Catalan electric material producer Simon reaches over 2,200 shops in China

From http://www.diaridegirona.cat/economia/2013/09/11/fabricant-material-electric-simon-supera/634503.html (in Catalan)

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="273"] Image from Simon's website[/caption]

After reaching over 2,200 shops in China under the name of Simhome, the Asian giant is going to become Simon's main market in terms of total sales. According to Simon's CEO Xavier Torra, 780 of these shops have a surface of around 100 m2, whereas the other 1,500 shops have an average surface of around 20 m2, where Simon products are sold exclusively. Simon is selling in China since 1999, when an agreement with a local partner was made, that was followed by a joint venture in 2002 and has been able to supply equipment for the facilities of the Olympic Games in Beijing. According to Xavier Torra, "in 2 or 3 years China is expected to become our first market. Today it already represents around 20% of our total sales". Simon's total sales in 2012 reached 250 million €.

 

Industrias Químicas del Vallés to open subsidiaries in China and the United States

From http://www.flytobarcelona.org/?p=7358 (in English)

Catalan company Industrias Químicas del Vallés (IQV) announced the launch of two new subsidiaries in Valdosta, Georgia (United States) and Beijing (China) to augment its organizational structure abroad and continue increasing exports. These new subsidiaries will strengthen its presence in two of the world's main markets for phytosanitary products, doubling exports to those countries and reinforcing the company's commitment to international expansion. Based in Mollet del Vallès (Barcelona province), Industrias Químicas del Vallés already exports more than 50% of its production. Industrias Químicas del Vallés is investing in the United States and China in order to obtain the necessary authorization to market other products from its catalogue. These new openings are in addition to the subsidiaries the company already has in Spain, Italy and Portugal; local partnerships in Greece; and the 55 countries where Industrias Químicas del Vallés markets its products.

Beijing Foreign Studies University will teach Catalan language

From http://www.diaridegirona.cat/espanya-internacional/2012/03/09/universitat-xinesa-ensenyara-catala-partir-lany-vinent/551272.html (in Catalan)

The Beijing Foreign Studies University has announced an agreement with the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) in order to start teaching Catalan language and culture in 2013, as part of the 4-year degree on Spanish Studies. This will be the first experience of its kind in a Chinese university.

Chinese writer Diane Wei Liang presents her new book in Barcelona

From http://www.casaasia.es/actividad/detalle?id=203306 (in Spanish)

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="La Casa del Espíritu Dorado - Diane Wei Liang - Ediciones Siruela"][/caption]

In the framework of a series of activities related to asian detective fiction literature, Casa Àsia and Ediciones Siruela have organized a meeting with Chinese writer Diane Wei Liang, who has recently released her third novel "The House of Golden Spirit", that has been translated into Spanish as "La Casa del Espíritu Dorado". After the success of "The eye of Jade" and "Paper butterfly", Diane Wei Liang has written a new story for her fictional character, the female detective Mei Wang. The plot on this new book is set on the city of Beijing after the Olympic Games of 2008, where Mei Wang has to deal with a noisy and busy environment, and with people whose only drive in life is money or power. Diane Wei Liang will be giving a talk entitled "Mei Wang's Beijing" ("El Pequín de la detectiu Mei Wang" (catalan) / "El Pequín de la detective Mei Wang" (Spanish)) and presenting her book in Barcelona on September 15th, 2011. The event will take place at the headquarters of Casa Àsia in Barcelona, Tagore Auditorium, Avinguda Diagonal, 373 and she will be introduced by Ofelia Grande, Director of Ediciones Siruela, and Rafael Bueno, Director of Politics and Society of Casa Àsia. One day earlier, a similar activity is scheduled in Madrid's Casa Asia's headquarters. An interview in Spanish with Diane Wei Liang can be dowloaded from Ediciones Siruela website, whereas Casa Àsia website also offers an invitation card to the event, both as pdf files. For further information contact casaasia@casaasia.es.

FC Barcelona wins UEFA Champions League

From http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/english/futbol/temporada_10-11/arxiu_partits/champions_league/final/jornada01/Barcelona_Manchester/partit.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_UEFA_Champions_League_Final (in English)

The football section of famous Catalan sportsclub FC Barcelona has won the 2011 edition of the UEFA Champions League after defeating Manchester United by 3-1 in a sublime performance. The match raised a big expectation worldwide, as stated by this report by Catalan television channel TV3, in which a group of hardcore Barça fans from Beijing celebrate the 4th UEFA Champions League of their favourite team. It is also interesting to state that renowned Taiwanese-Catalan entepreneur Dídac Lee is member of the present Board of Directors of the club, leading the Technology Area (New Technologies).

For those that missed the game, see a 13-minute summary of its most interesting moments.

Construmat China will open on July 11, 2012

From http://www.globalasia.com/destacados-portada/construmat-sera-exportado-a-china-en-2012 (in Spanish)

As already explained on the post Construmat trade show exported to China in 2012 here at Sinalunya, Fira Barcelona together with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) have agreed to organize Construmat China in Beijing between July 11th and 13th, 2012. This construction trade show will be held at the Beijing Convention Center, which offers to exhibitors an area of 24,000 squared meters. At least 200 exhibitors are expected to take place in this event.

Spanish car maker SEAT is looking for partners in China

From http://www.expansion.com/2011/04/19/empresas/auto-industria/1303248269.html (in Spanish)

Volkswagen-owned Spanish car maker SEAT has had meetings with 30 local car dealers in order to start selling cars in China in April next year. SEAT León and SEAT Ibiza have been presented in the 2011 Auto Shanghai exhibition and it is expected they can be sold in 2012 by the time of the Beijing car exhibition. All the cars to be sold in China initially will be produced in the SEAT factory in Martorell (Barcelona province), together with the Audi Q3. SEAT has been renamed as XiYaTe (西雅特) for the Chinese market.

FC Barcelona will open shop in Beijing

From http://www.expansion.com/2011/04/14/catalunya/1302808882.html (in Spanish)

FC Barcelona is expanding beyond Europe and is currently in conversations with Nike in order to open a shop in Beijing and another one in New York City in a time frame of 2 or 3 years. Apart from China and United States, future marketing actions will be addressed to Mexico, South Korea and Turkey.