Risk-takers make an impact

By TOM CLARKE

New Zealand exporters are making an impact in the booming Chinese market, says North Asia trade specialist Eugene Bowen.

He says New Zealanders sometimes take risky positions and tend to make the same mistakes as everyone else in dealing with the Chinese, but are "pretty resilient" in recovering.

Mr Bowen, who is general manager, Asia and Middle East, with the Trade Development Board, has been appointed a member of the New Zealand Pacific Economic Cooperation Council.

"The question in China is always about transparency and the application of rules and risk," he says. "New Zealanders, interestingly enough, have taken some quite risky positions in China.

"Generally speaking, there's a reluctance to invest in the intelligence and the data necessary for informed market decisions, but when it comes to China there's a lot of consistency on the part of New Zealanders, who very often get in and get involved."

Because of its sheer size and dynamics, and the increasing affluence of its people, China will affect any area of trade it chooses to get involved with, he says.

The Trade Development Board maintains four offices in China, making it the largest single-country investment made by the board. Mr Bowen says it is a difficult market to work because of the wide range of regional differences.

"Unlike Japan, where essentially there's one set of visible rules, in China there's the additional complication of interpretation and regionalism," he says.

"You have a powerhouse like Shanghai - which could become one of the most powerful cities in the world and is already well on the way - which will insist on doing business on a very regional basis. These regional economies are already far greater than many of our leading trading partners.

"But you also need to be in Beijing because that's where the policy is made."

Mr Bowen says China is already a huge contributor to New Zealand's foreign exchange receipts. It provides enormous opportunities because it is developing infrastructure and individual wealth.

Infrastructure development offers opportunities in consultancy, construction, engineering and education, while the creation of individual wealth brings with it opportunities ranging from housing to consumer products, he says.

Altogether, the North Asian market takes in China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan - all among NZ's top 10 trading partners.

Korea is a recovering market and one of our fastest-growing export markets; the economy of Japan, our third-largest export market, is recovering but is still not on the soundest basis; while Taiwan is a "fascinating collection" of small-to-medium enterprises, which does well globally.

Mr Bowen has specialised in Japan and for 20 of the past 25 years has been stationed in Tokyo.