CHINA> Interview
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CHINA> Interview
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Buying a slice of 'China story'
By Qi Xiao (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-10 08:51 Sitting in his office, he comes across as any other CEO, constantly interrupted by phone calls and visitors. But his staff betray his identity when they address him as "Dashi" or Ambassador.
When asked about his decision to start a business, he says: "There used to be an advertisement on American television for a razor blade. The CEO of this company appeared on screen shaving and said 'I liked the shave so much that I bought the company'," says Balloch, 58. "Although I didn't buy China, I like the China story so much that when I came to the end of five-and-a-half years as ambassador here, I said: 'What I really would like to do is stay here and participate in this extraordinary story of economic and social change and growth'," he explains. Balloch hit the headlines in Canada when he set up TBG, an advisory and merchant banking firm, in Beijing in 2001 after his ambassadorial tenure in China ended. Some lauded his courage, and some called him "nuts". But, he says, he has never regretted his decision "for a minute", and is glad his family extended the utmost support. "They say it was the smartest decision I have ever made," he says. "Having served as ambassador in as important a country as China for a long time, I didn't want to serve as ambassador anywhere else. I would be bored. What I needed was a change." Founded in 2001 with only two members, one of whom was Balloch, TBG now boasts a team of 55, with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Toronto and New York. The group's businesses cover a range of sectors, including healthcare, education, financial services, clean energy and natural resources, with more than 40 clients from Europe, Asia and America. Only recently, TBG was exclusive financial advisor to Wuhan Iron and Steel Group, one of China's major steel-makers, for its $240 million strategic investment in TSX-listed Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Limited. The group is considering setting up more offices in China, especially in the so-called "second-tier" cities in inland areas. "Representation in the inside (China) is a high priority (for us)," he says. "Because cities like Chongqing, Chengdu or Xi'an are big, active ones with large populations and many active companies and because our focus is in part on supporting emerging small- and medium-sized enterprises. We believe being in these cities will give us a better knowledge of and better ability to support those companies." He is particularly impressed by the dynamism and "entrepreneurial spirit" in such cities as Chongqing, Shenyang and Wuhan in the ongoing economic crisis and pointed out that investors will have everything to lose if they neglect "China's inside". But the process is, and will not be, all plain sailing, Balloch admits. "Setting up and running businesses here is like the Tour de France. You need to have a lot of endurance, and there are many, many up hills that are hard to climb. You may even fall off your bicycle from time to time," he says with a laugh. "But in the end, there are also a lot of good down hills. And you end up with a very smooth ride on the flat The trick is to get to know people you are doing business with." As a former ambassador, Balloch knows all about understanding the local culture and integrating into the local community: Only four members of his staff, including himself, are non-ethnic Chinese, and they all speak "fluent" or "superb" Chinese. "Our ability to work with local entrepreneurs and work with small- and medium-sized enterprises may differentiate us from some of the big investment banks," he says. "Our company is a Chinese company," is how he always introduces his group. Balloch's fascination with China originated in the photographs and paintings left by his tea-trading grandfather who lived in Fuzhou, capital of East China's Fujian province, for more than 20 years in the late 19th century. His interest in China is such that he wrote both his honors and master's thesis on China. He has been to every province of China except Taiwan, his wife's ancestral home is in Fujian and one of his children studied Chinese in college. For him, China has always been part of "a family story" and Beijing has long been home. "If you ask my children, who are studying in McGill University in Montreal, Canada, 'what are you going to do during Christmas', they will say 'We will go to Beijing, to my home'."
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