Chinese projects worth €20 bln on offer to European Investment Partners

Currently China is tendering more than 300 projects valued in excess of €20 bln and is looking to European companies to bring their technical expertise and commitment as partners to aid project realization. China, already acknowledged as the fastest growing trading nation in the world, continues to look outward for project partners to aid its further economic expansion and share in its rewards. The variety and scale of China's current industrial needs offer major business opportunities for companies seriously seeking entry into this huge market. Importantly, the nature of many of the projects now being tended have the potential to provide stable platforms on which to build sustainable future growth in China for partnering companies. Dispelling the myth that winning business in China is too difficult and complex for most enterprises to engage in, Montgomery Gray Events, a specialist in creating international business investment forums, is organising Business in China, a European procurement summit. Business in China, to be staged at the 10,000sqm Berliner Congress Centre, Berlin, 28-29 May 2008, is supported by the UK's CBI and Germany's Berlin Partner, both globally respected advocates for international trade. The event will be a unique gathering, specifically intended to bring Chinese and European industry decision makers together in an interactive marketplace designed to simplify and foster mutually beneficial introductions. This will also make the meeting point of great value to companies wanting to establish a presence in China or expand an existing position there, while not necessarily seeking to win projects currently on offer. The importance and potential value to European companies* attending Business in China cannot be overstated. The event, at which there will be places for 800 delegates only, is being organised in conjunction with 10 supporting sub-councils** of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) - China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC), the Chinese government body that has confirmed the validity, scale and quality of the projects that will be offered for tender in Europe. But support is in more than just name. Underlining the importance China is placing on finding the right partners to move projects from the planning stage into construction and production, the CCPIT is bringing 200 specially invited senior government and industry leaders to Berlin to discuss and negotiate the 'live' projects being tendered. Project sectors range from automotive to agriculture, construction to chemicals, energy to electronics, infrastructure to information technology transport to telecoms and textiles, and plastics to pharmaceuticals. Business opportunities*** are available in virtually every major industrial segment across China. According to Richard Lambert, Director General, CBI: "China is doubling its world trade every three years and, while UK imports from China total nearly £6bn, its exports to China amount to only £1bn. Importantly, China is a rapidly growing market for the value-added goods and services that British companies are more than capable of delivering. Consequently we hope that the Business in China event will encourage more of them to engage with this fast growing economy." Not only is Business in China unique in its concept, it's also unique in its organisation. To ensure maximum value and positive outcomes for participants, all delegates from European companies will receive, according to information they provide, a personal pre-event planner that will match their requirements and schedule private meetings with appropriate Chinese commercial and government representatives. These meetings will be based on predefined criteria such as industry sector, budget, objectives, capital and corporate strategy, ensuring the most constructive use of time. Moreover, running concurrently with the planned procurement meetings will be a conference programme providing insights into key elements of doing business in China and a series of seminars focused on specific industry topics. Additionally, delegates from each of China's participating regions will give a brief regional profile that will include its business track record, capacity for investment and a summary of its current projects for which foreign partners are being sought. Business in China will be a breakthrough event that brings the Chinese market to European businesses. It will enable instant introductions to essential Chinese decision makers that would by other routes take weeks or probably months and require the services of several intermediaries to effect. This direct access approach will enable the initial groundwork and preliminary evaluation of business propositions to be completed in a short concentrated period that would previously have been impossible. The alignment of interests with active projects and the officials able to register the confirmation of interest and prepare the way for the next steps towards agreements, heralds a new level of efficiency in business acquisition and co-operation. Bringing together over 300 projects worth more than €20bn from 10 of China's most rapidly developing and outward looking provinces, the Business in China procurement summit will provide a vital bridge for companies making their first foray into China, and a potential point of expansion for those European companies already doing business there.