Media release
17 August 2005

China market opportunities

Waitakere’s Sister City relationship in China is set to bear economic fruit. Mayor Bob Harvey is due to return from a visit to Ningbo (approximately four hours south of Shanghai) tomorrow. During a four-day visit, at which he received honorary citizenship, Mayor Harvey and Waitakere’s Chief Executive Harry O’Rourke focused on a number of economic development opportunities.

One high level meeting saw them negotiate a free display stand at an expo/trade fair to be held in Ningbo next year. The expo will focus on consumer goods and joint venture opportunities. The Council, along with its economic development agency Enterprise Waitakere will now work with business and organisations such as New Zealand Trade & Enterprise to ensure a presence.

“Anybody who has tried to crack the huge Chinese market knows how important it is to have the right connections there,” says Enterprise Waitakere Chief Executive John Wadsworth. “Through our sister city relationship we have those connections and can open local businesses up to huge opportunities.”

Officials in Ningbo, which has a population of 5.4 million, also invited Waitakere fashions designers to an international fashion show in October 2006. “This is another exciting opportunity that we will be exploring with some of our manufacturers and designers,” says Mr Wadsworth. Companies can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to get a foot in the door in China so this was an incredibly successful sister city visit.”

ENDS

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