast, we’ve invited a special guest to join us for a conversation on t...
Nov 30, 2012•19 min
A new class of mainstream consumers are spurring companies to rethink their strategies Most Chinese consumers are happy enough if the products they buy do what they promise: keep their clothes clean or quench their thirst, for example. But there’s a new class of younger, wealthier, and more sophisticated mainstream consumers that are seeking more intangible, often emotional benefits from their purchases. These new mainstream consumers are spurring companies to rethink their strategies. In this p...
Nov 29, 2012•16 min
Most Chinese consumers are happy enough if the products they buy do what they promise: keep their clothes clean or quench their thirst, for example. But there’s a new class of younger, wealthier, and more sophisticated mainstream consumers that are seeking more intangible, often emotional benefits from their purchases. These new mainstream consumers are spurring companies to rethink their strategies. In this podcast, Nick Leung speaks with Max Magni and Yougang Chen about the results of a recent...
Nov 29, 2012•16 min
The Chinese government has ambitious plans to raise the level of private sector involvement in the healthcare system. Private hospitals are sprouting up around the country. What can healthcare providers do to tap into this emerging opportunity? Nick Leung, Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice, discussed this topic with Claudia Suessmuth Dyckerhoff and Alex Ng. Claudia is a director in Shanghai and Alex is an associate partner in Hong Kong.
Nov 29, 2012•18 min
China wants to build global brands. Today, though, one would be hard pressed to name more than a handful of Chinese brands that have established a presence outside of China. So what are Chinese companies doing to address this issue, and how far along are they on their quest to build global brands? Nick Leung, Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice, discussed this issue with Daniel Zipser and Hai Ye. Daniel is a Partner in McKinsey’s Shanghai office. Hai is an Associate Partner in ...
Nov 29, 2012•14 min
Not so long ago, solar was really hot in China. Today, overcapacity and weak demand have pushed prices and profits down. What will it take for China’s solar industry to pull out of its slump? In this podcast, Bill Wiseman and David Xu join Nick Leung for a heated discussion of this topic. Bill is a Partner in Taipei and David is a Director in Shanghai. Nick is Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China practice.
Nov 28, 2012•14 min
While the government’s healthcare reform program is well underway, much work remains to be done before China can achieve its aspiration of providing quality and affordable healthcare to its people. This is creating a host of new opportunities as well as challenges for companies trying to plan their next move in China. Nick Leung, Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice, discussed this topic with three of the authors of a new report on healthcare in China, Franck Le Deu, Jin Wang, a...
Aug 24, 2012•20 min
Chinese companies have lately been on the prowl for acquisition targets around the world. A few high profile deals have been announced recently. But is the trickle about to turn into a flood, and are Chinese companies able to extract value from their purchases? Nick Leung, Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice, discussed this topic with Thomas Luedi and Kevin Wei Wang. They’re Partners in McKinsey’s Shanghai office.
Aug 10, 2012•19 min
China’s private equity sector is the largest in Asia, and is increasingly seen as a source of growth in an otherwise challenging global market. But as China’s cooling economy makes it harder to find attractive deals, and as the IPO market dries up, private equity players are shifting their attention from sourcing deals to managing their portfolios more actively. Nick Leung, Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice, discussed this issue with Bruno Roy and Joe Ngai. They’re Partners i...
Jun 25, 2012•16 min
The Chinese government’s recent interest rate cut has triggered a fresh round of speculation around the state of the economy. Some observers are debating whether China needs another round of stimulus measures, and if so, which ones would have the biggest impact. Nick Leung, Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice, discussed this topic with David Cogman and Jonathan Woetzel. Their Partners in McKinsey’s Shanghai office.
Jun 20, 2012•16 min
China’s state-owned enterprises have undergone a dramatic transformation over the past decade. While their share of economic output has declined, their influence has not. In fact, in several of China’s most strategic sectors, state-run firms are sharpening their management skills and transforming their operations so they can compete globally. Nick Leung, Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice, discussed this topic with David Xu, Michael Wang and Kevin Chan. They’re Partners in McK...
Jun 02, 2012•15 min
The Chinese government recently announced a number of stimulus measures intended to shore up the economy, which is starting to show signs of cooling. So how should companies react?
May 26, 2012•17 min
Fast-growing Chinese companies have been grappling with an issue for a number of years now: how to find and retain qualified management talent. While women in China have a very high participation rate in the workforce, they’re noticeably absent from senior management ranks. Nick Leung, Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice, discussed a forthcoming report on this topic with Claudia Suessmuth-Dyckerhoff and Jin Wang. They’re Partners in McKinsey’s Shanghai office.
May 18, 2012•15 min
China’s cities are getting big, but can they also be sustainable? The Urban China Initiative believes they can, as they highlight in their latest report, which assesses and ranks the sustainability of Chinese cities across four key dimensions. Nick Leung, Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice, discussed this report with Jonathan Woetzel and Guangyu Li. Jonathan is a Director in Shanghai and co-chairs the Urban China Initiative, a think-tank run by McKinsey, Tsinghua University, a...
May 07, 2012•15 min
According to a new report by McKinsey, China now has the largest and most active population of social media users in the world. So what can companies do to leverage this channel to build their businesses – and protect their brands? Nick Leung, Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice, discussed this report with Chris Ip and Ari Silverman. Chris is a Senior Partner in McKinsey’s Beijing office. Ari is a Partner in Shanghai.
Apr 28, 2012•15 min
In our last podcast on electric vehicles in China, we discussed why they’ve failed to live up to expectations, and whether there’s a future for this technology here. In this podcast, we take the conversation a step further and propose a solution. In a new report, published this week by McKinsey’s China Auto Hub, we argue that China’s auto industry can and should indeed go electric. But China’s government policymakers and auto manufacturers should consider adopting a different technological solut...
Apr 20, 2012•16 min
China’s medical equipment industry – which covers anything from surgical gloves and hospital beds, to hear stents and CAT scanners – is booming. Chinese companies are moving up the value chain, and are starting to capture market share in segments that were previously dominated by multinational players. A few Chinese companies are even establishing a presence in overseas markets. In this podcast, Nick Leung, Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice, discussed this topic with Franck L...
Apr 13, 2012•16 min
New research by McKinsey shows that China’s retail banking market is on track to become the second largest in the world by 2015, after only the US. For Chinese banks, capturing growth will require taking a different approach than they have in the past, one that focuses on implementing leaner cost structures and gearing service models around customer needs. Nick Leung, Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice, discussed some of the highlights from this research with Emmanuel Pitsilis...
Apr 01, 2012•16 min
Chinese consumers are changing – that much everyone can agree on. But how exactly are consumers starting to resemble their counterparts in the rest of the world? And in what ways will they continue to behave as they always have? Nick Leung, Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice, discussed a new report that addresses this issue with Max Magni and Ming Zhang. Max is a Partner in Hong Kong who heads the Consumer Practice. Ming is a Partner in Shanghai.
Mar 23, 2012•16 min
Japanese companies have had their challenges in China, while Chinese companies have yet to establish a substantial presence in Japan. Recently, however, we’ve seen some promising examples of collaboration in both directions. Nick Leung, Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice, discussed this topic recently with Peter Kenevan, Ken Kajii, and Gordon Orr. Peter and Ken are Partners in McKinsey’s Tokyo office. Gordon is Chairman of McKinsey’s Asia Practice, and is based in Shanghai....
Mar 17, 2012•12 min
The government’s recently announced target of 7.5% GDP growth for this year should be considered relatively good news for China’s mayors. For it’s the mayors who bear much of the burden of implementing economic policy in China. But things aren’t getting any easier. In fact, they seem to be getting harder these days, as revenues from the sale of land shrink, and mayors find themselves tackling a host of issues associated with rapid urbanization. Nick Leung, Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater ...
Mar 10, 2012•16 min
Just a few years ago, China’s auto sector was gearing up for the roll-out of electric vehicles. Today, few electric vehicles can be found on China’s increasingly crowded highways and city streets. What’s holding the industry back from going electric, and when will China finally live up to the hype? Nick Leung, Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice, discussed this topic recently with Axel Krieger, Paul Gao and Larry Wang. Axel is a Partner in Beijing who heads McKinsey’s China Aut...
Mar 02, 2012•17 min
China seems to have an insatiable thirst for energy. McKinsey research predicts that China will drive as much as one-quarter of the world’s incremental demand for energy through the year 2030. To keep up with this demand, China will be spending $130 billion a year over the next two decades on new power plants, an increasing number of which will be fueled by renewable energy sources. What changes to government policy, industrial structure and consumer behavior are needed to ensure that China cons...
Feb 16, 2012•15 min
Over the past two decades, Taiwanese firms across a range of industry sectors have quietly established very successful businesses there. What’s behind their success? And is there something that companies from other markets can learn from Taiwanese firms about operating in China? Nick Leung, Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice, discussed this topic recently with Bill Wiseman and Tina Chen. Bill is the Managing Partner of the Taipei office. Tina is an Associate Partner in Taipei....
Feb 08, 2012•14 min
In China, domestic firms are capturing market share and profits by designing products that not only appeal to Chinese consumer tastes – but are also priced substantially lower than comparable offerings from multinational firms. As a result, more and more multinational companies are finding it necessary to rethink their approach to product design and development in China. In this podcast, Nick Leung, Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice, discusses this topic with Bill Wiseman, Da...
Jan 31, 2012•17 min
It’s official – China is now mostly an urban nation. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, urban dwellers now account for more than 51% of China’s population of nearly 1.35 billion. That’s 690 million people, a number the McKinsey Global Institute expects will reach one billion by the year 2030. Now that China has passed this historic threshold, what are some of the changes we should expect going forward? Nick Leung spoke with Jonathan Woetzel and Haimeng Zhang about what this mileston...
Jan 10, 2012•22 min
The sector is starting to take on characteristics of more developed markets, leading some to ask, “Is private equity finally coming of age in China?”. In this podcast, Nick Leung discusses this topic with Bruno Roy and Joe Ngai. Nick is Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China practice, based in Beijing. Bruno is a Partner in Beijing and leads McKinsey’s Principal Investors Practice in Greater China. Joe is a Partner in McKinsey’s Hong Kong office and leads the Asset Management Practice....
Jan 10, 2012•13 min
As we move into 2012, questions remain regarding how these issues will play out, what kind of policy actions the Chinese government might take to address them, and what companies should do to prepare for the new year. In this podcast, Nick Leung discusses the outlook for the Chinese economy in 2012 with Jonathan Woetzel, Gordon Orr and Guangyu Li. Nick is Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice, based in Beijing. Jonathan is a Director in Shanghai, and is the Co-Chair of the Urban ...
Dec 21, 2011•19 min
Despite the potential, many observers are cautious about the industry’s outlook. While the market may be growing rapidly, few companies are actually making money. Our research suggests that profits will materialize, but only players with the deepest pockets will survive. In this podcast, Nick Leung speaks with Alan Lau and Davis Lin, authors of a recent report on this topic. Nick is the Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice. Alan is a Partner in Hong Kong who heads the High Tech,...
Dec 13, 2011•12 min
How does the banking market in China stack up to the rest of the world, and how have consumer attitudes changed since the financial crisis? McKinsey took a closer look at these and other questions in a recent survey of 20,000 consumers across 13 different markets in Asia. In this podcast, Nick Leung speaks with Emmanuel Pitsilis and Kenny Lam about the research. Nick is the Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice. Emmanuel is a Director in McKinsey’s Hong Kong office and leads the ...
Dec 05, 2011•11 min
