From http://agenda.acc10.cat/agenda/default.php?id=6877 (in Catalan)
The Sabadell Chamber of Commerce and Industry is organizing a workshop for Wednesday, December 21st, 2011, to deal with the business opportunities for Catalan companies in inland China (Chongqing and Chengdu, in the Sichuan province). The event will be presented by Mr. Vicenç Vicente, Head of International Promotion of the Sabadell Chamber of Commerce and Industry and will host the presentations of Mr. Carlos Hernández, Manager at the Chengdu Atif Consulting Limited Company (Atifworld), and Mr. Esteban Granados, Project Manager at Miliners, a lawyer firm with office in China. Attendance is free but a previous registration at promociointernacional@cambrasabadell.org is required. Further information (in Catalan) can be obtained by downloading a pdf document from ACC1Ó website.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Chinese-American writer Qiu Xiaolong in Barcelona
From http://www.casaasia.eu/actividad/detalle?id=204718 (in English)
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Qiu Xiaolong (Image from the writer's website)"]
[/caption]
In the framework of a series of activities related to asian detective fiction literature under the title of "Dialogues on Asian Black Novels and Detective Fiction", Casa Àsia and Confucius Institute Foundation in Barcelona have organized a meeting with Qiu Xiaolong, poet and translator of classics of American literature into Chinese language. Qiu Xiaolong talked to Andreu Martín, a renowned Catalan black novel writer, about his series of detective stories featuring Chief Inspector Chen Cao and his portrait of modern China. The invitation card to the event can be downloaded from Casa Àsia website as pdf file.
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Qiu Xiaolong (Image from the writer's website)"]
[/caption]In the framework of a series of activities related to asian detective fiction literature under the title of "Dialogues on Asian Black Novels and Detective Fiction", Casa Àsia and Confucius Institute Foundation in Barcelona have organized a meeting with Qiu Xiaolong, poet and translator of classics of American literature into Chinese language. Qiu Xiaolong talked to Andreu Martín, a renowned Catalan black novel writer, about his series of detective stories featuring Chief Inspector Chen Cao and his portrait of modern China. The invitation card to the event can be downloaded from Casa Àsia website as pdf file.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Sinalunya interviews: Hugo Peris
[caption id="attachment_1157" align="alignleft" width="173" caption="Hugo Peris"]
[/caption]
Hugo Peris was born in Barcelona in 1983 and has a degree in International Business. So far, he has had a professional career happening mostly on the pharmaceutical industry, something that has led him to establish in Shanghai. Because of his training and his professional activity, his opinions and insights may be highly valuable for those willing to work in East Asia, and because of his origins they are worth being published in Sinalunya. We thank him for taking the time to answer these questions for our blog.
Q: Hailing from Catalonia, you are now working actively in East Asia, developing new markets for a pharmaceutical company. How did such a thing happen and what is your experience so far living in such a different society?
R: I've always been related to the pharmaceutical industry as a family thing, since my family owns a pharmaceutical company in Spain. I remember that often at home my dad and my grandmother were talking about about pharmaceutical compounds and R&D projects for their company. I first tried to get a degree in Pharmacy, but soon I realized I wasn't born to wear a white coat and to spend hours looking through a microscope so I decided to try International Business studies. Traveling and doing business abroad always seemed interesting to me and during my school years I had the chance to do an internship at Novartis in Australia and New Zealand. Right after that 6-month internship I realized that my future would be linked to this sector and that I wanted my life to happen internationally. After I graduated, my family gave me the opportunity to go work for our partners in the United States so I ended up in Chicago working as a sales representative to expand the business of this Mississippi based pharmaceutical company in the Midwest. After a year and a half in sales, I met Robert Braithwaite, a British entrepreneur that after six years living in China, was starting up LUQA, an Asian specialty pharmaceutical company. Three months later I was in Shanghai, learning from Robert’s experience and working together to grow LUQA’s business in China and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
I think I adapted quite rapidly to this new environment: I've been lucky to find a great job opportunity (fast growth, lots of learning, lots of traveling and lots of fun working with Robert) and I would say that Shanghai is the easiest place on Earth to start a new life. The expat community here is huge; there is a great variety of local and international bars and restaurants, and both the mix of cultures and the booming economy transmit so much energy and vitality that it is impossible for almost anyone not to love this city. I like to say, and most of my friends agree, that Shanghai is the new New York City.
Q: You are Business Development Manager at LUQA. What is company’s activity and aim?
LUQA is a novel, China-based, specialty pharmaceutical company. We are engaged in acquiring, developing, and commercializing innovative products for China and for Southeast Asia. To date, we have obtained the exclusive distribution rights for four drugs from some international pharmaceutical manufacturers and we are currently finishing the negotiations for two additional products. We are building a China-tailored strategy to ensure optimal access to the vast opportunities in the country’s healthcare market. In parallel, we leverage opportunities in Southeast Asia to market our products through our strong regional network.
I would say that the key elements to LUQA’s current growth and future success are the knowledge of the Asian pharmaceutical markets, the confidence that we convey to our European partners compared to other local and very opaque organizations, and our vast network of contacts that gives us access to unique sourcing opportunities and, at the same time, allows us to find the best distribution partner for each product in each market.
Q: Why the development of this entrepreneurial project in East Asia and not in Europe? What does East Asian markets offer that may be lacking now in Europe? What are the difficulties that they offer?
R: Well… I guess the main reason to this is that Robert decided to settle down in Shanghai. His past experience with another Spanish pharmaceutical firm helped him envision the opportunity of offering a gateway to Asia to mid to small-sized European companies, but from Asia itself. Entry barriers to China are huge for those unfamiliar with the local market and the local culture, especially in the very regulated pharmaceutical industry. Needless to remember how many great companies have failed to succeed in the Chinese market.
Nowadays East Asian markets are the candy that all European companies are chasing. The growth of the pharmaceutical industry in this side of the world contrasts with the increased regulation, the pressure in prices and the lack of trust of traditional markets. Asia offers huge growth in untapped markets with underdeveloped therapeutic areas to companies that have traditionally operated locally and are now struggling to maintain their past local growth.
Doing business in Asia is difficult because of the cultural barriers and due to the singularities of each market in the region. Being able to find the right local partner for each product and understanding how every different market in the region works are key to succeed. But this is not available to everyone and most of the times it requires a strong local presence.
Q: In the recent years there is a growing trend of internationalization of Catalan economy and companies are doing great efforts to reach new markets, including those in East Asia. What is your impression of this trend? Can Catalan companies be successful in such environment? What would be your advice to businessmen willing to take this path?
R: It is clear to everyone that the last crisis has changed the rules of the game. China is now at the center of the global economy. What used to be a cheap supermarket for every developed economy is now a very attractive market with the fastest growing economy in the world and a handful of opportunities. I think there are two facts that exemplify this in the particular Catalan case. Since a couple of years ago, we are seeing many young professionals coming to Asia in search of job opportunities and expecting for a brighter future. More and more people can’t stand the pessimism and the increasing lack of hope emanating from the economic and social reality of our region. Another fact that catches my attention is that over the last year most Catalan newspapers have published many news of different kinds about China, when before you would only see maybe one or two articles a year talking about the Middle Kingdom. Honestly, I believe that China is not the future anymore, but it is the present. A huge, unknown but very promising present.
Catalan companies have traditionally been very open to foreign markets and there are many very successful firms present in China. It has never been easy to arrive to these markets and I believe that key to success is to have well trained people with great push and adaptability managing the business locally. Beyond that, Catalonia has great companies already offering nice products and services. I believe that the very tight current economic situation will push these companies to thrive and succeed in this side of the World.
Q: You are also developing your own project, breakPHARMA. What is breakPHARMA and what is its aim? How did you come with such idea and what are your achievements so far?
breakPHARMA started as a side project while I was in Chicago. I always wanted to be an entrepreneur and I guess I am kind of a computer geek. A few years ago I learned to develop websites and I started working on side projects –good pocket money at that time. At first it was only for friends and family. Then I partnered with a friend to start up an equestrian website. I also did a couple of projects on my own and breakPHARMA is the last idea I came up with: an automatic aggregator of news and job offers of the Spanish pharmaceutical industry.
It first started as a website but I recently moved to Twitter where I aim to interact with other people who are interested in the pharmaceutical industry and generate some buzz. Now I am thinking of replicating this for Asia with the idea of offering a single point where people will be able to find information about the Asian pharmaceutical industry. We’ll see how it goes… But I know I won’t be able to put too much time on it because LUQA is consuming most of my time and, to be honest, that is the real entrepreneur project!
Q: Finally, please let us know a little bit more about yourself by telling us your tastes:
A book: Invisible, by Paul Auster (the last book I have read)
A movie: Pulp Fiction
An actor or actress: George Clooney
A song or musical piece: Sky and Sand, by Paul Kalkbrenner
A singer or performer: the Phoenix concert last year at Lollapalooza is one of the best performances I’ve ever seen
A landscape: the view of the city of Barcelona from the sea
A dish from Chinese cuisine: I prefer the Taiwanese xiao long bao (小笼包, you can taste them at the restaurant chain Din Tai Fung!)
A dish from Catalan cuisine: I don’t think I can choose one! But first thing I’d like to eat when I get to Barcelona is fuet and pa amb tomàquet!
A wish: Happiness
[caption id="attachment_1156" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Hugo Peris"]
[/caption]
[/caption]Hugo Peris was born in Barcelona in 1983 and has a degree in International Business. So far, he has had a professional career happening mostly on the pharmaceutical industry, something that has led him to establish in Shanghai. Because of his training and his professional activity, his opinions and insights may be highly valuable for those willing to work in East Asia, and because of his origins they are worth being published in Sinalunya. We thank him for taking the time to answer these questions for our blog.
Q: Hailing from Catalonia, you are now working actively in East Asia, developing new markets for a pharmaceutical company. How did such a thing happen and what is your experience so far living in such a different society?
R: I've always been related to the pharmaceutical industry as a family thing, since my family owns a pharmaceutical company in Spain. I remember that often at home my dad and my grandmother were talking about about pharmaceutical compounds and R&D projects for their company. I first tried to get a degree in Pharmacy, but soon I realized I wasn't born to wear a white coat and to spend hours looking through a microscope so I decided to try International Business studies. Traveling and doing business abroad always seemed interesting to me and during my school years I had the chance to do an internship at Novartis in Australia and New Zealand. Right after that 6-month internship I realized that my future would be linked to this sector and that I wanted my life to happen internationally. After I graduated, my family gave me the opportunity to go work for our partners in the United States so I ended up in Chicago working as a sales representative to expand the business of this Mississippi based pharmaceutical company in the Midwest. After a year and a half in sales, I met Robert Braithwaite, a British entrepreneur that after six years living in China, was starting up LUQA, an Asian specialty pharmaceutical company. Three months later I was in Shanghai, learning from Robert’s experience and working together to grow LUQA’s business in China and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
I think I adapted quite rapidly to this new environment: I've been lucky to find a great job opportunity (fast growth, lots of learning, lots of traveling and lots of fun working with Robert) and I would say that Shanghai is the easiest place on Earth to start a new life. The expat community here is huge; there is a great variety of local and international bars and restaurants, and both the mix of cultures and the booming economy transmit so much energy and vitality that it is impossible for almost anyone not to love this city. I like to say, and most of my friends agree, that Shanghai is the new New York City.
Q: You are Business Development Manager at LUQA. What is company’s activity and aim?
LUQA is a novel, China-based, specialty pharmaceutical company. We are engaged in acquiring, developing, and commercializing innovative products for China and for Southeast Asia. To date, we have obtained the exclusive distribution rights for four drugs from some international pharmaceutical manufacturers and we are currently finishing the negotiations for two additional products. We are building a China-tailored strategy to ensure optimal access to the vast opportunities in the country’s healthcare market. In parallel, we leverage opportunities in Southeast Asia to market our products through our strong regional network.
I would say that the key elements to LUQA’s current growth and future success are the knowledge of the Asian pharmaceutical markets, the confidence that we convey to our European partners compared to other local and very opaque organizations, and our vast network of contacts that gives us access to unique sourcing opportunities and, at the same time, allows us to find the best distribution partner for each product in each market.
Q: Why the development of this entrepreneurial project in East Asia and not in Europe? What does East Asian markets offer that may be lacking now in Europe? What are the difficulties that they offer?
R: Well… I guess the main reason to this is that Robert decided to settle down in Shanghai. His past experience with another Spanish pharmaceutical firm helped him envision the opportunity of offering a gateway to Asia to mid to small-sized European companies, but from Asia itself. Entry barriers to China are huge for those unfamiliar with the local market and the local culture, especially in the very regulated pharmaceutical industry. Needless to remember how many great companies have failed to succeed in the Chinese market.
Nowadays East Asian markets are the candy that all European companies are chasing. The growth of the pharmaceutical industry in this side of the world contrasts with the increased regulation, the pressure in prices and the lack of trust of traditional markets. Asia offers huge growth in untapped markets with underdeveloped therapeutic areas to companies that have traditionally operated locally and are now struggling to maintain their past local growth.
Doing business in Asia is difficult because of the cultural barriers and due to the singularities of each market in the region. Being able to find the right local partner for each product and understanding how every different market in the region works are key to succeed. But this is not available to everyone and most of the times it requires a strong local presence.
Q: In the recent years there is a growing trend of internationalization of Catalan economy and companies are doing great efforts to reach new markets, including those in East Asia. What is your impression of this trend? Can Catalan companies be successful in such environment? What would be your advice to businessmen willing to take this path?
R: It is clear to everyone that the last crisis has changed the rules of the game. China is now at the center of the global economy. What used to be a cheap supermarket for every developed economy is now a very attractive market with the fastest growing economy in the world and a handful of opportunities. I think there are two facts that exemplify this in the particular Catalan case. Since a couple of years ago, we are seeing many young professionals coming to Asia in search of job opportunities and expecting for a brighter future. More and more people can’t stand the pessimism and the increasing lack of hope emanating from the economic and social reality of our region. Another fact that catches my attention is that over the last year most Catalan newspapers have published many news of different kinds about China, when before you would only see maybe one or two articles a year talking about the Middle Kingdom. Honestly, I believe that China is not the future anymore, but it is the present. A huge, unknown but very promising present.
Catalan companies have traditionally been very open to foreign markets and there are many very successful firms present in China. It has never been easy to arrive to these markets and I believe that key to success is to have well trained people with great push and adaptability managing the business locally. Beyond that, Catalonia has great companies already offering nice products and services. I believe that the very tight current economic situation will push these companies to thrive and succeed in this side of the World.
Q: You are also developing your own project, breakPHARMA. What is breakPHARMA and what is its aim? How did you come with such idea and what are your achievements so far?
breakPHARMA started as a side project while I was in Chicago. I always wanted to be an entrepreneur and I guess I am kind of a computer geek. A few years ago I learned to develop websites and I started working on side projects –good pocket money at that time. At first it was only for friends and family. Then I partnered with a friend to start up an equestrian website. I also did a couple of projects on my own and breakPHARMA is the last idea I came up with: an automatic aggregator of news and job offers of the Spanish pharmaceutical industry.
It first started as a website but I recently moved to Twitter where I aim to interact with other people who are interested in the pharmaceutical industry and generate some buzz. Now I am thinking of replicating this for Asia with the idea of offering a single point where people will be able to find information about the Asian pharmaceutical industry. We’ll see how it goes… But I know I won’t be able to put too much time on it because LUQA is consuming most of my time and, to be honest, that is the real entrepreneur project!
Q: Finally, please let us know a little bit more about yourself by telling us your tastes:
A book: Invisible, by Paul Auster (the last book I have read)
A movie: Pulp Fiction
An actor or actress: George Clooney
A song or musical piece: Sky and Sand, by Paul Kalkbrenner
A singer or performer: the Phoenix concert last year at Lollapalooza is one of the best performances I’ve ever seen
A landscape: the view of the city of Barcelona from the sea
A dish from Chinese cuisine: I prefer the Taiwanese xiao long bao (小笼包, you can taste them at the restaurant chain Din Tai Fung!)
A dish from Catalan cuisine: I don’t think I can choose one! But first thing I’d like to eat when I get to Barcelona is fuet and pa amb tomàquet!
A wish: Happiness
[caption id="attachment_1156" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Hugo Peris"]
[/caption]Tuesday, November 29, 2011
First complete study on Chinese tourism in Spain
From http://comunicatur.info/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1819&Itemid=37 (in Catalan)
Despite the fact that Chinese tourism is relatively recent, during the recent years the awesome economic growth figures have brought the attention of many agents and professionals of the touristic sector, in order to start approaching themselves to this emerging market. Forecasts say that during the next decade one out of two tourists that are supposed to visit Europe will come from Asia, specially from China . When the average expense on their trips abroad is also taken into account (between 1,500 and 3,000€ per person and trip), the reasons why this is a priority market for the future are pretty evident. Because of this, in July 2011, the Spanish Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Miguel Sebastián, publicly announced the "Plan Turismo China", where the strategy of Spanish government to attract Chinese tourists was disclosed. The study on Chinese tourism in Spain has been authored by Daniel Tomás Gaimundiz, who has had the support of the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI). The report contains many statistical data on arrivals, distribution and origin of the Chinese touristic flows, as well as on the profile of the average tourist and his/her expenses.
Chinese tourism offers also a great opportunity for Catalonia, since it is their favorite region in Spain to visit. According to estimations, in 2010 47% of the tourists that visited Spain had at least gone through Catalonia, thanks to the attraction of the city of Barcelona and to the vicinity to countries like France and Italy.
The 118-page document written in Spanish can be downloaded as pdf file from the Comunicatur website at http://comunicatur.info/cms/images/stories/documents/turismochinoespana.pdf.
[caption id="attachment_1141" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Chinese tourists visiting the Santa Clotilde Gardens, Lloret de Mar, Costa Brava"]
[/caption]
Despite the fact that Chinese tourism is relatively recent, during the recent years the awesome economic growth figures have brought the attention of many agents and professionals of the touristic sector, in order to start approaching themselves to this emerging market. Forecasts say that during the next decade one out of two tourists that are supposed to visit Europe will come from Asia, specially from China . When the average expense on their trips abroad is also taken into account (between 1,500 and 3,000€ per person and trip), the reasons why this is a priority market for the future are pretty evident. Because of this, in July 2011, the Spanish Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Miguel Sebastián, publicly announced the "Plan Turismo China", where the strategy of Spanish government to attract Chinese tourists was disclosed. The study on Chinese tourism in Spain has been authored by Daniel Tomás Gaimundiz, who has had the support of the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI). The report contains many statistical data on arrivals, distribution and origin of the Chinese touristic flows, as well as on the profile of the average tourist and his/her expenses.
Chinese tourism offers also a great opportunity for Catalonia, since it is their favorite region in Spain to visit. According to estimations, in 2010 47% of the tourists that visited Spain had at least gone through Catalonia, thanks to the attraction of the city of Barcelona and to the vicinity to countries like France and Italy.
The 118-page document written in Spanish can be downloaded as pdf file from the Comunicatur website at http://comunicatur.info/cms/images/stories/documents/turismochinoespana.pdf.
[caption id="attachment_1141" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Chinese tourists visiting the Santa Clotilde Gardens, Lloret de Mar, Costa Brava"]
[/caption]
Catalan workshop on the development of Chinese tour operators
From http://workshops.catalunya.com/wsxina2011 (in Catalan)
The Catalan Tourism Agency has recently organized a workshop aimed at Chinese tour operators in order to bring tourists to Catalonia. The event has been designed to promote holiday and cultural packages and has been hosted by Casa Àsia in Barcelona.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="Catalan workshop on Chinese tour operators (Image from workshop website)"]
[/caption]
The Catalan Tourism Agency has recently organized a workshop aimed at Chinese tour operators in order to bring tourists to Catalonia. The event has been designed to promote holiday and cultural packages and has been hosted by Casa Àsia in Barcelona.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="Catalan workshop on Chinese tour operators (Image from workshop website)"]
[/caption]
FC Barcelona closes deal with Chinese internet provider Tencent
From http://www.fcbarcelona.com/club/detail/article/barca-closes-deal-with-chinese-internet-giant-tencent (in English)
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="384" caption="FC Barcelona closes deal with Tencent (Image from FC Barcelona website)"]
[/caption]
FC Barcelona is already the leader among Spanish football clubs on social networks, with nearly 23 million fans on Facebook and 4.5 million followers on Twitter (accounts in Catalan, Spanish and English) and its website is the most visited Spanish football site with over 100 million visits per year. The deal with Tencent is expected to consolidate this position, thanks to the 900 million users of QQ, 500 million users of Qzone and 130 million users of Pengyou, their main several social media sites. FC Barcelona will also open a verified account on Tencent Weibo, known as the Chinese Twitter, which has some 300 million users.
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="384" caption="FC Barcelona closes deal with Tencent (Image from FC Barcelona website)"]
[/caption]A delegation from FC Barcelona has recently visited China in order to sign a deal with Tencent, the main internet service provider of the Asian country. This deal is expected to allow FC Barcelona a massive audience in China and also to generate new financial resources for the Catalan football club. The Director of the Technology Area (New Technologies) of FC Barcelona, Dídac Lee, from Taiwanese origin, has declared to be very satisfied with this agreement, both because of his cultural origins and because it is also related with his field of work and expertise. Tencent will develop FC Barcelona's new Chinese website and will also commercialize applications and mobile games using the FC Barcelona brand.
FC Barcelona is already the leader among Spanish football clubs on social networks, with nearly 23 million fans on Facebook and 4.5 million followers on Twitter (accounts in Catalan, Spanish and English) and its website is the most visited Spanish football site with over 100 million visits per year. The deal with Tencent is expected to consolidate this position, thanks to the 900 million users of QQ, 500 million users of Qzone and 130 million users of Pengyou, their main several social media sites. FC Barcelona will also open a verified account on Tencent Weibo, known as the Chinese Twitter, which has some 300 million users.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Seven Catalan companies have attended Shanghai's Food & Hotel China 2011
From http://www.icex.es/icex/cda/controller/pageICEX/0,6558,5518394_5519005_6366453_4533228,00.html (in Spanish)
Seven Catalan companies have traveled to Shanghai to attend the Food & Hotel China 2011 trade fair. Together with other 56 Spanish companies, they have showcased their products at the Spain's Official Pavillion, under the wing of the Spanish Agriculture and Food Plan in China (Plan Agroalimentario en China), Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade (ICEX) and the Spanish Economic and Commercial Office in Shanghai (Oficina Económica y Comercial de España en Shanghai). Food & Hotel China trade fair is a great opportunity for foreign products to enter the Chinese market, due to the growing interest by the Chinese consumers and their new trend in seeking high quality food products.
Seven Catalan companies have traveled to Shanghai to attend the Food & Hotel China 2011 trade fair. Together with other 56 Spanish companies, they have showcased their products at the Spain's Official Pavillion, under the wing of the Spanish Agriculture and Food Plan in China (Plan Agroalimentario en China), Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade (ICEX) and the Spanish Economic and Commercial Office in Shanghai (Oficina Económica y Comercial de España en Shanghai). Food & Hotel China trade fair is a great opportunity for foreign products to enter the Chinese market, due to the growing interest by the Chinese consumers and their new trend in seeking high quality food products.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)