Mid-sized Firms

Facilitator: Robert Reith

Facilitator: Xie Shaozhang,  PRC;  Recorder: Robert Reith, UK; Observer:  Joe Paoluccio, US.

The Facilitator was Xie Shaozhang from the PRC. The Recorder was Robert Reith from UK. The Observer was Joe Paoluccio from US.

The meeting was attended by 25 delegates of whom:

• 15 were from PRC

• 2 were from US

• 2 were from UK

• 2 were from Nigeria

• 1 was from Ireland

• 1 was from Switzerland

• 1 was from Iran

• 1 was from India.

Given the above numbers of attendees it was perhaps not surprising that much of the early part of the meeting was spent trying to understand the differences between how consulting engineers in China operated, and how business conditions compared with other countries.

After some lengthy discussion it became clear that firms in China operated in much the same way, and faced much the same problems as consulting engineers in other countries.

Amongst the issues raised were:

• Unfair competition from government and government agencies
• Level of fees
• Late payment of fees
• Status of engineers
• Lack of opportunity to share in the financial success of projects
• Possibility of equity participation
• Legal liability
• Opportunity for partnering.

It was noted that in some countries there was an increasing trend towards the use of private investment in the procurement of public sector projects (PFI). It was stated that PFI projects offered a range of opportunities for consulting engineers, and that in many cases this led to enhanced status and greater financial reward, including the opportunity foe equity participation. However there were also new risks particularly at the early stages.

Apart from the potential benefits of PFI, the meeting was unable to offer many solutions to the problems facing mid-size consulting firms.

The delegates undertook however to continue to exchange views outside the meeting and to maintain contact by email.