Road to London launched at 2008 Games

Aug 25, 2008

The extinguishing of the Beijing Olympic flame was the signal for the start of a major initiative by Think London, the foreign direct investment agency for London, which will encourage Chinese businesses to invest in London before the next Olympics starts.

Following the closing ceremony, a launch event was held at the Red Sandalwood Museum in Beijing which saw a branded London taxi setting off for a three month tour of 12 Chinese cities, taking the message to companies, that London is open for business and the ideal location for Chinese companies wishing to globalise. Deloitte will be sponsoring the Road to London and Think London’s primary partner is the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. The tour will also be supported by the Ministry of Commerce, China Investment Promotion Agency, All China Federation of Industry and Commerce, China Netcom, Bank of China and UK Trade and Investment. If Chinese organisations are looking to expand globally, free advice and support is available from Think London to help them set up in time for the 2012 Games.

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, as he sent Think London off on the start of its business tour, said: “The Beijing games have opened up China to the world, and we have all been inspired, impressed and amazed at what has been achieved. We now hope that the Road to London business tour, being launched today, will open up London to many Chinese companies so that they can be in London with us and part of our Olympics in four years time.”

Michael Charlton, Chief Executive of Think London, said: “By the time the Olympic flame is re-ignited in London in 2012 we want to have brought 30 new Chinese companies to the capital. There is a tremendous history of cooperation between the UK and China, and London represents a wealth of opportunity for Chinese companies. Growth in London is forecast at $80bn over the next four years with the 2012 Games contributing $8bn. The London Taxi donated by LTI, SLTI and Geely, represents the way London and China can work together, and we are delighted that this symbol of business partnership, and of London, will be visiting so many Chinese cities.”

At the launch event, two leading Chinese companies announced that they would be establishing bases in London.

GEONG International, a leading Chinese company in providing Enterprise Content Management (ECM) software products, announced that it would be establishing a base in London to be facilitated by Think London. Today Henry Tse, Executive Chairman of GEONG and London Mayor Boris Johnson signed a letter of intent announcing the move.

Henry Tse said: "Since its inception, our company strives to be a truly international enterprise. Investing in London is an important step to achieve this vision. In the 2009 fiscal year, we will strengthen our momentum in internationalisation and will expand our presence in Europe and North America."

Alibaba.com Limited also announced that in the near future it is going to open an office in London, again facilitated by Think London. The UK is Alibaba.com’s largest and most important market in Europe. Alibaba.com is the world's leading B2B e-commerce company, connecting millions of buyers and suppliers from around the world every day. Alibaba.com's three websites – for global trade, domestic trade in mainland China and trade with Japan – collectively form a business community of more than 30 million registered users from over 240 countries and regions. 

The Road to London starts from Beijing and will taking in the following cities and on the dates given below:

If you would like to find out more about our activities in China during this period, please contact us today .

Or visit our new china microsite: www.thinklondon.cn

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