Businesses prosper by staying connected to Chinese market

Arnd Kaldowski, CEO of Sonova Group, is a good example of stressing the importance of the Chinese market by both speech and action.

When Switzerland-based hearing-care solution firm Sonova released its half-year financial report last month, Kaldowski and his colleagues phoned me right away.

It was a first for me to receive a transcontinental call from a global CEO in my 18-year career as a journalist.

"I am happy to answer any of your questions," Kaldowski said in a light tone. "China has performed well, and we are focusing on building more capability and interaction with Chinese consumers."

During the 20-minute interview, Kaldowski talked about his firm confidence in the Chinese market, the trend being higher-tech and more fashionable hearing aids, his love for Shanghai and his expectations of closer partnerships with digital platforms including Tencent and Alibaba.

In the first half of financial year 2021/22, Sonova saw strong sales growth.

The consolidated sales of Sonova reached 1.603 billion Swiss francs (US$1.74 billion), up 48.5 percent in local currencies, while China saw a double-digit sales growth that did not put in details in the report.

The interview turned out to be 'exclusive' to China.

"It was an interview against the backdrop of the half-year results. It was an exclusive interview given to Chinese media against this background," Sonova said.

If there is something special, it was due to the potential of the Chinese market.

As Kaldowski said, Sonova has heavy investments in China, and as a frequent traveler to the country before the COVID-19 pandemic, he was eager to interact more with this market. The call he made is a reflection of actions usually speaking louder than words.

Albeit the impact of the pandemic, multinational companies are trying hard to keep connection with the Chinese market, with foreign investment continuing a steady pace of increase.

In the first 10 months of this year, China's foreign direct investment jumped 17.8 percent from a year ago to reach 943 billion yuan (US$142 billion), keeping a healthy growth momentum.

Like a magnet, the Chinese market has been attractive in its own way. Events like the China International Import Expo have shown the country's determination of further opening-up and its commitment to globalization, which creates today's multinational companies.

In a world of such integration, a pandemic, any country's love-hate attitude, or even boycott between markets, is hardly to change the ever-increasing intertwined relations of trade and investment cross the world.

Kaldowski said that Sonova's participation in CIIE could be an interesting option, knowing that it has been proven a success for many companies and that the same can be true for Sonova.