2014-15 Canada-China Business Forum Magazine | Page 86
THE YEAR IN REVIEW
by SARAH KUTULAKOS
The Year
in Review
CCBC China Business Workshop in Airdrie
Every year there seems to be more to report
on in this wrap-up, and I’m pleased to say
we’ve had another jam-packed year, with
great progress made in many areas.
Top Membership Sectors in 2014:
1. Consulting (Engineering, Business,
Project, Accounting, etc.)
As a membership organization, we pay keen
attention to our membership growth both
sectorally and geographically. This year’s
pace has been excellent – our membership
is approaching 250 organizations, with
more than 1,000 individuals in those
organizations who are active in one or
more cities. Many of our members are
active in all six of our locations: Toronto,
Calgary, Montreal, Vancouver, Beijing
and Shanghai. Quebec membership has
more than doubled since 2011; BC’s has
increased by almost 50 per cent; and 13 new
organizations in Alberta joined as members
in only the first six months of this year.
2. Education
3. Financial & Legal (Tie)
4. Manufacturing (Light & Heavy)
We have put in place a revised membership
recruitment and service process to better
serve members, and an infrastructure to help
more SMEs and handle our future growth in
membership. Small and medium-sized enterprises
represent about 65 per cent of the CCBC’s total
company membership, so we continue to build
capability to help them assess and enter China
and to resolve problems on the ground.
By July 2014 new members had already
exceeded 2013 numbers, and in a variety
of sectors, including technology, mining,
agri-food, and healthcare. Chinese
enterprises represent approximately
10 per cent of membership, with Chihong
Canada Mining Ltd, Greenland Group,
Hisense Canada and Siwin Foods joining
us this year. With increasingly diverse
Chinese firms investing in Canada, our
service for Chinese members helps them
become successful Canadian companies.
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson
speaking at a special CCBC luncheon
on Vancouver’s competitive edge as a
global hub for the green economy.
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FORUM
BUSINESS
2014-2015 ccbc.com
Geographically, we have been expanding our
reach, too. Our Montreal office, opened in 2011, is
now well established and active beyond Montreal
in cities like Quebec City, Sherbrooke and
Trois-Rivières. Montreal also launched our first
Business Incubation Centre in Canada for Chinese
investors. Our Calgary office has been in operation
for more than a year and is making a large footprint
in Alberta. Shanghai has a revitalized operation,
and its Business Incubation Centre is full. The
team has engaged new and existing members and
provides frequent guidance to members travelling
in the Yangtze River Delta area. In Vancouver,
we have a new manager, Wei Liu, who is getting
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