At this year’s China International Import Expo, Chinese Premier Li Qiang pledged to further open up the Chinese mainland’s consumer market. Some companies are hoping to get a slice of the market, including a more than century-old Hong Kong soy sauce company, Pun Chun. Its first shipment is set to arrive in Shanghai next month. Laura Westbrook reports from Hong Kong.
This is no ordinary brewery. These vats use traditional techniques to make soy sauce. It’s one of the city’s oldest sauce factories and a third of its business is in Hong Kong.
The company exports to countries from the UK to the Republic of Korea to Canada and is now hoping to enter the Chinese mainland exhibiting at the annual trade expo in Shanghai for the first time. Despite it costing more to have a factory here, rather than across the border, chief executive Edwin Lai believes that is what will set his products apart from the competition.
EDWIN LAI, CEO and 4th Generation Owner, Pun Chun Sauce and Preserved Factory Limited “We are bringing back in the old style tasting of the soy sauce, and also, again, because we are made in Hong Kong, so we have an edge to promote our product in the mainland better than other brands.”
A Hong-Kong based wine-trading platform – which allows people to buy and sell wine from around the world – is hoping to partner directly with Chinese wine brands.
Founder Mariana Lam says French wines still dominate, but she has seen increasing demand for Chinese wine.
MARIANA LAM, Founder, WineWorld Xplorer “We want to tell them about how the market is in Hong Kong, how the people in Hong Kong like and you know how they should price their wine in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is, I think, it’s the perfect place to go into, before growing global.”
After the United States imposed fresh tariffs on the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, the city’s leader John Lee vowed to deepen trade ties with its biggest trading partner and hopes to encourage Chinese firms to use the city to expand their businesses overseas.
LAURA WESTBROOK, Hong Kong “As Hong Kong businesses look across the border, Chinese mainland companies, from noodle chains and bubble tea brands to electric vehicle makers, are making significant inroads into the city. This trend reflects a demographic shift, with the majority of new arrivals under a recent talent scheme coming from the mainland.”
Hong Kong has seen an explosion of Chinese companies listing here this year. Lawyer Ben Kostrezawa sees Hong Kong’s role in being the preferred option, especially for Chinese tech firms to raise capital to expand abroad.
BEN KOSTRZEWA, Trade Lawyer, Hogan Lovells “As it’s gotten more challenging for Chinese companies to list in the United States and global markets, Hong Kong’s role as a place where Chinese companies can list and raise capital through markets and then, because the Hong Kong dollar is freely traded with the US dollar, it still allows it to be the window to the world for Chinese companies.”
This company is hoping a taste of Hong Kong will help their products pour into a new market. LW for CGTN, Hong Kong.