AN IRISH centre aimed at helping Irish companies or individuals keen to get a start in the booming Chinese market opened its doors in downtown Shanghai yesterday.
Treasury China Trust, the Chinese unit of Irish-based property developer Treasury Holdings, set up the centre on the second floor of the Central Plaza building, a large office and retail building which the trust owns on People’s Square in Shanghai.
It offers Irish companies a physical presence when they come to China, giving them a location in which to meet potential clients.
“We’re first and foremost a business enterprise, but this will help us grow our profile and grow our business. We’d have put this investment into a marketing budget anyway and there is a strong legacy element,” said trust chief executive Richard David.
Although Treasury’s Irish fortunes have been largely linked to the National Asset Management Agency of late, Treasury China Trust has been performing very strongly, especially in the financial capital, Shanghai. Treasury owns 40 per cent of the trust.
The centre is run on a not-for-profit basis. Irish companies or anyone else interested in using the centre pay to use its services, and any income beyond costs goes to the TCT Foundation, which is a charity for disadvantaged children in China.
The centre comes complete with a library, bar, translation facilities, boardrooms and custom facilities for hot-desking.
The centre was officially launched by Sha Hailin, the Shanghai city deputy secretary-general, director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, and a former Chinese ambassador to Ireland, and by Irish Ambassador Declan Kelleher.
Both Mr Sha and Mr Kelleher gave an address in Chinese, English and Irish.
One of the first events at the centre will be a live link-up to the Asia Pacific Ireland Business Forum in Dublin, and a group of Chinese officials travelling to Britain will also have a briefing in the centre.
Company chairman Richard Barrett said anything that presents Ireland in a better light would benefit Treasury.
“We took a large space in our building and have assigned it as an Irish trade and cultural centre.
There’s a need for it, and if it works like it should, then there’ll be one in Beijing,” Mr Barrett added.
