Fiona Donnelly

Fiona Donnelly

Working to advance Scotland’s economic success

Fiona Donnelly is Scottish Development International’s (SDI) representative in Hong Kong and Macau. Fiona’s extensive network of contacts and in-depth knowledge of business conditions in this unique, densely-populated and strategically important location make her ideally qualified to promote Scotland and help Scottish companies.

Fiona works proactively, contacting Hong Kong companies in Scottish Enterprise’s target sectors, identifying opportunities for collaboration and selling the advantages of Scotland as a business location. She also tracks the market in these sectors to make sure that Scotland is aware of potential business opportunities. An important element of her job is responding to a constant flow of enquiries from Scotland. Visiting companies might want to find out the current situation, or ask for names of business contacts or request an introduction to a GlobalScot. She describes herself as a business broker, helping businesses in both directions for the greater good of the Scottish economy.

Working with the GlobalScot Network

Fiona joined SDI in May 2007, and rapidly realised the value of the GlobalScot community in Hong Kong. Many of these had joined the Network when it was first launched and were keen to work hard on its behalf.

"Networking in Hong Kong is a phenomenally powerful tool – there’s a joke in the business community that it’s a city of two degrees of separation, not six. When I came in and realised the energy and enthusiasm of the GlobalScots wanting to work more in this very pro-networking city, I made it an early priority to fire these people up and get them on side."

Fiona works with twenty-eight GlobalScots locally who she describes as a really amazing bunch of people. Many of these hold senior positions in major Hong Kong enterprises and are able to contribute invaluable expertise on a broad range of topics. She understands the importance of keeping these people interested, engaged and aware of what she is doing, so she sends out regular newsletters and reaches out to them every six to eight weeks.

As a result, Fiona is able to call upon the services of GlobalScots as and when they are needed and they give freely of their time and expertise. For example, they may be asked to meet Scottish companies thinking about setting up an office in the city to give specialist advice on tax matters or recruitment. They can also help Fiona open doors. One of the GlobalScots based in Shanghai helped her with a couple of introductions into the procurement world in Macau. Through these introductions and another couple of contacts she now has access to about two thirds of the casino market in Macau.

A recurring concern is the protection of intellectual property for Scottish innovation in Asia. This is particularly relevant for electronics or life science companies wishing to work in collaboration or organise manufacturing. One GlobalScot, a lawyer in a senior position, is arranging an IP briefing to compare and contrast the Scottish and the Hong Kong regime which will take the form of a technical overview of the big issues. This will try to allay immediate fears and highlight important concerns. Fiona intends to use this on a highly targeted basis.

"People don’t realise the enthusiasm of the GlobalScot base overseas – I’ve found it overwhelming."