China property giant eyes robot rescue from rising wage bills

Hong Kong

CHINA Vanke, the biggest property developer by sales in the world's most populous country, is recruiting robots to sweep floors and guard its properties to address a labour shortage and rising wage bills.

As Chinese developers struggle with lacklustre sales and tighter industry margins, China Vanke, like many, is looking to premium concierge services to attract customers, and it said robots would provide some of those services.

You can already buy a robot waiter for 40,000 yuan (S$8,900) on Alibaba Group's Taobao, China's leading online marketplace, but Vanke is developing its own - mostly for janitorial, security and transportation services, which are more labour-intensive than the core bus…