ATEC News

ADVANCE CAIRNS TRADE MISSION TO ZHANJIANG AND GUANGZHOU, CHINA

LED BY CAIRNS MAYOR VAL SCHIER

SEPTEMBER 11 – 19, 2010

An exciting opportunity exists for you to showcase your business to more than 250,000 potential customers at the 7^th China International Small and Medium Enterprises Fair. This will be just one of the many business matching opportunities available to you on an eight-day trade mission to Zhanjiang and Guangzhou, China currently being arranged by Advance Cairns.

Led by Cairns Mayor Val Schier, the mission will run from September 11-19 and will include a detailed itinerary of pre-arranged business matching opportunities.

The benefits to you by participating include:

• Business matching customised to your business/organization
• Pre-arranged group business matching meetings
• Participation in a Cairns trade display booth in The Australian Pavilion at the 7^th China International Small and Medium Enterprises Fair
• Attendance at specially arranged networking functions with local business people and officials
• Discounted airfares and accommodation have been negotiated.

To secure your place on the mission, and for a detailed information pack call Advance Cairns on 4080 2900 or drop into the office at: 51 The Esplanade, Cairns.

Closing Date for China Trade Mission Participation: Monday, July 5

Trade Mission enquiries to:             

Michelle Jago                                                   

Advance Cairns                                              

sao@advancecairns.com                               

Ph: (07) 4080 2900

Last week’s Australian Tropical Expertise Consortium Business Matching Roadshow rolled through Cairns, Townsville and Rockhampton with great success, attracting up to 60 participants from the host regions and beyond.

The Roadshow, delivered by Advance Cairns and with the support of the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Industry (DEEDI), was designed to facilitate relationship building between Australian Managing Contractors  and Tropical Experts from across North and Central Queensland, by bringing capital city-based AMCs and project co-ordinating firms to the regions.

Six presenters shared their insights into the many intricacies of international development business, including how to tender for such work, how to establish in-country relationships, and what AMCs and project co-ordinating firms are looking for when engaging with subcontractors for major projects. 

The four main business capability areas of Tropical Expertise (Tropical Living, Tropical Environmental Management, Tropical Health and Tropical Agribusiness) were well represented by the attendees in all three locations with a mix of skills and knowledge in areas such as animal reproduction, climate change, renewable energy, tropical architecture, sustainable architectural design, tropical disease management, training and OH&S, coastal land management, education, construction, and mapping.

Structured networking and informal networking opportunities during each leg of the Roadshow identified dozens of synergies between attendees and the presenters, with at least three connections now being formalised into joint project work.

If you missed the Roadshow then all of the presenter’s Powerpoint presentations are now available for viewing, via the links below: 

Janette Clonan, ATEC Business Matchin Co-ordinator – Presentation

Vincent Sacriz, QUT – Presentation

Eric Kalmbach, Cardno (PNG) – Presentation

Clare Woolsey, JTA International – Presentation

Harleigh Luscombe, Uniquest – Presentation

Ian McLeod, McLeod Training – Presentation

Peter Goldsworthy, Trade QLD – Presentation

Due to the success of the Roadshow, plans are already underway to hold the event again in 2010. So if you missed it this year then there will be another opportunity to meet with various AMCs and project co-ordinating firms at a region near you next year.

Marketing the unique tropical knowledge and services in northern and central Queensland to international aid project co-ordinators will be the focus of the Australian Tropical Expertise Consortium Business Matching Roadshow, which will kick off in Cairns next week.

The Roadshow will roll through Cairns, Townsville and Rockhampton on three consecutive days starting from Tuesday, December 8 in Cairns. It will bring an array of Australian Managing Contractors (AMCs) and project co-ordinating firms to the regions to meet with Tropical Expertise service providers and share with them the intricacies of engaging with such firms, how to procure international aid work, and the ins and outs of working in-country.

Companies presenting on the Roadshow, which is being co-ordinated by Advance Cairns in partnership with the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, include Uniquest, Queensland University of Technology, JTA International, Cardno (PNG division), Trade Queensland and McLeod Training Organisation.

International aid projects in the developing world are administered by firms, such as the ones represented on the Roadshow, who subcontract organisations to complete assignments of varying budgets and timeframes. Northern and central Queensland professionals have been recognised by leading Australian Managing Contractor firms as among the best experts for international development projects in tropical countries.

This event was first held in Cairns in November 2008 and attracted more than 70 participants. Several Queensland companies, with unique Tropical Expertise, who attended have since been invited on international tenders by AMCs they met on the day.

The Roadshow will be held in the following locations:

CAIRNS – Tuesday, December 8 @ the Shangri-La Hotel from 8:15am – 1:30pm. Cost $44. Click here to register.

TOWNSVILLE – Wednesday, December 9 @ Rydges Southbank from 8:15am – 1:30pm. Cost $44. Click here to register.

ROCKHAMPTON – Thursday, December 10 @ Rockhampton Leagues Club from 8:45am – 2pm. Cost $44. Click here to register.

Advance Cairns, with the expert assistance of Gerard Byrne, co-author of Grants in Australia Book, and Margaret Darveniza, well-renowned facilitator, will host a series of Grant Writing Workshops across the region next week.

The half-day workshops will be held in two locations – Cairns and Atherton.

Date: Tuesday, August 11

Cost: $22.00 p/p

Cairns: Chamber of Commerce & Industry Queensland Training Rooms – 192 Mulgrave Rd, Cairns

Time: 8.30am – 11.30am

Atherton: Stan Moses Hall, Vernon Street, Atherton

Time: 5.30pm – 8pm

Presenters: Gerard Byrne & Margaret Darveniza

To register: phone 4080 2900, or email admin@advancecairns.com

RSVP: COB – Friday, August 7

Payment by Cheque or Cash – NO CREDIT CARD FACILITIES AVAILABLE

Trade talks between Advance Cairns, FKCCI and Cairns Chamber of Commerce

A joint trade mission to India could be on the cards for Advance Cairns and the Cairns Chamber of Commerce following a roundtable meeting with a delegation of Indian chamber of commerce representatives last week.

The president of the Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) in Bangalore extended an invitation to Advance Cairns and the Cairns Chamber of Commerce to “plan a visit to India.”

FKCCI president D. Muralidhar, who led the nine-member delegation, implored the two groups to consider an “exploratory visit” to India to capitalise on the consistent growth of the region. Mr Muralidhar said there was “a tremendous amount of scope to expand our business relationships”, particularly given the strength of India’s economy across a range of industries including manufacturing, avionics, health and information technology in particular.

Mr Muralidhar said India was currently the world’s second largest producer of fruit and vegetables, but with most of it consumed within India, there were plenty of opportunities for export.

He said there were some obvious commonalities that would make partnering in business easier. “Part of why it is easy for our countries to do business is the fact that there is no language barrier,” he said before adding, “We even drive on the same side of the road as you, and we share the same passion for cricket”, he joked.

Cairns Chamber of Commerce President, Jeremy Blockey said the chamber would explore the possibility of signing an MOU with the FKCCI, which could lead to further investigation of a visit with Advance Cairns and the chamber to India in the future.

Advance Cairns CEO Ross Contarino said there were some obvious synergies between Tropical North Queensland and India which could lend themselves to a positive and productive relationship between the two regions.

“The North’s unique tropical expertise in a variety of industry sectors were of interest to the delegation, particularly in the area of wine making,” Mr Contarino explained.
“India is a large producer of mangoes, and their discovery of our mango wine industry during their visit to the North proved of particular interest as a way of diversifying and value-adding to their already sizeable mango industry.”

Hosted by Mr Contarino, the meeting was also attended by Cairns Chamber of Commerce Executive Officer Sandy White, Cairns Regional Council Councillor Alan Blake, Advance Cairns director Ron Tong, and Cummings Economics partner Bill Cummings.

The meeting, facilitated by Advance Cairns following an approach by Trade Queensland, formed part of a series of engagements for the 42-member delegation that  included meetings on the Gold Coast and in Ipswich.