IN LESS THAN 80 DAYS BUT WITH MANY INTERESTING INSIGHTS
InterGest has franchise partners in over 50 countries, some of which are naturally quite far away from Central Europe. As these partners work as independent entrepreneurs, they fortunately do not need to be supervised or managed, but from a human point of view alone, you do want to meet in person from time to time.
For this reason, I travelled to Australia and New Zealand this spring and am happy to share my impressions with you:
Stopover Singapore
InterGest Singapore has been very successful for years with our partners Georg Wander and Dirk Bussen, as the city state in the south of the Malaysian peninsula is still the most important starting point for the ASEAN business of many companies. InterGest Singapore also has its own branches in Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.
Although Singapore has consistently ranked first or second in the "Ease of Doing Business Index" since 2006, it is today mainly the banks that make it difficult to set up a new business. If you want to found a company in Singapore these days, you may have considerable difficulty finding a bank unless you are prepared to pay in a fairly large amount of capital.
InterGest Singapore can almost always solve this problem, as it acts as a trustee for many companies as kind of "pool manager" and thus stands for a considerable amount of investment. Please contact us if you are interested in Singapore as a business location, we will be happy to advise you and support you to the best of our ability.
Down Under in Australia
What most people know about Australia is that it is home to the 30 most dangerous animal species in the world, and you can expect to encounter one above and below the waterline at any time.
What few people know is that the capital is Canberra, there are 6 federal states and 3 territories, and 86.36% of the country's almost 26 million inhabitants live in the cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. Economic life is therefore mainly centred in the south-east of the continent, which makes the movement of goods much easier, especially from a logistical point of view.
What is obvious is the fact that everything is available and everything is needed in Australia. Every industry has opportunities to be successful there and the companies that InterGest Australia supports in Sydney shows this in an impressive way.
Yes, it's a long way to Australia, but once there, the local market offers considerable opportunities off the beaten tracks for precisely this reason. Rebecca Beitzel and her team have a good overview and a lot of experience - just ask them!
New Zealand - the end of the world?
In fact, in Auckland, with a view of the Pacific Ocean, I inevitably had REM with "It's the End of the World as We Know It" in my head, although I was aware that the band from Georgia / USA didn't mean it geographically and certainly weren't thinking of New Zealand when they wrote the lyrics.
But New Zealand is simply extremely far away and "Point Nemo", the furthest point from any mainland in the southern Pacific, can be reached from Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, if you head east towards Chile for "only" 4,795 kilometres.
And InterGest also has a partner here? Indeed! InterGest New Zealand, based in Auckland, has actually been around since 1997 and is now managed by the second generation of the family, Denis Schweder. With just over 5 million inhabitants on two large islands, this is of course not a market for every company, but it can be an exciting market for some specialised providers from the media, winegrowing, boatbuilding and other sectors.
So if you are interested in receiving advice on business opportunities "at the end of the world", then we also have a competent partner here!
Across the International Date Line to San Francisco with a look at Mexico
Once you're in New Zealand, it doesn't really matter whether you fly west or east to get back to Germany. However, as it costs significantly less to travel with an around-the-world ticket, my return journey took me via San Francisco.
This was also because it gave me the opportunity to meet our partner from Mexico, Gregor Vorderwülbecke, halfway, so to speak. He was kind enough to meet me in California and save me the diversions via Puebla.
The fact that Mexico is one of the most important, if not THE most important market in Latin America no longer needs to be explicitly explained to anyone. Not only is the automotive industry extremely present here, but mechanical engineering and the production of consumer goods of all kinds are also on the rise. Of course, Mexico benefits from its geographical location, especially its proximity to the USA, but numerous free trade agreements and a still favourable labour force are further important arguments for not only selling but also producing in Mexico.
InterGest Mexico and our partner Gregor Vorderwülbecke will be happy to answer your questions at any time.
Last but not least, I got to know Karl. He's pale in colour, has a rather cool demeanour and we haven't really become friends. He likes to show up when you can least use him, but he has at least managed to achieve the status of a season: The inhabitants of San Francisco speak of three seasons that they experience: summer, winter and - fog. See "Karl The Fog", present on all popular social media channels!
Wishing you a wonderful summer, preferably without "Karl"!
Enclosing my best regards,
Prof. Peter Anterist
