DAY 1, Mon, 12 Mar:on the plane after it touches down at HK airport..
the air stewardess is really pretty.. alot people thinks so too..
besides that, she always put on a very sweet smile..
i think her service attitude is really good..
and i believe no matter where you work, or do business in..
that should be the way!!

our first stop: Hong Kong Trade Development Centre (HKTDC)
the above is taken outside HKTDC..
the left pic is our group photo with Mr Kam

some fast facts about Hong Kong:
- Free trade and free market, consistently voted world’s freest economy
- Highly educated workforce
- Stable currency linked to US$
- China’s largest external investor
- World’s busiest container and international air cargo ports
- Convenient, compact and cosmopolitan city
- Unrivalled experience of doing business in China

we had a briefing by Ms Emily Cheung..
and all of us were busy taking down notes...

HKTDC mission:
Create and facilitate opportunities in international trade to Hong Kong companies especially SMEs and to increase the number of international firms using Hong Kong trade platform

So how do they create opportunities in international trade?
1. Provide information
- there are more than 40 offices world wide, 11 in mainland china
- through HK international conventions and exhibitions
- online
2. Matching business partners
- they identify suitable partners in person/online
3. Connecting customers
- outreach programmes
- incoming missions
- trade fairs
Each year, HKTDC organizes around 30 world class international trade fairs in Hong Kong

next up was to go to the TDC library..
the place is full of info that you need for business..
you name it, they have it...

they have services and facilities like:
China trade information, Overseas market intelligence, Creative industry collection, Product magazines, Multimedia resources, Trade fair catalogues, Business contacts and directories, Information search assistance, Video corner, Bookshop

we spent quite a few hours there doing research for our project topic..

there is a corner for advisory service (as seen above)
it tries to help Hong Kong's SMEs penetrate the China market
interested parties can just take an application form to fill in
and the TDC will arrange an appropriate meeting time
it is a FREE service...

HKTDC also believes in having local talents
there are 2 more galleries opening up in the airport and Causeway Bay for the local designers to showcase their products

Basically, HKTDC is open to public and its services are free. 98% business in Hong Kong are SMEs (their target group)

some of my learning points:
- Hong Kong has many distinct advantages as a place for multinational firms to access the strengths of Pearl River Delta (PRD), China and the Asia region.
- China into WTO and CEPA is opening up to both trade and investment around the world.
- Hong Kong plays a central role in the PRD development
-InvestHK helps companies access the opportunities in PRD
-Hong Kong focuses more on services whereas PRD focuses more on manufacturing
- HKTDC plays a part in helping SMEs to establish and successfully have their business setup well overseas

DAY 2, Tues, 13 Mar:
went to the China South International Industrial Materials City in Shenzhen

CSC is a trading flagship for both China and overseas markets. It is developed by five prominent investors. Its investors are influential leaders in their respective industries with strong financial background, prominent business reputation and in-depth experience in market development and operations. Their combined strengths are the foundation for the success of CSC. It is a notable world-class modernized platform for trading and exhibition of industrial materials.

the place is great.. consists of the following 5 trade centres..
1. Textile and Clothing Material
- Since 2006, it is expected that China’s share of the world textile market will rise to almost 50%. Shenzhen is one of the leaders in the China’s textile industry.
2. Leather and Accessories
- It displays high-quality leather materials from all over China, like goatskin from Hebei, cowhide from Shandong and Henan, pigskin from Sichuan.
3. China South City Electronics

as usual we had our Q&A session...

CSC has signed a treaty with the government that 70% for rent and 30% to sell. In order to manage this big place well, they have to attract alot of foreigners and improve the economy. Thus they do so by pumping in millions of dollars in their advertising and marketing. this is one of the advertisement we saw while we were on the road
there are many of such ads around...
can see that CSC is really trying hard to market themselves

and since CSC is doing so much of advertising
it saves costs for the retailers as they need not have to do it

you may be thinking, wont there be alot of competition since all of the similar industries all located together?
well, this can prevent prices to be too high as they sell in bulk. buyers can buy at a lower price for the same quality product (it avoids retailers from selling imitations). thus it helps CSC to build a good image too. retailers therefore differentiate themselves by product quality and brand, as different customers have different expectations (investors comes from all over the world).

CSC enjoys first-movers advantage since it is the first in the region to develop such a large-scale centre concentrating everything in one place for the buyers to gather at.

and a grp pic before leaving the place...

some of my learning points:
- there is a need to identify the good and bad suppliers so that they do not tarnish the good reputation of CSC. it is either to eliminate the bad ones or help them to improve.
- since buyers are able to purchse at a cheaper price, they are thus able to produce low and sell high.

DAY 3, Wed, 14 Mar:

we headed to the Shenzhen museum...
there are lots of preserved animals dere...

the person who guide us around the place also showed us a miniature of Shenzhen. Shenzhen has an outskirt of an eagle. at the Lianhua mountain, there is a statue of Deng XiaoPing and it is situated at the heart of the eagle. it is believed that this is part of Fengshui also. there is a Shenzhen river which separates Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

reached Dong Guan, and visited Aztech Systems Ltd..
Mr Jeremy Mum (director of operations) is a Singaporean...
thus he spoke in english!!!
makes taking down of notes easier.. alot alot..
Aztech has a world-wide reputation for design and quality. It is being incorporated in Singapore in 1986 and they have five other sales offices in Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, USA and Germany. Their factory is about the size of nine football fields, with 2500 employees world-wide. They have their own generators to prevent power interruption, thus ensure on time delivery to their customers. The company is always on the forthfront of innovation and change, so as to remain competitive in the market.

Aztech is situated in Dong Guan because there are several other supporting factories around where the company can get its materials from for assembly. There are also well-established infrastructures (near to ports), competitive operating/labour costs, strong state and country government support.

Aztech has industrial, sales & quality department for attachements too.

then we had a tour around the factory too........

Aztech believes that employees are the company's most valuable assets. Thus, they do take great care of the employees' welfare. Within the company premises, there are a minimart, clinic, library, recreational rooms, basketball court and a clean staff canteen where the employees can relax and enjoy themselves after hours of hard work.

some learning points:
- the workers need to be trained so that they know exactly what to do
- company must treat their employees well so that they would perform well at work, thereby inceasing their efficiency


DAY 4, Thur, 15 Mar:

we visited the 72 Stones Memorial and took some pics there..

all guys n all girls pic... at the Wu Yang Park

time to visit company..
Guangzhou Zhujiang Brewery Group Co. Ltd

first to the control room..
where you can see everything at a glance..
den we tour round the factory..
seeing the bottling process and stuffs...

the company started in 1985 has has undergone 21 years of transformation. their beer is amongst the top 3 brands in China brewery trade, the 1st being Qingdao beer. 40% of its beer is for exports.

it produces a variety of beers for different markets, where taste and preferences differs. for instance, white beer is more for high-ends places such as hotels where it would be more expensive. the people in Fujian would prefer those that doesnt make them get drunk easily.

another grp pic.. and we each had a can of beer too

after lunch, the dining place was converted to a 'study room'
Mr Nee, another Singaporean, Regional Director of IE Singapore...
shares with us his job scope n experiences..
in a 2hr long session with our Q&A too..

IE Singapore was called Trade Development Board (TDB) before 2002. IE helps companies to venture overseas as Singapore is too small a market. It indirectly also helps to increase the employement rate. There are 500 staffs, 37 offices world-wide in which 7 is in China and being divided into 4 regions (Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou). China is the biggest investment destination for Singapore, and also one of the biggest trade partners. Guangdong accounts for 1/4 of foreign investments and 1/3 of foreign trade, thus is a very important partner.

Mr Nee also mentioned that "Guan Xi" and "Mian Zi" is important in the less developed areas. When things are not so clear, local government can interpret things themselves, to near what you want. It cannot be too specific as there is different development stages in China.

It would be an advantage to know the chinese culture, but may not need to be right from the start as we can still learn along the way. Attitude would be deem more important as we need to adapt to the local practice. We should adapt, but integrity should not change. Don't cheat and don't accept bribes.

last place for the day: Wholesale Market for Leather Goods
here, is really an eye-opener for all of us..

i supposed all of us went to the place with the mentality that we can shop there. but we were all wrong. the place sells mostly in bulks and they do not seem to be really interested in doing our business. they are like waiting for other big customers to come and strike a deal with them instead. maybe because we were in wrong attire (formal wear with blazers on) and that we are in a big group (at least 5 people), the people were also quite hostile towards us.

there is 2 incidents which i would like to share:
- a group of us went into a belt store and asked the lady for the prices. thinking that it is still of a reasonable price, the few of them picked their choice. but when they are done and doing their payment, the lady jacked up the price and denied the initial price. thus, we just leave the belts there and when we are leaving the place, the lady kept hurling vulgarities at us.
- a group of the girls wanted to get a bag from a stall. they tried bargaining for a cheaper price but it was in vain. thinking that the bag is still quite cheap when compared to Singapore context, the girls decide to get it. it was until someone overheard the vendor saying that she will be able to treat the others for dinner, they realize that the bag can go even cheaper. the vendor is obviously earning alot from the girls. (in the end they didnt buy it even though it is cheap)

some learning points:
- IE is a good place for those companies who are keen to expand to overseas, provided that they know what they are doing/want to do
- "Guan Xi" and "Mian Zi" are important factors for those who wants to do business in China to establish, so that they are aware of the things that they should avoid and ensure peaceful operation of business
- Guangdong is strategically located so making it slowly and is becoming much more attractive for foreigners to come and invest in, other than the cheap labour and resources
- Be flexible in doing business
- there is a huge supply and lesser demand of labour hence the wages of employees are low, seemingly as exploiting them
- there are many wholesale markets in Guangzhou, making the place attractive as all the materials/goods are concentrated together at different parts of the city


DAY 5, Fri, 16 Mar:

our first stop of the day.. Pearl River Piano
the world's biggest producer for pianos..

they market their product by:
- retailers
- piano competition that is held every 2 years
- sponsers for concerts
- some TV brands

touring the factory...

it also produce guitars, violins and other instruments...
i like the pink electric guitar..

that is Prof. Le Che of Guangdong Poly Normal University
his presentation is very boring
all slides are like the ones above..
ALL WORDS. and he just read and read..
basically he talks about China's economy.....

we were quite attentive.. for the first few minutes...

the lecturers!

some learning points:
- in doing busines, we often need to do presentations. thus it would be good to keep our slides short and sweet, preferably with pictures instead of chunks of words, to make the audience stay alert
- locating the factory in an accessible place is quite important as it affect the buying and selling pattern also
- must try the very best to market the products so that you can fight the sales with other strong brands
too!

DAY 6, Sat, 17 Mar:

the never ending bridge...

we are at the Site of Weiyuan Battery
there isn't any companies visits for today..
and that also explains why we are in our casual wear

we went a place selling honey..
those bees looks disgusting..
i gt myself 2 bottles of honey.. =)

went to FOSHAN, to go Yuxiang Ceramic Tile Industry...
people at work...

i was quite amazed with this figurine!
i saw the whole process of the lady making it..
her hands are really nimble..
every detail of it is being taken care of..


DAY 7, Sun, 18 Mar:
To the Memorial Hall of Huang Feihong...

this is how the real Huang Feihong looks like... iron wire fist, gongzi tiger-vanquishing boxing, riger & crane boxing


the above 2 pics taken at Yong Xiang Furniture Factory
a set of furniture costs only $600SGD.. cheap and nice!
wholesale price can reach up to $3000 to $5000...

Yong Xiang sells its furniture to trading companies and does not sell it directly to customers. They specializes mainly in sofas and does have their own designers. Sales can be up to 2000 to 3000 sofas every year, with 80% exported to Middle East, North America and United States.

Yong Xiang uses Internet and partnership to advertise. They do have a few standard companies that will purchase from them. Of course, quality must be good for them to maintain a long working relationship. To remain competitive, they always improve their designs and also allow customization. And that is why they do not put their company name on the sofas.

we oso visited Wholesale Market for Watches afterwhich..
by observations, we can see that the people there are aggressive

some learning points:
- it is compulsory to always upgrade one's product to continuously stay ahead with the times
- you need to suit the need of your customers, to achieve customers satisfaction
- the price and quality of product must match


DAY 8, Mon, 19 Mar:
alright, shall let the pictures do the talking..
visit to Sunten, producer of high tech transformers..
seriously listening to the speaker...
we play hard and also work hard too!!

Sunten was founded in 1988 with 1500 employees and it is famous for electricity equipment such as dry type transformer, rector, substation and switch gear.

every company faces problems when doing business, and as for Sunten:
1. Raw material supply, price keep increasing
2. Competition in the industry affects their market share
3. Internal problems such as cash flow, come and go of employees

the company is thus having a joint venture with a french companay to overcome the problems mentioned above.

after lunch we went to Ju Xiang Yuan..
where it's quite famous for it's almond cakes..
some hands-on on making the almond cakes..

last up is Zhongshan Torch International Exhibition Centre

then we were being briefed again...

It is set up in 1990 and there are companies such as Foretech, EMC, Canon, Casio situated there. It is located in the centre of the PRD with favourable transporation networks and there is also sufficient water and power supply.

There are five major industries:
- Electronics and IT
- Biology and pharmacy
- Fine chemicals
- Modem packaging and printing
- Auto parts

So how do they compete with the other zone in PRD?
1. Location (near to ports)
2. Incentives (tax incentives)
3. Government and original basic economic development

some learning points:
- when doing business, cannot only look at the short term, long term working relationships is also important. it is easier to retain customers than look for new ones.
- it may be difficult to handle one whole company together so it would be better to divide them into smaller sections
- have to manage the company's cash flow well so that you wont meet with financial problems


DAY 9, Tue, 20 Mar:
thats our china tour guide
we call him xiao deng...
he's scooping water from an underground water
the water is said to be chang ming shui..
many of the folks drank and live very long..

look on for more pictures
the museum of Dr. Sun Yat-Sun

not to forget.. we went to strawberry plantation.
can see from the pics dat we are enjoying!!!

a group picture after visiting Zhuhai Southern Software Park

It is established on 22 August 2001 by the central government. There are about 100 international companies located there, such as Ericsson, Panansonic and Canon. It has excellent infrastructure, with airports, seaports and accessible roads available.

It is a pioneer undertaking park for chinese students studying abroad. There is a university within the park and it gives students free hostel. They believe in nurturing talents from young.

some learning points:
- it may be a good thing to train a person from young for a future managerial post


DAY 10, Wed, 21 Mar:
basically we are done with visiting of companies..
so is the day for sight-seeing....


DAY 11, Thur, 22 Mar:
pictures taken at the Yu Ren Xiang
our last pic taken in china..

we took ferry over to HK..
after lunch and checking into hotel..
is our own free time..


DAY 12, Fri, 23 Mar:
back to Singapore!

some other pictures..
this is our driver in china..
the chinese does a direct translation..