Mr. Maxime Verhagen, Vice Prime Minister & Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation of the Netherlands – together with a large business delegation of 45 companies from the Netherlands - visited China from May 9 to 14.
New investment projects
During his visit he met with the CEOs and senior executives of some 20 Chinese companies – from state-owned enterprises to SME’s – and discussed their existing and future plans to invest in the Netherlands. There was strong interest from such sectors as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, logistics, bio-tech and telecommunications, to capitalize on the strengths of the Netherlands as Europe’s logistics hub, its favorable tax and customs regulatory climate, and its innovative capacity in key industry sectors.
Chinese service companies are entering the Netherlands. After the opening of the Amsterdam branch of China’s largest bank ICBC in January, China’s largest travel and tourism group, China International Travel Services (CITS), set up a visa handling center in The Hague in April. It further announced during the SinoDutch trade dinner on May 12 that it will open its European headquarters also in The Hague later in the year.
During the visit many of the existing Chinese investors in the Netherlands also expressed their intention to further expand their presence. For instance, the world’s second largest telecom equipment manufacturer, Huawei Technology has expanded its operations in the Netherlands from 5 staff in 2005 to over 260 this year, including their Benelux headquarters, a European supply chain center, a European Hosting center and a financial management company. During the visit of the Vice Prime Minister to Huawei R & D Center in Shanghai on May 12, Huawei has indicated their intentions to further expand their presence in The Netherlands.
More Chinese investments into NL, and acquisitions of Dutch companies. In the last 2 years there has been an increase of Chinese investments and acquisitions of Dutch companies in a wide range of different industries such dairy products, software design, automotive and tooling. Early this year, the Chinese company Ausnutria Dairy took a majority share in Dutch milk-powder producer Hyproca. Most recently, NFIA assisted with the acquisition of Mapscape by Chinese car navigation system manufacturer Navinfo, and on May 11 the company signed a confirmation letter of their investment. Navinfo is already China’s market leader in

this industry and through the expansion of Mapscape’s R & D capacity in the Netherlands they will further strengthen their global position in this industry.
“Chinese companies are very welcome in the Netherlands, whether they make greenfield investments or invest in existing Dutch businesses. I would ike to stress that the Dutch government treats all foreign investors, including those from China, equally,” commented Verhagen.
Intensifying bilateral investment promotion: As part of the visit to MOFCOM, Vice Minister Gao Hucheng on May 11, the First Vice Prime Minister witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on biateral investment promotion between The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency and their Chinese counterpart, the Investment Promotion Agency under the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. The MoU is intended to intensify cooperation between China and The Netherlands by exchanging information on investment environment and by cooperating in joint investment promotion activities. Following the list of priority industries by the Dutch Ministry Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation (MELI), focus will be on food & nutrition, horticulture, high-tech, life sciences, chemical industry, new energy, ogistics, creative industry.
Background on Chinese investments in The Netherlands
Chinese investments in the Netherlands are growing to over 300 companies. The Netherlands is the primary destination for Chinese companies to set up their European distribution center (EDC) in EU, largely due to the European logistic hub functions of the Rotterdam/Amsterdam Ports, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and efficiency of Dutch Customs. Over 40% of Chinese exports enter Europe via The Netherlands and in the last twelve months The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) has been facilitating such arge Chinese corporations as white-goods multinational Midea, machinery manufacturer Liugong and medical device manufacturer Mindray setting up their EDC or European headquarters in The Netherlands.
New trend - growing Chinese interest in Dutch talents in creative and biotech industries: Chinese manufacturers of consumer goods are teaming up with Dutch companies and talents in product design and marketing to adapt their own brands to the tastes of the different European markets. The world’s third largest baby stroller manufacturer GoodBaby – headquartered in Jiangsu Province - recently set up their European R & D center in Utrecht to localize their products to the tastes and specific needs of the various European markets. Also in the area of bio-tech, Chinese and Dutch companies are setting up joint ventures to engage in research and global marketing. “Dutch and Chinese businesses complement each other’s core competences, creating new ventures that are more competitive and successful in the global market,”stressed Dutch First Vice Prime Minister Maxime Verhagen at a CEO Roundtable luncheon with large Chinese corporations in Beijing.