BIZCHINA / Overseas Investment
Swedish steel firm to make its niche products in region
(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2006-11-22 14:33
Sweden SSAB Oxelosund AB
BIZCHINA / Weekly Roundup
KTV operators chafe at royalties
By Zhan Lisheng in Guangzhou and Wu Jiao in Beijing (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-11-23 10:10
KTV operators have come out in opposition to the royalty fees imposed by
the National Copyright Administration (NCA) earlier this month.
On November 9, the NCA set a daily royalty of 12 yuan (US$1.5) per KTV
room in an effort to improve copyright protection. The fee is in effect
in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou on a trial basis and is to be
gradually implemented in other cities.
Related readings:
China sets royalty payment standard for karaoke bars
KTV operators to pay copyright levy
Standard of KTV copyright fee discussed
Fight over KTV fees continues
However, KTV operators in Guangzhou and Shanghai say the fees are too
onerous. One sticking point is that operators must pay the room-based fee
regardless of whether any customers actually use the rooms.
Zhu Nan, deputy secretary general of the Shanghai Entertainment Industry
Association, said a room-based rate of 1 yuan (US$0.12) per day would be
more feasible.
"KTV clubs in Shanghai would end up turning over 7.3 million yuan
(US$900,000) every year if they had to pay a rate of 1 yuan (12 US cents)
per day. That's already an awesome amount of money," said Zhu.
Huang Shiqiu, president of the Guangzhou Cultural and Recreational
Industry Association, said the fees should be levied according to the
number of songs played.
In response to such opposition, Wang Huapeng, leader of the China Audio
and Video Collective Management Association's organizational committee,
was quoted by Beijing Youth Daily as saying KTV operators can resist the
fees if they do not use protected material under the association's care.
The China Audio and Video Collective Management Association will oversee
collection of the fees once it receives official approval from the
government. In the meantime, the China Audio and Video Association has
been designated as the temporary agent to collect the royalties.
Meanwhile, Beijing's copyright authorities said they have been collecting
the fees according to plan.
"We worked with copyright holders and users to create a scheme for
different royalty standards for different types of KTV operations," said
Wang Yelin, vice-dean of the Beijing Copyright Association.
Wang said that in Beijing, 12 yuan (US$1.5) would be the maximum of three
levels of royalties. Rules governing the three standards will be released
at the end of the year.
Some operators calculated that KTV customers would probably have to pay
an extra 1.4 yuan (US$0.17) per hour to cover the fees.
The royalties will be paid to song-writers and music companies, according
to staff at the China Audio and Video Collective Management Association.
Many copyright holders say that 12 yuan (US$1.5) per day is still too low.
(China Daily 11/23/2006 page3)
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
Chinese language
plans to open a 100 million yuan (US$12.5
million) steel plate center near Shanghai to better serve regional
customers such as Xugong Group Construction Machinery Co.
The Kunshan, Jiangsu Province-based center, to be equipped with a
processing plant and storage facility, will be the company's first
production site in China. Commercial use is expected in the third quarter
next year.
Officials wouldn't disclose the processing capacity of the new plant,
saying only that it has adequate room for expansion if demand grows.
Per Olof Stark, the company's marketing and sales director, said SSAB
Oxelosund may not be a big player in the general steel industry, but it
is a leader in the niche market for heavy plates that can be used in a
range of applications such as excavators, loader buckets, cranes and
truck bodies.
"The company also wants to be the No. 1 in the Chinese market (as it does
worldwide)," Stark told reporters on the sideline of a machinery fair.
Mats Haglund, the company's manager for Asia Pacific region, said the
firm will build a port facility near the Kunshan project for easier
shipment.
The company's current operations in China include trading companies in
Shanghai, Tianjin and other cities, along with several sales offices. The
Swedish steel company entered China in 1999.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
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