Chamber Alley : The Leverage of Numbers - Vol. 21, NO. 6 NOVEMBER

[ Trade & Products > Chamber Alley ]

an a foreign chamber of commerce with 50 members or less attract a speaker of the caliber of a cabinet minister and provide its membership with the networking benefits such a contact necessarily affords?

  Smaller chambers in Korea are discovering big chamber advantages by pooling their resources to attract top political personalities. A recent cooperative trend between the Canadian, Italian, Australian, and British chambers has shown how such organizations can raise the profile of their membership

  “Since our initial talks began in March of 2003, we have jointly organized three events,” explained Canadian chamber executive director (CCCK) executive director John Broden. “A Forbes Commonwealth Golf Tournament was held in May (without the Italian-Korean Business Association, IKBA); a luncheon in June featured Korean Minister of Unification, Jeong Se-Hyun as speaker, and at an upcoming breakfast meeting Nov. 6th, Minister of Trade, Hwang Doo-Yeon will be our guest.”

  The results of this cooperation are “an added level of enthusiasm at our joint events,” continued Mr. Broden. “It’s always nice to meet new persons and to hear viewpoints that we might not ordinarily be privy to. There might also be an added sense of common purpose in dialoguing with the Korean government in a mutually beneficial way.”

  UP CLOSE & PERSONAL WITH THE POWER BROKERS Said British chamber (BCCK) chair Alan Timblick of the group, “It’s not a third voice,’ but an altern ative to the European Union (EUCCK), American (AMCHAM) and Japanese chambers (Seoul-Japan Club).” The combined memberships of the four chambers, he said, “give you a little leverage because of the numbers involved and help pull in more attractive speakers.”

  Said Roberto Mengoni, first secretary commercial at the Italian embassy and chair of the IKBA, “Small business associations here do not have the leverage to get a VIP speaker, but then we received an offer from Mr. Broden at the Canadian chamber, a chamber bigger than ours, but smaller than the American or EU chambers.”

  The question for Mr. Mengoni was, whether the Italian association should join forces to attract a minister, “I thought, Why not?’ It was a good idea from the point of view of attracting speakers,” he said, “and also as way to raise the awareness of our association and encourage membership.”

  Conversations between Mr. Mengoni and Mr. Broden focused on holding joint activities such a golf tournament and then mooted the possibility of holding a joint luncheon. “We’re very happy with the outcome of our joint meetings,” Mr. Mengoni said.

  Les Edwards, chair of the Australia New Zealand chamber (ANZCCK) said that the combined membership of the four cooperating chambers is 650 versus approximately 2,000 for AMCHAM and the EUCCK and 1,000 for the Seoul-Japan Club.

  “You can then say to a minister you wish to invite, Look, there will be a potential audience of 600 foreign business people,” he said, adding that speakers of a certain caliber would not be available to a smaller chamber. The four-chamber initiative provides the chance “to meet high-level government members close-up,” said Mr. Edwards. “As a member of AMCHAM I wouldn’t get the chance to meet a minister, but being on the board of the four chambers, I will.”

  Mr. Edwards also drew attention to the fact that the initiative might serve to enhance the visibility of the individual chambers within the greater Korean business community as represented by the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), the body to which all Korean businesses are required to be members. By way of example, he pointed out that under the charter of association of the Korea International Business Council, an association of the KCCI and all foreign chambers, the Australia/New Zealand chamber was grouped regionally under the Seoul-Japan Club and the Canadian chamber was listed with AMCHAM.

  GIVING BACK TO SOCIETY Mr. Timblick, however, stressed that the group was by no means a new lobby and that its focus was on attracting speakers and “had not reached the level of a joint business meeting.”

  Said Mr. Edwards: “We all have our own separate agendas.”
  For the Canadian business community Mr. Broden said the group provides “A sense of common purpose and being part of the greater whole.” He added that the group provided occasions to meet a cross-section of the foreign expatriate community from time to time and discover common areas of interest across chambers. “By virtue of contrast, this process also highlights the unique needs of our own chamber.”

  For the long term, Mr. Broden envisaged the group continuing to seek new partners and viewpoints as well as support the development of Korea as the business hub for Northeast Asia, a project that also includes diverting investment to locations beyond the metropolitan area of the capital and surrounding Gyeonggi province. He also saw an opportunity for the group to contribute to the underprivileged in Korean society.

  “I personally hope that our chambers may later find sufficient common ground to jointly hold a charity event,” said Mr. Broden. “Korean hospitality is beyond compare, and business associations such as ourselves, although non-profit and run on shoestring budgets at the best of times, have a social obligation to give back to Korean society.”