Festival presents best of Britain
Print Edition
THE three-day Great Festival of Creativity opened in Shanghai yesterday, showcasing a number of UK companies and offering huge potential for trade and investment in various areas.
Last year, the UK was the most popular investment destination for Chinese companies in Europe.
Dominic Jermey, CEO of UK Trade and Investment, a government department, said high-end engineering and health care were proving the main attractions, with a number of Chinese hospitals seeking to introduce UK expertise.
Taking part in a discussion on the festival’s opening day, Wang Jianlin, chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, said he had been discussing a number of investment projects in the UK.
“For example, the UK’s high tech capabilities and expertise could be useful now that China allows private capital to invest in hospitals and the UK and China have a lot of business initiatives to explore regarding film co-production,” he said.
He was also looking for investment opportunities to build a large indoor entertainment complex in the UK.
In 2013, the Wanda Group bought a controlling stake in British luxury yacht maker Sunseeker for 320 million pounds (US$493 million).
Yuan Yafei, chairman of the Sanpower Group, said that business models employed in the UK retail industry could provide a useful lesson for Chinese counterparts. Last year, the group bought an 89-percent stake in UK’s House of Fraser department store in a deal valuing it at 480 million pounds.
Yuan said the company hopes to open at least three department stores called “Oriental Fraser” in China by the end of this year. The retailer will also have an online presence to introduce UK products to Chinese consumers.
Alan Keir, CEO of HSBC Bank Plc, said demand for financial services would pick up as overseas investors saw a growing demand for financing infrastructure projects in China and many were eager to gain access to the nation’s dynamic business environment.
Also on the festival’s opening day, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts announced a scholarship program for next year that will sponsor both Chinese and British students to study film, television or games as international students in both China and the UK.
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