Small and medium sized firms “worried” about Chinese links

THE Association of Small and Medium Sized Businesses (PIMECO) yesterday expressed their “preoccupation” about how the business links being established by the Balearic Government with China will affect the local businesses in the Balearics. They also repeated that they have been waiting since March 2004 for a reply from the Spanish Government's representative to the Balearics, Palma council, and the Balearic Government to their question as to whether companies run by Chinese people are complying with current laws. PIMECO said that it daily receives complaints from its members about how their businesses are being directly “damaged” and “threatened” by the practices of certain businesses which are “proliferating” in Palma and other towns on the island, and which are run, fundamentally, by Chinese people. At the same time the Association urged Palma council to “verify” if these businesses have complied with all the necessary rules to obtain a licence to open and conduct their business. PIMECO highlighted another “potential risk area” which centres on the merchandise for sale, as “some of them, for example toys, are imported from countries outside the European Union and may not comply with EU safety requirements”.