Date: Tue 4th August, 2009
Venue:
Number of Guests Attended: 80
As Liverpool gears up for next year's World Expo in Shanghai, Insider hosted a breakfast event in the city for North West business leaders trading in China or those interested in the Far East.
Guest speaker Ian Crawford, executive director of the British Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, touched on the practical realities of doing business in China, followed by a panel debate featuring: Samir Shah, director of Manchester-based Trendtidy; Andrew Gossage, director of Ultimate Products in Oldham; and Paul Clark, managing and creative director of Rochdale-based architects firm CJ Partnership.
“Projects do take longer in China,” warned Crawford. “Apply the same rigour to any project that you would in the UK or Europe. Doing business is no different there and you should not be drawn into the idea that things are different. You do have to adapt the product or service to the market, but don’t lose sight of the objective of what you intended to achieve.”
The panel discussion covered topics including: protecting your intellectual property rights; finding the best route in; hiring staff; and the strength of the manufacturing offer in China.
The event closed with a speech from Mike Taylor, investment director at Liverpool Vision, who outlined the importance of Liverpool’s presence at the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010.
He said that, while in the past the city had struggled with getting value from the relationship, regeneration had allowed it to be seen as a serious twin city. “Liverpool's presence at the World Expo in Shanghai is driven by the importance of using Liverpool as a virtual gateway to showcase the wider economic assets of the North West,” he said.
“We need to find ways of exposing as many of our businesses as possible to how to do business in all of the emerging markets that will be there.”
