Gaining insight into the China market

David Pandt | Communications | Horizons China

Earlier this year Horizons held its first professional seminar in Milan, Italy. The event was designed to provide a dose of ‘in-the-know’ information about doing business in China. The event took place at Milan’s Palazzo del Lavoro and was co-organized by our Torino-based Europe, Russia and Belarus regional office along with EXS Italia, a Milan-based executive search firm. Spearheaded by our regional partner for Europe, Russia and Belarus Lucia Myriam Netti, the seminar drew some 130 attendees from Italy and neighbouring EU countries.

Under the title CHINA: INVESTMENT AWARENESS Best Practices and Successful Solutions for Growth in the ‘New’ Market, the seminar featured lectures from Horizons professional experts in the areas of investment, taxation and human resources in mainland China.

Ms. Netti lectured on “The dynamism of China” and outlined scenarios for legal and socially responsible investment in China; Horizons China tax expert Melissa Jin (金美娟) talked about recent reforms and best practices in managing taxation responsibilities; and Horizons China HR officer Josephine Chen (陈俊) shared tips on effective management of human resources, including dealing with issues related to both expatriate and local employees.

“Being our first seminar, we naturally had some anxiety about bringing it all together in a way that would genuinely benefit all those attending,” says Ms. Netti. “We didn’t want to just provide the standard China-speak that can be found anywhere on the internet. What we hoped to offer was some real-world, practical information that will prove useful for both entities who are already active in China and those who are interested in entering what is undeniably one of the world’s most desirous markets.”

Judging from the turnout for the event and the rich discussion that went on during the Q&A session and cocktail reception, our first seminar was a success. We’re grateful to all those who helped put the event together, and we are particularly proud of our presenters for helping make the half-day event engaging and informative.

The seminar is among the first of what we hope to be a number of such events taking place in both Europe and Asia.

David Pandt is Horizons China communications manager. You can download a booklet from this seminar here. If you would like more information about investing in China or other corporate challenges, email us and we’ll have a Horizons professional contact you.