Chinese companies win praise for mindset change

As China has become the second largest economy in the world, the companies here, especially the big corporate ones, are beginning to see the big picture and start placing themselves into the big picture and behave in a manner more in line with the newly-earned global economic status of the country.

Like many other global corporations, the Chinese companies didn't considering financial reports and corporate social responsibility (CSR) statements seriously until the in recent years.

Now the companies have realized the value of communicating with their cooperative corporate partners, government and social organizations, social organizations, media, professional institutes, universities, and their own employees.

"The CSR report is a good messenger, conveying the idea to people who have a stake in it, as well as our own employees," said Xu Xiaoling, CSR report editor with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), one of the largest corporations in China.

"CNPC is dedicated to be a model citizen in the enterprise community, balancing profit, environment protection and social responsibility," Xu said.

According to Xu, producing CSR reports also helped employees improve their management. She believes a CSR report has a significant influence on their employees in the ways of centralizing ideas and increasing awareness.

CNPC produced its first CSR report in 2006. At that time, Xu had to explain whatis social responsibility to employees and spend a long time sharing his views with them.

After 8 years producing reports, internal corporate communication within corporate has become much easier, Xu expressed.

"Now our staff knows more than we expect, instead of talking about understandings, they directly telling me what they did. We are so gratified about at it."

This year, CNPC is a silver winner in of the ARC awards, a world-top prize for exquisitely edited and printed enterprise financial reports and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports.

The awards are sponsored by MerCommInc, a United States-based independent award organization, founded in 1987 with the mission of advancing the standards of excellence in the fields of corporate communications.

At the awards ceremony in Beijing last week, Reni L. Witt, founder and president of MerCommInc, presented the awards to seven Chinese companies and told shared with China Daily her views towards about Chinese enterprises' reports.

"The quality of Chinese annual reports is very much improving, and getting far more interesting," she said. "They are more factual than Western companies. Now they are getting much better at telling their company's stories."

According to Witt, the mainland is now is the fourth largest force competing in the ARC awards, after Hong Kong, United States and Germany.

The first annual reports from the mainland started coming in 2008. The earliest companies included CapinfoCompany Ltd, China Shenhua Energy Company Limited and SinoMedia Holding Limited.

In 2014, 146 annual reports were submitted from China, capturing 30 prizes, including five Gold Awards plus the Best of People's Republic of China for SinoMedia Holding Limited.

Thirty companies from the Chinese mainland won ARC awards this year, 18 of which, including CNPC, had reports produced by Toppan Vite Ltd, a Hong Kong-based professional financial printing company, and a leading player in the niche market in China.

"Outsourcing the report to professional printers can help us make breakthroughs in forms," said Xu. "A good report entails a large amount of communications, and creative minds and labor jobs in designing and editing. Our first ARC award means all efforts paid off."

Big state-owned enterprise is the main source of Toppan's customer base. These SOEs are not short of funds, and are motivated to enter the global market. China is becoming a capital exporter. Its SOEs soon become ambitious investors and purchasers soon in the world where they have remained less known for long. The SOEs have a strong need, if not enforced, to make their structure, business and operation more transparent to the global market.

"This is a profitable business," said Ringo Mo, general manager of sales and marketing division of Toppan.

"We see in China (mainland) and even in Hong Kong, the CSR report will be increasing. All the corporations are more concerned about how to project the image to be a responsible company."

Mo thinks companies are starting to feel that their money spending on a CSR may get some positive return besides branding: a better client and customer loyalty, a better change to manage crisis when it happen, a better staff retention and so on.

More competitors are emerging from the public relations companies and advertising agencies. But the entry barriers are becoming higher and higher, in terms of technology and services, Mo noted.

"More reports will be on mobile phone, and tablet computers. And the clients are more better educated than before, and they know how to pick a good solution provider, not only good design, but your background, experience, and especially, how you can serve them globally," Mo added.

Toppan's revenues have risen 15 percent in each of the past four years. The company has about 200 corporate clients with Chinese background, 70 percent of which from out of Toppan's Hong Kong office, the rest from Beijing and Shanghai office.

Duxiaoying1@chinadaily.com.cn