8 Apr 2013

Decade of hard work in China pays off for company

10:31 pm on 8 April 2013

A New Zealand animation company has secured deals with Chinese companies it says are worth multi-millions of dollars.

Huhu Productions, based at Snells Beach north of Auckland, has four new agreements including one with a $100 billion state-owned company, as well as training and production deals with other firms.

The deals were signed off on Monday at an event in Guangzhou attended by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and others on a trade mission to China.

Huhu chief executive Trevor Yaxley says he has spent the past decade building relationships in the Asian nation and in that time has visited 61 times.

Mr Yaxley says Huhu's experience will help other companies wanting to build business interests in China.

"We have navigated the pathway through the bureaucracy and the culture over this past 10 years. And I'm not saying we know it all - that would take many lifetimes - but we now know enough to do business correctly and wisely in China."

John Key says for companies to make headway in China, they need to have a presence.

"You need a lot of dedication for this market, but the sheer scale of it shows you what the potential is.

"I think for New Zealand companies, it's never going to be a straightforward easy road, but the prize at the end of the line is gotta be worth it I would have thought."

Mr Key also met with the Guangdong province's party secretary and executives from China Southern Airlines.