Conference Overview

Please note that the information below refers to the April 2008 conference program. Visit this site again for updates on the conferences to be held in October 2008. If you have any questions, e-mail us at seminars-gh@chinasourcingfair.com

Admission is FREE!

China Sourcing Fair: Gifts & Home Products spring 2008
Conference program

Venue: Conference rooms C1, C2, and C3
Hall 2, Ground Level, AsiaWorld-Expo, Hong Kong

20 April 2008 (Sunday)

Time	Topic/Speaker	Room	Language
11:30 am - 12:30 pm	Mix Future Interiors' Spring-Summer 2009 colour forecasts •  Understand the Spring/Summer 2009 colour forecasts for interiors and home products Michael Leow, Director, Creative Trends Services	Conference room C2	English
12:30 pm - 3:00 pm	Buying from China: What new buyers need to know •  Find and select the right suppliers •  Quality control processes •  Payment processes •  Shipping, logistics, import duties, and customs clearances	Conference room C1	English
3:10 pm - 4:00 pm	Ask the experts •  Free personalized, professional advice to your import questions — A unique service of one-on-one consultations with industry specialists!	Conference room C3	English

21 April 2008 (Monday)

Time	Topic/Speaker	Room	Language
11:30 am - 12:30 pm	Strategic advice on setting up operations in Hong Kong / China •  Get practical tips on how you can expand your sourcing operations in Hong Kong / China Thaddaeus Mueller, Business Development Manager, Fiducia Management Consultants	Conference room C2	English
12:30 pm - 3:00 pm	Buying from China: What new buyers need to know Back by popular demand, learn: •  How to find and select the right suppliers •  Your best options on your quality control processes •  Tips on how to pay your suppliers more efficiently •  Shipping, logistics, import duties, and customs clearances	Conference room C1	English
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm	PANTONE view colour planner Summer 2009 •  Get the latest industry news on Pantone's color forecasts for Summer 2009 Maryann M.W. Wong, Business Development & Sales Manager, Fashion & Home, PANTONE Asia, Inc.	Conference room C3	English
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm	The importer's guide to REACH: What importers and buyers need to understand •  Learn the key components of REACH and its impact to small and medium enterprises Bureau Veritas Hong Kong Ltd.	Conference room C2	English
3:10 pm - 4:00 pm	Ask the experts •  Free personalized, professional advice to your import questions — A unique service of one-on-one consultations with industry specialists!	Conference room C3	English

22 April 2008 (Tuesday)

Time	Topic/Speaker	Room	Language
11:30 am - 12:30 pm	Intellectual property rights essentials in Hong Kong and China •  Understand the ABCs of protecting your brands/products in Hong Kong and China Richard Keady, Partner, Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, Hong Kong	Conference room C2	English
12:30 pm - 3:00 pm	Buying from China: What new buyers need to know Back by popular demand, learn: •  How to find and select the right suppliers •  Your best options on your quality control processes •  Tips on how to pay your suppliers more efficiently •  Shipping, logistics, import duties, and customs clearances	Conference room C1	English
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm	Building quality relationships with your China suppliers •  Get insights on how to effectively negotiate and build relationships with your China suppliers with specific focus on quality and compliance standards Bureau Veritas Hong Kong Ltd.	Conference room C2	English
3:10 pm - 4:00 pm	Ask the experts •  Free personalized, professional advice to your import questions — A unique service of one-on-one consultations with industry specialists!	Conference room C3	English

23 April 2008 (Wednesday)

Time	Topic/Speaker	Room	Language
12:30 pm - 3:00 pm	Buying from China: What new buyers need to know Back by popular demand, learn: •  How to find and select the right suppliers •  Your best options on your quality control processes •  Tips on how to pay your suppliers more efficiently •  Shipping, logistics, import duties, and customs clearances	Conference room C1	English

Mix Future Interiors' Spring-Summer 2009 colour forecasts
Michael Leow, Director, Creative Trends Services

A look at the zeitgeist and the key colour forecast of Spring and Summer 2009 trends for interiors and home products. The presentation is based on the highly successful mix interior colour forecasting book and mix future interiors magazine, which are sold throughout the world to the major players in electronics, manufacturing and retail. With over 30 years experience in colour theory, colour consultancy, editorial and design, Global Color Research^TM Limited holds an exceptional position in today's marketplace.

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Buying from China: What new buyers need to know

Want to learn the secrets of building win-win relationships with China suppliers? Back by popular demand, the Buying from China seminar series covers a full range of trade topics from finding suppliers to planning for logistics and quality control. It also offers tips on how to pay your suppliers more efficiently. Whether you're new to China sourcing or a seasoned veteran who wants a fresh perspective on the subject, these seminars will give you valuable advice to help you source more productively and profitably. It's information that will continue to pay off for years to come.

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Strategic advice on setting up operations in Hong Kong / China
Thaddaeus Mueller, Business Development Manager, Fiducia Management Consultants

Thinking about the next step in your sourcing operations in Hong Kong and/or mainland China? If the answer is yes then this is the seminar for you.

The speaker will discuss the various strategic considerations that you need to know and weigh when expanding your business in Hong Kong/China. He will help you develop clear business objectives and analyze the best forms investments for your enterprise. He will provide an overview of sourcing developments and discuss some of the concerns buying operations are currently dealing with in China.

The seminar will also compare the benefits of having a Hong Kong trading company versus having a company in China. Practical tips and roadmap to setting up operations in Hong Kong/China will be discussed. Case studies on the following will likewise be provided:

•	Dividing power: Sourcing via Hong Kong in combination with a mainland China Representative Office
•	Lean Leverage: The advantages of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)

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PANTONE view colour planner Summer 2009
Maryann M.W. Wong, Business Development & Sales Manager, Fashion & Home, PANTONE Asia, Inc.

For next season we are looking more at a state of mind rather than any one specific trend in color. We should begin to focus on things that are not so obvious but now have more of a hidden factor.

We see a return to a more gregarious approach to color, which is important since this attitude celebrates the individual and makes people feel good about themselves. From a sociological standpoint much of this has to do with the fact that many people today have taken a proactive stance in their personal contributions to the betterment of our world.

But with all of this rationalization also comes a feeling of irrationality. We are at the beginning of a new social trend with changes in values that will be with us for a long time. Much of this has to do with the emergence of new markets and how the perceptions from Dubai to India and from China to Brazil can be very different from what is familiar in the traditional western world.

This however has created a desire for emerging fantasy. People all over the world are taking notice and look at each other as a source of inspiration but interpret those inspirations to suit themselves.

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The importer's guide to REACH: What importers and buyers need to understand
Bureau Veritas Hong Kong Ltd.

REACH — this complex new European legislation impacts roles and responsibilities across the supply chain. What does this mean for me as an importer, wholesaler or trading company, servicing the marketplace? How may the US market use REACH? This presentation breaks down the key components of REACH in this overview focused on the downstream effects that will impact many small business people.

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Intellectual property rights essentials in Hong Kong and China
Richard Keady, Partner, Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, Hong Kong

This seminar covers:

•	Overview of IP rights — Hong Kong and China
•	Licensing and Exploitation
•	Formalities in Registration and Licensing
•	Avoiding Pitfalls
•	Enforcement measures in Hong Kong and China

It also includes an update on the most recent developments in IP legislation and case law in both Hong Kong and China.

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Building quality relationships with your China suppliers
Bureau Veritas Hong Kong Ltd.

Understanding China vendors and their ability to meet your expectations regarding product quality, safety and compliance are key to successful sourcing from China. Hear from experienced local business account managers on how to effectively deal, negotiate and build relationships with Chinese companies with a specific focus on quality and compliance standards.

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About the speakers

Michael Leow is one Asia/Pacific region's most experienced speakers on lifestyle trends forecasting issues. Having worked in trends forecasting for nearly 10 years Michael has his own fashion trends forecasting sales agency representing 12 of the world's best rated fashion and lifestyle trends service is the Asia/Pacific region. Michael has presented seminars on trends forecasting issues at private companies such as Li & Fung and at leading regional trade shows such as Hong Kong Fashion Week, Interstoff Asia, Australian International Furniture Fair, to name a few. Michael is also a Lecturer at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University's Institute of Clothing and Textiles teaching Fashion Trends Forecasting and Analysis.

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Thaddaeus Mueller holds a master degree in Economics and Business Administration from the Catholic University of Eichstaett, Germany and studied at the Stellenbosch School of Business, South Africa and the Liberà Università di Bolzano, Italy. Before joining Fiducia Management Consultants in 2004, he worked in the automotive industry and in the fabrics and fibers division of a large US technology company. He has extensive experience in advising international clients about trading and sourcing structures in Hong Kong and China from industries as diverse as toys, machinery, packaging, textiles, lighting, furniture to name but a few.

Thaddaeus works as Business Development Manager with Fiducia Management Consultants (www.fiducia-china.com), a multidisciplinary firm focusing on Greater China Consultancy. Fiducia was founded in 1982 and provides a wide range of services to assist international companies in implementing, expanding or optimising their business activities in China and Hong Kong. With four offices strategically located in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen, and a multinational team of 100 experienced and dedicated staff, Fiducia provides Hong Kong and China solutions combining international expertise and local know-how.

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Maryann M.W. Wong is the Business Development & Sales Manager for PANTONE Fashion & Home. She joined the firm in 2003. In her current position, she has been instrumental in the business expansion of PANTONE® for fashion and home color system in the Asia Pacific region. Her wealth of experience has enabled her to understand and cater to the needs of her customers.

Maryann's exposure in the field is diverse. She started her career in apparel export; working for Mexx Consolidated (Far East) Ltd., the Gap (Far East) Ltd., Simint SPA — Armani Exchange and Mast Industries (Far East) Limited. She further pursued her career in the retail sectors in clothing and eyewear, marketing known brands such as "CLOSED" — casual & jeans wear, Vivienne Westwood, Krizia, United Colors of Benetton, Sisley in eyewear.

Maryann studied fashion and obtained her MBA from Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

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Richard Keady is a Partner admitted to practise in Hong Kong and in England & Wales. He has a degree in Chemistry from the University of Oxford. Richard has over 10 years' experience advising a variety of clients in relation to a broad range of intellectual property, IT and telecommunications disputes including infringement of patents, trademarks, copyrights, designs and other intellectual property rights. He has particular expertise in anti-piracy work. Richard has been resident in Hong Kong for over 7 years and during that time has worked on many of Hong Kong's highest profile IP disputes.

In addition to his litigation experience, Richard has also acted for clients in relation to non-contentious IP and IT matters, including in relation to telecommunications and outsourcing.

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