HSBC
Chamber Of Commerce A.G.M.
with guest speaker- Gavin Haworth H.S.B.C.
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May 4th 2009 saw a change at the top, as outgoing Chamber
President Andrew Leys handed over the reins to Dave Rohan at the
2008 Chamber regional AGM.
Dave has been Chamber vice president and was elected to the
newposition through members votes during April.
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| Around 30 members attended the evening meeting which
incorporated a presentation on the state of the world economy, from
the H.S.B.C. Head of New Zealand trade and supply, Gavin Haworth.
Gavins presentation didn’t pull any punches, regarding the
situation many developed countries are currently facing. He did
though, go to pains to reinforce that New Zealand may find some
lucrative opportunities within developing economies such as China
and India. |
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Strong Export possibilities still exist within these developing
nations, particularly in the primary sectors, such as timber and
meat.
The time taken for Kiwi exporters, to see the money appear in their
accounts though, drew some words of caution.
Some countries who would perhaps stretch payment to 30 or 60 days,
are now looking more like 120 days or greater.
Issues such as interest on drawn out payments and local companies
suddenly having to “bank roll” their exports to some regions were
certainly a concern.
“If the banks wont grant your customers a letter of credit ….. Why
would you?” said Gavin. He urged caution in this area, but tempered
this by saying that the extended settlement times also put Kiwi
exporters in a good position to bargain and renegotiate terms to
their advantage.
H.S.B.C. brand themselves as the worlds “local bank” and this
was proved with their visit south. The Chamber of Commerce office
has a limited supply of H.S.B.C. information packs available, if
you would like to know more.
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