With European demand falling in contracting economies, and the US struggling to generate growth, markets across the world offer little, or no, opportunity for business expansion. 

With a population of over 1.3 billion people, an emerging materialistic middle class estimated to reach 600 million by 2020, who would not look to China, the largest market on the planet, to replace shrinking opportunities in the West?

In this session we will explore the difficulties of entering into a complex market, requiring a very different approach to anything we are used to in the West. Demographics, distorted by 30 years of the one child policy, have produced a rapidly aging population and yet the profile of the highest spending group is much younger than that of most western economies, putting marketing professionals into unfamiliar territory.

Discussions will be looking at:

·         What are the barriers to entry that cause foreign businesses the most problems in getting their goods into this market?

·         How does one find out about the market place when official figures are unlikely to be trustworthy?

·         How does a foreign owned business work in a system with an accepted tradition of kick backs and corruption without falling foul of legislation in their home countries and ones own ethics policies?

The list of questions and issues is endless, but we will explore these at this meeting, listening to expert advice, and case studies, in order to give FMA attendees an advantage in their pursuit of the Chinese domestic market.

Speakers:

■ Derek WC Lee - Partner,  PwC Hong Kong

Presentation: The Common Tariff and Non-tariff Barriers to Import in China

Derek is a Partner in PwC's regional Customs and International Trade practice in Asia Pacific. He is based in Hong Kong and has been in the tax advisory role since 1999. Derek has extensive experience in advising multinational companies in setting up tax efficient supply chain models and in resolving customs disputes. Derek is also a specialist in customs valuation and its implications on transfer pricing.  He is well versed in a number of other areas including customs classification, import/export procedures, licensing, duty reliefs, export VAT refunds, first sale customs valuation and other planning opportunities. He has been in the advisory role for many leading consumer and industrial products companies and is a frequent speaker at conferences on customs topics.  He has also provided training to Customs Officers on customs valuation for related party transactions.

■Gideon Milstein  - Chairman, CBL Group

Presentation: Exploring the Domestic Market & Case Studies

Gideon will be sharing his experience of market entry which includes many unusual and unexpected differences from western markets.

Gideon is a British citizen who has been permanently domiciled in China for 9 years as the founder and Chairman of the CBL Group. CBL has on factory in Panyu, Guangzhou employing 500 people in the manufacturing of OEM electro-mechanical products, plastics and metals. Their second factory with over 700,000 square feet of production space is based in Hubei province and when fully operational will employ a further 600 people. The CBL Group also has entered into direct medical equipment sales to the Chinese market. Designed in Australia, beds, tables, examination couches and besides cabinets are to international medical standards and manufactured using state of the art equipment including robots, computerized laser and turret punch systems. Quality is assured by the use of Six Sigma tools and Lean manufacturing ensures competitive pricing. The offer is very different from most of what is available in China, as CBL is marketing a very western quality product at designed for Chinese demands at Chinese prices.

■   Marc Vincent - President, Sennheiser Hong Kong Limited

Presentation: Development of the Sennheiser Brand & Infrastructure in Greater China

Mr. Marc Vincent has over 30 years of experience in Sound Engineering and Electro Acoustics, both in the field of production and the trade business. He is the President of Sennheiser Greater China since February 2007. He is responsible for building a team of professionals that will join efforts to further develop the Sennheiser brand throughout the Greater China territory, consisting ofChina,Hong Kong,TaiwanandMacau.

Marc has joined SennheiserCanadain January 2000 as the Vice President Sales & Marketing. After 7 years of growth and the building of a mature team, it was time for new challenges. Sennheiser Headquarters were looking for an experienced candidate that could bring the Greater China to its next level of development and Marc accepted the position in November 2006.  

After five year of structure development, Sennheiser Greater China teams located inBeijingandHong Kongare now ready to provide a strong support to this gigantic market. Marc's vision is to increase the presence of Sennheiser in all regions ofChina, by promoting, advertising and supporting retailers in order to bring Sennheiser brand awareness and market penetration to the level found in other regions of the world.

Marc was living inBeijingfor five years and then move toHong Kongnow. He loves life inChina. His hobbies are travelling, alpine skiing, car racing, music listening and attending social events.

Agenda:

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