More than 700 delegates from Auckland, Guangzhou and Los Angeles packed into the Viaduct Events Centre this week to pursue business opportunities and hear from world-renowned speakers and panelists at the Tripartite Economic Summit.
A highlight was the BNZ Business Activation Lounge. The event far exceeded its aim of 100 business matching meetings with about 300 meetings scheduled by midway through the second day.
Opportunities have ranged from significant potential deals for companies from all three cities, to small left field opportunities – such as a Chinese company which made inquiries about sourcing a container of Auckland craft beer to import.
Screen Auckland
The summit enabled Screen Auckland’s screen attraction specialists to have a number of productive meetings with producers from both Guangzhou and Los Angeles – including doors which were opened with a senior executive from a major US studio.
The producers were here seeking content, investible opportunities, and looking at Auckland and New Zealand as a screen production destination.
There was a lot of interest in discussions about virtual reality production. Screen Auckland was also able to introduce Auckland producers to Chinese companies which are seeking content.
Rockbind
Henderson-based company Rockbind, which has developed and manufactures strong durable coloured surfacing products calls the summit “life changing.”
Company director Linda Buhagiar says: “We all have made so many what I call ‘friends in business’.”
She spoke to a senior Guangzhou government official and within hours he had connected her with an influential Chinese industrialist who is the third most dominant seller on gigantic Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba.
Things moved fast. On the summit’s second morning, Linda’s company hosted the industrialist and an interpreter at Rockbind’s factory – having explained New Zealand’s market is not of the scale he was used to seeing in China.
“He sees real opportunity for a potential licenced distribution of our products through Alibaba and utilising his sales and marketing teams in China.”
At the summit, Rockbind was also able to have preliminary discussions with a West Coast US urban design company, with a view to a potential licencing agreement.