Tag Archives: On the road blog

Today is the last day here in Shanghai – time for a few more interviews and some relaxation before getting back in the air tomorrow. I met Lena Skandera, a Duke alum who grew up in small town New Zealand, now a project manager in the investment sector here in Shanghai. She gave an interesting interview, in particular the challenges …

Thursday in Shanghai provided a highlight of the trip with a trip to Pudong to see Leon Mickleson at Brew – but first an early morning start at NZ Central. A breakfast at Kea that Fran was speaking at was the first stop for the morning. Like in Beijing, the theme was xenophobia and investment in New Zealand with a …

It’s Wednesday evening in Shanghai and the theme for the day was undoubtedly the dairy industry. First up was Howard Moore, Managing Director of Taranaki Dairy Technologies, who met with Fran and I for an extended coffee break in the morning. Howard and his business has gained a unique foothold in the market by doing just what Dr. Li talked …

A recurring theme in two meetings today was the need for New Zealand businesses in China to not try and compete on a capacity basis,  with the advantages gained by economies of scale – it’s just not possible. Instead, the need for highly differentiated products and services which target a niche within the market was seen as the only tangible …

Just a short entry for the blog today. We left the hotel in Beijing at 5:30 this morning enroute to the airport. After a few far-too-close calls, Fran and I successfully boarded and were on our way to Shanghai. Pudong airport is quite a distance from central Shanghai – connecting the two however is the engineering marvel that is the …

In stark contrast to when I opened the curtains yesterday to reveal great disappointment, today Beijing truly turned it on, presenting a winter-wonderland outside as snow blanketed the city. Beijing looked truly stunning today, the snow cleared much of the pollution and the extended sight-lines showed a beautiful winter city – giving a whole new appreciation for what is truly a tremendously …

This morning was a pretty big disappointment when I opened my curtains to reveal one of the worst days for pollution since I arrived in Beijing. I made the decision to hold off on the Forbidden City for one more day and make the journey to the Silk Market, a place described to me as a hub for the weird, …

Early start today with breakfast at 6:15am, something I’m going to have to get used to! Today is the Economist’s China Summit for 2013. Taking place for the third time in as many years, the conference this year is themed around the recent leadership change that took place in China and the greater implications it could have both domestically and internationally. Boasting …

Fran and I have just returned from an amazing day with some of the leading figures in developing Beijing-Hollywood. I’ll keep my remarks brief as  I wouldn’t want to spoil the video that will go up on the site in the coming days. We began the day at the magnificent Star Lake Resort – a newly built, luxury facility that will host …

Today was an early start! Our driver arranged to collect Fran and I from the hotel at 7:30am to begin our program. symptoms of diabetes First up on the agenda was a meeting with Derek Low, head of Beca’s operations in China. Beca, a New Zealand engineering firm, operates a number of offices throughout Asia. Derek spoke to us predominantly about Beca’s …