Ventures Dialogue

Clear skies at the Beijing airport lets you see how impossibly far the airport structure curves off into the distance

Carla Kearns has been posting a series of observations made during her visit to both Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Forum. She continued her journey on to Beijing.

After arriving in Beijing on Saturday, I joined up with the Canada China Business Council (CCBC)’s high profile delegation to China on Monday at the gala launch.

Before I report on the events of that day, several minor items impressed me upon arrival at Beijing’s newly opened airport.  First, I was shocked by the clarity of the air.  I knew there were mountains surrounding Beijing, but I had never actually seen them.  Second, I was astounded by the vast scale of the airport; which was so immense that it was like gazing at an optical illusion.  In Hong Kong, one of the speakers noted that the world’s greatest cities achieved premier status, not because of their economic or political power, but because they are important transportation hubs.  The Chinese government seems to have spared no expense to position itself as one of the greatest modern cities. Later I learned that it is in fact the world’s largest roofed structure.

Back to business. After an adventurous Sunday at the Simatai section of the Great Wall (and an equally adventurous time finding a cabbie to take us there), I arrived at the Kerry Hotel first thing Monday morning to join the CCBC events of that day.  This day marked the gathering of some of the highest profile Canadian delegates to China in years, including: four provincial Premier delegations, an official delegation from Quebec, the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters mission and many of Canada’s top industry leaders. All had convened in Beijing for this important trip.

In stark contrast to Hong Kong, the urgent concern for those in attendance was NOT the global economic crisis.  Although China will be affected along with the rest of the globe, the impact on GDP is expected to result in 8% growth, rather than the recent 10% it has seen for more than a decade.  Not too shabby. Continue reading ‘Beijing diary — opportunity everywhere’

Carla Kearns has been posting a series of observations made during her visit to both Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Forum.  This is her final diary entry.

zaijian Hong Kong, ni hao Beijing

October 31 was the second and last day of the Hong Kong Forum.  During these 2 days we heard from successful Canadian and other business leaders and entrepreneurs in the area about why they chose to either do business in Hong Kong or use Hong Kong to do business with China.

Hong Kong has a business structure that is familiar to North Americans, in its legal, financial and governance aspects.  Although these are critical factors that can shorten a business’ learning curve in Asia, the fact remains that developing relationships here is still very important.  At the Forum I met a potentially valuable contact from Hong Kong.  We sat and talked for 30 minutes about where his family is from and some of the business and personal experiences he has had.  As I could see my partner becoming visibly impatient, I reminded him that we were gaining invaluable information about who this man is, what his relationships are and the capacity of business that he has done in the past.

When you go to Asia on a one week business trip it is easy to feel a great sense of time pressure to get business completed.  However, trying to shortcut the process of getting to know who you are doing business with often results in doing business with someone that you wish you weren’t.  These trips and missions to China should always be regarded as a beginning point, not the end result.

In the end I developed several solid leads for my corporate training services and am exploring opportunities for partnership to recraft our training programs to Chinese students and executives who are coming to Canada.  Now it is up to me to ensure than I maintain the momentum.

A few random items of interest: Continue reading ‘Hong Kong diary – final thoughts’

This week Carla Kearns is posting a series of observations made during her visit to both Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Forum.

The last 48 hours have been a whirlwind.  We spent Wednesday in the incredible Central district on Hong Kong island, involved in some serious consumer research.  This district is home to both Hong Kong’s vast financial sector and charming historical district, accented by shopping that ranges from Louis Vuitton and Armani to tiny alley stalls selling ornate bird cages.

Some Hong Kong shopping observations

There is an awareness of the importance of recycling and conserving energy.  The major difference from when I enjoyed quite a few trips here in the 1990s is that the air pollution has drastically increased.  It is clear that what Hong Kong experiences is for the most part not generated in Hong Kong but is coming from the manufacturing cities of Guangdong (Canton) province right across the Chinese border.   Here in Hong Kong you see recycling containers at Starbucks and select escalators that are shut down at non-peak hours in the metro system (which itself is cheap, fast and clean).

We saw billboards for Blackberry and sharp retail fronts for a Fruits and Passion store. There was some unusual examples of Canadian branding including Toronto Sports (selling sporting attire), The Keg in Lan Kwai Fong (a pub in Hong Kong’s upscale bar district) and an ad for Canadian buckwheat pillows. Continue reading ‘Hong Kong diary — the business of shopping’

This week Carla Kearns is posting a series of observations made during her visit to both Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Forum.

Last night on the way into Hong Kong from the airport the impressive high-speed Airport Express passed an enormous port facility.  Perhaps my mind was addled from a lack of sleep, but it seemed to take a full 5 minutes to pass the docks packed with containers ready to ship.  If you recall the scene from the end of the original Raiders of the Lost Ark, where the ark is placed in a government facility stocked with a seemingly endless number of boxes, you’ll have an idea of the impression it made upon me: it is staggeringly large.  I also wonder what the future holds for this kind of export activity on a day when the financial markets are so much in turmoil – the Hong Kong stock exchange itself lost almost 13% of its value yesterday, and the Japanese stock exchange dropped the greatest amount that it has in 26 years.

I am pleasantly surprised by my hotel – The Eaton Hotel in the Jordon Valley area – small rooms but impeccably clean and updated.  An enormous change from my first trip here when, as a backpacker on my first solo trip abroad, I stayed at the notorious Chungking Mansions.  But in these days of global gentrification, it seems that even that dump has been cleaned up a little.

I spent the day doing typical tourist things – walking along Nathan Road, taking the amazing Star Ferry across the harbour (one of my favourite things in HK) and the double decker bus to Stanley Market on the beautiful southern side of the island.  Unfortunately, what I consider to be a thrilling ride — careening around blind corners and up and down the steep mountain ridge — made my extremely jet lagged travel companion nauseous.

Hong Kong is astoundingly international. Even in my hotel room, it seemed that every kind of electric converter in the world was pre-built into the wall.  However, I have not seen much of a Canadian presence yet, other than a Club Monaco prestigiously located in the Central District across from an enormous Gucci store (but also next to a McDonalds), and a Four Seasons Hotel.  However, I am committed to continuing my shopping quest and keep looking!

Photo by Chi King.

October 27, 2008

This week Carla Kearns will be posting a series of observations made during her visit to both Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Forum.

I’m writing to you from somewhere over the arctic on my first trip to Hong Kong in almost 3 years, and my first to participate in the Hong Kong Forum. A 3-year gap in visiting an Asia city is like a generation as they tend to change and grow extremely quickly.  I used to visit Hong Kong fairly frequently in the 1990s when I was working in Taiwan and it has always been one of my favourite cities: so incredibly dynamic, atmospheric, and breathtakingly beautiful.

I am looking forward to a few days to unwind, explore, and get caught up on jet lag before the Forum starts.  If you are doing business in Asia, you simply cannot be at your best if you fly in for a few meetings and then leave, especially when trying to establish business initially.   More than just getting over the jet lag, it makes a big difference to stay for a few extra days to get to know the place, the people, and the business game here.  Hong Kong can be disorienting on your first visit – China even more so – but when you take the time to catch your breath and observe the environment you are better prepared, no matter what sector you’re in.

Apart from reconnecting to this place I love, I do have some professional goals on this trip. At the Forum I am hoping to connect with global companies who are having breakdowns in both processes and success due to a lack of understanding in bridging cultural differences. My business, TLI-The Mandarin School, provides China business culture and intelligence training and consulting services.  Although we do a great deal of China business etiquette training, lately I have been working with internal teams who will never set foot in China but speak and correspond with clients there more and more and need to understand how to be effective communicators and how to modify their internal processes.  There are approximately 400 companies represented at the Forum from around the world and it should be a great opportunity to share and connect.  I’ve just brought in a French-speaking trainer (actually he is fluent in French, English and Mandarin) and it would be great to expand our market to French-speaking regions and countries.

Beyond those tangible business goals, I intend — in an existentialist sort of way — to just “be” in Hong Kong to get my finger on the pulse after a few years away.

For this blog I am looking forward to reporting back on what Canadian companies are doing in Hong Kong and China. What do Hong Kong consumers think of Canadian products?  Can we see them on the shelves?  What are Canadians known for?  What business opportunities in Hong Kong are hot? The general sentiment is that Canada is lagging behind other countries in doing business in Asia, so I intend to check out whether that is true, and if so, get a sense of why.  I do know, however, that Canada is the by far the best represented country at the Hong Kong Forum most years, so we’re doing a pretty fair job in that respect.

I encourage you to share your own stories in the comment section below, or ask specific question about what I’ve reported on. This is a discussion that sould be ongoing for Canadian companies.

Photo by dfbarrero.