New business body nurtures Asia – SA growth

THE local launch of the Asia Pacific South African Chamber of Commerce initiative, aimed primarily at facilitating the establishment and nurturing of mutually beneficial relationships between South African businesses in the Asia Pacific region and their Asian counterparts, took place in Johannesburg yesterday (October 18). Alex Khumalo, Beijingbased GM of the APSACC secretariat, told FTW there was a growing need for Asian regional business intelligence and networks and a common forum to ‘discuss’ or ‘share’ best practice information in order to address the needs of South African businesses in Asia. The association was formed within a number of leading South African organisations operating in that particular region. A non-profit organisation, the ASPACC also serves as a networking platform for South African companies that have yet to establish a presence in the Asia Pacific region, and for Asian companies doing business in this country. The Chamber also works with South African diplomatic missions in the region, the national department of trade and industry (DTI) and provincial economic development agencies, to facilitate investment in South Africa and trade with South African companies. * The South Africa rollout is a prelude to pan-Asian launches in Hong Kong (October 22), Beijing (October 24) Singapore (October 25) and Shanghai (October 29), with more launches scheduled for other Asian capitals in November and December.