Irish firms seal deals worth €50m in China
FOUR Irish businesses have signed deals with Chinese partners valued at €50m in total.
The four Enterprise Ireland-backed firms operate in the healthcare, skincare, medtech and diagnostics sectors.
Among those confirming new partnerships is Irish Breeze, which has signed an agreement with website JD.com, one of the largest business-to-consumer online retailers in China by transaction volume and revenue.
Irish Breeze now plans to achieve sales of €25m within five years for its Water Wipes.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Sophia Zhang, head of business development for Irish Breeze in China, said the commitment of JD.com will help Irish Breeze in its expansion. “Once we fully know how to do business in this market we will consider adding more products into the market, but that won’t happen this year or next year,” Ms Zhang said.
The other Irish companies include Reagecon Diagnostics, a chemical and physical standards company, which has signed a distribution agreement with Beijing Thorigin worth €10m over five years.
Meanwhile, healthcare and medical products manufac- turer Solvotrin Therapeutics and Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical have entered an exclusive distribution agreement in the Chinese market for Solvotrin’s product Active Iron.
The deal is worth €15m per year over three years. The fourth company, Novaerus, has secured a three-year distribution agreement with Hangzhou Door Import & Export worth €760,000 in product purchasing. The deals were announced at the inaugural China International Import Exhibition (CIIE), the world’s largest trade exhibition.
Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation Heather Humphreys, who is leading the six-day Enterprise Ireland trade mission to China, described the agreements as “a testament to the hard work undertaken by Irish companies and the support offered by the Government through Enterprise Ireland”.
“Our presence at CIIE demonstrates Ireland’s commitment to China and the wider Asia-Pacific region, and I am delighted we had such positive outcomes from our engagement at the event.”
Hostelworld, Glen Dimplex, Emerald Green Baby, Cartoon Saloon, PM Group, Orbis and PPI are also showcasing under the ‘Irish Advantage’ banner.
Julie Sinnamon, CEO of Enterprise Ireland, said there is great opportunity for Irish exporters to build on existing trade links with China and “to further develop the country’s exporting market in the greater APAC [Asia-Pacific] region.”