16 BUSINESS Tuesday, July 10, 2018 CHINA DAILY HONG KONG EDITION Philips to grow China investment Dutch firm expands R&D efforts to tap healthconscious consumers
By ZHU WENQIAN dambased Unilever Plc and zhuwenqian@ Procter & Gamble Co from chinadaily.com.cn the US have deployed more resources to develop new Dutch multinational Roy consumer products to com al Philips NV said it is bullish pete with each other. on the growth potential of Unilever and Tmall, Aliba personal health products in ba’s online marketplace, China and will continue to have built a new R&D center expand its investment in the in Shanghai this year to pro country, as Chinese consum mote healthrelated prod ers increasingly pursue high ucts. quality lifestyles. Regarding the specific Philips said it plans to con demands of the China mar tinue to expand its research ket, Myles Zhong, president and development efforts in of personal health of Philips China, its secondlargest China, said Chinese consum market after the United ers consider the appearances States. Currently, it has a of products important, and major R&D center in Shang they like to buy goodlooking Foreign participants learn to make handpulled noodles at the first China Noodles Expo held in Lanzhou, Gansu province, in June. PEI QIANG / FOR CHINA DAILY hai, and it has more than things. 1,000 researchers in the “China’s gifting culture is country. also different from other Last year, Philips netted markets. In China, a lot of sales of 17.78 billion euros products we sell are used for Handpulled noodles make a splash in New York ($20.7 billion) globally, and gifts. This is not a big trend in its sales in China reached 2.3 the Western markets, where billion euros, according to its more products are for per NEW YORK — Groups of ness. Flour is sometimes used annual earnings report. sonal use, so we have adjust men regularly gather at the to dust the strands and pre “It’s real money, real busi ed our portfolio to fit Chinese gate of a small noodle shop at vent sticking. ness, with a real outcome. consumers in these areas,” he noon in midtown Manhattan, Small restaurants serving The R&D in China is not just said. chatting about office affairs It’s already China’s Lanzhoustyle lamian are com fundamental things or mod while waiting for mouthwa mon throughout western Chi ifying products designed tering handpulled Chinese No 1 dish, and I na, where they have formed outside of China, then trying noodles to be served. the staple diet for centuries, as to introduce them to China,” Like many whitecollar want to make it well as eastern Chinese cities. said Egbert van Acht, execu workers in New York City try No 1 in the world.” Restaurants tend to serve a tive vicepresident and chief It’s real ing to survive another day of variety of lowcost meals for business leader for personal money, stress at work, they visit Tasty Liu Haokun, the founder of Tasty everyday consumption. health businesses of Philips. Handpulled Noodles II, locat Handpulled Noodles II, a noodle In New York, there are about “For many years, we have real ed on 9th Avenue, for a bowl of eatery located on 9th Avenue of 10 handpulled noodles res had a range of dedicated spicy and delicious noodles. A bowl of Lanzhou handpulled beef noodles. midtown Manhattan taurants registered on the innovations in China that we business, with a At this simply decorated but PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY giant online business listing do not sell in other markets. locally revered restaurant, set and food ordering website We are working on artificial real outcome ...” up by Liu Haokun, diners can www.yelp.com. Several more intelligenceenabled person find a wide spectrum of dish chewing away at the wide rib handpulled noodles, Liu catering industry. mention handmade noodles al health solutions for prod Egbert van Acht, executive es. There are 25 varieties of bons,” said Jennifer Che on returned to Gansu for six He set a target to open 10 and dozens more have “noo ucts such as oral care, air and vicepresident and chief busi noodle soups alone, with vege www.tinyurbankitchen.com. months to learn how to make more Chinese noodle dining dles” in their names, not to sleep innovations, as well as ness leader for personal health table and egg noodle soup Handpulled noodles have them by hand. Back in New spots in 2019 and ultimately mention the hundreds more nutrition and mother and businesses of Philips NV served with choice of broth become something of a craze York City, he opened his own extend the franchise to 100 that sell noodles but don’t child care,” he said. and noodles, the top choice at in the Big Apple with dining noodle restaurant, where he branches. specify that they do. With the introduction of $8.50 per bowl. spots appearing one after made $8,000 to $10,000 a day “Let North Americans learn Surfing YouTube, you can the Healthy China 2030 “In terms of online shop “I personally recommend another. selling bowls of noodles for $8 about China through noodles,” find about 51,900 results for Blueprint, an action pro ping, China is the biggest. I the beef noodle soup with They are usually tucked to $15. Currently, he is consid Ying said. “handpulled noodles”. Adding gram announced in 2016 can’t disclose any numbers knifecut noodles, panfried away in small side streets — ering opening more branches Handpulled noodles are “New York” to your search and the country’s first but a big chunk of our prod noodles with fat noodles, or typically holeinthewall to maximize income and prof called lamian in Chinese. They leads to 19,200 results. nationallevel medium to ucts are sold online. This any of their dumplings,” wrote venues in Chinatown with col its. are made by twisting, stretch The proliferation of dining longterm strategic plan for helps us to reach lowertier Kevin C. from New York on orful signs beckoning custom “It’s already China’s No 1 ing and folding dough into spots dedicated to hand national health and wellbe cities and speed up innova www.yelp.com. ers into cramped eating spaces dish, and I want to make it No 1 strands, using the weight of pulled noodles highlights New ing, China has been endeav tion. We have started to build The restaurant’s chef has with simple wooden tables in the world,” Liu said. the dough. The length and Yorkers’ appetite for the deli oring to improve its strategic alliances with big five ways to shape flour noo and pictures of dishes on the Earlier this month, China thickness of the strands cacy. healthcare services. The ini online players, to better dles: regular handpulled, fat walls, as Che, who has her own News Service quoted Roy depend on the number of “How do you know if you are tiative forecasts that by understand consumer needs handpulled, small wide hand cooking, eating and travel site, Ying, president of the New times the dough is folded. eating real handpulled noo 2020, the total scale of through their data,” Zhong pulled, big wide handpulled said in a web post. Yorkbased USChina Sister This unique method of mak dles?” Che asked in her article healthcarerelated sectors in said. and knifecut. Regular or skin Liu Haokun was born in the City Association, as saying that ing noodles dates back to 1504, chronicling her experience at China will exceed 8 trillion Many global companies ny rice noodles and potato 1990s in China’s northwestern he planned to open three according to Chinese records. Tasty Handpulled Noodles II. yuan ($1.2 trillion). have noticed that China’s glass noodles are also availa Gansu province, where hand handpulled noodle restau In the Lanzhou style, the “You’ll have a lot of trouble “I see a big shift in the reform and openingup ble, for those who prefer some pulled noodles originated and rants in 2018 in the United dough is worked aggressively. cutting your noodles in half. younger generation. They have increased the pace of thing softer. their status in the culinary States, Canada and Mexico. It is pulled in straight, quick After all, handpulled noodles are much more aware of the consumers trading up, lead “These knifecut noodles industry has been maintained He made the decision after tugs with no twisting or wav derive from one long noodle importance of health. I’m ing to a changed market have awesome texture. To for generations. paying a visit to Lanzhou, cap ing. Some pullers regularly that gets pulled and doubled very happy with the Healthy environment and new chan some extent, it almost doesn’t After graduation from New ital city of Gansu, where he slam the noodles against their over and over again,” Che said. China 2030 national strate nels, said Zhao Shiyuan, a matter what things accompa York University, recognizing met with noodlemaking prep boards to ensure even gy, as it will help to fuel a lot professor at Beijing Tech ny the noodles. I am happy the growing popularity of experts and key figures in the stretching and uniform thick XINHUA of opportunities,” van Acht nology and Business Univer said. sity. “Middleclass families are “The focus of Chinese con one of the strengths of Chi sumers has shifted from na’s population and society, price to quality, and it is Settlement regulations to benefit smaller players and the number of educated reversing the vicious cycle of families is growing, so I’m price competition in the By HE WEI in Shanghai chants. Before this, companies Tenpay accounting for more positive about China, not retail market. Innovation [email protected] were linked directly to banks. than 90 percent, according to just today, but in the years to has become the main resort Through the mechanism, data from consultancy iRe come,” he said. to meet the demand of con China’s thirdparty payment the People’s Bank of China, the search. Meanwhile, other estab sumers who value quality, providers now face stricter central bank, is able to track While all seem to applaud lished rivals such as Rotter health and uniqueness.” rules requiring them to be and monitor all capital flows the move, the new arrange connected to a central clearing from thirdparty payment ment could be more hearten house for settlement, part of vendors, potentially prevent ing for smaller players Beijing’s broader oversight of ing misconduct such as money compared with the big two, the burgeoning market as it laundering, tax evasion and said Wu Qing, a researcher at upholds financial security. bribery, said Neil Wang, China the Development Research From July 1, all payment president of consultancy Frost Center of the State Council. transactions handled by third & Sullivan. “The threshold for entering party providers need to go “It’s conducive in the long the payment market is signifi through the Online Settle term to thirdparty payment cantly lowered thanks to this ment Platform for NonBank institutions, where the clear A consumer pays with Alipay after ordering food at the first self unified agent. Payment firms Payment Institutions, ena ing house has a role to play in service restaurant in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. XINHUA now don’t need to connect to a bling better regulation and setting unified standards in wide array of banks and sign tracking of capital flows with information sharing, risk respective contracts with in the country. supervision and customer Ant Financial and Tencent affect customer experience, it them,” Wu said. Under the new rule, Alipay, deposits management,” said Holdings Ltd’s Tenpay each added. Wang echoed such senti Tenpay, and a long list of third Xiang Songzuo, vicedirector own 9.6 percent. The remain Other payment firms such ments, saying that smaller party players comprising Chi of the International Monetary ing shares are owned by 36 as Tenpay and China PnR, also players can better survive the na’s 40 trillionyuan ($6 Institute at Renmin University smaller online players, includ said they are carefully follow fierce competition since they trillion) thirdparty payment of China. ing UnionPay. ing the central bank’s rules, previously lacked enough market in the quarter ended The Online Settlement Plat Alipay said it has always without elaborating. resources and capital to bar March have routed their trans form for NonBank Payment been “actively and orderly” China is one of the world’s gain and connect directly with actions through the new Institutions, the clearing pushing ahead with connec most dynamic thirdparty pay banks. online clearing house. house, is owned by a number tions to the clearing house, ment markets, largely fueled Under the new rules, “all The channel links with the of major institutions. Seven according to a company state by the vast ecommerce sector thirdparty payment firms are central bank’s clearing system units under the auspices of the ment from its parent Ant and the proliferation of mobile now placed on a level playing to facilitate transactions central bank have a 37 percent Financial Services Group. gadgets. The market is highly field”, said Li Chao, a fintech The booth of Philips at a recent industry exposition in between consumers and mer stake while Alibaba affiliate Such connections would not polarized, with Alipay and analyst at iResearch. Beijing. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY