The Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) just returned from their first trade mission to Hong Kong. The mission leader was the OCC’s very own President and CEO Len Crispino. Organized in partnership with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), Consulate General of Canada in Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association (HKCBA), the mission focused on the life sciences and neutraceuticals sectors.
In total, nine Ontario companies were showcased ranging from a manufacturer of vitamin D supplements, a company specializing in needle free acupuncture and nanometer technology, to manufacturers of natural health supplements including natural and herbal varieties. The mission began with a briefing, networking reception and luncheon that seamlessly transformed into one-on-one business matching sessions. Later that day, the mission delegates had an opportunity to connect with interested parties on Mainland China though a virtual trade mission organized by the Canadian consulate general in Hong Kong. Mission delegates spoke directly with people in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Chongqing, and Shenzhen. The mission also included another networking luncheon at the China Club (the Old Bank of
China Building, a venue which has a history all its own).
From the OCC’s standpoint, we felt this is just the beginning of getting directly involved with bringing Ontario companies to global arenas. We are pleased to see Ontario businesses getting out there and seeking new export markets. Our funding program Export Market Access (EMA) also had a presence as some companies benefited from our funding to attend the mission. In case you are not aware, EMA is a 50/50 grant program assisting companies with their goals to export.
All in all, the mission was a success. The most important takeaways are that if you are going on a trade mission, no matter who is the organizing it, as a business you must do your own research, line up some meetings on your own, take advantage of every opportunity to network and showcase your company, its products and what makes them unique.
Moving up one spot from last year’s position, Hong Kong grabs the second highest spot in a world competitiveness ranking done by the Institute of Management Development (IMD). The 2010 World Competitiveness Yearbook ranked Singapore in first place as it too moved up one sport from last year. The United States, who ranked first last year slid back three spots to third place.
IMD notes in their press release:
“Singapore and Hong Kong have displayed great resilience through the crisis – despite suffering high levels of volatility in their economic performance – and they are now taking full advantage of strong expansion in the surrounding Asian region.”
Countries were evaluated on more than 320 criteria to compose the list. The rankings of all 58 countries studied can be found here.
In 2009, Fortune Magazine named Jing Ulrich, one of the 50 most powerful women in Business. Who is she you may ask? Ms. Ulrich is the Managing Director, Chairman of China Equities and Commodities at JPMorgan Chase & Co. And in a recent interview with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), Ulrich discusses China’s economic recovery, its future growth, monetary policy, and the new partnership between Shanghai and Hong Kong to offer financial services, just to name a few. It’s an informative discussion and definitely worth listening to.
Check out the interview for a look at how JPMorgan Chase views China.
Export Market Access (EMA), the OCC grant program which assists Ontario small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with an export mandate to access foreign export markets gets an additional $1.6 million from the federal government. This means more funds are available for Ontario firms to export their products but also create new jobs in the province. This announcement came from the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
EMA began in July 2008 to assist Ontario’s SMEs to access and expand their growth in new foreign markets. So far, over 200 companies have benefitted from the program with about $1.7 million invested.
So what does this mean for you and your business? Well, check out the EMA website, contact EMA staff to see how you can take advantage of this program.
How’s that, you ask? Can YouTube really be a key resource for my business? Well it could. Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada has just unveiled, not one, but two YouTube channels in which you can gain advice to help expand your international business and stay in tune with the services available through the Trade Commissioner Service.
One channel provides interviews aimed at sharing knowledge, advice and stories from experts and entrepreneurs. Another channel provides videos on what the federal government is doing to promote international trade. The site already has a few videos from Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade and Minister responsible for the Asia-Pacific Gateway.
So the next time you’re caught on YouTube at work you have a legitimate reason, you’re doing research.
For those of you who don’t know YouTube, it is a video sharing site on which users can upload and share videos watch and share original videos worldwide.
Photo by nycGRAEME
Learning about potential partners, foreign or domestic, is an important part of any business. Doing your homework and deciding on a foreign supplier to obtain needed inputs for product development is no exception. ”Choosing the wrong one can be very costly,” as noted by the experts at Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT). They note that there are six must-ask questions to help you decide on a foreign supplier:
- What is the company’s history?
- What do you know about the key personnel?
- Does the supplier have a sound financial history?
- What is the operational capacity of the supplier?
- What terms and pricing are they offering?
- Are they prepared to offer any additional support?
While these questions may seem straight forward and their importance obvious, it may surprise you, as DFATI notes, that some businesses are not seeking the answers to these basic questions. It’s best not to find yourselves falling into this category. To better understand why these questions are important, read DFAIT’s article.
Photo by Jim Frazier
During Stockwell Day’s recent trade mission promoting Canadian building systems and energy-efficient construction companies to China and Japan, the federal government’s Minister of International Trade and Minister of Asia-Pacific Gateway’s also used the visit to announce the launch of six new Canada-China science and technology research collaborations. These projects, partly funding by $6.87 million of Canadian funds, is part of the government’s International Science and Technology Partnerships Program (ISTPP). The projects differ, ranging from healthcare and climate change to wastewater treatment and wireless technology.
ISTPP is a $20 million five-year program administered by ISTPCanada, a non-profit organization. The program aims to encourage commercialization by bringing together key stakeholders in both countries from the private and public sectors. Collaboartion with universities have their place as well as being important hubs of knowledge and innovation.
Canada’s partnership with China was launched in January 2007 with the focus on energy, including fuel cells; environment, life sciences and biotechnology; agricultural foods and bioproducts; and information and communications technologies and nanotechnology. In May 2008, the inaugural 20 projects (worth more than $11 million) were unveiled.
China is not the only nation that with which Canada has science and technology agreements. Canada has also signed partnerships with Brazil, India and Israel.
Other than supporting research and development projects, ISTPCanada also supports development activities such as workshops, symposia, conferences etc., with the goal of promoting international research collaboration.
If you think your business could fit into these categories, it is worth a following up. Take a look at the backgrounder from this media release/backgrounder for a complete list of the six projects and their partnering organizations.
Photo by Dominik Mayer of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum
Stockwell Day, Canada’s Minister of International Trade and Minister of Asia-Pacific Gateway, has just concluded a 10 day trade mission to China and Japan where he got quite a lot accomplished. The mission’s purpose was to promote Canadian businesses in building systems (wood frame and light steel construction), and energy-efficient construction (building products, technologies and design, including retrofitting, energy and water conservation, heating and cooling equipment, new building materials, cold climate building technologies, and architectural services). While there, he also participated in four separate trade missions covering a variety of sectors: 1) transportation firms and organizations promoting the Asia-Pacific Gateway as a key North American corridor; 2) information and communications technology companies; 3) construction companies with expertise in energy-efficient products and building designs; and 4) a medical devices delegation.
For China specifically, Minister Day signed a new trade logistics agreement to further support trade and transportation between countries, an action plan for collaboration in the transportation sector, and also an agreement on cooperation in civil aviation industries. He wasn’t done there however, as it was also announced that Canada will open two new trade offices in Chengdu and Shenzhen by July 1, with four others to be open by year’s end. These six new offices will complement Canada’s four existing offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing.
Chengdu is a vital economic, transportation and communication center in the southwest, and according to the US Commerical Service, the most important commercial center in West China. Its key manufacturing sectors are electronics, machinery, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, metallurgy and food processing industries. Shenzhen on the other hand is noted as being China’s first and so far, most successful Special Economic Zone. It attracts a lot of foreign investment, is the second busiest port in mainland China (following Shanghai), is where quite a few of China’s high-tech companies are headquartered, and is considered one of the fastest growing cities in the world. The Shenzhen Stock Exchange as well is located there.
Photo from http://www.international.gc.ca/commerce/visit-visite/jap-chi-2009-photos2.aspx
This is the third in a series of stories about prominent Canadians in Hong Kong and their reflections on current and potential opportunities between Hong Kong and China, and Canada. Parts 1 and 2 discussed some of the reasons for the vast connections between Hong Kong and Canada, history and education.
With the mutual fondness between Hong Kong and Canada as the foundation, Hong Kong provides fertile ground for Canadian business ventures. 
Business owner Bruce Hicks, a resident in Hong Kong since 1984, says the suggestion that Canadian companies use Hong Kong as their gateway into Asia, “makes absolute sense”. Building on the strong affinity between Canada and Hong Kong, Hicks explains that it’s possible to get work done in Hong Kong quickly. The labour force offers a key advantage. Hicks is the managing director of a green technology company called TPIZ Resources but has had experience in other sectors as well. Finding trained workers who speak English is much easier in Hong Kong than in Beijing where there is an intense demand on people with technical skills who speak English.
Hicks also praises the service attitude in Hong Kong explaining that, “there’s still pride in doing a good job in Hong Kong.”
In the environmental sector in particular, Hicks believes there is a great deal of opportunity for Canadian firms. Read more about that in the next story in this series.
Canada’s Trade Commissioner in Hong Kong, John Zimmerman, agrees that setting up in Hong Kong can help Canadian firms accelerate the process of breaking into the market in mainland China. “It’s not the only entry into China but it’s an easy one,” says Zimmerman.
Continue reading ‘Canadian Reflections on Hong Kong – the stepping stone to Asia’
“As we strengthen our work on domestic intellectual property rights, we will continue to promote international exchanges and cooperation in order to encourage the healthy development of trade relations.”
This was part of the statement made by Yao Jian from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce after the World Trade Organization (WTO) stated that China must institute more complex laws to battle copyright infringement. This WTO ruling is the result of a United States suit brought against China in 2007 claiming that certain parts of China’s intellectual property rights (IPR) regime is not compliant with its Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) arrangement. This 2007 suit came after seven years of bilateral discussions between the US and China did not resolve the issues. The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), a grouping of US music and movie producers, authors and other private sector groups, estimate that China’s IPR regime cost more than $3.7 billion (USD) in lost sales. The IIPA was formed in 1984 in bilateral and multilateral efforts to improve international protection of copyrighted materials. Continue reading ‘WTO tells China it must do more to combat copyright infringement’
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