! Asia Business Week Dublin!Unlocking Asia Ireland Trade Potential!

!4-6 June 2014, Dublin, Ireland!

!SUMMARY REPORT!!

‘Asia Business Week Dublin’, an initiative of Dublin City Council and Asia Matters, with the Dublin Institute of Technology as academic partner, took place from 4-6 June 2014. Asia Business Week Dublin is a C-Summit style event focusing on how Ireland can increase business with Asia. The events brought together key business leaders and policy makers from Ireland, Europe and Asia to share their expertise and experiences of succeeding in key growth markets across Asia. The week saw the launch of commissioned economic research, which outlined the best ways for Irish companies to unlock the vast potential of increased trade with Asia in sectors where Ireland has core expertise and can meet the rapid rise in demand across Asia. !!

Key Points!Dublin Beijing Business Summit !

• Connectivity is Key - demand for Ireland-China flights is on rise with 46,000 two way passengers in 2013 and the market may exceed “105,000 passengers by 2017 at current growth rates”.!

• Tourism & Education - Chinese tourists are shaping the face of tourism and Dublin needs to be well connected and accessible for potential visitors. In the field of education, stakeholders were recommended to follow the success of the Beijing-Dublin International College joint venture in establishing concrete cooperation. !

• Key sectors for growth and cooperation - Aviation and Technological Innovation were two areas highlighted as opportunities for further cooperation under the Dublin-Beijing Twinning Agreement !

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© Asia Matters 2014

Asia Ireland Trade and Investment Summit !• Value of Government Agencies - Irish state agencies and their respective

counterparts in Asia have the resources, expertise and commitment to supporting trade and investment between Ireland and key partners across Asia.!

• Food & Drink - major shifts are taking place across Asia, urbanisation and the rapid growth in consumer spending is driving demand. The potential for Ireland’s high quality produce is enormous with the dairy sector poised to make substantial inroads in Asian markets.!

• Learn from the Trailblazers - when looking to break into Asian markets, some key learnings need to be considered. Taking the advice of trailblazers is invaluable to understanding the business/ cultural landscape as a one-size-fits-all strategy will fail. Enter with a proven product, many Asian markets value quality over price. Commitment is required - this includes having patience and having resources (human and financial). Localisation is essential, have a presence on the ground and, if not, visit often.!!

Asia Matters Economic Innovation Awards Dinner!Asia Business Week Dublin featured an awards dinner to celebrate the stakeholders making a positive contribution to Ireland Asia business relations. The award recipient was Coder Dojo, an Irish born, open source, volunteer led, global movement of free coding clubs for young people with a strong presence across Asia. Coder Dojo works in partnership with top tech industry partners to address a key issue of skills development to equip future generations with the skills and interest to drive innovation.!!

Fourth EU Asia Top Economist Round Table !• Network of Free Trade Agreements - it was agreed across the board that the EU-

FTAs with key partners in Asia should underpin a strengthening of business relationships between both sides, while ambitious targets need to be set and the direct benefits for business need to be highlighted. !

• Reforms across Asia - Asian economies are undergoing key reforms with the impact of Abenomics in Japan, new governments boosting economic optimism in India and Indonesia, key structural reforms in China and Vietnam, and ASEAN implementing its ‘Economic Community’ in 2015. These trends are aimed to encourage sustainable growth and will encourage business connectivity. !

• Ireland’s Opportunity - Ireland holds a positive advantage over many of its EU partners as it is projected for medium term growth twice that of the EU average. Increased investment in infrastructure and SME support should encourage greater capital investment from Asian economies and greater business connectivity across Asia.

© Asia Matters 2014