Pathfinding The TDC continues to explore the roads less travelled for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We take them to promising new markets and use our eyes and ears at home and abroad to explore new frontiers. With increasing competition in traditional markets, Hong Kong companies need new strategies and new regions to feed their business and stay competitive. We make this happen with help from our more than 40 offices overseas, and through our staff in Hong Kong. 38 39
Prague Moscow New markets, new missions The TDC organises pathfinding missions around the world, in partnership with local industry associations, consulates and the international business community in Hong Kong. Budapest Missions that show particular promise for Hong Kong Istanbul Riyadh Jeddah Delhi Hanoi Abu Dhabi Mumbai Hong Kong Ho Chi Minh City business interests receive subsequent promotional missions to showcase Hong Kong-branded products and services. The TDC organised high-level missions to Istanbul and Moscow in June. A promotional visit was also arranged to Budapest in September, following previous exploratory missions. In December, a top-flight business mission travelled to the fast-growing The TDC s pathfinding efforts are aimed at finding new business opportunities in emerging markets across the globe. Recent exploratory missions have been undertaken to several new regions (above). Santiago Sao Paulo Buenos Aires market of Vietnam, the WTO s newest member. Latin America was also a key focus this year, with a high-level mission travelling to Brazil, Chile and Argentina, where more than 1,000 business people turned out to learn more about the advantages of the Hong Kong platform. The Adventurer Cristina Ng is a world traveller and intrepid explorer. Joining the TDC as an executive trainee in 2005, she has worked in the product promotion and services promotion departments. Her Spanish and French Taiwan was another priority area, and this year the TDC language skills enable her to communicate with focused on strengthening relationships with Taiwan s business community, developing customised marketing solutions for key companies there. people on several continents. I particularly enjoy assisting Hong Kong companies to go overseas, especially to emerging markets, and seeing them develop exciting new business Opposite: South America is a key focus on the TDC s agenda. Executive Director Fred Lam (fifth from right) opportunities, which they might not be able to do without the TDC s help, she says. led an exploratory mission to Chile, Argentina and Brazil in March 2007. To his right is Council member Peter Hung, and to his left is Dr Roy Chung, President of the Hong Kong Young Industrialists Council. The group is pictured at the Palacio de la Monedo in Santiago, Chile. In addition to business matching and visiting local business leaders, the group enjoyed a tango display (below) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 40 41
Central Europe and Russia are new areas of promising interest for Hong Kong companies. An exploratory group visited Moscow in June 2006. A mega-promotional visit will follow in September 2007. We targeted Japan for business seminars in Tokyo and Turkish companies learned more about Hong Kong Osaka with Jiangmen and Invest Hong Kong. At the brands during a mission to Istanbul in June 2006. lecturn is Deputy Executive Director Steve Alexander. Pictured (left to right) are: President of the Hong Kong Young Industrialists Council Dr Roy Chung; President of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce Murat Yalcintas; Head of Department Asia Pacific, Undersecretariat for Foreign Trade, Government of the Republic of Turkey Ender Öncü; and the Executive Director. An exploratory mission to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi was organised in January to find out more about increasing opportunities in the Middle East region for Hong Kong s infrastructure, architecture and finance industries. India, one of the fastest growing economies in the world, is a priority in our pathfinding efforts. The TDC led a Hong Kong business delegation to Mumbai and Delhi. The response was overwhelming, indicating a high level of interest in doing business with Hong Kong and the mainland among the local business community. The promotion attracted more than 1,400 participants. Later, three reciprocal missions, comprising more than 70 people, travelled to Hong Kong. Council members are invited to lead overseas business missions to see first-hand the value-adding nature of our work. Council member Andrew Leung (right) visited Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in December 2006. Director, International Promotions Joyce Hui (second from right) helped lead a Hong Kong mission to Delhi and Mumbai in May 2006 to discover new opportunities in the fast-growing Indian market. Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Frederick Ma (third from left) leads a TDC financial delegation to the Middle East. Looking on are Deputy Executive Director Alan Wong (second from left) and Director, Middle East Jeff Ambjorn (far left). His Excellency Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (far right) is a member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. 42 43
The TDC helped organise several missions to the Pan-PRD region. Pictured above in Guangxi is the Chief Executive of Hong Kong Donald Tsang. The Chief Executive is pictured again (below), with the Executive Director in Changsha, September 2006. A fresh approach in the mainland The TDC continues to explore new opportunities in the Chinese mainland. To maximise our assets on the ground, the mainland network was expanded to help SMEs meet upcoming challenges and opportunities. We recently started operations in our 12th mainland office in Hangzhou. Fuzhou has been upgraded to full branch office status, while business centres will be established in Tianjin and Chongqing. We also upgraded our office in Qingdao to full branch status. The TDC took on the high-profile role of helping to organise exploratory missions, led by Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang, to the Pan-Pearl River Delta region, including the provinces of Jiangxi, Guizhou and Hunan. Business and industry leaders from Hong Kong joined these missions. Delivering information to our customers One of the TDC s main pathfinding roles is distributing practical and informative advice on business development opportunities in mainland and overseas markets. About 1,400 one-on-one business advisory sessions were delivered to SMEs this year. These services were divided into China Business Advisory Services and SME Business Advisory Services. They offered practical information ranging from general marketing to professional areas such as legal and tax issues and IPR protection. The TDC s Customer Service Department attracts crowds of local business people to its information seminars on emerging markets (top). Head of Customer Service CH Lai (above, right) with Kaşif Eryalçin, the Turkish Consul General of Hong Kong, in April 2006. The China Business Advisory Service offers SMEs practical support, information and advice on doing business in the Chinese mainland. 44 45
Insightful seminars, hot topics Pathfinding doesn t always mean exploring new opportunities in far corners of the world. At the TDC, we break new ground for SMEs at home in Hong Kong. The Customer Service Department organised a series of seminars and workshops to keep SMEs abreast of market developments and sharpen their competitive edge. With the world s business leaders and media carefully watching global developments in avian flu, the TDC, together with the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), organised the Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Preparedness for Avian Influenza conference. World Health Organisation experts and The TDC organised a seminar on RoHS and WEEE enforcement and policies attended by about 800 people in October 2006. Speaking at the seminar was Chris Smith, Technical Manager of the RoHS Enforcement Team, National Weights and Measures Laboratory, the UK s RoHS enforcement body. business leaders were invited to share their experience and insights with the local business community. The TDC established an excellent image of helping enterprises to manage crisis, with more than 300 representatives of multinational corporations attending the conference. Officials from the UK and Belgium were invited to brief Hong Kong manufacturers about the implementation of the EU s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) directives and enforcement. An overwhelming interest was generated by these seminars, with more than 700 people attending from the electronics and electrical sectors. A series of seminars and workshops was conducted throughout the year to boost SMEs awareness of the opportunities arising in emerging markets, including Turkey, Russia, India and Vietnam. More than 1,100 people attended these seminars. Sector-specific Traders Meet forums were organised to develop niche and emerging industries, including building materials, health food, security products, auto parts and inventions. Traders Meet forums are organised to help specify new opportunities in niche industries such as health food. Editor of International Market News, the TDC s Martin Evan-Jones moderated a seminar on Vietnam, which attracted more than 400 attendees in Hong Kong. He is pictured (left) with Vietnam s Minister of Trade Truong Dinh Tuyen. Fast Facts: Emerging Markets 12,017 Hong Kong companies participated in events targeting the mainland 2,548 Hong Kong companies took part in events targeting emerging markets 49,920 mainland companies visited Hong Kong 31,592 emerging market companies visited Hong Kong 160 research reports, business guides and market intelligence newsletters published 817 new cases handled by the China Business Advisory services 46 47
The TDC s Research Department has a team of top analysts and economists to report on potential new markets. Our guides, newsletters and reports are a crucial tool for companies looking for information on industries, markets and trends. A brand new initiative this year was the Hong Kong Trade Quarterly. The flagship magazine presents insights from the Research team, along with academics, business leaders and analysts. It offers trends and business strategies pertinent to the global marketplace looking closely at Hong Kong and the mainland but also spotlighting relevant aspects of other emerging markets. Produced together with the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the research report Development and Contribution of Hong Kong s Manufacturing and Trading Sectors reinforced the point that the manufacturing and trading sector remains highly important to the economy and employment of Hong Kong. Research s groundbreaking report Hong Kong : The Technology Marketplace assessed Hong Kong s position as a platform for technology cooperation between overseas, mainland and Hong Kong companies. New research initiatives this year included a flagship magazine, the Hong Kong Trade Quarterly, as well as 160 new country- and sector-specific reports. Pathfinding reports and analysis The TDC s central intelligence agency, the Research Department, continued to publish reports and launched a new publication this year. The TDC s economists act as pathfinders to analyse potential demand in new markets and report on the latest opportunities for Hong Kong-based SMEs. A joint project with the Ministry of Commerce, the Report on Economic Positioning of Hong Kong in the Chinese Mainland s 11th Five-Year Programme Period, examined how Hong Kong could capitalise on its advantages to develop new economic frontiers and to strengthen roles in the mainland s economy, in view of the mainland s development needs. Strengthening Hong Kong-Shanghai Co-operation in Service Industry Development, a study conducted together with the Shanghai Foreign Economic Relations and Trade Commission, examined the interests of Hong Kong services companies in expanding into the Shanghai region. The TDC s Research Department published groundbreaking new reports this year on Hong Kong as a technology marketplace, as well as emerging markets such as India and Turkey. 48 49