UKTI in the East of England is supporting an outward mission that is being led by Essex County Council in collaboration with Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils and EEEGR, to introduce companies in the Energy and Energy Management sectors to prospective business partners in China.
Essex County Council’s contacts in Jiangsu Province have identified opportunities that match the findings of UKTI’s specialists in China, that major opportunities are emerging in that region and in these sectors, for UK businesses to benefit.
In Offshore Wind, for example, The National Energy Administration (NEA) has announced ambitious targets of 5 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind to be installed by 2015 and 30GW by 2020 – altogether representing an investment of over £30 billion. If this is achieved, China will overtake the UK to have the largest offshore wind market by 2020.
These developments will take place principally in Jiangsu and the neighbouring provinces of Shandong and Hebei. Significant delays in some of the early-phase developments have resulted from a lack of expertise in placing wind turbines in the sea and from environmental concerns in respect of near-shore turbines; and the drive for cost reduction in energy creation is likely to remain high in China (as in Europe) for the foreseeable future … so there’s opportunity for those who have experience of OWE development in Europe to establish potentially prosperous business partnerships with the appropriate Chinese authorities.
These opportunities for British companies exist in all areas of the Offshore Wind sector, but especially in the early stages, consultancy, surveying, cable, foundation design, planning issues, and health and safety.
In Energy Management, energy auditing, energy efficient processing/machinery and energy monitoring & control are all key areas of concern in China. Between 50-60 million automatic-meter-reading (AMR) smart meters were installed in 2011 alone – and China may replace the country’s meters again in 2015 with automated meter infrastructure (AMI) meters.
The state grid will invest CNY 384 billion (EUR 46.6 bn) to build a national ‘strong and smart grid’ by 2020, and over CNY 300 billion (EUR 36.4 bn) will be invested in thousands of kilometres of new ultra-high voltage (UHV) lines to move excess intermittent power to where it is most needed.
Companies that sign up and participate in this trade mission, which is scheduled to coincide with the 2013 China International Import Expo in Kunshan, near Shanghai, during 15-18 May 2013, can expect to learn at first hand about these opportunities by meeting influential officials and representatives of the Chinese organisations that are likely to be involved in making them happen. One of the exhibition halls is dedicated to Energy and the Environment, so you will be well placed in that respect; and you’ll participate in the East of England business conference and networking event where you can promote your company to a targeted audience as well as your company-specific meetings programme.
You’ll have access to group travel arrangements and pre-departure support; interpreters will be provided at the Expo conference; and we can assist with arranging translation of your promotional materials.
As well as your one-to-one meetings, you will hear about the issues associated with doing business in China and learn how to manage them so that new business agreements can develop into prosperous international trade. Many UK companies are trading successfully in China already, and the presence of some of our European trading partners is particularly noticeable, so this opportunity to visit Shanghai and meet prospects is designed to help East-of-England businesses enter the market before your competitors.
You don’t need to commit right now, but if you are sufficiently interested even to consider joining this mission, please contact the undersigned. You can discuss your interest with Alan, including how best to help you achieve your objectives, before confirming details that will include a subsidised fee associated with setting up your participation and the one-to-one meetings, before perhaps moving forward to your participation.
SMEs that meet the qualifying criteria, can apply for Market Visit Support that will contribute towards your travel costs.
For further information, please contact:
Alan Highet, International Trade Adviser UK Trade & Investment Tel. 07545 020351 Email. [email protected]
