STORY: S. African enterprises seeking business opportunities at China consumer expo
SHOOTING TIME: April 17, 2024
DATELINE: April 18, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:20
LOCATION: HAIKOU, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the 4th China Int'l Consumer Products Expo
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): PALESA MILLICENT NANGU, CEO of African Innovation Solutions under Sekunjalo Investment Holdings
3. various of the 4th China Int'l Consumer Products Expo
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): MARTEN RAMON CROSS, Director of The Diamond Shoppe

STORYLINE:

The 4th China Int'l Consumer Products Expo concluded Thursday in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province.

South African enterprises are eagerly seeking business opportunities as Hainan ramps up efforts to develop itself into a free trade port.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): PALESA MILLICENT NANGU, CEO of African Innovation Solutions under Sekunjalo Investment Holdings
"As we have seen in and around the world, China's market is a promising one. With that being said, Sekunjalo is looking into potentially investing within China.
Attending the expo in 2024, which is the 4th China International Consumer Products Expo, is just for us to seek partnerships to expand on our cooperation within China and to look at what potential cooperations there might be within the fields that we are segmented within.
Some of the areas we would look into: the digital economy, technology, sustainability, and other fields that the company is involved in."

Companies from South Africa attend this year's expo, showcasing their diamonds, wines and furniture.

It is the first time that South African companies have attended the event.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): MARTEN RAMON CROSS, Director of The Diamond Shoppe
"This is the first time that we've come to the expo. We heard about it, obviously, because the whole new Hainan drive for the duty-free and tax-free zone made it very appealing for us to maybe come and try this out.  
So far, we've very much enjoyed it because the attendance has been very high. There are a lot of people here, but not just individuals that are interested in the products, but also the opportunity to cooperate with local businesses. So it's been very interesting for our first time in Hainan."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Haikou, China.
(XHTV)