4 April 2005: Chreod Ltd. at World Bank/IPEA Urban Research Symposium, 2005
4 April 2005: Edward Leman, Chreod Ltd.'s President, delivered a paper today on "Metropolitan Regions: New Challenges for an Urbanizing China" to the World Bank/IPEA Urban Research Symposium 2005 in Brasilia, Brazil. The paper describes key findings of Chreod's research over the last few years on the emergence, growth dynamics, and structure of China's metropolitan regions. Mr. Leman's paper concludes with a 25-point agenda for comparative international and domestic research on key policy themes that could assist policymakers in better managing the development of China's metropolitan regions. The paper is available on Chreod's website on the "Issues Notes" page as Issue Note 2005-4.

Canada Trade Mission to China
19 January 2005
Chreod’s President, Edward Leman, delivered a presentation today on Shanghai and the Yangtze Delta Megalopolis to a 220-company trade mission from Canada to China led by the Hon. James Peterson, Minister of International Trade. The hour-long address in Shanghai focused on business opportunities and constraints in China’s largest Regional Market.

Competition Policy Conference in India
18 January 2005
Derek Ireland, Director and Senior Economist with Chreod, will speak at an international conference on "Moving the Competition Policy Agenda in India" to be held in New Delhi on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. The Conference is being held by the Consumer Unity Trust Society of India with support from UK’s DFID. He will speak on competition issues in the manufacturing sector based on his experience with the Competition Bureau in Canada and on the development of competition policy and law in Malaysia and several other developing countries.

Report on Emerging Regional Trends in China
01 December 2004
Chreod Ltd. has been retained by Canada’s Department of International Trade to prepare a report on emerging economic and social trends in China, and the regional implications and opportunities posed by these trends on investment and trade by Canadian business. The report will focus on the 28 Regional Markets that Chreod has identified in China based on extensive, country-wide analysis of county and city conditions.

Team Canada Environment Mission
04 November 2004
Chreod’s Managing Director for China, Zhang Rufei, delivered a presentation today in Shanghai to a Trade Team Canada Environment mission led by the Hon. Gilbert Parent, Canada’s Ambassador for the Environment and Sustainable Development. The presentation focused on environmental conditions and challenges in the Shanghai metropolitan region, and on government policies and programs to improve urban environmental quality.

Asia-Pacific Forum Presentation
14 October 2004
Chreod’s President, Edward Leman, delivered a presentation today on “Trends Affecting China’s Environment and Implications for Canada” to the Asia-Pacific Forum in Vancouver, organized by the Asia-Pacific Foundation. The speech addressed environmental implications of China’s growing demands for energy, and water and air pollution in urban areas.

Shanghai Environment Conference Presentation
29 September 2004
Chreod’s President, Edward Leman, delivered a presentation in Shanghai today on “Beyond Expo: Shanghai’s Metropolitan Regional Challenges” to the International Environmental Conference on World EXPO 2010 organized by Shanghai’s Environmental Protection Bureau and the Shanghai EXPO Commission. The speech emphasized the need for Shanghai to not be distracted by EXPO preparations from urgent actions required to better manage growth and environmental problems at the metropolitan region scale.

County and City Database Update to 2003
15 September 2004
Chreod has completed the 2003 update of its country-wide database of over 200 economic and demographic variables for all 658 cities and 1678 counties in China. Linked to Chreod’s China GIS, this database has been updated annually since 1997 and forms core information that Chreod uses in providing consulting services to both the public and business sectors.

Presentation to Conference on “Building Innovative Clusters For Competitive Advantage”, Ottawa
29 September 2004
Chreod’s Chief Economist and Director Derek Ireland gave a presentation today in Ottawa on “The Challenges of Establishing Competitive Clusters in Developing Countries: Some Lessons from Chreod’s Experience in China” to an international conference organized by The Competitiveness Institute. His paper focused on the constraints to cluster development in China posed by existing social capital and the vertical orientation of much foreign investment which continues to locate innovation activities in home countries.

Bangladesh Environment Improvement Project
01 August 2004
Under a long-term CIDA project with the Government of Bangladesh being managed by KPMG/Bearing Point, Chreod has been retained to prepare and test a Strategic Benefit-Cost (BCA) Framework for a proposed major water quality improvement program for Greater Dhaka. Chreod’s Chief Economist, Derek Ireland, will conduct this work in Bangladesh.

East Java Strategic Infrastructure Development and Reform Project
01 August 2004
Chreod has been retained by Indonesia’s East Java Provincial Government to support the preparation of: 1) a regional development strategy for the East Java; 2) a companion strategic infrastructure investment program, which will initially focus on regional-scale investments; and 3) a smaller investment framework that could be submitted to the World Bank for financing. The study, co-financed by CIDA INC, will focus on four core themes: governance reform, infrastructure development, capacity development, and poverty alleviation.

Presentation at “The Natural City” Conference, Toronto
22 June 2004
Chreod’s President, Edward Leman, delivered a presentation in Toronto today on “Implications of the Emergence of Metropolitan Regions in China” to The Natural City Conference organized jointly by the University of Toronto and the World Society for Ekistics. The address described interim findings on research Chreod has been conducting on 22 metropolitan regions in China and 20 similar urban systems in Japan, South Korea, France, UK, Canada, and the US.

Book Publication: Managing Urban Change in China
15 April 2004
The China Financial and Economic Publishing House today published a new book titled “Managing Urban Change: Strategic Options for Municipal Governance and Finance in China” written by Edward Leman, Chreod’s President, and Zhang Rufei, Chreod’s Managing Director for China. The book is a Chinese translation of the final report to China’s Ministry of Finance of an 18-month technical assistance assignment funded by the Asian Development Bank on reforms to China’s system of municipal finance.

Census 2000 Database Completion
06 May 2004
Chreod has completed a two-year process of digitizing data from the 2000 National Census of China into Chreod’s database and GIS. At the county and city level, over 60 demographic variables have now been entered. At the sub-municipal level, all 50,498 Street Committees, Towns and Townships have now been geo-referenced and digitized on Chreod’s GIS with twelve key demographic variables. The 2000 National Census is acknowledged to be the most accurate nationwide census in decades.

Book Publication: Public Infrastructure Investment Policy in China
15 February 2004
The China Financial and Economic Publishing House today published a new book titled “Strengthening Public Infrastructure Investment Policy in China: Strategic Options for Central, Provincial and Local Governments” written by written by Edward Leman, Chreod’s President, Derek Ireland, Chreod’s Chief Economist, and Hew MacConnell, consultant. The book is the English version of the final report to China’s Ministry of Finance of a two-year technical assistance assignment conducted by Chreod for the Asian Development Bank on reforms to policies affecting public and quasi-public investment in China’s infrastructure.

Shanghai Cultural Development Strategy
15 January 2004
Chreod Ltd. has been retained by Vancouver-based Commonwealth Historic Resources Management Ltd. to provide economic analysis and planning services in a year-long assignment to assist Shanghai’s Municipal Government in preparing a cultural development strategy. This strategy is expected to assist in positioning Shanghai as a global cultural center.

Development Strategy for Hebei Province
07 August 2003
Chreod Ltd., in association with the Shanghai Development Research Center, has been selected by the Asian Development Bank to conduct a year-long technical assistance assignment for the Hebei Provincial Government that will lead to a new provincial development strategy. The TA will comprise nine sector studies by SDRC and Chreod specialists, and their integration into an overall economic and spatial development strategy that includes measures to alleviate poverty in mountain areas north of Beijing and Tianjin. This is the first provincial development strategy supported by the ADB in China.

Revolving Infrastructure Fund for Shanghai
04 April 2003
Chreod Ltd. has been retained by the Shanghai Chengtou Corporation, Shanghai’s urban development and infrastructure investment company, to design a revolving investment fund for environmental infrastructure in suburban areas of Shanghai. Co-financed by CIDA INC, the assignment is expected to prepare a US $ 50 million component of the second phase of the World Bank’s Shanghai Urban Environment Project Adaptable Program Loan.

China Towns Development Strategy
15 January 2003
Chreod has been retained by the World Bank to provide the services of Chreod’s President, Edward Leman, to a Bank team that has been asked by China’s National Development and Reform Commission to assist in preparing a national strategy for development of large, strategic towns. Mr. Leman will provide urban and regional development planning services to the World Bank team.

Metropolitan Development Trends in Shanghai
15 December 2002
Chreod Ltd. has been retained by the World Bank, on behalf of Shanghai’s Development and Reform Commission, to analyze social, economic and environmental trends across Shanghai Municipality and their implications for infrastructure investment in suburban areas. The assignment will include a field survey of 300 vulnerable households in Shanghai’s suburbs to assess their access to environmental infrastructure services.

Development Strategies for Five Cities in China
26 November 2002
Chreod Ltd. has been selected by the World Bank, on behalf of The Cities Alliance, to conduct the second “City Development Strategies” project in China. Chreod will assist the governments of Chengdu (Sichuan), Zhengzhou (Henan), Lanzhou (Gansu), Xinxiang (Henan) and Erdos (Inner Mongolia) in preparing economic, social, and urban development strategies that maximize agglomeration benefits of wider city-regions, including adjacent counties. Chreod Ltd. also conducted the first CDS project in China, in Hunan and Guizhou Provinces.

Urban Poverty Assessment, Pearl River Delta
06 March 2002
Chreod Ltd. has been retained by the World Bank to conduct an assignment to assess the levels and characteristics of urban and suburban poverty in the Pearl River Delta. The assignment will include a field survey of over 300 vulnerable households across the PRD, including long-staying migrants.

Development Trends in Pearl River Delta
05 September 2001
Chreod Ltd. has been retained by the Guangdong Provincial Construction Commission to assess economic, social, urban and environmental trends across the Pearl River Delta. The 18-month assignment, co-financed by CIDA INC, will lead to the identification of locational and sectoral priorities for capital investments in environmental infrastructure in the PRD which are expected to be financed by a new World Bank loan to Guangdong.

Shanghai Urban Environment Project Preparation
01 September 2001
Chreod Ltd. has been retained by the World Bank to assist in the preparation of the Shanghai Urban Environment Project, a proposed 3-phase, 0 million Adaptable Program Loan to the Shanghai Municipal Government. Chreod will assist the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission in updating its metropolitan development strategy, and assist the World Bank team in identifying, reviewing and appraising possible investments and institutional reforms, especially in infrastructure finance. Chreod provided similar services on three previous World Bank environment projects in Shanghai since 1993.

Chreod Retained by Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs to Provide Market Research on Southwest China
Chreod Ltd. has been retained by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada to conduct a market research study on Southwest China, comprising Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou and Yunnan Provinces. The focus of this research will be on the natural resources, inter-city transport, power and urban infrastructure sectors. Building on previous consulting work in all four provinces, Chreod's research will be directed to identifying market opportunities and constraints for entry and operation of Canadian companies in these sectors.

New Chreod Managing Director for China
9/19/01
The Board of Directors of Chreod Ltd. is pleased to welcome Zhang Rufei as a member of the Board. Mr. Zhang has been Chreod's China Regional Manager since 1997, heading up its Shanghai Registered Representative Office. An urban/regional planner with strong public and infrastructure finance experience, Mr. Zhang now becomes Chreod's Managing Director for China. Prior to joining Chreod, Mr. Zhang was a senior urban development planner in the Shanghai Municipal Government. His recent experience with Chreod in China has been on projects for the World Bank throughout the Yangtze Basin and the Pearl River Delta, for the Asian Development Bank and the Ministry of Finance on municipal and public infrastructure finance, and for multinational investors in the telecommunications and transport sectors.

New Director and Shareholder at Chreod Ltd.
Chreod Ltd. is pleased to announce the appointment of Stephen Dolan as a Director and shareholder of the company. Mr. Dolan will be leaving the Government of Canada (CIDA) on 1 October 2001 to return to Chreod as a senior urban and environmental planner and project manager. For the past two years, he has been a Development Officer in the Canadian International Development Agency’s Asia Branch where he worked on design and implementation management of environmental, water resources, forestry, education and institutional development projects in the Philippines and Indonesia. Prior to joining CIDA, Mr. Dolan worked with Chreod as an urban environmental planner on several China projects, and as a Research Officer at the Environmental Economics Division, Environment Canada. His professional experience has been in urban and regional development, water resources management, geographic information, systems, and decision support systems.

Chreod at Shanghai Environment Conference, 27-29 June 2001
Chreod’s President, Edward Leman, has been invited to deliver a paper at the Shanghai Environment Conference (27-29 June 2001), co-sponsored by the Shanghai Municipal Government, the World Bank, and Siemens AG of Germany. The purpose of the conference, to be opened by Shanghai’s Mayor Xu Kuangdi, is to review Shanghai’s progress over the last ten years in urban environmental management, and identify international experience that could help in environmental improvements to the metropolitan region over the next decade. Mr. Leman’s paper, titled “Shanghai: Environmental Implications of Shanghai’s Emergence as a Global Metropolis”, will describe Shanghai’s dramatic development over the last decade as China’s nexus to the global economy, and how urban environmental quality will influence the city’s continued integration with regional and global economic systems. Major environmental threats – of which continuing deterioration of water quality in the Taihu Basin is the most serious – will be reviewed in terms of their potential impacts on Shanghai’s global competitiveness. (http://www.shanghai-env-conf.org/homepage.htm)

Chreod at World Economic Forum's China Business Summit 2001, 17-19 April 2001
Chreod's President, Edward Leman, has been invited to participate as a panelist on “The Environment and Economic Growth” at the upcoming China Business Summit 2001 to be held in Beijing from 17-19 April. Organized by the World Economic Forum (www.weforum.org) in cooperation with the China Enterprise Confederation, the Summit is an annual event at which domestic and foreign business leaders can exchange views with top government officials in China. As one of four panelists on the environment/economy session, Mr. Leman will focus on economic growth in China’s 668 cities, which account for over 90% of China’s GDP. His comments will address: 1) economic impacts of the depletion and degradation of essential urban economic resources, including the health of workers and consumers; 2) impacts of environmental decline on economic productivity in China’s cities; 3) the attractiveness of individual cities to outside investors based on environmental quality; and 4) the need to create viable revenue streams from urban environmental services, particularly water supply and wastewater treatment, so that local governments and outside investors can deliver these services in an economically viable manner.

1999 Update to Chreod’s China-wide Database Completed
Chreod has just completed the update of 1999 data for its country-wide statistical database at the county and city levels. This work – conducted annually by Chreod since 1996 – took five months to complete, and consisted of data entry, data cleaning, and spot verification. Links of statistical data to updated boundary files on Chreod’s GIS will be completed by the end of June. This will be the most current country-wide spatial and statistical database on economic, demographic, investment, and infrastructure conditions in China. Links to 1998, 1997, 1996, 1993, and 1990 data and spatial entities will provide for the most up to date time series analysis available outside of China. All of Chreod’s China data is spatially referenced to the most current county and city boundaries and designations of China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs and the National Bureau of Standards. The update team will start work on 2000 information later this Fall as data start to become available.

World Bank Workshop on Chreod's Yangtze Basin Urbanization Project, Shanghai 6-7 March 2001
Chreod Ltd. and Dillon Consulting Ltd. will co-host a summary workshop on Urbanization and Environment Trends in the China’s Yangtze River Basin from 6-7 March 2001 in Shanghai. The two firms will present findings of their 2-year research project for the World Bank (co-financed by CIDA) that is part of the Bank’s Yangtze Urban Environment Strategy Study with the Government of China. Chreod will present its draft final report on “Urban and Regional Development Trends in China’s Yangtze Basin” (see Summary Report in PDF format) that describes urbanization and economic development in 910 cities and counties in the Basin. Dillon will present its draft final report on urban environmental conditions in 12 cities, selected on the basis of Chreod’s research. The workshop is co-sponsored by the World Bank and the Shanghai Finance Bureau. Representatives from the Ministry of Finance, State Development Planning Commission, Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Lands and Resources, and the State Council’s Development Research Centre will attend the workshop along with senior provincial and municipal government officials from across the Basin’s 11 provinces. (http://www.worldbank.org.cn/English/content/981f6230360.shtml)

Chreod to Advise Beijing and ADB on Peri-urban Development Strategies
Chreod has been retained by the Asian Development Bank and the Beijing Municipal Government to provide services on the“Assessment of Small and Medium Cities Urban Infrastructure Development” Technical Assistance assignment. The purpose of this TA is to assist the governments of Beijing Municipality and a suburban district/county to strengthen their capacities in formulating urban infrastructure development policies and strategies, and in preparing a Tenth Five Year Urban Infrastructure Development Plan for the district/county. The TA is also to advise on strategic directions for better managing suburban and peri-urban development in China’s large metropolitan regions. Chreod has provided the services of its Principal Urban Planner, Reg McLemore, a Director of Chreod, as Urban Development Specialist.

Chreod to Address Team Canada in February 2001 Visit to Shanghai
Chreod has been asked by Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade to make a keynote presentation to the Team Canada delegation that will be visiting China in February 2001. Led by Canada’s Prime Minister and comprised of all Provincial Premiers and a large business delegation, the Team Canada Mission will visit Beijing, Shanghai and Hongkong. On the first day of the visit to Shanghai, Chreod’s Chief Economist, Derek Ireland, will deliver an address describing findings of the firm’s continuing research on economic, urban, and infrastructure conditions and prospects in Shanghai, China’s largest metropolis. The address will feature comparisons between the Shanghai/Yangtze Delta Megalopolis and the Pearl River Delta in southern China, and draw parallels with the development of the Tokyo metropolitan region in the past three decades.

Chreod Selected to Prepare City Development Strategies in China for World Bank/Cities Alliance
Chreod has been awarded a contract by the World Bank (http://www.worldbank.org/html/fpd/urban/regions/eap/eap.htm), on behalf of the Cities Alliance, to prepare the first country-specific City Development Strategies for China. Chreod has associated with the Urban Institute of Washington DC and the International Centre for Sustainable Cities in Vancouver to conduct this assignment which will prepare development strategies for the metropolitan regions of Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, and Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou Province. Working closely with municipal governments, the Team will focus on developing realistic strategies to: 1) improve the linkage between economic development planning and infrastructure planning; and 2) improve the capacities of municipalities and their infrastructure companies to finance long-term infrastructure development in sound and equitable ways.

This assignment is part of a worldwide program of preparing City Development Strategies under the auspices of The Cities Alliance (http://www.citiesalliance.org) a global coalition of cities and their development partners designed to achieve the promise of well managed cities. Launched in 1999 by Jim Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, and Klaus Töpfer, Executive Director of UNCHS (Habitat), the Alliance aims to improve the efficiency and impact of urban development cooperation in two key areas: 1) linking the process by which local stakeholders define their vision for their city, analyze its economic prospects and establish a city development strategy and priorities for action; and 2) making unprecedented improvements in the living conditions of the urban poor by supporting urban regeneration at citywide and nationwide scales of action. This is Chreod's first collaboration with The Urban Institute - one of the top urban policy institutes in the US -–and with the International Centre for Sustainable Cities, one of Canada’s most active and internationally respected organizations in sustainable urban development.