Examination of Witnesses (Questions 136
- 139)
TUESDAY 4 JULY 2000
MR TOM
GOLDBERG, MR
STEPHEN PERRY
AND MR
JAMES RICHARDS
Chairman
136. Gentlemen, we welcome you on behalf of
the Committee. All of you are involved in operating business in
China. We have Mr James Richards from Rolls-Royce, Mr Stephen
Perry from London Export Limited and Mr Goldberg, managing director
of Atlas Ward Structures Limited. Mr Goldberg, you are here because
in China in business we tend to look towards the larger companies.
I understand you can properly be described as representing small
and medium sized enterprises. May I turn to you and, in this world
of giants and a giant country, how would you persuade other SMEs
of your size that it is worth doing business in China? How have
you benefited from official assistance because the remit of the
Committee is to look at the way that our official services help
the business community and of course SMEs.
(Mr Goldberg) The Chinese market, from
the viewpoint of my company which is a small-ish company in construction—
137. What do you produce?
(Mr Goldberg) Metal buildings, factories, warehouses,
almost any kind of metal or steel frame. In the United Kingdom,
we build multistorey offices, large distribution warehouses. In
China, we work for multinational companies building new factories
and new offices for them. For example, we have just finished off
a complex in Sujo for Glaxo Wellcome to the value of about $10
million to produce anti-hepatitis vaccine. We have been doing
that for five or six years in China. On SMEs, because of the complications
of the Chinese market, I would suggest that SMEs with no export
experience should not really be looking at China. My company has
25 years' export experience all over the world with 60 different
countries and therefore we felt we were reasonably well equipped
to go into China. We went in about 1994 when we started work on
a power station in Hong Kong. At that time, the Pacific rim was
a very interesting proposition for almost any country and therefore
we went into Hong Kong and mainland China but that kind of experience
we have built up over the years and I would suggest it is a very
daunting prospect for any SME.
138. Did you go into the China market on the
back of an existing client in the United Kingdom and, more particularly,
what was your experience of the British official services?
(Mr Goldberg) We went into mainland China on the back
of a particular opportunity that arose through a ceramics company
who also operate in the United Kingdom and we found out through
their United Kingdom office that they wanted a factory in China.
We followed that up and we were successful. We built three more
buildings for them. We gradually spread our operations in China.
For SMEs, the prime requisite is export advice. My company has
had to learn a lot of information on tariffs, customs, quotas,
product approvals, local construction regulations, fire regulations,
building regulations, building standards, how the state owned
construction industry operates, where the opportunities are for
private construction companies. We have learned an awful lot in
those areas and, without the build-up of 25 years' previous exporting
knowledge, that would have been very difficult.
139. What about the China-Britain Business Council
or consulates general and the embassy commercial section?
(Mr Goldberg) We are members of the China-Britain
Business Council and we have visited the consuls and the embassies
in the areas that we have operated. Generally speaking, we have
had good logistical back-up and good general advice but not the
kind of applied, specific expert advice that would be really directly
useful. It is the sort of advice you can gain in a number of places
and the people who are giving it have always been enthusiastic
and very willing to put themselves out to try and give us that
advice. For them to really tell us how the construction industry
operates in China has been beyond their background and experience.
The emergence of BTI is a giant step forward in simplifying the
arrangements but some body has to get hold of the notion that
there has to be money spent. They have to be experienced, fairly
highly paid people put into the roles if we are going to provide
a generalised advice network for SMEs.
|
