Overseas Chinese should return to the Chinese mainland and get first-hand experience of the Chinese market, said Larry Chan, president of the famous snack brand Qishi, during his trip to the 19th China International Fair for Investment & Trade in Xiamen, Fujian province.
Chan has spent the last 20 years working in China since his father founded Qishi China in Shanghai, and he told reporters he believes that the vision and resolution his father showed in starting the Chinese venture impressed his father’s peers.
Attending the CIFIT on Sept 8-11 was a return of sorts for Chan, whose family is originally from Jinjiang in Fujian.
His grandparents left the province and emigrated to the Philippines, where they established a small family-owned business named LiWayWay in 1946. Seventy years later, the company and its snack brand Qishi are famous all over Asia-Pacific.
Three years after Oishi China was founded, Chan was given the important role of vice-general manager at the new Shanghai-based company. Five years later, he assumed the position of president.
The food manufacturing industry has changed a lot during his time as president, Chan said. The industry has shifted from a factory-based to a market-oriented model, and distribution channels have become more specific, incorporating the emerging e-commerce sites. He believes that these changes are opening up investment opportunities for overseas Chinese.
Qishi China purchased tracts of land in South Africa in March as part of its global expansion strategy, after setting up production bases in Cambodia and Indonesia. The South Africa project is now nearing completion and will be soon put into operation, according to Chan.
The company set up a factory in Changji Hui autonomous prefecture in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in 2008 in a bid to gain close access to the Central Asia market. At the time, rail freight costs to transport Qishi’s goods to Central Asia were more than double the value of the products due to the less than ideal infrastructure conditions.
But thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative, a number of high-speed cargo routes have been launched to enhance trade connections between China and Central Asian countries. Running through the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, these routes will significantly cut the food company’s logistics costs.
According to Chan, the clear vision offered by the Belt and Road Initiative will widen the investment horizons for overseas Chinese merchants.
China announced and implemented on May 15 a policy allowing visa-free entry of foreign tourist groups aboard cruise ships via all cruise ship ports along the country's coastline.
China and Georgia are set to waive visa requirements for travelers starting May 28.
