Brenton McPherson says SPL WorldGroup will leverage Hong Kong's reputation as it expands across the region

US-based SPL WorldGroup, a leading provider of software solutions for the global utility market, has set up a regional office in Hong Kong to meet growing regional demand from energy, water and service utilities.

The new office will enable SPL to offer local support to its Asia-Pacific customers, which include Hong Kong Water Supplies Department and Taiwan Power.

Brenton McPherson, senior vice-president and managing director, Asia-Pacific, said SPL's expanded regional presence compliments the company's previously established offices in Australia and is part of the company's global growth plan of opening strategically placed offices in the Asia-Pacific. It has also recently opened an office in Singapore.

"The new offices and teams are integral to our success in the Asia-Pacific. With deregulation and privatisation underway we will build on our success to date and increase our Asia-Pacific market share by competing on reliability, breadth of product and, most importantly, return on investment for our customers."

Effective business platform

Mr McPherson said Hong Kong offers the company several key attributes. It has a well established and focused electricity/gas/water industry with a significant domestic market. Hong Kong is also one of the more mature markets in Asia in terms of information technology, he said. "This has enabled us to go in and start doing business effectively, as opposed to some centres. Hong Kong is advanced in that respect.

"Also, when we were looking at office locations in Asia, we wanted stability, ease of set-up, solid legal and financial back-up - Hong Kong has all of those. Its fantastic transportation system means we can fly easily from Hong Kong to other Asian destinations, and efficiently travel within Hong Kong as well."

Having a regional office in Hong Kong adds credibility to a foreign company, and gives it a foothold into China, Mr McPherson added.

"When we were looking to establish a presence in Asia, we thought Hong Kong was a good place to put our flag down. It gives us a lot of credibility with other utilities in selling to Hong Kong and the region. In addition to leveraging Hong Kong's reputation, we also knew it was the strategic place for stepping into the mainland China market.

Bridge to China

"It is still difficult for Western countries to go straight into China, but Hong Kong provides a bridge. We have the opportunity to hire people in Hong Kong who have an international outlook, and speak Cantonese, Mandarin and English, who can take us to the next step.

"Hong Kong has legal expertise, a very good education system and some very bright, well educated young people, many of whom were educated in the West, which makes them more familiar from a cultural point of view. As we focus on the Greater China market, Hong Kong is a very good place for us to be established."

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