World's top trading firms plan to meet in Milan

Articolo pubblicato sul Business Standard di Hong Kong il 18 Agosto 1989 - trad. M. Castagna

cod.: BS.89.02.TCO.0

Had this Venetian merchant, traveller, and chronicler of old ever envisaged the possibility of registering a Marco Polo trade mark, his descendants' earnings would have far exceeded the riches he himself managed to accumulate during the course of his own well-know adventures. "Marco Polo" has come to be a byword for "trader". Easy to pronounce in practically any language, it has been put to various uses, by airlines, bus manufacturers, T-shirt manufacturers and export-oriented enterprises of all descriptions. The essence of the name remains unmistakably Italian, however, and cannot give rise to any "false claims", as in the case of Cristobal Colon. Ten years ago, in 1979, the Italian trading companies, as a tribute to their ancient forebear, organised an international convention in Marco Polo's own beloved Venice. Top operators from around the world gathered to discuss issues to do with the development and expansion of international trade. The theme was "Trading companies in the modern world". A qualified group of expert was called upon to examine this theme from every angle and to focus potential users' attention on the role and experiences of international trading companies. Now, 10 years later, a new Marco Polo convention will be held in Milan on September 13, 14 and 15, 1989. Its scope, in spite of the traditional world convention format, will be broadened to embrace dominant issues such as protectionism, Third World debt, the outlook for the 1990s, and the training of tomorrow's traders. Contributions to the discussions will be coming from the experiences of government, from public and private business communities and from economists and academics from more than 30 different countries. The trading company has grown to play an indisputably crucial role in the world economic system. It is a natural link between skills in promoting and managing highly complex operations such as countertrade, joit-ventures, project financing and debt swaps, as required by an ever more selective world demand for sophisticated services. As on the previous occasion 10 years ago, the event is promoted by the National Association of Foreign Trade (ANCE) - an organisation of more than 1.000 Italian trading companies - and by the Confederation of International Trading Houses Associations (CITHA), the international federation representing the trading companies' associations of 11 countries. Patronage of the convention has been assured by the European Economic Community and the Italian Confederation of Trade, Tourism and Services (Confcommercio), along with other major public and private organisations both in Italy and abroad. Marco Polo, therefore, as a world event in an Italian setting, will provide tangible proof of the pivotal role played by trading houses in an expanding international market place, which is increasingly reliant on the coordinated efforts of all those concerned. This Marco Polo convention, in its three days of scheduled activities, will encompass an international approach and, indeed, apart from the use of English as the official language, will see participation by speakers and delegates from all over the world. Prominent people of political and economic influence will inaugurate the convention with an overview of the world economy as seen from its principal vantage points, and will provide authoritative forecasts of what can be expected by the rapidly approaching turn of the century. On the second day, nine separate workshops, each coordinated by experts of international stature, will evaluate and propose solutions to major issues regarding world commerce such as the role of trading companies, protectionism, countertrade, skill formation, quality-controls, US-EC trade relations, finance, tomorrow's traders and the debt problem of developing countries. On the final day, participants will be able to get down to business. A "trading exchange", based on a specially created electronic "match-making" programme, will encourage delegates to become better acquainted with and lay the foundations for future business. Such a convention might appear over-ambitious at first glance, were it not occasioned by enormous success of the convention 10 years ago, for which more than 400 exponents of the international trading community had gathered in this ancient merchant city. We accept with the greatest regret the apologies for their absence of Messrs Niccolò, Matteo, and Marco Polo.