Candy Yan, a personal banker with ANZ, who is president of the new association, said especially over the past couple of years there had been a number of Chinese people from the mainland investing and settling in the Bay of Plenty.
"When I first joined ANZ in Tauranga, I was probably the only Chinese-speaking person in the bank," she said.
That meant she often had to liaise on behalf of Chinese-speaking clients with local lawyers, accountants and real estate agents.
However, Tauranga's Chinese-speaking business community now included people in the legal services and real estate sectors, and there was an increasing number of Chinese-owned businesses opening, including a supermarket and an ophthalmologist, with a doctor's practice scheduled to open later in the year.
Charlie Song, accounting team manager with Manning Warner Browne, is vice-president, and Jensen Zeng, a residential sales representative from Eve's Realty, is secretary of the association.
To date the association had about 40 members, said Ms Yan, and all members of the Chinese business community were encouraged to join. Membership would be free for the first year, with support coming from sponsors including Manning Warner Browne, ANZ, Realty Services Holland Beckett Lawyers, Harris Tate, Elite Migration, Ray White Commercial and Millenium Insurance Group.
"A lot of newcomers from China don't really understand the system here."
The association aimed to provide a central network of people who could assist in providing accounting, tax advisory, legal, immigration, finance and investment services.
