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TP :$0.30...
SHENZHEN: Canadian pilot's bird's-eye view of city
Written by Andrew Vanburen (China Correspondent)
Saturday, 06 March 2010
With Co-pilot: Pilot Sean Morrissey with wife Vivian. Photo: Andrew Vanburen
NEXTINSIGHT BRINGS YOU a series of interviews each Saturday with expatriates who call the southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen both their workplace and home.
Our aim is to offer insights into what could be The Next Big Thing – Shenzhen – a city whose GDP growth and population have outpaced those of its richer neighbor, Hong Kong, seemingly since people began paying attention to the big and little dragons’ economic performance in the first place.
We also hope to bring a series of revealing snapshots on just what it takes for non-locals to live and work here, and thrive while doing so.
A common thread linking these industrious expats together is how they have taken the best from their diverse cultural backgrounds to make a name for themselves in a faraway place like Shenzhen.
The Middle Kingdom takes great pride in being a country with 56 officially recognized ethnicities. But among China’s 1.3 bln denizens, the majority Han Chinese still make up well over 90% of the total population.
Despite the fact that the country is no longer building Great Walls to keep foreigners out, expats – especially non-Han residents -- are still a relative rarity in Chinese cities compared to say New York, London or Melbourne.
But the days of putting up walls are a thing of the distant past and cities like Shenzhen, which borders the more cosmopolitan Hong Kong, are beginning to catch up in terms of their expat tallies.
For years, when denizens of Shenzhen or visitors to the southern Chinese city were asked what was the best thing about the place, they would often answer: proximity to Hong Kong.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
And when queried on what most irked them about Shenzhen, the same people would frequently cite the city’s relative lack of history.
But things are rapidly changing in this dynamic 10-mln strong city which sports the highest percentage of non-local born residents of all the country’s major population centers.
London, New York and San Francisco of old – which in Chinese translates as “Old Gold Mountain” due to the belief by some in centuries past that the streets of America were indeed paved with the stuff.—were the destination of millions of Cantonese, Fujianese and other immigrants from Cathay looking to find their fortune in far-off, mysterious and more prosperous lands.
Now the hosts are becoming the guests as more and more foreigners seek to improve their lot in China.
In this sixth installment, we meet Canadian expat Mr. Sean Morrissey, a pilot for Shenzhen-based carrier Jade Cargo, a joint venture between Shenzhen Airlines (51% ), Lufthansa Cargo (25%) and German development bank DEG (24%).
NextInsight: How would you describe the business operating climate where you are now compared to that in your homeland?
Canadian pilot with Jade Cargo, Sean Morrissey. Photo: Andrew Vanburen
Mr. Morrissey: Oddly enough, although Canada is far more ethnically diverse and open in many ways, our company is extremely global. In the way of background, let me explain. Jade Cargo owns six Boeing 747 cargo planes and we employ 120 pilots from 32 countries.
Among them are only three Chinese pilots. However, English is a unifying factor for us, as we are only permitted to use that language in the cockpit for standardization and safety reasons. This requirement I suppose is part of the reason why we have so few local native pilots.
What are the most obvious changes you have witnessed or sensed during your time here?
Well, for one thing, our taxes have increased! There’s a graduated tax system here, so the more you make, the higher rate you pay into the system. I believe it starts as 12% and can go all the way up to 32%.
Another thing is the economy. I’ve been with this company for nearly two years. So when we first arrived in Shenzhen, things got very slow very fast, especially with the export slowdown. The company’s customers were trying to deplete inventories and ride out the storm on volume sales rather than price. At that time, our planes flew to Europe with full bellies, but came back usually empty. However, things have turned around since late 2008 and early 2009, and we were one of the only Asian carriers, including both passenger and cargo, that saw profitability last year.
I still think the economy here is relatively open, and don’t see a lot of official preference for local firms. We are somewhat unique in that we are 51% Chinese-owned. However, I think that even wholly owned foreign enterprises will thrive here if they offer quality products and services at competitive prices.
One thing that has remained the same is that it is still very hard to get routes approved. We sometimes have to fly via Pudong (in Shanghai) to meet various local and international landing rights regulations on our way to Europe.
Shenzhen is one of a handful of Garden Cities in China, and the mandated greenery keeps skies blue most of the time. Photo: Shenzhen Tourism Bureau
In addition, other aspects of business here are much more onerous than back in Canada, mainly because of the bureaucracy. There are more steps needed for approvals and authorization, such as in the opening of bank accounts. Personal banking here becomes much more difficult.
But I think that for expats who are here more than two years, then all is good. It seems that that period of time, if you can get through it, is somehow critical and means that you have begun to think of your adopted home as a real home of sorts.
If your children (current or future) told you they wanted to settle in your current city (in China), study, work and raise a family here, how would you feel?
I’d have no problem with raising kids here. And they can settle wherever they see fit. However, I wonder what sort of national identity -- or identity crisis -- they would have being the product of both our marriage and also being Canadian nationals in Shenzhen. I would hope for them to have a solid national identity as prior to arriving in Shenzhen we also lived and worked in the US for 15 years.
If the economy in the current city where you are slows of softens considerably, would you immediately relocate, or do you feel China is your home and you will ride out the rough times?
We have been through a slowdown, as things were quite rough when we arrived a couple years ago. The air cargo business suddenly became quite sluggish. In early 2009, business for us dropped 80%, but we toughed it out. As long as my contract is good, we will stay here. And as long as me, my wife and two kids are happy, we won’t be going anywhere.
What are some of the best things about doing business in China today? What things would you most like to see changed?
The energy in the market is quite contagious. However, if I could change one thing about the local business climate it would be to instill more personal accountability in the individual workers.
As an expat, I can’t complain about my salary. It’s quite attractive. The lifestyle and benefits here are also good. But yes, I would definitely like for local workers to take more initiative and personal accountability. The younger generation is leaning this way, but this needs to be encouraged more. I think the older generations discourage initiative to some extent due perhaps to their historical and political background.
How do you feel about the current residential property prices in Shenzhen for renting? How about for buying? How have you felt about property prices going up/down in your time here?
Sean Morrissey is a pilot with Jade Cargo, 51% held by Shenzhen Airlines. Shenzhen Airlines is reportedly mulling a 1 bln usd Hong Kong IPO. Photo: Jade Cargo
I think things are still affordable, but of course it depends on what you what to buy. A lot of areas and living complexes have really shot up in price of late, and I would say most properties are overpriced now. So now is probably the worst time to buy property in my opinion.
How about the cost of transportation, entertainment, and food/drink?
It’s gone up a bit, but it’s quite a bit cheaper than in Hong Kong. Transportation here is still very cheap.
Has your income risen at the same rate as inflation (rise of property/transportation, entertainment, food/drink?
I am on an annual contract, which is adjusted each year, and grows at a pace faster than inflation.
Is your business doing better, worse, or the same as when you first began working in Shenzhen? Why do you think that is? What are your plans to improve your business in Shenzhen over the next year?
It has improved over the last year and a half, in part because of marketing and restructuring so that we don’t fly back empty so much anymore. Although we are 49% held by Lufthansa, we are still able to undercut them on price. In fact, we are one of the reasons their pilots are striking.
We carry everthing under the sun between China and the EU, from the latest Blackberry to chilled blueberries.
Have you gotten the investment bug and put some of your hard-earned money in the market?
Not yet, but we plan to.
Click here to read about a Briton with a strong appreciation for Shenzhen's can-do spirit.
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