Companies urged to get out and sell

Companies were challenged to capitalise on a free trade deal with Southeast Asia but were also warned about corruption in the region during a seminar yesterday in Auckland.

Trade Minister Tim Groser, speaking at the Asean Australia New Zealand free trade agreement seminar, said the Asean region was the country's third biggest export market for merchandise goods - worth $4.6 billion in the year to June 2008.

The free trade agreement was signed in Thailand in February with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

"The key, now, is for business to take the lead, working with government agencies such as New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, to realise the opportunities created."

The business and trade seminar, organised by NZ Trade and Enterprise and the ministry, was the first in a series to be held in Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

It aimed to help business people understand the impact of the agreement, learn about opportunities and challenges and hear from businesses working successfully in the region.

Grant Fuller, trade commissioner to Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei said corruption was an issue.

"It's something that you need to understand when you're doing business in certain markets in Southeast Asia," he said after the seminar. There was a crackdown on corruption by some Southeast Asian countries and his advice was not to get drawn in.

"We heard today that you can say no if it's obvious, otherwise a lot of it you leave to your local partner to sort out and you have one step removed from that."

New Zealand companies typically needed to work through a local partner and the building of that relationship could be critical to success.

"So it's about doing your homework and doing your research up front, understanding where the opportunities are, knowing who your competition is ... distribution channels, margin, pricing."

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise could provide help with market challenges.

Relationships and understanding cultures were important aspects of doing business in Southeast Asia.

"Often things don't really move until you're face to face and that means you're going to have to visit the market several times a year."

And despite the global economic crisis, Fuller said, it appeared New Zealand's exports were still moving.

"The mass market is still consuming, people, for example, are still eating."

ASEAN FREE TRADE
* Free trade agreement with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
* Market of more than 566 million people.
* Asean economies represent US$1.4 trillion of trade with the rest of the world.
* New Zealand merchandise exports worth $4.6 billion in the year to June 2008.