Moore Stephens China Africa Desk takes delegation to Beijing, China
A delegation from accounting and consulting firm, Moore Stephens, has been on a breakthrough visit to Beijing, and has signaled strong prospects of attracting more trade and investment between African countries and China.
The delegation of partners and clients from South Africa and Cameroon met with Moore Stephens Da Hua in Beijing, and interacted with partners and clients on business opportunities in Africa.
The visit is the largest ever undertaken by Moore Stephens (MS) partner firms in Africa to China.
“The MS Africa delegation visit to the Moore Stephens offices and meetings with key clients in the energy, mining, financial services and construction sectors presents a significant opportunity for investment into Africa, as well as improved business relationships across the board,” said Olivier Barbeau, Deputy Chairman of Moore Stephens South Africa. Barbeau has already carried out several successful Chinese mining transactions in South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Moore Stephens, through its member firm network across Africa, sees potential in impacting the growth of the continent in a proactive way via targeted Business 2 Business initiatives.
The visit, the culmination of a year of planning, was initiated by Margie Alt, the Moore Stephens Africa China Desk leader. “The Africa China desk was set up to facilitate closer collaboration and maximise the great potential within our mutual client networks,” said Alt.
“It was clear from our Africa Day in Beijing that there are many opportunities that we can work together on, and we are confident that our Beijing meetings will lead to positive spinoffs for Moore Stephens, both in Africa and China.”
Alt, who has been learning Mandarin to more effectively communicate with the firm members, as well as future clients, has been instrumental in developing the strong relationship with Moore Stephens Da Hua in China, which has more than 3,800 professional staff in 23 offices across the the country.
“We started with discussions in Berlin in 2014 around the broader market opportunities and the result is the visit to Beijing this week,” said Liang Chun, Chairman of the Moore Stephens China region.
“We look forward to the international business client opportunities our partners have identified and the support that the Moore Stephens Africa desk will bring to our partners through their knowledge and experience of the African continent,” he added.
The Moore Stephens delegation is focusing on opportunities in the energy, mining, manufacturing, construction, transport, financial services, IT / telecoms and agricultural sectors, where huge growth potential exists, said Jeff Blackbeard, Moore Stephens Africa Strategy Advisor.
"Over the past three years Moore Stephens has been expanding its client service network across the African continent and now the firm is moving into the next exciting phase of business development."
Blackbeard said the China visit would be followed up by planned Business 2 Business events in selected African venues and in other Moore Stephens regional meetings to ensure the company adds value to it clients across the Africa region.
Moore Stephens hopes the interaction will spark significant business opportunities, on the back of increasing globalisation which has changed the way goods and service are produced.
“Global companies have re-organised their operations geographically to address production and sourcing requirements. Fast-developing global value chains offer new opportunities for the transformation of African countries to capitalise at specific stages of the chain,” said Blackbeard.
In 2013, Africa maintained an average growth rate of about 4%, with Africa´s average growth projected to accelerate to close to between 5% and 6% in 2015. Global value chain integration could accelerate structural transformation in Africa if combined with upgrading infrastructure, boosting skills and creating jobs.
“As China gradually changes its position in the global economy, this will allow Africa to increasingly participate in global value chains,” said Blackbeard.
CAPTIONS FOR PHOTOGRAPHS
AFRICA MEETS ASIA: Some of the Moore Stephens partners from South Africa and Cameroon after their meeting in Beijing with Moore Stephens China, aimed at boosting investment and business partnerships between the two regions.
BOOSTING CHINA-AFRICA INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES: Liang Chun, Moore Stephens China Chairman, with Olivier Barbeau, Deputy Chairman of Moore Stephens South Africa, meet in Beijing to explore trade and investment opportunities.
TOWARDS THE FUTURE: Margie Alt, Moore Stephens Africa China Desk Director; Liung Chun, Moore Stephens China Chairman; Olivier Barbeau, MS Deputy Chairman South Africa; Jeff Blackbeard, MS Africa Strategy Advisor; and Gaolei Li, MS China representative, meet in Beijing in June 2015.
ABOUT MOORE STEPHENS
Moore Stephens South Africa has been operating since 2003 and is part of the Moore Stephens International Network (MSI), one of the world’s major accounting and consulting networks with 292 independent firms and 626 offices in 103 countries. Ranked 11th internationally by the International Accounting Bulletin, the firm is fast-growing with a modern, innovative and dynamic approach to the profession.