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elieve it or not, there are three other little words that rival the univer-

sal popularity of ‘I love you’; they are, ‘Made in China’. A quick survey of an average closet, children’s play area or kitchen cupboard just about anywhere in the world will show that Chinese-made goods make up the bulk of our purchas-es. Due to the extremely large popula-tion – at 1.3 billion people, the largest in the world – and the concomitant availability of cheap labour, manufactur-ers both Chinese and foreign are able to mass produce their goods at lower costs, making it easy for these goods to then turn up on shelves and racks every-where, at low prices.

While Jamaica has always imported from China, beginning with indentured labour-ers in 1838, local exports to the huge Chinese market is insignificant. In recent times, and especially intensified over the past two years, the Jamaican government has been moving to generate capital in-vestment from Chinese interests to ex-pand and develop local industries. So far, this has resulted in investments by Hong-fan and Noranda in bauxite and alumina, the US$400 million China Harbour En-gineering Company and, most recently, the divestment of the last three govern-ment-owned sugar factories to Chinese firm, Complant International, for US$9 million.

Perhaps realizing the success of these e!orts and seeing the potential to ex-ponentially increase Jamaica’s export market by focusing on China, the gov-ernment has also turned some attention to this side of the business relationship

between both countries. JAMPRO Trade and Invest recently hosted the Trends and Opportunities for Doing Business with China seminar to sensitize local business interests about the various prospects and best practices when do-ing business with the Chinese. The semi-nar was a collaborative e!ort between

JAMPRO, DHL global couriers and Red Global de Exportacion (RGX).

Capacity for Exports from the Region“We know that from Jamaica’s perspec-tive, the balance of play is not exactly what we would want it to be. We barely export anything to China and we really ought to be looking at what more could we be doing in that market,” said Berlet-ta Henlon Forrester, Manager of Export Promotion at JAMPRO, in her opening remarks. “One of the interesting things about all the consumer goods coming into Jamaica from China is that, in fact, the ships tend to be going back with a lot of capacity for products that could be exported from the region.”

BBUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN CHINA

JAMPRO EXPLORES

Due to the extremely large pop-ulation – at 1.3 billion people, the largest in the world – and the concomitant availability of cheap labour, manufactur-ers both Chinese and foreign are able to mass produce their goods at lower costs, making it easy for these goods to then turn up on shelves and racks everywhere, at low prices.

byTracey-Ann Wisdom

Chihon Ley, Current Academic Director of the International Business Management Degree

in the Asia Pacific area

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Representative of the Economic and Commercial Counsellors’ O"ce of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of Chi-na, Zhang Liyong, pointed out that of the US$279 million generated from trade be-tween both countries last year, China-to-Jamaica trading accounted for a whopping US$276 million.

The presenter for the seminar was Chi-hon Ley, the Current Academic Director of the International Business Management Degree in the Asia-Pacific area. He is also an expert in introducing Latin American and European companies to the Chinese market as well as recruiting Chinese ex-porters and suppliers for these markets. Ley’s presentation was based on the re-sults of a study carried out by RGX, con-ducted on 300 enterprises from China, Central America and the Caribbean. He started o! by quoting figures from Chi-nese president Hu Jintao, who had pre-dicted that trade between China and the Latin American and Caribbean region would hit the US$1 billion mark by 2010, but this actually occurred in 2007, three years earlier than expected. Clearly, there is great potential in the Chinese market for Jamaican companies looking to broad-en their horizons.

China is Not One MarketDescribing the structure of the market, Ley made it clear that China is not one market but rather a group of markets, similar in structure to the set-up of the European Union, so anyone interested in doing business in China needs to be aware of the di!erences in trade practice across the 22 provinces and over 600 cities. He also pointed out that 48 per cent of the Chinese population now lives in cities. As a result, people’s needs have increased, presenting prime business opportunities. “Shanghai is a city with about 20 million inhabitants. This is a whole market itself. And if your company is not able at this moment to supply 20 million customers, then maybe a Shanghai neighbourhood is enough for your company,” Ley said.

Another important piece of information for local companies need to be aware of is the fact that the cities are clustered ac-cording to major industry. For instance, Ley noted, Shenzhen is a hub for electron-ics manufacturers, which makes prices for these commodities among the lowest in the country. However, most foreign com-panies don’t know this and will still head to the main cities of Beijing or Shanghai to do business. “Can you get electronics in Beijing or Shanghai? Sure you can. Can you get electronics in Beijing or Shanghai at lower prices? That’s a di!erent ques-tion,” Ley said.

“Shanghai is a city with about 20 million inhab-itants. This is a whole market itself. And if your company is not able at this moment to supply 20 million customers, then maybe a Shanghai neighbourhood is enough for your company.”

Zhang Liyong,Councellor, The Economic and Commercial Councellor’s Office of

The Embassy of the Peopl’s republic of China

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It is also necessary to learn the intrica-cies of Chinese consumer culture. Al-though China is over 4,000 years old as a civilization, consumerism is only ap-proximately 30 years old in the country. There is a strong emerging middle class that is expected to dominate the market by 2025, Ley said. The aspirations of the middle class are centred on family, health and happiness, much like Western cul-tures. Members of this class have new consumption power, so they are enthu-siastic buyers. They are heavily influenced by the West, but not identical. The typi-cal middle class Chinese customer is 25-44 years old; accumulates wealth earlier in life; favours high-end foreign brands; price-conscious but don’t mind paying for what he/she wants and uses brand names to define social status. This presents a great opportunity for Jamaican brands to market themselves to this segment of the population.

Cultural Di!erencesHowever, in doing so, they must also take into consideration the cultural di!erences between the two countries. Ley gave an interesting account of the di!erent re-ceptions to the popular drink mix brands Zuko and Tang. Superficially, both prod-ucts have similar looks and tastes. The ‘problem’ though is that the Chinese drink their water hot – “not warm. Almost boil-ing point hot,” Ley said. Of course, these products are made to be consumed cold, so that’s already one strike against them both. Can you even imagine consuming a piping hot strawberry drink? However, Tang was able to make an impact by fo-cusing on the people’s health-conscious mentality, selling its high vitamin C con-tent and marketing to mothers, who are the natural caregivers for their families. “No matter the product, you can tailor it

to the market. Focus on what is impor-tant to the people,” Ley stated, noting also that rum, one of Jamaica’s popular exports, will not fare well in China, but if producers are willing to make liquors that are suitable to the people’s tastes, they will find a ready market. Food safety is also a major concern for Chinese buy-ers who have become extremely wary after a number of food scandals rocked the country. The businesspeople in atten-dance were also urged to focus on tele-

vision advertising, which exerts the most influence on what Chinese consumers purchase.

Look out for Part 2 in next week’s issue.

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“No matter the product, you can tailor it to the market. Focus on what is important to the people”

Patrick Frith, South Caribbean District Manager, DHL

cquisitions are nothing new in the tech world, so Google’s recent acquisition of Motorola

Mobilty comes as no surprise to anyone paying attention to the dynamic mobile technology field. The acquisition cost US$12.5 billion, but the company will no doubt recoup this in short order. The move is a definite strategic win for Google as the company repositions it-self as a powerhouse in the technology industry.

With this move, Google is perfectly po-sitioned to challenge Apple’s dominance in the mobile market, where the iPhone and iPad outsell virtually all other de-vices, particularly in the United States. For instance, in the hyper-competitive smarphone market, Androids command the largest share, due to a multiplicity of manufacturers; however, the iPhone is by far the best selling singularly-owned device in the market. The main rea-son Apple has been able to dominate is its vertical integration. The company “makes the whole widget”, as CEO Steve Jobs declared – ie. the hardware, software and services for all its devices – which allows them to function optimally.

As creators of the game-changing An-droid platform, which Motorola adopt-ed as its sole operating system in 2008, Google will now have this same level of integration, which will make it Apple’s archrival in a whole new way. Motorola Mobility not only makes smartphones and tablets, they also make TV boxes, so the failing Google TV will likely get a desperately-needed boost and could also cut into Apple TV’s market share, which is currently Apple’s weakest link.

“The combination of Google and Mo-torola will not only supercharge An-droid, but will also enhance competition

and o!er consumers accelerating inno-vation, greater choice, and wonderful user experiences,” said Google CEO, Larry Page, in a recent entry in The Of-ficial Google Blog.

This is certainly good news for Android users worldwide, but what about Mo-torola’s competitors in the market? Companies like Samsung, HTC, LG, Sony Ericsson and Lenovo will now be forced to compete with the company that makes their operating systems. De-spite reassurances from Google that the acquisition will not change its commit-ment to run Android as an open plat-form and that Motorola will be operated as a separate business, it is obvious that

the playing field has been tilted. E!ec-tively, Motorola has now been deemed the favourite child.

Nonetheless, some of these companies have expressed support for Google’s commitment to keep Android as an open platform. This could be due to the fact that Motorola’s treasure trove of over 24,000 granted and pending pat-ents, which now belong to Google, have become part of the open platform. Page also stated in his blog, that this strength-ening of Google’s patent portfolio will “enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Mi-crosoft, Apple and other companies.”

HELLO GOOGLEMOTO!INTERNET GIANT AIMS FOR MOBILE DOMINANCE

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byTracey-Ann Wisdom

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The move is a definite strategic win for Google as the company reposi-tions itself as a power-house in the technology industry.

Start Ups

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ongratulations! You have managed to start your

business despite the many hurdles and your company is now operational. But don’t celebrate too much yet. You still need to get customers (besides your family and friends) to come in and try your product or experience the service you o!er. It’s time to generate some buzz about your great new company.

In this internet age, you might be tempted to believe that you can get by on Facebook and Twitter alone, but you would be wrong. Sure, these are the two most popular social networks and your page or profile will get lots of likes and follows, but limiting your focus to these sites prevents you from tap-ping into the traditional networks that could help to get your company noticed and mentioned in the press.

Here are some quick tips to get your company’s name on everyone’s lips:

Make personal contact: Most business communication today takes place via email, but sometimes a well-timed phone call can get you immedi-ate results, unlike an email that is likely to languish in a reporter’s inbox as he/she chases a more important story. “It undoubtedly makes an impact by pick-ing up the phone. Not only does it es-tablish trust, but it also creates a more solid relationship for future media out-reach,” says Ryan Carlin PR expert who works with start-up websites.

Also, get out there and socialize. Indus-try conferences and meetings are usu-ally covered by journalists and editors from major papers and networks, so travel with your business cards, fliers and samples of your products, where possible. Strike up a conversation about the last presentation, industry news or current a!airs, or just be bold and in-troduce yourself and your company.

Form strategic partnerships: Leverage the media relationships of es-tablished companies and organizations by partnering with them on a proj-ect or initiative, even if it’s one-o! or short-term. For instance, eZines Lim-ited, which produces this publication, has partnered with The Private Sec-tor Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) to

produce The Private Eye, a bi-monthly online magazine for the Organisation’s members.

Much like partnering with established businesses, you can also join with a charitable organization, whether it’s by donating your time of money. Not only will you feel good, you will get some press for your good deeds.

O!er your expert opinion: Are you able to speak knowledgeably on your profession or industry? Then you can also position yourself as a source when reporters come calling. Being able to give credible, well-thought out information in the press will get you noticed and your company’s name mentioned.

You can further leverage this by accept-ing speaking engagements at confer-ences, industry gatherings and other events, which will get you and your business further attention.

Seek recognition: You know how awards and recognitions look good on your resume when you’re applying for a job? Well, they look just as good when you’re an entrepreneur – and they gen-erate a lot of press. Take the time to apply for noted awards like the NCB Nation Builder Awards, Prime Minis-ter’s Youth Awards (if you’re under 24) or the Jamaica Observer Food Awards if you are in the restaurant industry. Do some research and see what else you might be eligible for.

GETTING PRESS FOR YOUR BUSINESSPUBLIC RELATIONS 101:

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In this internet age, you might be tempted to believe that you can get by on Facebook and Twitter alone, but you would be wrong.

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