It is 9.04am and a group of Chinese businessmen have assembled solemnly outside a hotel conference room in São Paulo. Brazil’s stock exchange operator, BM&F Bovespa, was scheduled to kick off its first ever capital markets forum with China four minutes ago but, like many meetings in the Latin American country, it did not start on time. As the Brazilian guests arrive, complaining loudly about the morning’s traffic and heading straight for the free breakfast, the huge cultural gap between the two emerging market powers becomes apparent.
時間:上午9:04;地點:聖保羅。一羣中國商人齊聚在一間酒店會議室的門外,神情嚴肅。按照巴西證交所營運商——巴西證券期貨交易所(BM&F Bovespa)的計劃,4分鐘前,首屆巴中資本市場論壇就該拉開帷幕了。然而,就像在這個拉美國家舉行的許多會議一樣,本次論壇沒有準時開幕。巴方與會者抵達時,高聲抱怨早晨的交通狀況,並直奔免費早餐而去。兩個新興市場大國之間的巨大文化差異至此顯露無遺。