Choy's podcast - Life and business in Asia

Innocent Mutanga from Zimbabwe has had an amazing journey so far and he learned so many life lessons as a political activist in his home country, a homeless refugee in Hong Kong, a student anthropology at CUHK, an analyst at an investment bank and founder of the social enterprise Africa Center Hong Kong. Innocent's story should be shared as often as possible as it teaches us about the possibilities in life, what you can do if you are at the bottom of the society, why it is necessary to rebrand blackness and the human obligation to give back and share where you can. 

If you are in Hong Kong, visit the Africa Center at 12/F, 21 Hillwood Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong and attend one of the many events like dancing, playing drums, discussions, networking meals, the book club and so much more! You can see the agenda on http://www.africacenterhk.com/

The whole world imports products from China - not for nothing China is called "the world's factory". We (as China advisers) came across so many problems clients had to deal with over the years... unfortunately.. and this is even more pressing with the shortage of materials worldwide, the Covid situation and the rising transport prices. 

My colleagues Diogo Garcês Reis and Vanessa Albuquerque discussed the importing pitfalls in another Equasia podcast "Negócio da China" but as that podcast is in Portuguese, I have asked them to come here to talk with me about import fraud and prevention of breach of contract (in English). A quick, practical and very relevant update for those who are not so experienced with importing from China yet and are eager to prevent problems as much as possible! 

PS Diogo was already in episode 6 about his career as a professional boxer and lawyer in China and you can listen here

For this Dutch Business Lawyers Abroad episode, I am going to Berlin, Germany! All the members of DBLA are legal experts in the country where we are located but we are also from the Netherlands. We give companies, entrepreneurs and individuals who are not familiar with the local environment the help they need: often legal support but also practical advice about cultural differences or how things are done in that country.

In this episode I am interviewing Murk Muller, who had to go to Berlin after the wall came down. Listen to this episode to hear how Murk ended up in Berlin while his initial plan was to go back to the US, why Murk thinks German clients are easier compared to Dutch clients, what he thinks about Angela Merkel and how DBLA started.   

Murk's firm is https://www.mmrecht.com and here is his email

Thank you for listening!

Jay Xie is a digital marketing veteran in Shanghai and Hangzhou who is helping European brands to start in China through his company Agency China. With an education in the Netherlands, he understands the mindset of European companies and is therefore able to guide them better in China. Listen to this interview where he shares valuable insights:

- I have a very strong belief that especially in the nutrition, food and food supplements and beauty products from Europe have a lot more superior products that can still find great spaces to scale up in the China market

- Forget about what you have obtained or achieved back in the outside world or your own ecosystem because all the game rules in China are so different

- The target consumer has been changing over the time (…) from post 70’ and 80’ to the millennials, post ‘95 or the generation Z. They react differently to commercials. They are going to become the mainstream target audience and their behavior has a lot of common things such as liking more tailored services

And also why foreign brands will remain popular in China, what the entry level for Western brands is in China to test the water, if Chinese consumers pay attention to the sustainability aspect of products and also his experience being an entrepreneur

I am honored to have found Mr. Karma Barfungpa willing to share his experience as an architect in Asia. As Asia has changed so much in the past two decades, I was wondering how that is like from an architectural point of view. 

Karma has been working as an architect from Hong Kong on prestigious projects all over the world for almost 25 years now. He is a director at Arup, a multinational firm of designers, engineers and architects so he is the perfect guest with the right experience to tell us more about the developments in the past and the current status of the industry.

Karma tells us also about the young talent out there, what is happening in China, how sustainability plays a role in his work, his view of European architecture and so much more. Conclusion: it is quite challenging in these times but hopefully in a promising way. So dive with me into this world and enjoy this interesting and inspiring interview with Karma.

You can find Karma through Linkedin and Arup

Dutch born Chinese CJ Cheung is using his background to create TV shows in Hong Kong and the Netherlands where he informs one culture about the other one. So he made TV shows in Hong Kong about the Netherlands and he is about to launch a TV show series in the Netherlands where he is exploring what it means to be Chinese there. 

After working for the Dutch TV for years as producer, presenter, editor and project manager for quite some big TV shows and productions (like De Wereld draait door), adventure brought him to Shanghai and Hong Kong where he discovers how it is to work in a Chinese environment. What insights did he get about himself and about cultural differences? How do you start a career in this industry? Listen to the interview to find out the answers! 

See here, here and here for some YouTube clips of CJ's Cantonese show Orange Fuzz, Orange Fever on Facebook and CJ on IG.

Four female professionals from all over the world and with Asian heritage became friends in Shanghai. While working hard on their corporate careers, they needed to remind themselves that they should also take time to take care of their own wellness. So an idea grew and they took the bold step to start their own entrepreneurial journey and succeeded to launch a daring product amidst Covid time: the vibrator, a product for women made by women just like you! I am so happy to introduce Diana Lin, Simona Xu, Eden Chiang and Winxi Kan and their story to you. In this interview they also tell me how women (and men!) in China think about sexual health and the Oh Collective products, what difficulties they had to overcome until now and so much more! I absolutely love their story and have so much respect for them so listen to this fun interview!

You can find the Oh Collective on IG, WeChat and online.   

For this Dutch Business Lawyers Abroad episode, I am going to Barcelona in Spain! All the members of DBLA are legal experts in the country where we are located but we are also from the Netherlands. We give companies, entrepreneurs and individuals who are not familiar with the local environment the help they need: often legal support but also practical advice about cultural differences or how things are done in that country.

In this episode I am interviewing Jan Willem de Haan, who became a Dutch and Spanish lawyer to accommodate the business relations between the Netherlands and Spain when Spain joined the European Union. Jan Willem has a very diverse practice where he advises non-Spanish companies with their business in Spain which is quite challenging due to the characteristics of the Spanish legal system. Jan Willem tells us all about it in this episode! 

Jan Willem's firm is De Haan Abogados and his email is dehaan@dehaanabogados

Thank you for listening!

For this Dutch Business Lawyers Abroad episode, I am going to São Paulo in Brazil! All the members of DBLA are legal experts in the country where we are located but we are also from the Netherlands. We give companies, entrepreneurs and individuals who are not familiar with the local environment the help they need: often legal support but also practical advice about cultural differences or how things are done in that country.

In this episode I have the pleasure to interview Camila Borba Lefèvre, who is originally Brazilian but she spend enough time in the Netherlands to learn fluent Dutch, study Dutch law and became a Dutch lawyer. In 2008 she returned to Brazil and qualified as a Brazilian lawyer. Now Camila has a busy legal practice helping mostly non-Brazilian clients to do business in Brazil, a very complicated country full of opportunities. Camila tells about the legal climate, the business of her clients, changes of Brazil in the last decade, the political environment and so much more! Such a fascinating country!

Camila's firm is Vieira Rezende Advogados.

Thank you for listening!