Published on May 19, 2016
Tata Network Forum – China (TNF – China) held a meet in Shanghai on May 12, 2016. The meet saw the participation of more than 20 Tata executives from 13 Tata companies in China. Prakash Gupta, Consul General of Consulate General of India, Shanghai, and Shen Lan, economist from Standard Chartered Bank China, were invited as special guests to the event.
The meeting commenced with opening remarks by James Zhan, Chairman, TNF – China Region, followed by self-introductions by all the participants. Mr Zhan shared the agenda and explained the purpose of the TNF as:
- Developing greater visibility for the Tata brand in the region by creating opportunities for networking
- Sharing best practices and knowledge, and deliberating on challenges
- Creating a platform for senior leaders in China to discuss issues of mutual interest, explore political solutions and leverage opportunities.
Richard Shore, Acting Regional President, JLR Greater China, then presented an analysis of China’s macroeconomic and urbanisation process impacting people’s car purchasing behaviour. He also spoke about JLR China’s growth story and the dynamic market conditions, and went on to explain the company’s product development plan and ‘China strategy’. Mr Shore also shared his experience of working with TNF – Europe and highlighted the importance of the TNF platform.
This was followed by a presentation by Sujit Chatterjee, CEO, TCS China. Mr Chatterjee took the participants through a brief overview about TCS global and delved into the TCS China operations. Emphasising that TCS China had a long way to go in comparison to the company’s performance in western countries, he said that TCS China aspires to be among the top 10 IT services players in China by 2018.
After a short break, Ms Lan took the stage to give a brief macroeconomic overview of China and its one year forecast. During the presentation, she highlighted China’s monetary policy / fiscal policy change, interest rate, exchange rate, and GDP growth. As China’s macroeconomic condition is very relevant to the business environment in the country, as well as to other countries, the presentation attracted active interactions.
Next, NK Sharan, Vice President, Tata Business Excellence Group (TBExG), delivered a presentation regarding the journey and purpose of TBExG, the new initiatives launched by the company, best practices sharing and about TNF globally.
Later, Mr Gupta spoke about the steps taken by China and the Indian government, in recent years, to promote bilateral trade and investment. Highlighting the increasing Chinese investments in India, he encouraged Tata companies to explore business opportunities both in China and India, and assured the group of the Indian government’s support.
The programme concluded with Mr Zhan’s closing remarks, in which he briefly introduced the key functions at the Tata Sons Beijing office, including business development, government relations, CSR and branding activities. He also appealed to all the Tata companies in China to use the TNF platform to share experiences and best practices.
The event was engaging and interactive. The meet also saw participants discussing the formation of small interest groups for various functions such as government relations, human resources, corporate social responsibility, and branding for future TNF meetings.