Ventures Dialogue

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.

Wine and beer consumption in Asia especially in China has been drastically increasing. Wine imports in China increased by 250% between 2006 and 2008.

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council invites you to attend a free informational Web seminar about the China wine and beer market and learn how to tap into the China market using Hong Kong as a gateway.

Speakers will include:

Market overview, Ms. Christine Kwok, Actrium Solutions
Best practices for exporting, Mr. Daniel Giavina, U.S. Commercial Service
Available marketing opportunities, Ms. Josephine Lam, Manager, Hong Kong Trade Development Council

Topic: HKTDC Wine Presentation
Host: Hong Kong Trade Development Council
Date and Time:
May 21, 2009 3:30 pm, Pacific Daylight Time (San Francisco, GMT-07:00)
May 21, 2009 4:30 pm, Mountain Daylight Time (Denver, GMT-06:00)
May 21, 2009 6:30 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (New York, GMT-04:00)
May 22, 2009 6:30 am, China Time (Beijing, GMT+08:00)

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To register for the online event
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1. Go to https://hktdcla.webex.com/hktdcla/onstage/g.php?d=666930890&t=a&EA=julia.h.son%40hktdc.org&ET=f81a970662f599541d0727a1a1d9444e&ETR=9c2fbb44ce54352169803c87b0b2c329&RT=MiM0&p
2. Click “Register”.
3. Complete the registration form, and then click “Submit“.

Once the host approves your registration, you will receive a confirmation email message with instructions on how to join the event.

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For assistance
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You can contact Teresa Hung at: Teresa.m.hung@hktdc.org  

http://www.webex.com

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This WebEx service includes a feature that allows audio and any documents and other materials exchanged or viewed during the session to be recorded. By joining this session, you automatically consent to such recordings. If you do not consent to the recording, do not join the session.

Canadian ICT Partnering Mission to Hong Kong, April 12 – 17, 2009
(Coinciding with International ICT Expo 2009)
The Government of Canada, in partnership with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), would like to invite Canadian companies to join the Canadian ICT Partnering Mission to Hong Kong scheduled for April 12 – 17, 2009. The main objective of this mission is to assist Canadian ICT companies to diversify their business to Hong Kong, China mainland and the Asian market. This initiative is supported by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, the Governments of Alberta and Ontario, Manitoba Trade and Investment, Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance, Hong Kong – Canada Business Association, Monte Jade Science & Technology Association and Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation.

Participating companies will have the opportunity to exhibit in the Canadian Pavilion at the International ICT Expo: http://ictexpo.com at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and/or join the mission programme specially arranged for the this Canadian mission. The Canadian Trade Commissioner Services and the HKTDC Business Matching Services will be available to help add value to the delegates’ participation in the mission.

For further information, registration details and incentive packages, interested parties please contact Adrian Cheng or Jill Chien of HKTDC Toronto Office at Tel: (416) 366-3594 or email: adrian.ch.cheng@tdc.org.hk or jill.chien@tdc.org.hk

“Canada will lose out in the global quest for talent in the knowledge-based economy unless it updates some of its ideas and policies on immigration.“  This is the first line of a bulletin by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, which speaks to two recently published studies about Canada and retaining international talent.  The first, “A Limited Engagement: Mainland Returnees from Canada,” delves into how international student exchanges and overseas education by people from mainland China contribute to the exchanges between Canada and China.  Three main questions were asked.  First, how do the returning students feel about Canada and how they feel about their Canadian educational and work experience?  Second, to what degree do returning students maintain contact with Canada and why?  Is there a pattern that explains this behavior?  Third, what importance is the Canadian experience to the returnee’s life?  

The second study, “Transnational Entrepreneurs as Agents of International Innovation Linkages,” focuses on brain drain or brain loss, the concept in which countries lose their smartest and best educated citizens to other countries which can offer better economic and political lifestyles.  Specifically researched were those innovation linkages of migrating internationally educated mainland Chinese professionals who do business in both Canada and China, but maintain Canada as their base. 

Both studies outline that there are tremendous advantages to engaging foreign talent. However, they also highlight that to benefit Canada as well as their home country, Canada as a whole should be doing more to retain connections with foreign students and entrepreneurs.  Suggestions range from creating a Canada-based innovation and entrepreneurship program to empowering Canadian consulates to better engage the returnees.

Photo by  noticelj

The world is getting increasingly global. We have to think Canada, think USA and think Asia (in particular Hong Kong, the centre of Asia) – and connect them all together – and build the momentum.

Would you be interested to meet and network with major government trade officials and business contacts from the U.S. State of Maine, share their insights on the Asia-Canada-US trade corridor, find out what the business opportunities that they are offering to Canadian companies in such sectors as clean tech, biotech and medical products, natural resources products as well as transportation and infrastructure?

Our HKCBA Toronto Section incoming President, Bob Armstrong, in his capacity as the President of Supply Chain Logistics Canada, will join Governor John Baldacci of Maine and the Maine delegation to stage an Executive Briefing and Reception in downtown Toronto on November 20, 2008 at 4 p.m.

Below is the invitation from Governor Baldacci to you. Please reserve your seat early and leverage on this opportunity to expand your global business. Continue reading ‘Event Guide: Think south, think east and think global with the Governor of Maine’

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’

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’

Business opportunities emerge from every financial crisis

The Asian Financial Forum (AFF) 2009 in Hong Kong is being designed to help participants from around the world gain insights into Asia’s changing financial landscape and to identify and seize opportunities. This is the second Asian Financial Forum and is once again co-organized by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC). It will take place on January 19 and 20, 2009 in Hong Kong.

AFF 2009 will feature some of the world’s most influential monetary minds and the region’s most dynamic business leaders. They will share their views on the opportunities and challenges arising from the region’s rapid changes and development, and on the management of the world financial framework. The Forum is a two-day event with a special focus on prospects in China and the rest of Asia. Topical issues will include sovereign wealth funds, Islamic finance, new financial products and investment vehicles.

Attending the conference will be key financial players including bankers, institutional investors and fund managers, business leaders as well as senior corporate executives. AFF 2009 is a timely platform to build new contacts, gather intelligence and explore business opportunities. Extensive documentation and webcasts of the 2007 event are available on the forum site as well.

For further information, interested parties please contact Andrew Yui, Director, Canada, Hong Kong Trade Development Council Toronto Office at Tel. No. (416) 366-3594 or email: andrew.yui at tdc.org.hk (remove the “at” and use “@”) or simply visit the forum website.

Photo by Francois Roche.