Peru's firms peruse growth in China

Roberto Vargas, sales director of Agricola Norsur, a fruit supplier in Peru, made his first visit to the Chinese mainland in the hope of increasing the export of mandarins and blueberries to China.

"Currently, our company exports around 100 tons of mandarins to China a year, and we hope to increase the amount to up to 1,000 metric tons next year. I'm also looking forward to exporting 1.5 to 2 million kilograms of blueberries to China in the next three to four years," he said.

As a member of 25 Peruvian companies, associations and chambers of commerce, his firm attended a face-to-face meeting with 50 Chinese companies in Beijing on Tuesday, which was organized by the Chinese government and Bank of China Ltd, to discuss opportunities for business cooperation and investment.

During his meeting with Chinese companies, the vice-chairman of China Crop Protection Industry Association expressed her interest in selling pesticide to Peru. Vargas said his company is a huge consumer of pesticide, so it is highly possible for him to increase business with Chinese companies that produce quality pesticide.

Olivio Huancaruna Perales, president of Lambayeque Chamber of Commerce and Production, said his top priority during the visit was to seek Chinese companies' investment in port construction in Peru due to their great advantages in financing, construction and technologies, and to promote e-commerce transactions between the two countries.

Xiao Lijun, general manager of the preparatory team of the BOC's Peru Representative Office, said Chinese investment in Peru exceeded $14 billion by the end of 2015, and the number of Chinese companies in the Latin American nation reached more than 170.

"Apart from traditional sectors such as energy and mining, a growing number of Chinese companies have shown a great interest in other Peruvian industries, such as railway construction, agriculture, real estate and finance. We're trying to help Chinese companies explore the Peruvian market and help China import more superior products from Peru," he said.

Tian Guoli, chairman of BOC, said the bank has devoted great efforts to support international trade and investment cooperation. Ever since 2014, the BOC has organized 23 cross-border business matchmaking events for more than 8,000 Chinese and foreign companies from 52 countries and regions.

Tian said the Chinese banking regulator has given BOC permission to set up a representative office in Peru, and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, president of Peru, said he will rapidly push forward the upgrading of the bank's representative office to that of a branch.

Peru is looking to promote its industrialization through infrastructure construction and investment. Kuczynski said his country is seeking cooperation with Chinese companies to import mining technologies in high altitude areas from China and to build a main railway line that will increase the population of Lima, Peru's capital, to 20 million people in a few years.