Top of Chinese wealthy's wish list? To leave

By LOUISE WATT, ASSOCIATED PRESS

BEIJING - Chinese millionaire Su builds skyscrapers in Beijing and is one of the people powering China's economy on its path to becoming the world's biggest.

He sits at the top of a country - economy booming, influence spreading, military swelling - expected to dominate the 21st century. Yet the property developer shares something surprising with many newly rich in China: He's looking forward to the day he can leave.

Su's reasons: He wants to protect his assets, he has to watch what he says in China, and he wants a second child, something against the law for many Chinese. His wife is already in the U.S. The millionaire spoke on condition that only his surname was used because of fears of government reprisals that could damage his business.

China's richest are increasingly investing abroad to get a foreign passport, to make international business easier but also to give them a way out of China.

The United States is the most popular destination for Chinese emigrants, with rich Chinese praising its education and health care systems. Last year, nearly 68,000 Chinese-born people became legal permanent residents of the U.S., 7 percent of the total and second only to those born in Mexico.

It is a bothersome trend for China's communist leaders who have pinned the legitimacy of one-party rule on delivering economic growth and a rising standard of living.

They have succeeded in lifting tens of millions of ordinary Chinese out of poverty while also creating a new class of super rich. Yet affluence alone seems a poor bargain to those with the means to live elsewhere. Plus the poor resent the newly rich, who feel uneasy.

Despite more economic freedom, the communist government has kept its tight grip on many other aspects of daily life. China's leaders punish public dissent and any perceived challenges to their power, and they censor what can be read online and in print.

Authoritarian rule, meanwhile, has proved ineffective in addressing old problems of pollution, contaminated food and a creaking health care system.

"In China, nothing belongs to you. Like buying a house. You buy it, but it will belong to the country 70 years later," said Su, lamenting the land leasing system.

Target Canada now hiring for 2013 launch

August 30, 2011Comments on this story  (8)
DANA FLAVELLE
Target Canada is starting to staff up its operations in anticipation of opening its first 135 stores in Canada in March 2013.
The Canadian division of the second largest U.S. retailer launched a careers website on Monday at target.ca/careers.
The company plans to hire “tens of thousands” of Canadians, including 150 to 200 employees per store.
That’s roughly 50 per cent more than are employed at the Zellers’ stores it is replacing, said Bryan Berg, Target Canada’s senior vice-president of stores.
The company is entering the market by buying up the leaseholds on 220 Zellers’ stores for $1.82 billion, though it may not set up shop in all those locations. It has already sold some of the leaseholds to Wal-Mart Canada Corp.
Zellers employees will be given the same consideration as other job applicants, the company said.
So far, Target Canada has posted mainly higher level jobs, such as There are senior buyer, merchandise planning manager, business analyst and district team leader as the retailer builds up its Canadian infrastructure.
So far, the company has hired 35 Canadians, mainly in senior positions. About 20 have started working with executives from the U.S. retailer.
Target expects to employ 500 people in its head office in Mississauga.
Canadian wage rates and employment laws are “more similar than different” than those in the U.S., Berg said.
“They’re pretty much in line with what our expectations have been,” he said. “We haven’t found any big surprises to date.”
“Our goal in the U.S. is to be very competitive in the marketplace. We pride ourselves on having one of the best compensation packages in the (retail) industry,” said Tiffany Monroe, vice-president human resources for Target Canada.
About 50 positions are open, but more are coming.
“There will be ongoing job opportunities that will get posted over the coming months,” Monroe said. “People can sign up for alerts. It’s very similar to the way we do hiring in the U.S.”
Both Berg and Monroe came to Target Canada from its U.S. operations.
With 70 per cent awareness among Canadian consumers, of whom 30,000 already hold a Target U.S. credit card, the chain is expected to have a huge impact on the Canadian retail landscape.
Within a decade, the company expects to be generating $6 billion a year in sales.