Auckland missing out on Chinese business opportunities

Thursday 16th July 2009

Traditional Auckland is missing a trick by failing to make the most of the booming growth in Chinese communities that has occurred in the city in the last 20 years, says a new report published by the Asia New Zealand Foundation.

The research for the Wellington cultural exchange promotion body finds many Asian businesspeople frustrated and alienated by the difficulty of breaking into New Zealand business networks.

That is partly owing to poor English language skills, especially among mainland Chinese migrants, but there was a striking absence of outreach to new Asian businesses by established business organisations, despite the growing importance of Auckland Asian businesses for both local and international trade.

"It is disappointing that the current debates about the governance of Auckland, and improving its economic competitiveness, do not give this now significant dimension of the Auckland economy more attention.

"It is surprising how little the local authorities have invested in understanding or responding to the Chinese businesses that are in their communities," say the report's authors, Professor Paul Spoonley and Dr Carina Meares from Massey University's College of Humanities and Social Science.

"The question that is left unanswered here is the extent to which those non-Chinese communities and their organisations have been welcoming to Chinese businesses."

Maps and tables in the report dramatically demonstrate both how quickly the Chinese population in Auckland has grown in just 20 years - from just 1.3% in 1986 to 8.6% in 2006, and a 10.6% concentration in the Auckland central business district. Particularly important was the influx of mainland Chinese migrants between 2001 and 2006, the report said.

Across Auckland, a series of ethnic precincts have sprung up where connections to China are far stronger, and where Chinese businesses tend to congregate, and languages other than English commonly spoken.

The report also plays to certain cliches about the Asian work ethic. Chinese-born migrants reported working an average 67.5 hours a week, while Kiwi-born Chinese reported average 47.5 hour weeks.

Businesswire.co.nz

Comments from our readers

No comments yet