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Doing Business in Mexico - roadshow

Tue, 21 Mar, 2017 8:15 AM — 11:00 AM
Christchurch, Wellington and Hamilton

With the objective of promoting business opportunities between Mexico and New Zealand and based on the earlier success of a seminar organised in Auckland in October 2016, the Embassy of Mexico in New Zealand set up a roadshow of business seminars around the country in coordination with the Mexican Trade Promotion Agency (ProMexico) and key partners including the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce (CECC), the Wellington Chamber of Commerce (WCC), Fieldays, Export New Zealand, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and the Latin America New Zealand Business Council (LANZBC).

The seminars took place in Christchurch on March 21, Wellington on March 22 and Hamilton on March 23 and were attended by approximately 100 people (30 in Christchurch, 40 in Wellington and 30 in Hamilton), mainly business executives from across New Zealand, as well as public and private representatives from the Canterbury, Wellington and Waikato regions. This Mexican roadshow in New Zealand was warmly received by the business community.

The seminars began with a welcoming address by the Mexican Ambassador, H.E. José Gerardo Traslosheros, who emphasised the competitive advantages of Mexico, as well as the wide variety of opportunities for New Zealand businesses, including projects in the fields of science and technology. The Ambassador highlighted Mexico’s many competitive strengths, including its array of free trade agreements and membership of the WTO.

ProMexico´s Trade Commissioner, Mr Esaú Garza, detailed the potential of Mexico as a market of 127 million people, as well as an investment destination to expand the reach of New Zealand products and services. Mr Garza accentuated the current interest of both Mexico and New Zealand in strengthening economic relations through a regional or bilateral free trade agreement to allow further engagement and mutual preferential access for goods, services and investment. In addition, he presented Mexico’s top-performing sectors (food, beverages, automotive, auto parts, aerospace, electric, electronic, home appliances, medical devices, pharmaceutical, IT, mining, oil and gas, renewable energies, creative industries, fashion and design) and the opportunities these represent for New Zealand firms. Mr Garza emphasised Mexico’s outstanding results in multiple international indicators and consulting agencies’ reports, as well as its improving position in the ease of doing business index, where it features as the highest-ranking country in Latin America.

The seminars incorporated case studies from leading New Zealand companies successfully carrying out their business operations in Mexico. Senior executives from Fisher and Paykel Healthcare and CBL Insurance Ltd openly shared their fruitful experiences of doing business in Mexico and encouraged the audience in attendance to consider the country as a key destination for profitable business expansion.

In Christchurch, Mr Dean Finlay, Director of International Business of CBL Insurance Ltd, described his company’s successful experience in Mexico, which was very much appreciated by an engaged public. CBL is a business with a specialised niche market, offering a variety of products in the insurance industry, that began operations in Mexico in 2012.

In the Wellington and Hamilton seminars respectively, Fisher and Paykel Healthcare’s Mr Tony Barclay, CFO and Mr Marcus Driller, GM Corporate, detailed the success story of their business in Tijuana, Mexico. The company started operations in 2009 and now has more than 900 employees. Mr Barclay and Mr Driller expressed great satisfaction with the performance of their Mexico project, highlighting the advantages the firm found in doing business (most particularly the logistical advantages and the skill and productivity of the Mexican labour force).

The seminars concluded with an address by the LANZBC. In Christchurch and Hamilton respectively, the Council’s Directors, Mr Craig Musson and Mr Kevin Murray, and in Wellington, its President, Mr Matthew O’Meagher, underscored the role Mexico plays in the region, the fact that the country is New Zealand’s foremost trading partner in Latin America and that it represents an essential gateway for the American continent while bridging the Asia-Pacific region.

Mexico expressed its special gratitude to John Milford, CEO of the WCC, Peter Townsend, CEO of the CECC, and Peter Nation, CEO from Fieldays, for introducing each of the corresponding events.

Copies of the presentations given at the event are available below.

ProMexico video: Mexico, a country with a heart that beats louder than ever before

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