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Centrepoint
talks to M. Pascal Furth,
Trade Commissioner for the French Trade Commission (FTC) in
Hong Kong.
"Over
7,000 French citizens live in Hong Kong," says M. Furth,
"more than in any other Asian city." Around 600
French companies do business here and that number is growing
fast, with double-digit growth recorded over the past couple
of years. "French businesses and investors are recognising
the value of the Asian market." says M. Furth. "Hong
Kong is now the fourth largest recipient of French foreign
direct investment in Asia. French exports here are quite robust,
and France enjoys a healthy trade surplus with Hong Kong."
Having
said that, M. Furth points out that French trade and market
share is small when the size of France and of Hong Kong as
global trading centres is taken into account. "Partly
that's historical," he says. "French companies have
traditionally worked outwards from Europe, with Asia their
last stop." France's under-representation in the Hong
Kong market is something the FTC here is committed to changing,
however. "One of our major roles is to help French companies
establish footholds or do business here," says M. Furth.
As this
comment suggests, the FTC combines services for the public
and private spheres. "At a diplomatic level, we gather
trade information and analyse economic trends for the French
government," says M. Furth. "But we also provide
a series of (fee-charging) services to French companies, offering
them detailed advice on identifying business partners, exporting
to Hong Kong and doing business here." He adds, "we're
not a business entity ourselves. Rather, we act as a go-between,
opening doors on new business opportunities." He has
18 staff who devote much of their time to meeting the needs
of the around 600 French companies using the FTC's services
in Hong Kong each year.
In exporting
to Hong Kong and Asia, France enjoys traditional strengths
in many areas. French consumer items such as cosmetics, perfumes,
fashion and leather goods all generate high regional demand.
Food and drink is another traditional French strength, "although
our wine sales are suffering," says M. Furth, "from
Hong Kong's fearsome tax rates, currently the highest in Asia
and definitely suppressing demand." French industrial
knowhow is another of the country's big export bases, including
industrial equipment and big-ticket items such as Airbus planes.
According
to M. Furth, one of the major advantages for French companies
wanting to operate here is the business environment. "Hong
Kong is certainly the most open trade environment anywhere
in Asia, and the easiest one in which to do business,"
he says, adding "Hong's Kong's rule of law is very important
to us. We would however like to see Hong Kong adopt some form
of competition law, which would improve life for French business
here."
For French
companies wanting to enter the Hong Kong and China markets,
M. Furth emphasises the importance of Hong Kong's trade fairs.
"Hong Kong is highly accessible and its trade shows are
strongly international," he notes, "making it easy
for participants to get the big picture of the state of their
industry and assess the competition. Frankly though,"
he adds, "French companies are not well enough represented
at Hong Kong trade fairs. We're trying to change that, for
example by including companies in our French Pavilions, which
we hold at big fairs like Cosmoprof Asia. These Pavilions
are an excellent way, we've found, of enhancing France's global
visibility."
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