By Penny Liu

The third state-owned-enterprises (SOE) training workshop held on Jan. 24-29 at the Chamber's theatre attracted over 50 senior executives from 20 mainland provinces and municipalities.

The workshop, entitled "Attracting Foreign Funds in China's SOE Reform," was co-organised by the Chamber and China Enterprise Confederation (CEC).

At the opening ceremony, Chamber Chairman C C Tung applauded the success of the previous two workshops and expressed his hopes that the programmes would continue. Future workshops could provide SOE management with information on global trends and corporate image building skills, both of which are urgently needed by SOEs planning to compete in the international market, he said.

CEC Deputy Director-general Chen Zhong commented in his opening speech that the mainland's two-decade-old SOE reform has run into some challenges. However, SOEs should learn from successful foreign and SAR enterprises to spur their development, he said.

General Director of the Training Department of the State Economic and Trade Commission Wang Zhongming said demand for education and training services would rise to cope with the enormous demand in the mainland. He also expressed his appreciation to the Chamber and CEC for organising the SOE workshops and called for further cooperation to expand the scope of training.

A total of 10 Hong Kong professionals from the legal, accounting, investment and securities sectors shared their expertise with attendees through a series of talks and presentations. Among topics discussed were requirements for listing on overseas markets and current international business practices. Lecturers also provided examples of successful corporate competitiveness and human resources management.

Executive Director of Tianjin Development Holdings Limited Dong Ming presented attendees with his analysis on the prospective developments of overseas capital markets. He also reminded mainland entrepreneurs planning to list on overseas markets to note several key aspects when restructuring.

In addition to generating good profits and having a clear growth plan, Mr Dong said companies must be able to operate independently. Companies must also expand the quality and breadth of their investor base to prepare for future expansion.

Three keynote speakers ?Tim Fu, deputy managing director of BNP Prime Peregrine, Robert Xie, director of Simplex Capital Hong Kong, and Brooke Gai, managing director of Global Assets Investment ?each offered different strategies for raising funds overseas.

Among the key issues overseas investors look for are a company's interest in such sectors as high-tech industries, the Internet, and the state's main industries, they said.

Also, it is important that senior management possess substantial experience in the company so that they have sound business management skills, and that their communication skills are well polished to work with investors.

SOEs must also be prudent in utilising funds, be accountable for their investment strategies and operate under a transparent system, they said.

Jacquelin S T Chiu of Johnson Stokes & Master, and Raymond Ng, partner of Ernest & Young, both outlined systematically the legal, accounting and auditing requirements for listing overseas. They also explained to executives relevant procedures, including verification, corporate restructuring, drafting of prospectus and other documents for public listing.

Julie Mu, assistant director of the Community Relations Department, ICAC, touched upon investors' concerns over the quality of corporate management. Ms Mu addressed the issue of how companies can strike a balance between the interests of shareholders and employees, and their obligations towards customers and society.

Among the major obstacles hindering mainland enterprises?path to development are inefficiency and a lack of creativity. The inability to read business trends and reluctance to streamline operations and trim excess personnel to ease their financial burden also needs to be addressed if the mainland's SOEs are to operate profitably.

At the closing ceremony, Wang Shulin, vice president of China Lucky Colour Group, speaking on behalf of the participants, said SOE training courses provided a useful vehicle for mainland enterprises to bring to fruition their reforms.

"They provide valuable information on how to utilise foreign funds for SOE reform which is helping us seek more opportunities for development," he said.