InterCham division offers advice on Pearl River Delta business

InterCham is an affiliation of all 27 international chambers of commerce in Hong Kong. It holds an informal quarterly gathering of representatives chaired by chambers in rotation and is a forum for business people to share information and advice.

Among many other things, InterCham organises a series of networking events for young professionals, runs a scholarship fund for students at Hong Kong universities who need financial support, and acts as a support network, particularly when its members are new to the region and need a helping hand.

The InterCham PRD Committee was set up five years ago to organise events on behalf of InterCham aimed at providing information for Hong Kong businesses about the Pearl River Delta and strengthening ties between the two regions. Its member chambers represent more than 3,000 local and international companies.

Aims of the committee include encouraging and co-ordinating inter-chamber co-operation on Pearl River Delta projects; providing an effective channel of communication and a forum for dialogue with the provincial and municipal governments in the Pearl River Delta; facilitating trade and investment between participating members and Pearl River Delta businesses by providing contacts, business opportunities and information; and helping to create a business environment conducive to growth and co-operation between Hong Kong and southern China.

'Many people in Hong Kong know absolutely nothing about the Pearl River Delta, because their world is Hong Kong and further abroad,' said Jens-Erik Olson, chairman of the InterCham PRD Committee and of the Danish Chamber of Commerce (HK).

'The PRD committee organises events such as the human resources conference in Macau, and arranges field trips to the Pearl River Delta for our members,' he said.

These field trips can be the source of invaluable information. 'As chambers of commerce in Hong Kong, we all subscribe to promoting Hong Kong as the gateway to China. So the more knowledgeable our members are about the Pearl River Delta, the better equipped they are to sell their services to companies abroad who want to use them as their gateway,' Mr Olson said.

Events organised by the InterCham PRD Committee also offer members plenty of marketing opportunities. This year a conference in Shenzhen or Guangzhou will be run aimed at supply-factory owners in the Pearl River Delta with information on how to run their operations in a more environmentally friendly way and at less cost.

Mr Olson said that this would not only benefit the factory owners. 'It will also offer an opportunity for our members to market their own products and know-how for green production,' he said.

The committee also organises regular breakfast seminars offering much needed information at a convenient time. 'Everybody is hungry for information, and more people in Hong Kong subscribe to getting information from these sorts of seminars. If you have 45 minutes then kick back, have some breakfast [and learn],' he said.

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