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HOW often have business people trying to do business in Asia been frustrated by the way in which promising deals seem to evaporate for reasons that are never quite clear?
 How often have they been shocked to discover that their business partner also appears to be working with competitors?
Or to find that the approval for some activity given by one government department is negated by another government department?
Business people who are familiar with the way in which business is done in Asia, and with the undercurrents that govern politics, business and ethnic relations in some parts of Asia, will be more comfortable and better prepared in negotiating with Asian partners -- and they will enjoy their time in Asia more!
Transformation
The Asia Research Centre has spent the last six years studying the economic, political and social changes that are rapidly transforming Asia.
Many of its staff have been working in, or studying, Asia for much longer, and speak a number of Asian languages.
Some of its staff have worked in government or the private sector, and therefore have experience and contacts that go well beyond the academic sector.
These skills, and a strong university-based research infrastructure, are available to the private sector. The Centre provides consultancy services -- for example political and economic risk analysis -- for construction and other major projects.
It can arrange tailor-made briefing and training sessions, for instance, for companies contemplating a new market or a new type of business in Asia.
It can provide quick research service for companies wanting anything from up-to-date information on mining laws in Vietnam, the state of health care services in Sarawak, to the latest deregulation package in Indonesia, using a range of print and electronic information sources. It can answer your quick questions, or it can provide in-depth research and analysis.
The Centre has provided briefing/training sessions for Wesfarmers, Heytesbury Holdings, the Department of Commerce and Trade, a group of architects and engineers under the auspices of the Institute of Architects, a group of arts services exporters, and has provided research services for a range of companies including World Geoscience, and several other mining and mining services and information technology companies.
Consultancies
Some of the Centre's work is available only to the body that commissioned it, but the Centre's published consultancy work includes:
- the implications for Australia of the economic integration of southern China (for Foreign Affairs and Trade)
- the efficiency of multilateral banks (for AIDAB)
- the economy and investment climate of Hainan Island (for Foreign Affairs and Trade/Clough Engineering)
- Guide to Doing Business in Vietnam (For WA Department of Commerce and Trade)
- Agribusiness Opportunities in Sumatra and East Java (for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation)
- natural resource management in the Mekong River Basin and the implications for Australian development assistance (for AusAID)
- various reports on the export of education services to Asia.
Cost-effective
When businesses assess the cost in time and money of sending executives to explore a new Asian market, it can be very cost-effective to take advantage beforehand of the existing knowledge that can be made available from the Asia Research Centre.
This will help businesses to get to grips with the new environment better and faster, and their understanding of the local business environment will gain the respect of potential Asian partners.
The Centre is happy to help businesses in any way, from a simple telephone call or meeting for advice, to full-scale commissioned research, and anything in between.
The Director of the Asia Research Centre, Professor Richard Robison (far right) with the Premier of WA Mr Richard Court, the Centre's Deputy Directory Ms Cisca Spencer and the President of the Hong Kong Australia Business Association (WA) Mr Wilson Wu.
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