ISTOCK
A S I A P A C I F I C
P R O M O T E D C O N T E N T
T
he juggernaut is over: that's the
spin many media outlets have
used in reporting on the slowing
of the Chinese economy, with the
implied message that businesses
should think twice before
putting their eggs in one basket
and investing exclusively in Asia Paci•c
partnerships—but there are things wrong
with this viewpoint.
Few, if any Canadian companies have
risked their fortunes on Asia at the expense
of commerce with other nations; and
even more to the point, current Chinese
economic growth is disappointing only
by that nation's own standards—by any
other measure, anything more than three
per cent growth is robust; and in fact
China's growth last year was more than
double that.
Therefore, most experts agree that
taking the long view is vital to Asia Paci•c
business, both in terms of weathering
downturns and in building trust between
partners. With this in mind,
HSBC's 2016
RMB internationalisation survey shows that
Canadian businesses are underestimating
the importance of renminbi payments in
improving their relationships with Chinese
business partners. In fact, Canadians are
the second least likely—after South Korea—
to appreciate a business or relationship
advantage in using the renminbi (22 and
29 per cent respectively, versus the global
average of 40 and 44 per cent respectively).'
Moreover, even though the number of
Canadian businesses using the renminbi
rose from three to seven per cent last year,
this is well below the global average of 24
per cent (according to the survey, which
polled 1,600 decision-makers across 14
countries). This is despite global businesses
Despite mixed views on the
state of China's economy,
companies willing to be ex-
ible and patient are reaping
the benets of doing busi-
ness internationally
Opportunities Await
New initiatives aimed to stimulate the global economy and
growth in consumer spending are two of the many reasons why
Asia Paci•c remains a desirable region for companies to do business
