Ventures Dialogue

The official Chinese New Year falls on February 14, 2010 while festivities have been taking place leading up to the New Year, and more will come.  Here in Toronto, the Hong Kong Canada Business Association holds its New Year’s ball on February 20. 

Your Chinese horoscope can provide insight for your personal and professional lives.  In an article on their website, The Mandarin School provides some advice:

“The emerging industries in 2010 are related to earth (think real estate), fire (think energy, communications and entertainment) and metal (think automotive industry).”

To learn more about the Chinese New Year and how it can affect your business, read this column from The Mandarin School.

Photo by yewenyi.

For the first time since 1975, Canada posted an annual trade deficit in 2009 as imports grew at a greater rate than exports.  Commentary on the implications of this news are mixed. 

CBC’s Michael Hlinka said in his broadcast this morning that it is a sign of a whole different environment for doing business.  In the past, Canadian exports were protected by a weaker Canadian dollar, giving our companies a competitive edge.  Hlinka argues that Canadian companies need to adapt to a new world where our dollar is almost at par with the American dollar.  They’ll have to find other ways to be competitive.

In the Montreal Gazette, an article argues that the growing trade deficit is a good thing since it shows that the right policy decisions were made to cushion Canada from a global recession.

And in the Toronto Star today, some promising facts that show our exports grew in December when compared to November, and that automotive products supplied much of that growth.

At the same time, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce has been trying to help small and medium sized companies in Ontario seize global opportunities for exports.  Through our Export Market Access program, we provide cost-sharing grants that cut a company’s costs of reaching new markets by half!  Support from the federal and provincial governments has enabled us to support over 220 companies since the launch of the program and we are eager to assist many more.

One thing is certain, as the global economy recovers, Ontario companies must be ready to seize opportunities overseas.  For too long we have been reliant on the United States market – an important market to be sure, but not the only one.  Canadians and our products are well regarded around the world.  Countries like China and India are growing at much greater rates, fueled in part by the growing middle class in these countries.  Ontario companies have excellent products and quality services that could be better marketed to the world.  It’s time we more aggressively pursued these opportunities.

The Ontario government has signed an agreement with a consortium led by Samsung C&T Corporation and the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) to generate 2,500 megawatts of wind and solar power in the province.  According to the government, the $7 billion investment will lead to more than 16,000 new green energy jobs to build, install and operate the renewable generation projects and triple Ontario’s output from renewable wind and solar sources and provide clean electricity to more than 580,000 households.

A government media release identifies how the investment will benefit Ontario:

“The Korean consortium will also work with major partners to attract four manufacturing plants. This will lead to the creation of 1,440 manufacturing and related jobs building wind and solar technology for use in Ontario and export across North America.

The consortium fully intends to use Ontario-made steel in its renewable energy projects, such as constructing its wind turbine towers.

This is the single-largest investment in renewable energy in provincial history. The consortium chose Ontario because our Green Energy Act guarantees stable rates for renewable energy.”

Premier Dalton McGuinty states, “Thanks to today’s announcement, we will be delivering more green energy for Ontarians to use — and more green energy products for North America to buy. With this step, Ontario is becoming the place to be for green energy manufacturing in North America.”

Photo by JoshMcConnell

Primer Minister Stephen Harper has chalked up some important accomplishments during his mission to China.  Chief among them is the announcement that Canada has approved destination status in China.  The tourism industry has been seeking this status for many years.  Here is the Canadian government’s release and a story from the Niagara region with reaction from the tourism industry.

Canadian beef producers will be pleased that Hong Kong is once again open to their products.  Hong Kong represents a sizable market for beef producers as was emphasized in January when the Minister of Agriculture spent some time in Hong Kong. 

Also on the Prime Minister’s agenda, an address to the Canada China Business Council where he spoke about investments in clean technology and new Canadian commercial offices,

The Prime Minister emphasized in today’s speech the importance of Canada and China working together on energy and clean technology and working with other G-20 partners to help ensure global economic recovery. He stressed the need to remain committed to sustained economic stimulus, coordinated exit strategies and to fighting protectionism given the role trade plays in creating new opportunities for both countries.

“Pacific nations like Canada and China have much to gain by increased cooperation as the centre of gravity of the world economy swings toward the Pacific,” said the Prime Minister. “Now is the time to enhance and expand our relationship, to build upon our mutual successes, and to use the authority those successes have afforded us to set an example for others in the world.”

Read more about the Prime Minister’s mission.

CCBC is pleased to announce the 3rd Canada China Business Forum on Sept. 15 at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto.

As many as 150 Chinese corporate leaders will join a strong contingent of senior Chinese business regulators. The delegation includes many large State-Owned Enterprises and a very strong contingent of small-to-medium-sized enterprises that are here looking for business partnerships, looking for opportunities to invest in Canada as well as seeking out new customers and suppliers.  The business delegation includes representatives from Finance and Investment, Commerce and Trade, Real Estate, Building Materials, Construction and Industrial Machinery, Agriculture and Food and other sectors.

While morning sectoraly-focused sessions are free to all Canadian companies, everyone is encouraged to attend the whole day. You are encouraged to visit the Canada China Business Council website at www.ccbc.com to see details of the Forum.

Carla Kearns, Managing Director of TLI-The Mandarin School, has been retained by Summerhill as Business Development Director.  Summerhill has worked with Kearns and TLI-The Mandarin School for the last 2 years in the Canada China Environmental Forum.

“This is a natural extension of our successful collaboration over the past 2 years on the Canada China Environmental Forum,” says Kearns.

Kearns will manage key accounts and develop business, including the promising Chinese market for environmental services.

Summerhill engages partners such as national retailers, utilities and power companies, innovative technology providers and government agencies to design and deliver programs that drive positive environmental impact, consumer behaviour change and economic benefit.

You might be familiar with Summerhill’s work through their specific programmes:

• Car Heaven, which took almost 90,000 old clunkers off the road and saving 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (and predating the American current Cash for Clunkers programme by 9 years).

• Switch Out, the first programme in Canada to recover highly toxic mercury from automobile switches – recycling 300 kgs of mercury (one gram of mercury pollutes a 20 acre lake so that the fish rae inedible for 1 year).

• Keep Cool, which used a combination of education, incentives and collection programmes to retire and recycle almost 50,000 inefficient Room Air Conditioners (RACs) – saving 30 MW of energy (enough to power 30,000 average homes in a year) and saving 15,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

TLI-The Mandarin School will continue to deliver corporate language and intercultural business training programmes.

Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is on a high level mission to China with some of Canada’s heaviest finiancial hitters.  Not only have some of the key players in Canada’s banking industry joined him on the trade mission, but the head of the Bank of Canada, Mark Carney, is also on board.

For a country where the state plays a large role in business, this kind of high level mission is very important.  Canadian businesses have made successful inroads in China and have a very significant presence in Hong Kong, due in large part to a long and prosperous history between the two nations.  However, diplomatic efforts are necessary as well if we are to grow Canada-China trade.

This fact was made loud and clear by Dr. William Yip, a Hong Kong businessman with whom I met while in Hong Kong in January.  Dr. Yip chronicled a number of Canadian companies who have successfully leveraged connections to party officials into business success.  He explained that party opinions are very important.  What they think and what they know about your project carries a lot of weight.  Hence his statement that,

 ”in Western culture, all roads can lead to the room.  In China, there are lots of dead end roads – they tell you all roads lead to the room.”

Liberal International Trade Critic, Scott Brison, argues in today’s National Post that not enough has been done to strengthen diplomatic relations with China. 

Regardless of your thoughts on the past three years, a visit planned by Prime Minister Harper to China in November will be welcomed by the Canadian business community as a step in the right direction.

Just a few short hours after the last two American Presidents discussed Canada-US relations at a ground-breaking event at the Toronto Convention Centre, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Robert Brown, appears in the Wall Street Journal with an opinion piece on reducing trade barriers.

Prime Minister Brown makes a irrefutable argument against protectionism.

At Friday’s event with US Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush, there was very little discussion about the recent protectionist measures south of the Canada-US border.  Both Presidents commented on the special nature of the US-Canadian relationship, but the economy and current trade concerns were barely touched.  Read a National Post article on the event here.

One interesting development, with today as the day when all people entering the US by land or sea will require a passport, enhanced driver’s license or a NEXUS card, neither former President appeared to know of the new security requirement! 

Photo courtesy:  National Post

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon is midway through a visit to China, having just finished his visit to Beijing.  While there he met with both his Chinese Counterpart, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, and Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping. 

According to a government release, Cannon “noted that Canada wants a frank, friendly and forward-looking relationship with China, and that the upcoming 40th anniversary of bilateral relations offered an excellent opportunity to highlight Sino-Canadian ties.

Minister Yang expressed China’s appreciation for Canada’s assistance and support, and also reiterated China’s invitation to Prime Minister Harper to visit China at a mutually convenient time.”

Read the Government of Canada’s release here.  And an article in China View, an online Chinese publication here.

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) is inviting all Ontarians to join in a grassroots movement to shift focus from today’s challenges to tomorrow’s potential by celebrating the advantages offered in the province.

Pointing to the many people who have come to Ontario from other parts of the world, to work or study, to invest, or to raise a family, the OCC has identified the various reasons why Ontario is a ‘magnet for the world’. 

It’s inviting all Ontarians to share their stories about Ontario on their website.  Stories are being gathered today in Toronto and at subsequent events throughout the province.