Interview with Frank Xu: Keep moving forward and persevere, and the vision will become reality.

The stories behind success often go untold, but they deserve to be shared and remembered. A reporter from YIJU New Zealand therefore interviewed NZCBIA President Frank Xu, inviting him to share the challenges and achievements of NZIBES 2021.

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YIJU: As the organiser, how would you assess NZIBES 2021? What achievements are you proud of, and what ambitions remain unfulfilled that could be realised next time?

Frank Xu：First of all, this year’s NZIBES was a tremendous success. I would like to thank NZCBIA, MultiMarketing ( Ltd) and the 3A Event team for their collective efforts and hard work, as well as all our sponsors, exhibitors and industry colleagues for their strong support.

Every year, NZIBES is the biggest stage for New Zealand’s Chinese property and construction industry, and this year marked its 5th year. Compared with previous editions, this year’s NZIBES reached a new level in both scale and calibre. The Expo featured 82 exhibiting brands, with visitor numbers exceeding ten thousand for the first time. The Gala Dinner and NZCBIA Excellence Awards ceremony moved to the Cordis hotel, bringing together 790 guests from the property and construction industry. Together, they witnessed the considerable influence of New Zealand’s Chinese construction industry, the achievements of Chinese property and construction professionals, and their contribution to New Zealand society.

As NZIBES continues to improve, I believe everyone can see that NZCBIA, as its organiser, has worked tirelessly to realise its original vision.

In February 2015, following repeated discussions and refinements of the draft constitution by its founding members, NZCBIA was finally established. From its first day, the association’s vision was to raise standards in New Zealand’s property and construction industry. To achieve this, we have moved forward with determination and practical action, accomplishing one goal after another: serving the industry and community, demonstrating professional leadership, strengthening communication, speaking up for the Chinese property and construction industry, promoting professional working practices, providing professional training, and awarding scholarships to support the development of young industry professionals. Everyone can assess these efforts and achievements at each year’s NZIBES. The success of the Expo, Gala Dinner and Excellence Awards is the visible result. Underlying it are the efforts and perseverance of all NZCBIA board members and members across many areas, and the rapid growth of New Zealand’s Chinese property and construction industry.

As for ‘unfulfilled ambitions’, I would not call them regrets. Rather, there are still many areas where we can improve. We need to keep progressing step by step and make each future event better. For example, the Excellence Awards categories could be structured more appropriately to better reflect the types of projects in which Chinese developers and construction companies excel.

YIJU: The COVID pandemic has had a severe impact on every industry. NZIBES was also cancelled last year because of the pandemic. What motivated its return this year, and what challenges did you encounter?

Frank Xu：As I mentioned earlier, NZIBES is an annual gathering to review and celebrate the achievements of New Zealand’s Chinese property and construction industry. So, whenever conditions allow, we must hold it. It gives our thriving industry an opportunity to celebrate its achievements and highlight its contribution to New Zealand society, while allowing industry professionals to share experience and opportunities, learn, refresh their knowledge and connect with one another.

This year, the uncertainty caused by the pandemic certainly brought many risks and challenges. First, the NZCBIA board needed considerable courage to decide to proceed with NZIBES. Then all three parties on the organising committee—the NZCBIA team, YIJU’s marketing team and the 3A Event team—prepared detailed contingency plans. These included relevant clauses in sponsorship and exhibition contracts, agreements with venue providers over bookings, and contingency insurance arranged from the outset. We covered every angle. NZCBIA’s successful Queenstown event in April this year also boosted the team’s confidence. Fortunately, preparations and the event itself went smoothly. With the borders closed during the pandemic, the industry also paid greater attention to events like ours, producing even better results.

YIJU: This was the second NZCBIA Excellence Awards. What were its distinctive features, and how did it differ from last year?

Frank Xu：This year, the Excellence Awards offered 11 awards, more than double the 5 at the inaugural event, with a more appropriate structure. The categories included Project Management, Collaboration, Commercial Construction Subcontracting and Innovation, which other industry awards do not offer. This is because we carefully considered how our category choices could support the range of activities and development of the Chinese property and construction industry.

The judging panel also expanded from 7 to 19 members and was divided into 3 specialist panels. The judges were leading experts from Auckland’s property and construction industry, including directors and senior technical executives from New Zealand’s largest consultancy firms, heads of tertiary architecture schools, and general managers of major construction and development companies. This made the judging process more professional and its outcomes fairer and more authoritative.

The most distinctive feature of this year’s winning projects was their greater scale, complexity and diversity. Alongside the familiar residential projects in which Chinese industry professionals excel, there were major public projects, hotels beyond five-star standard, and commercial projects. We will publish a collection featuring this year’s winning projects and the stories of the companies and individuals behind them. It will document today’s achievements and represent a tribute to New Zealand from Chinese construction professionals.

YIJU: Could you give our readers a glimpse of the plans and highlights for NZIBES 2022?

Frank Xu：I would like to keep the specific plans and highlights under wraps for now, to give everyone something to look forward to. What I can reveal is that the dates for NZIBES 2022 have been confirmed: 19 and 20 August next year. The venues will remain the same, with the Expo at Vodafone Events Centre and the Gala Dinner at the Cordis hotel.

YIJU: This year’s event has concluded, but that is not the end. As we eagerly await NZIBES 2022, what other exciting activities will NZCBIA bring us?

Frank Xu：NZIBES is a wonderful annual culmination of our work. Beyond it, we will continue supporting the healthy development of the Chinese property and construction industry, introducing initiatives and activities across a range of areas. I can share a few examples: we are planning free wellbeing training for industry professionals; working with our partners to offer urgently needed professional training; and organising various free seminars closely aligned with the market. We also welcome Chinese property and construction colleagues to work with us on other activities that benefit the industry and its people.