Prime Minister Opens Trade Office in Shanghai

Shanghai, 10 November

Prime Minister Janez Jansa inaugurated an office of the Public Agency for Entrepreneurship and Foreign Investment (JAPTI) in China's financial capital on Saturday as part of his official trip to the country. Jansa and his entourage also visited the subsidiary of Slovenian electrical components maker Iskra Avtoelektrika near Shanghai.

The new Slovenian business office is expected to help to boost Slovenian exports and investment as well as encourage the creation of joint ventures with Chinese partners, said Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak, who is accompanying Jansa on his China trip. Vizjak believes this will in turn contribute to making bilateral trade more balanced. Slovenia's exports to China last year amounted to EUR 79.1m, while imports were at EUR 256.6m.
JAPTI boss Peter Jesovnik said the office in Shanghai would serve Slovenian and Chinese companies entering the respective market, while it would focus on small- and medium-sized businesses. The experiences of other such offices abroad have shown that they play a vital role in the promotion of trade and economic growth, he said.
The Shanghai office, whose location had been selected on the basis of detailed research, is the fifth JAPTI office abroad. The first four opened in Italy, Germany, Turkey and Romania in 2006. Apart from the one in Shanghai, two more offices will be opened this year in more distant, but promising markets - Russia and Brazil.
Before attending the inauguration ceremony in Shanghai, the Slovenian delegation headed by PM Jansa visited the Iskra Avtoelektrika subsidiary in Taicang, 70 kilometres off Shanghai. Iskra Suzhou Autoelectric is a joint-venture in which the Slovenian company holds a 93% stake. Founded in 2005, it currently employs 91 people and it generated US$ 9m in sales last year, nearly half of it on export markets.

Prime Minister Opens Trade Office in Shanghai

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