Ventures Dialogue

A positive reaction to the wine duty exemption and various other wine industry supportive measures have seen Canada-based Wines to Go Ltd enter Hong Kong’s vibrant wine industry with the opening December 17 of its first retail shop in Hong Kong, located in the Mong Kok East MTR station concourse on the East Rail Line.

Wines to Go Ltd aims to bring a fresh and exciting selection of fine wines from around the world into Hong Kong and the Asia region. The company’s goal is to open up the market to wines other than Bordeaux and to let consumers discover other quality wines at competitive prices in an open and attractive space where wines are featured based on their style and taste profiles.

The company’s first wine shop in Hong Kong is the first such licensed premises to operate inside the MTR station. The wine retailer is endeavouring to present wine in a user-friendly location to capture passing young professionals who have a burgeoning interest in wine. The company plans to further expand its business in Hong Kong by opening several more shops along the MTR lines in the next 12 months.

President of Wines to Go Ltd, Mr Leo Baduria, said, “The trend in wine appreciation in Asia continues to grow and will affect the global wine industry in the coming decades. Our decision to expand Wine to Go Ltd into Hong Kong is the result of the rapid growth and promising prospects of the city’s wine industry. Hong Kong provides the best combination of efficiency, world-class infrastructure and sophisticated culture, the key determinants behind our investment in this city.”

Commenting on the strategic regional role of its Hong Kong operation, Mr Baduria said, “Hong Kong remains the best hub in Asia for the wine market because of its highly efficient systems and zero duty on wine. We will keep Hong Kong as our regional headquarters as we grow, enabling us to manage our business operations in other cities in Asia from our hub in Hong Kong.”

Officiating at the opening ceremony of Wines to Go Ltd’s first retail outlet in Hong Kong, Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong, Mr Charles Ng, warmly welcomed the company’s establishment in Hong Kong. He said, “We are delighted to have a Canadian wine retailer expanding its business into the Hong Kong market. The presence of Wines to Go Ltd not only enriches the portfolio of the wine industry in our city, but also enhances our position as a regional hub for wine-related businesses. Our investment promotion teams stand ready to provide further support and assistance to Wines to Go Ltd in its future business expansion here and regionwide.”

Mr Ng also said that since the exemption of wine duty in early 2008, many wine sector-related companies have set up or expanded their businesses in Hong Kong to provide support in areas such as trading, storage, distribution, auctions, etc. He noted that the new policy has also brought benefits to related economic activities such as tourism, catering and hospitality and exhibitions.

Photo by Robert S. Donovan

Could China become the next big car manufacturer?  Well, quite possibly if you ask Geely, China’s biggest privately owned car manufacturer.  It is currently developing six model platforms, dedicated to launching nine new cars over the next year and a half, and by 2015, the company cites 42 new models will be on the market.   In the recent article, The ambition of Geely, from The Economist, it highlights Geely’s aspirations, but also raises some concerns.  Namely, its dependence on government tax breaks, which is likely to be a main reason of its increased sales in the first half of the year.  There are also concerns surrounding the safety of its cars and not being on par with Western levels.  In a crash test by a Russian car magazine of the Geely CK, the driver and passenger were given a 10 percent survival rate.

Nevertheless, this is not stopping Geely.  The company aims at selling 1.3 million cars abroad by 2015 (30,000 foreign cars were sold in 2008).  Geely has not only increased employment levels, but has created its own university, the Zhejiang Automotive Engineering Institute, and has assets abroad as well.  It also plans to build factories in South Africa and Mexico.  And, according to the article, Geely might be in the game to buy a European car company. 

So Geely has big plans, we’ll just have to wait and see what develops.

Click here to read the full article from The Economist.

You might also want to visit Geely’s website and view some of their videos.

Cathay Pacific was honored as the world’s best airline at the Skytrax World Airline Awards on April 1.  This prestigious prize was the result of an eight month-long survey of almost 16 million travelers from 97 countries. 

The Hong Kong airliner, Cathay Pacific, was not the only Asian airline honored.  In fact, carriers from Asia and the Pacific were overwhelmingly present.  Singapore Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Qatar Airways, Emirates, Qantas, Etihad Airways, Air New Zealand, Malaysia Airlines and Thai Airways round of the top 10, respectively.  Continue reading ‘Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific flies off with world’s best airline title’

There’s a great story in the Financial Post today about Avalon Ventures Ltd., a Toronto-based junior mineral exploration business listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. Read the rest here:

China’s almost complete dominance of the rare-earths and metals industry does not deter Don Babur, chief executive of a Canadian company that is trying to crack the market for producing the raw materials used in everything from iPods to hybrid cars.

The fact China supplies more than 90% of the global demand is a huge opportunity — buyers want more supply-side diversity, says the soft-spoken geologist who heads Avalon Ventures Ltd., a Toronto-based junior mineral exploration business listed on the TSX Venture Exchange.

A small Toronto-based commercial interior design firm, full scale + partners inc., has started to export its success in Canada’s retail and restaurant sectors to China. Here at home, during the past four years it has worked closely with major players such as fashion retailer H &M. In fact, it has designed almost 15 outlets in Canada. H & M (Hennes & Mauritz AB) also enjoys a global retail footprint with more than 1,400 locations in 28 countries. 中文版請點擊這裡

That Canadian connection indirectly led full scale + partners to help H &M set up its 40,000 sq. ft flagship store in Shanghai in April 2007. But behind that dream international engagement was a steep learning curve.

“Things are very different in China,” says Yvonne Ho, principal of full scale+partners. The other principal is Jenny Lee.  ”For example, in Canada there is just one regulatory commission for the issuance of building permits,” she says. “But in China, there can often be various levels of government and local district departments that must grant approval prior to construction. The standards & requirements from each district may vary within the same city.”

“I have seen a project that requires 22 stamp & seal from local departments prior to construction. Frankly, it was a bit of culture shock for us.”

However, full scale+ partners had earlier cut its teeth in China collaborating with local design firms in Shenzhen, a city of 9 million people in Guangdong Province on the boundary between China and Hong Kong. “These projects helped us to gain a better grasp of Chinese market conditions and how the real estate sector works over there,” says Ho.

Full scale leveraged that experience into the successful completion of the H &M Shanghai flagship store. Negotiations began in late 2006 and the deal was signed in January 2007. Construction was completed in 67 days in time for the April opening. Continue reading ‘Success by Design’