Business Travel International today said it will create a joint venture in China with Shanghai-based Jin Jiang International, which also has Beijing offices. The new agreement calls for expansion to other major Chinese cities, including Guangzhou. Meanwhile, BTI majority owner Hogg Robinson is establishing a joint venture with Westminster Travel, the BTI partner for Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, in which the U.K. firm will take a 51 percent ownership stake, with management control. The operations in these countries will continue to trade as BTI Hong Kong, BTI Macau and BTI Taiwan.
"Jin Jiang has exceptional relationships with its suppliers and with its clients for whom it already has an established account management program," said BTI CEO and Hogg Robinson chief executive David Radcliffe, in a prepared statement. "Mainland China is a very important business travel market for both inbound and outbound travelers."
American Express, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Rosenbluth International and others have made relatively recent announcements about moves in China
(BTN, Dec. 9, 2002).