Day 6: Worker Bees

Today was Friday in Beijing, the final day of the working week and the last full-day of our work program until we reach Shanghai on Monday.

First up was a meeting with Nicola Morris, General Manager of Fonterra’s farm operations here in China. She walked us through exactly how New Zealand’s largest company was getting on over in China. The dairying operation based here for Fonterra is expanding rapidly, with a major milk hub of 5 farms due for completion this year. Morris also addressed the challenges of conducting business in the market and her own personal story of how she made it here and managed to adjust so quickly from living in Tasmania to Beijing.

With our time at Fonterra completed, our next stop was at PriceWaterhouseCoopers in China to talk with Edwin Wong. He gave us a frank overview of the investment environment and all of the factors that need to be considered when evaluating the Chinese market. What really stood out to me from our discussion with Edwin, came about when he discussed the impact of the one child policy here in China. Penalties for those who break it are severe, with only the wealthiest Chinese able to afford the fines or take their family overseas to circumvent the law. As this was simply not an option for the majority of Chinese, the newest generation have been brought up in a test-case of sorts, revealing a new set of challenges for managers and politicians alike. A sense of entitlement was reported by Wong, making managing this generation much more difficult than the previous. In addition, a more aggressive temperament for the generation sparked a discussion about the potential political and economic effects. 

An event hosted by KEA was the final stop for the day, as Fran was scheduled to give a speech about foreign investment in New Zealand. Her talk centered on the Crafar Farm saga which finally drew to a close following litigation at the end of 2012.

I was lucky enough to be able to meet and interview Alex Worker at the event, director of Marianas Group and son of current New Zealand ambassador to China, Carl Worker. He gave a fascinating interview about how he came to be involved with China and how his new business is progressing. Alex will be an interesting case to watch over the coming 24 months as his business gets into full swing over here.

And so draws to the close of another full-on day on the road in Beijing. On the agenda tomorrow is a trip to the Silk Market or the Forbidden Palace – weather and pollution dependant of course. Plus Tony An, an investment banker pushing the Beijing Hollywood movement, is taking us out in the afternoon to meet with and studio boss and film director then to visit a new under-construction studio in a visit which promises to be as entertaining as it is informing.

Zai Hui!