A Hong Kong company named Goldfame, run by Catherine Chan (above) has become one of the world’s most successful garment firms. Ryan Wu, a Form 4 student of PLK Tang Yuk Tien College, reports.
AS A HIGH SCHOOL student, I participated in a Belt and Road Pioneer competition and won the championship, which resulting in my making an overseas trip. In Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, we visited many interesting places, but this article will focus on a trip to “the king of sweaters” – a garment company from Hong Kong that has become internationally successful, particularly with pullovers.
We went to the firm’s large manufacturing site.
Ms. Catherine Chan’s Goldfame Group arrived 28 years ago. In 1996, business people were still worried about the risks in the country, but Ms Chan and her team seized new opportunities. Cambodia had flat wages, low costs, no restrictions on investment, free entry and exit of foreign exchange, and affordable labour—the average national age was about 20. The company grew to became globally successful.
As a comparison, think of Shenzhen—which 40 years ago was a humble agricultural town, and has now grown into a huge and lively city today. Opportunities come with reform and opening, and successful people can achieve impressive results if they overcome difficulties.
TRADE WAR
Today, the trade war has become increasingly fierce. The United States has imposed various tariffs on China, hindering the development of mainland manufacturing. In some cases, a solution is to relocate industries to avoid tariffs.
From the data, we found that Cambodia’s top export destination is the United States, and its number one product is ready-made garments; for its imports, the number one location is China, and its products include ready-made garment accessories.
In other words, the trade war strengthened the manufacturing industry and attracted companies to set up factories and export to Europe and the United States.
This result works well for both sides. Developing countries lack elements of developed ones, but are young and dynamic, and this is conducive to their hosting labour-intensive manufacturing industries. As neighbouring countries and radiating areas of the Belt and Road Initiative or the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong is a good partner for cooperation with its neighbors.
GBA MARKET TO RISE
Cambodia had recovered from a war. It can be said that only those who have experienced the tragic history of modern civil war will fully cherish the hard-won peace.
I visited Mao Zedong Boulevard and Xi Jinping Boulevard, learned about officials’ Pentagonal Strategy to cooperate with the Belt and Road Initiative, and fully felt the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries. Chinese business people may have strong investment advantages.
On another part of my trip, I met nearly a hundred primary school students at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh. They happily recited Chinese numbers in Mandarin, just like the students at the Confucius Institute who were eager to learn Chinese. China’s influence plays an important role in creating an excellent business environment in Cambodia.
Summarizing a key fact I learned on this many-day personal trip, I can say that geopolitics does not mean that China loses, and the United States wins. American consumers will also have to bear higher prices after the changes. Professor Terence Chong pointed out that besides the labour-intensive industry (“Old Three products”), the New Three industries that add value (electric vehicles, lithium batteries and solar cells) are an excellent direction for China’s industrial growth.
Just as Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has gone to ASEAN to explore business opportunities, young people familiar with this market will surely be able to seize more opportunities and enjoy broader prospects.
The image at the top comes from Goldfame Group.