Irish immigration perspective on doing business in Ireland: Recently, an Irish business delegation led by Richard Bruton, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, visited Shenzhen. The delegation included Irish innovative technology companies from six major sectors: information and communications, financial services, life sciences, clean technology, food, and aviation. During this visit to China, cooperation agreements were reached for six projects.
Hoping to Strengthen Technical Cooperation with Shenzhen Enterprises
It is reported that this is the delegation's fourth visit to China and its fourth visit to Shenzhen. The next stop will be Hong Kong. It is understood that in 2014, the import and export trade volume between Ireland and China reached 9 billion euros, with Ireland's exports growing at an average annual rate of 30%. Currently, more than 300 companies are operating in China, with over 20 of them experiencing rapid business development. Ireland, which has set aircraft leasing as a key development goal, has already established cooperation in aircraft leasing with the Shenzhen Branch of the China Development Bank and has had many years of cooperation with Huawei. To date, the largest investment has been HNA Group's acquisition of Avolon for 2.5 billion USD, which will be completed by the end of the year. Yesterday afternoon, the Shenzhen office of Exertis, an Irish supply chain company, was officially established.
Irish Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton stated yesterday that many enterprises in Shenzhen are in the technology sector, and there will be many opportunities for cooperation in the future. As China is currently in the process of transitioning from traditional enterprise models to innovative ones, Ireland hopes to make progress together by strengthening technical cooperation.
For Chinese enterprises, Ireland will provide preferential policies including tax incentives, factory facilities, and office locations, and will assist companies in landing by providing support in recruitment and corporate training. Richard Bruton noted that compared to Ireland itself, its more important role is to serve as a base and gateway for foreign companies to enter Europe, thereby achieving internationalization.
Chip Companies to Develop in Shenzhen
During yesterday's visit, Julie Sinnamon, CEO of Enterprise Ireland, stated that the most successful model of cooperation between the two countries is one where companies can find strong local partners in the Chinese market. There are also an increasing number of Chinese companies entering the Irish market through acquisitions or equity purchases to bring Irish technology into China. Over the past two years, project funds for technical support have also been invested in China, and Ireland indicated it is considering the establishment of a second fund between the two sides.
Among the delegation yesterday, DecaWave, a chip startup that has released a series of wireless indoor positioning chips, stated that it has already been in talks with many clients in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, and that it may set up its headquarters in Shenzhen in the next step. It is reported that the chips produced by the company achieve centimeter-level short-range position communication, and company executives revealed that they are currently in talks for cooperation with a drone company in Shenzhen.