Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Chinese Online Class - Bachelors likely to boost economy

BIZCHINA / Biz Life

Bachelors likely to boost economy
By Shenzhen Daily
Updated: 2006-08-28 10:21

The new bachelor trend among Chinese middle-class, white-collar workers
will trigger a "single economy" phenomenon in the country, experts say.

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White-collar workers and other middle-class people who prefer to remain
single have high spending power, which may create a consumption structure
different from the family-oriented one, said Zuo Xiaosi, a researcher
from the Sociology and Demography Institute of Guangdong Academy of
Social Sciences.

"Small-sized houses and cars will be more sellable than ever," Zuo said,
adding that household appliances, insurance, entertainment and tourism
may also benefit.

A media survey revealed that 30.35 percent of single Chinese women make
housing their priority, while 30.02 percent spend the most money on
buying clothes and cosmetics.

However, the baby products industry is likely to suffer. The country now
has 107 million babies, creating estimated annual market sales of 500
billion yuan (US$62.5 billion). It is estimated that if 30 percent of
parents-to-be remain single, total sales will drop by at least 150
billion yuan.

The single trend will have a long-term effect on China's consumption
structure, boosting overall consumption, said Yuan Xin, a professor from
the Population and Development Institute of the Nankai University in
North China's Tianjin Municipality.

Zhong Qing, a sociologist from Qinghua University in Beijing, said that
at the beginning of the 21st century, there were already more than 1
million single people in Shanghai. Other cities such as Guangzhou, Wuhan
and Beijing are also following the "singles" trend.

Chinese youngsters today care more about freedom and enjoyment. The high
cost of marriage is one of the reasons young adults remain single,
sociologists said.

"Marriage is not a cost-efficient thing since it takes so much money to
buy a large house and raise a child," said Zhou Ying, a single woman in
Beijing.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)

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