So after seven years of visiting China for ADM, I joined a small technology company in Shanghai that has as its goal to develop new business internally, rather than license technology. That company is Cathay Biotechnology , where I have joined as President. An IPO is planned for 2001. Currently Cathay has a new lab and pilot plant underway in Shanghai and is raising funds for a production facility. Business in China can be both exhilarating and boring.
Long waits can be routine and no queue is too long at the ticket and sales counters.
Despite all of the problems, things get done and each year shows a society undergoing dramatic changes that are visible everywhere. People remain happy and convinced that their life will be better tomorrow and that their children's lives will be better yet. It begins with the labor rate. All of us in biochemical production know that labor is often a small part of the cost of a product on the balance sheet. Normally it runs around 5-10 percent.