Awesome - NZ Chamber of Commerce

As those who follow this blog will know, Pingar is a member of the Tauranga Chamber of Commerce.

So tonight, it was a privilege to be invited to meet up with the NZ Chamber of Commerce, here in Hong Kong. I have to say, it was full on. Networking here is both instant and fun. I have more business cards tonight in the wallet than after 5 Tauranga CoC BA5s. So what's the difference?

I guess in part, it is the business networking environment. This is a business city. For most of the people I spoke to tonight, this was just one of three or four such events this week. They love it. And it works.

Last night, Jacqui and I attended the NZTE Summer BBQ at the Pacific Club. The two events are related. There is a very strong Kiwi business community here. Jacqui and I have been privileged to meet them.

So if you are a business in New Zealand and are looking to set up here, then check them out. We have, and we will again.

Welcome to the UK

As forecast, the last week has not been grim at all! It has however been unbelievably busy!

Pingar has gone beyond 'market entry'. We now have budgets to work with that will see an acceleration in headcount and an expansion of our presence 'on the ground'.

What has been particularly satisfying is seeing how the ground work laid over the past two years has now come together. We have managed to establish an amazing network of people and companies who are working rapidly to assist the UK roll-out.

Over the past few days, I have had numerous meetings as we collectively finesse the team here. The names will be familiar: Microsoft UK, NZTE, UK T&I. The outcomes though are more advanced.

I am halfway through this particular market visit. Next week, the focus is on Wales and the progress we are making at the Technium in Swansea. Meetings with International Business Wales and other agencies will help consolidate and then expand our operations there.

We are preparing for 'the curve'. And it is not far off. The UK has an incredibly important role to play over the next few months. All the evidence so far is that the operational framework to enable that role to be effectively executed is almost in place.

Next week's meetings are designed to reinforce that position.

Hong Kong Bound

This time tomorrow, I will be heading for Auckland to catch a flight to Hong Kong.

It's almost a year since I was last there and some serious catch-up time is necessary. I am meeting up with both NZTE and InvestHK on the ground.

The Chinese market is in some ways the most interesting, but challenging one that we face. To ensure we have an appropriate market entry strategy in place, it is important that Pingar commissions some locally-generated market research. That I hope is the key outcome from this trip.

I hope to post an update from Kowloon....Before catching the next leg of this offshore trip to Heathrow.

On the long and windy road.....

This is probably an apt description of life at Pingar at present.

A number of milestones have been set. All it requires now is for their successful execution. That means meetings and more meetings; with partners, suppliers and customers. Not forgetting of course the lawyers and the accountants.

Whilst the technology platform excites, it is the background business grunt that has to be put into place. That's 'the long and windy road'. In New Zealand, over the next few days, it takes in Taranaki, Auckland and Tauranga. In the UK, it traverses between Norfolk, London and Swansea. There appears to be no end to this particular road. Or the meetings.

Today, it included the BOP ICT Cluster Steering Committee. Tonight, it's an NZTE sponsored dinner. And then about 800 kms down that long and windy road before returning to Tauranga on Thursday.

Whilst it normally takes me 3 - 4 days to fully recover from jet lag following a lengthy offshore trip, it normally takes me 2 - 3 weeks to adjust back to my NZ way of life. 3 weeks have now passed since my last trip. I am therefore adjusted.

Taranaki, Auckland and Tauranga, beware.

CEO Forums

I received an invitation last night from Ken Stevens, Chairman of Export New Zealand, to attend a CEO Forum here in Tauranga on 24th March. It marks the beginning of quite a season of 'CEO' events.

The Tauranga Forum is designed to help New Zealand businesses share their challenges, learn from each other and prepare for a brighter future. It is co-sponsored by NZTE so I expect to see some familiar faces.

As I write this post, Allan Bollard has just announced a 0.5% reduction in the official OCR. That brings NZ rates down to 3%. One more fall maybe later this year, but I suspect this cycle is almost complete. I do not believe further rate cuts will be passed onto consumers or SME's in any meaningful way. So as a Forum, we will need to adjust our focus on other ways to stimulate the economy and our own businesses.

Effective management rather than Government aid should be the mantra of the day. And for the months ahead.

NZTE Support

Pingar has enjoyed a great relationship with New Zealand Trade & Enterprise since inception. In today's market, it makes a real difference.

For regular readers, this blog has always been pretty optimistic about NZ companies opportunity for offshore engagement. It still is.

Yet, having just returned from several weeks in the UK, it would be negligent not to recognise the special challenges that we face at present. Whilst economists focus on the benefit of a lower NZD for export return, the contrary argument applies when looking at offshore market set-up. A declining NZD can make offshore market entry much more expensive. Twelve months ago, NZD 1 stood at USD 80c. Today NZD 1 buys USD 49c. Go figure. Market entry costs to the USA have increased by 40% in one year.

NZTE support Pingar in different ways. They provide critical Market Development funding to support some of our offshore market entry strategy. They also provide valuable network support; both in NZ and in our global markets.

As we refine our offshore market strategy, the support of NZTE really is making a difference.

For other NZ businesses looking at offshore expansion, I cannot underestimate the value of this relationship. Check out the NZTE Portal for more details.

Inspiring Innovation - October 8th

Up to NZ$50 million is available annually to NZ businesses undertaking R&D through the TechNZ investment programme.

In the Bay of Plenty, Innovation Waikato delivers the TechNZ programme, including Global Expert, on behalf of the Foundation for Research Science and Technology.

On 8th Octber, they are launching the Programme with a presentation at NZTE's Chapel Street offices from 5.30pm - 7.30pm. I have been asked to speak at the launch about the benefits to Pingar from past FRST funding, together with Mike Carson from Forest Genetics. Pingar believes R&D is at the forefront of our long term development and growth strategy. I will explain why.

Tickets (it is FREE!) are going fast. Contact Angela at NZTE to secure your place.

Local Engagement - Global Markets

NZTE has arranged a meeting in Te Puke this afternoon.

I have been to one of these before. They provide a great opportunity to catch up with other Bay of Plenty companies engaged in offshore sales and expansion. Given our own move into the UK market at this time, shared experiences like this are totally cool.

Tomorrow sees me in Auckland for another day of presentations. It is also giving me the chance to catch up with John Waugh, Head of UK T&I in New Zealand. As clients of the UK T&I Global Entrepreneur Program, I want to find out more about UK Government input into this program at this time.

Leveraging the support of Government agencies in our target offshore markets is a key part of Pingar's market entry plans. That is one lesson I intend to share with BOP partners in Te Puke this afternoon.

The other is to listen. For the past almost 5 years now, I have had a tendency of trying to apply UK solutions to NZ problems. Sometimes it has worked, but in truth the two trading environments are quite different. Running a business out of New Zealand has a quite different set of challenges from running one out of London. There are a number of great case studies of NZ businesses doing well globally whilst operating from the Bay. I hope to therefore learn, as well as listen, when I meet my peers later today.

Landed

Following the NZTE Beachhead presentation on Wednesday, my focus is now on developing the opportunity it has created.

Certainly, my meetings in Auckland on Thursday and Friday had an extra zing. (Not sure 'zing' is actually a real word, but I think it conveys the mood). So too the response. It is what Pingar's partners wanted to hear.

A couple of connected, but unrelated emails also arrived Friday. It's a little difficult to know if some of the dots out there are talking or engaging. Their timing however means another trip to Wellington is on the cards.

And so to the UK. It's now almost three months since I was last in London. Three months since I last sat down and face to faced with Pingar's partner's there. As this blog has indicated in the past, much of Pingar's long term sales and marketing pitch will be run out of London. The reasons for this are well rehearsed. Scale and opportunity are to the fore. A return trip though is now due. (Memo to self: Email Shane).

My next post is going to look at sales and marketing opportunities closer to home. That is part of the re-focus post-landing.

Beachhead Landing

I have posted blogs before about NZTE's Beachhead Program.

Tomorrow I enter the Lion's Den. Well actually, Lionel has assured me it is not that bad! I am traveling to Hamilton to present Pingar's case to the NZ Beachhead Board. I cannot really say much more than that at present. It is an important part of our strategy to develop our presence in the UK. This is not so much 'market entry', this is more 'market expansion'.

And then it's Auckland bound. For not one, but for two days. Ever since we launched 'Stay in the Bay' two years ago with Priority One, my diary has conspired to keep me out of it. Needs must however, so it will be great to catch up with Dave & Angela who are kindly providing the bed for the stay.

And then it really is back to Tauranga. Next week looks like I could be spending more time in my home town than usual. Let's though see what Outlook has to say about that at the end of the week.

India Spices up Tauranga

Registration this morning was at 7.50am. It was a full house.

There is something about India that simply inspires. That was the message that was taken away by the many businesses attending today's NZTE India Market Forum.

I have been to several NZTE sponsored Market Forums and this was one of the best. It helped by having the high-powered India delegation in attendance. The scale of their ambition and the opportunity they broached spoke spades for more active engagement between New Zealand business and India.

As well as contributing to the workshops, I benefited from the session. An opportunity to access quality India content for Pingar was offered. I will take it. Market Forums are a great way to introduce business to different offshore opportunities. They are held throughout New Zealand. Check NZTE for details.

India Calling

Tauranga businesses are getting a taste of India on Tuesday.

NZTE are organising an India Market Forum and I have been asked to run one of the workshops. The purpose of the day is to provide an opportunity for prospective and current business exporters to India to both engage with prominent Indian business leaders as well as established local players in the Bay.

Timing they say is everything. Right now, India is very much on my mind. I am working with the management team at HBI Software in Bangalore on future strategy.

We first opened our doors on Ulsoor Road in 2001. Much has changed since then; not least the very specific move 'up the value chain'. I remember well in the early days how Indian IT companies were seen primarily as 'coders'. That is history. Today, Indian ICT companies manage whole projects from top to bottom. They compete head to head with global consultancies for multinational contracts. Indeed many of those global consultancies such as Accenture and IBM Services now have their own significant operations in India.

The focus of my own workshop is built around 'managing a business in India from Tauranga'. In truth, the challenge is not really that much different from running the same business from London, New York or the Valley. In New Zealand, it is only the perception that is really different.

India Market Forum - Tuesday 15 July

New Delhi - The Changing Face of India

NZTE sent out the details for their Fourth Market Forum to be held in Tauranga this morning. The line up of speakers is impressive.

The panel include Paul Vaughan – NZ Trade Commissioner For India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and the Maldives. Paul is joined by Mr Vijay Kumar of Reliance Retail, V J Crishna, of the NZTE India Beachhead Program and Godrej Group, Robert Barker of NZ Innovative Farming Systems Ltd, Mr Srinath Sridharan of Corporate Strategy, Wahkawan and yours truly.

HBI Software, Bangalore and Tauranga can at times seem a long way away. The India Market Forum will bring all the potential this important and growing market has, to the heart of the Bay.

You can register by emailing Angela Wallace at NZTE for details.

www.politics_in_tauranga.com

Will he... Won't he?

I am not talking about Winston Raymond Peters and the 'Will he...Won't he' debate that surrounds the Tauranga electorate. Others I suspect will.

It's a slightly unusual Monday morning tomorrow. I've been invited by Priority One and Export NZ to meet John Key (above) and other members of his trade team as they spell out National Party policy on all things commerce. I don't expect much detail. If opinion polls are to be believed though, it is quite possible that National will be the next party of Government, so its views matter.

Later in the week, Prime Minister Helen Clark rides into town. You can either lunch with her through the Tauranga Chamber of Commerce or sit down for afternoon tea with her, through the Women's Business Network.

The General Election is expected in October / November. If Winston does re-stand for NZ First as expected, expect more of the same in the coming months.

I quite deliberately do not blog on things 'party political'. The similarities between the current party play in NZ however with the party play in the UK, are not lost on me. For Pingar, both are important markets. Both have Labour Governments behind in the polls with resurgent 'conservative' oppositions. Yet both countries and all the respective parties seem to share a fairly common view on international trade.

It will be interesting to test this perception tomorrow morning.

India Calling

'The Gateway to India' - Mumbai

Following on from my posting last week about the visit of Kamal Nath, India's Minister of Commerce to New Zealand, comes news that NZTE are organising an 'Indian Market Forum' in Tauranga in July.

It appears that there is a clear move by New Zealand towards negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India. NZ Trade Minister, Phil Goff, said as much as he prepared to meet Kamal Nath last Thursday. All this follows on from the recent signing of the New Zealand-China FTA, apparent good progress on bilateral trade talks with Korea and the announcement last week that New Zealand and Japan will embark on a study of the benefits of a bilateral economic partnership agreement.

The interesting thing about each of these bilateral discussions is the diverse range of opportunity each brings. India is no exception. I have spent seven years engaged in direct business in India through HBI Software in Bangalore. The changes in the last seven years have been immense. India is changing and New Zealand can only benefit from greater engagement with it.

NZTE Beachhead

I have blogged before about my perceived value of the NZTE Beachhead Program. Whilst much of the country's focus of Michael Cullen's Budget yesterday was on tax cuts, it was the additional NZ$8 million top-up to the Beachheads funding that caught my eye.

Back in January, I gave a presentation on Pingar to the UK Beachhead Advisory Board in London. Only last Monday, both John and Tim attended a UK Beachhead function at NZ House in Haymarket.

I guess this is relevant today as I finalise the documentation for Pingar's formal application to join the Beachhead Program. We have already experienced 'unofficially' some of the benefits that membership brings. It would be good to complete the formal route so that engagement can become more permanent.

NZ New Thinking Export Breakfast

The Sebel Hotel - Tauranga

This time tomorrow morning, I will be attending the NZ New Thinking Export Breakfast hosted by NZTE and Export NZ (BOP) at the Sebel.

Jon Mayson, Chair of NZ Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) will be speaking about ‘Beyond Export Year - What do we have to DO to achieve export Growth?’ Jon will also provide a personal view on what we need to do here in the Bay of Plenty to build strong export growth.

The NZ New Thinking Export Breakfasts are a follow-up to the series of Export Year 2007 breakfasts organised last year. They provided a forum then, and provide a forum now, for exporters to share their experiences.

It was important that the framework built last year continued into this year. Whilst Export Year 2007 might have been a convenient label to focus minds, the need for the structures it spawned remain as relevant today as they did then.

Wednesday 21st May

The battle for ratings.....

At the recent Bay of Plenty Regional Economic Development Forum, the focus was on long-term inter sub-region and inter-agency cooperation, engagement and love. Fast forward to Wednesday 21st May.

Inter-agency cooperation in action? I think not.

Lining up at 7.00am in the morning is the Export NZ Bay of Plenty and NZ Trade and Enterprise sponsored NZ New Thinking Export Breakfast at the Sebel Hotel in Tauranga. (Cost: NZ$25, to include breakfast) There is absolutely nothing wrong with the agenda. Jon Mayson – Chair of NZ Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) will be speaking about ‘Beyond Export Year – What do we have to DO to achieve export Growth?’ Jon will also provide a personal view on what we need to do here in the Bay of Plenty to build strong export growth.

The session is scheduled to close at 9.30am. This provides enough time for delegates to get to their offices, open the post and then prepare for the next 'Event of the Day'.

Tauranga Chamber of Commerce have organised their 'Meet the New CEO' lunch at Mills Reef from 11.30am - 2.00pm. (Cost: NZ$45 members, $NZ65 non-members, to include lunch). Greg Bold, the new CEO will talk of his journey to becoming CEO and where he sees the Chamber both now and into the future. Greg will also talk about his role of tutoring and some helpful hints on Problem Solving and Decision Making.

Tummies full, it is now time for delegates to return to the office to ensure staff are still working and time to sign off the day's inventory before setting off to the next 'Event of the Day'.

Priority One and the WBOP ICT Cluster have organised the well advertised “Technology for Smart Business” Expo at Baycourt (Cost: Free, with complimentary canopes after 5.30pm). This runs from 12.30pm - 6.30pm at Baycourt. The tradeshow is being held to provide an opportunity for local ICT companies to showcase their products and services to businesses in Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty.

So there we have it. Three significant business events on one day. Inter-agency cooperation in action.

For the record, I will be at the Sebel for the breakfast session and then its off to Baycourt to set up the Pingar stand for the “Technology for Smart Business” Expo. Sorry Greg, but I reckon 2 out of 3 is as much as I can manage in one day.

NZTE Funding

I doff my hat once more to NZTE.

A contract arrived in Tauranga whilst I was in the UK confirming that Pingar had been awarded an Enterprise Development Grant: The Market Development component (EDG-MD) to be specific.

Enterprise Development Grants for Market Development co-funding can be used to help NZ businesses enter a new export market or undertake new activity in an existing export market. Given my blogs over the past few weeks, I guess our target market is obvious. Up to $500,000 ($100,000 per annum) is available, with NZTE contributing up to half the costs of the project while the business contribute the rest.

Given NZ's distance from the global market, this is a great incentive. Global engagement does not come cheap.

Enterprise Development Grants however are only one of a number of services that NZTE provides NZ businesses wishing to expand offshore. Pingar acknowledges that without this support, the accelerated market entry we have enjoyed in the UK market would have slowed down. For a technology company such as Pingar that could have been fatal.

As Pingar grows its UK presence, we will continue to work with NZTE to develop that market. And we can discuss that further Lionel, when we meet tomorrow!

China Girl

That's an FTA with rice, please......

So New Zealand has become the first developed nation to sign a Free-Trade Agreement with China. Analysts say the agreement will give New Zealand improved access to one of the world's fastest-growing economies.

I have blogged about this particular FTA before. In principle, I am totally in support. It is the details that I do not have at present. An email received this morning from NZTE might just help.

According to the email: 'The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), in association with other government agencies involved with negotiating the FTA, are holding a series of two day presentations throughout the country to help answer businesses questions. These informative and interactive workshops will provide in-depth insight into the FTA and practical advice for business people considering entering the Chinese market'.

The Chinese language market is definitely on the Pingar agenda. I have already visited Hong Kong and engaged with the NZTE team based there. The two-day presentations outlined above should fill in the spaces and explain just how this freshly signed FTA might help Pingar's own expansion into this massive market. Sign me up. And a side of prawn crackers too, please.