By Li Yiwen Gu Xin

China–Italy–Ticino Family Business Cooperation Forum Held in Ningbo

By Li Yiwen Gu Xin

Nearly 200 family business leaders from China, Italy and Switzerland, experts, scholars and “Ningbo Enterprise Successors Union” met in Jiangbei District of Ningbo City on September 17 to attend the fi rst China Italy Ticino Family Business Cooperation Forum.

The Italian and Swiss Family Enterprises Associations were invited to participate in the forum, Zambon Pharmaceutical Group, the S0L Energy and Medical Technology Group and the Swiss CIB Bank. Moreover,20 representatives of nine other family enterprises joined the forum. It is the first time for Ningbo to have so many international family business leaders as guests, and for the city entrepreneurs to have such an opportunity for exchange and the chance to discuss, from multiple views, the family business innovation and entrepreneurship and to explore the prosperity of family business and ways of inheritance.As an important part of Ningbo private economy,Ningbo family business was born early and strong in the manufacturing industry. Among more than 20 million industrial enterprises in the city, more than 90% are family business. Apart from giving birth to many domestic and global "excellences", these family industries have irreplaceably contributied to Ningbo’s economy.

With the economic development entering the new situation, family enterprises are joining the opening reforms of the country.They’re facing chanllenges brought by development and transformation, but also the problem of intergenerational heritage. The majority of family businesses have followed the economic development mobilizing power of the whole society to help them with the introduction of talents, standardize governance, manage intergenerational transmission and other key issues, to make Ningbo’s economic transformation stable and sustainable.

From a global perspective, Italian and Swiss family businesses have a long history and good governance structure. Some family businesses survived for hundreds of years throughout the chaos of war, political troubles and economic changes, and they still have a strong development potential. Currently, world's top 9 of the 20 most ancient family businesses are from Italy and Switzerland. These have a lean product, high-end brand and a long history and heritage of national cultural spirit, experience that could give a great contribution to the promotion of regional economic development and knowledge of Ningbo’s family businesses.

Representatives from China, Italy and Switzerland were invited to give lectures during the forum. Professor Guido Corbetta from Bocconi University of Milan and head of the Italian Family Enterprises Management Course gave a speech on “A hundred years heritage of Italian family enterprises - brand and craftsman spirit”.Professor Gianluca Columbus, who teaches at the Swiss USI University and is also Dean of AMC School of Management, gave a lecture titled “Inheritance of Swiss Family Enterprises for one hundred years -Wealth Management of Family Enterprises”. Professor Chen Ling, Dean of Zhejiang University Institute for Entrepreneurs, spoke on China's Family Enterprises towards a hundred years.

The forum also carried the theme “Heritage Dialogue between China and the West，to Build a lasting foundation”. Distinguished guests were invited to attend, including Ms. Elena Zambon, President of Italian Family Enterprise Association, Chairman of Zambon Pharmaceutical Group and Mr. Mirko Audemars, General Manager of Audemars Group and the entrepreneurs of Ningbo Enterprise Successors Union. Furthermore, in order to further promote the cooperation between China, Italy and Switzerland,Ningbo International Talents Exchange Association and Ningbo Enterprise Successors Union signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Italian and Swiss Family Business Associations. Participating Italian and Swiss companies also promoted their projects. In the evening,the local venture capital institutions in Ningbo and the entrepreneurs of our city and the foreign guests conducted a dialogue and exchange in the form of salon.The forum live webcast click rate surpassed 170,000 at that day.

In recent years, supported by the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, Ningbo Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs set up a series of market intelligence service platform. This forum set up a platform of Italian and Swiss family business exchanges and cooperation to help Ningbo family enterprises learn advanced management concept, and help Italian and Swiss family businesses to gain a better understanding of Ningbo. Creating conditions suitable for talent,project and investment cooperation is very important in attracting Italy and Swiss enterprises to stay here and invest in Ningbo and enter the Chinese market. Through sincere and pragmatic cooperation, the forum will become a beautiful business card to promote friendly exchanges between China, Italy and Switzerland. Next time, this event will be taken as an opportunity to actively build and normalize cooperation mechanisms between the three family business associations, attract more well-known international family enterprises to participate in the forum, so that the forum can become a service enterprise brand activities in Ningbo, boosting the city's vast number of private enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises in transition and upgrading.

Signing Ceremony