Highlights:

I. Economy

Unemployment is mounting rapidly in China. Perhaps the hardest hit area is the Pearl River delta region. Once regarded as the world's factory, the southern China region is now suffering a severe blow from the US financial crisis. Export-oriented companies and labor-intensive industries have suffered the most from the nation's slowing economic growth and dwindling exports. During 2004-2007, when the global economy was booming, Chinese manufacturers had increased their production capacity, but as a result of falling overseas demand, shuttered facilities and unemployment increased. Considering various macro indices, prospects for the labor market in 2009 are somewhat gloomy with unemployment in China being expected to rise to around 7% in 2009.

II. Industry

China's automobile market continues to grow at a steadily but the pace of growth has slowed noticeably as the nation's economy decelerates. FAW Cars Co., the automobile unit of the FAW group, has been able to weather the downturn. It enjoyed a slight improvement in year-on-year performance from January to September of this year. FAW Cars worked on a number of initiatives to enhance the competitiveness of its proprietary models, particularly in design, sales networks, and cost control. To achieve economies of scale, FAW Cars expanded its production lines and integrated its sales networks.