Riding the Wave

Hou Weili

Chinese entrepreneurs have ventured to Southeast Asia since Chinas reform and opening-up.

When China opened its door to the outside world in the late 1970s， a legion of ambitious Chinese entrepreneurs ventured abroad to reach out to the vast international market. Due to geographical and cultural proximity and existing large communities of overseas Chinese， Southeast Asian countries became preferred destinations for their commercial ventures.

Since the launch of ASEAN-China dialogue relations in 1991， especially after the establishment of the strategic partnership in 2003， the integrated free market has been boosting even greater boom of economic cooperation from the business level. Together with the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative， these entrepreneurs ushered in a golden era of expansion. While amassing fortunes， they also fulfilled social responsibility by giving back to local causes.

Venturing Abroad

In the late 1980s， young Wang Quancheng was inspired by the contagious enthusiasm of seeking fortunes in Southeast Asian countries. Born poor in a rural family in Southeast Chinas Quanzhou City， the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road recognized by UNESCO， the 19-year-old left his family for Singapore in hopes of bringing prosperity to his widowed mother and nine siblings. As fate would have it， Chinas reform and opening-up policy was in full swing.

In pointed contrast to his initial enthusiasm， a tough and strenuous daily life as a construction worker was awaiting on the island. “Still， I cherished the opportunity to escape the poor village and have a secured income，” Wang recalled. About two years before he arrived in Singapore， his home county was approved by the Central Government as one of the first coastal counties to open to the outside world against the backdrop of reform and opening-up. “Thanks to that chance， I made it in Singapore，” he admitted.

On remote foreign soil， Wang aspired for more than being a construction worker. “But I had no capital nor know-how—nothing I could depend on，” added the high school graduate.

He realized he had to build his own ladder. During his worktime， he took every possible chance to learn engineering， and after 14 hours of strenuous manual labor， he attended English classes for three hours.

His devotion paid off. From the scratch， Wang built a company with businesses spanning real estate， hotels and aquaculture. In retrospect， his path to success was bumpy. “It wouldnt have been so hard if I had had some friends to count on，” Wang sighed. In 2001， this sentiment inspired him to launch Hua Yuan Association， a non-profit organization promoting exchange and communication among Chinese in Singapore， helping them blend into local society and bridging members with research circles and businesses involved in trade， services and manufacturing.

“Chinese is the majority ethnicity in Singapore， but those who settled there after Chinas opening-up like me are slightly different from the first-and second-generation Chinese Singaporeans whose origins are mainly the Southeast coast regions，” Wang explained. “We need our own organization.” Latest statistics show that there are about 5.4 million Chinese in Singapore， 74.2 percent of the total population.

According to Wang， members of Hua Yuan Association are more than 3，000 kindred spirits living in Singapore from across China， most of whom are well-educated and are leaders in certain industries. The association helps new immigrants bond and support each other and offers one-stop consultancy on local culture， customs and legal issues for businesses， as noted by former Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the first anniversary of the association.

Wang has his own ambitions for Hua Yuan： He wants overseas Chinese in the region to be known for integrity and awareness of social responsibility.

An Enterprising Soul

Yang Yanfeng is a household name among the Chinese in Thailand. The company he founded manufactures fingerprint-related products occupying up to 60 percent of Thai market and exported to neighboring Southeast Asian countries. Yang contributes to local society by donating substantial funds annually to Thai national defense and also works to bridge Chinese businesses with Thai counterparts on a win-win basis.

He is a living example of an entrepreneur embarking on a business adventure in a foreign country and unfamiliar industry and succeeding through persistence. Yang worked a decent and enviable job as a teacher back in the mid-1990s. “But I was never satisfied with such a monotonous life in which you could foresee everything through retirement，” he recalled.

Ultimately， a boring mahjong game inspired him to quit the job. Despite objections from family and friends， he traveled to Xiamen， one of the earliest cities open to the outside world， where he worked as a salesman for electronic products. This experience gained him some of the expertise to eventually start his own company in Thailand.

In the late 1990s after a decade of reform and opening-up， traveling abroad became a trend among Chinese， and Thailand emerged as the third most popular destination for outbound tourists after Hong Kong and Macao， according to Chinas statistical bulletin on tourism at the time.

Yang spotted the opportunity in tourism and ventured to Thailand to work as a tour guide. During those two years， he managed to become proficient in the Thai language and make his first fortune.

Using his accumulated capital， Yang ventured into fingerprint-related security products as the technology remained in a nascent stage. “Once again I was met with universal objection， but I still insisted on breaking through conventional practices and challenging myself.”

His seemingly radical decision was actually based on his understanding and confidence of the market prospects of Thailand. A free export-oriented economy， Thailand had been nurturing a mushrooming electronics manufacturing industry since the 1980s and emerged as a middle-income country in 1996.

Seizing the opportunity， he gradually gained some footing in the sector. Then he realized the need to localize the products. He enthusiastically endeavored to program in the Thai language and acquired a Thai patent for his innovations. Since then， Yang had continued to enrich and innovate products focused on fingerprint-related security functions to meet both upmarket and lower-end needs. “I keep abreast of the times and stay true to the mission of offering better products and services，” Yang revealed his secret to success.

Connections in Connectivity

In 2000， Xu Genluo was sent to establish a branch in Thailand by Holley Group， a Hangzhou-based private conglomerate spanning pharmaceuticals， instruments， new materials， bio-fuels and international trade. He carried with him nothing but the companys vision of going global.

For a Chinese person who didnt speak Thai， the mission seemed impossible， but Xu persisted. After renting a rundown plant in Bangkok， he renovated it， installed machinery， filed for registration and certificates and then recruited employees. After three months of intense preparations， the instrument and meter plant began production.

The process wasnt easy. To save costs， Xu performed most renovations and installations himself. “Instead of renting an apartment， we ate， slept and worked at the plant，” Xu revealed. “The difficulties were unspeakable.”

By chance， he met Vikrom Kromadit， chief executive officer of Thai industrial estate developer Amata Corporation PCL， who liked the idea of establishing an industrial park for Chinese businesses investing in Thailand.

Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative to facilitate foreign investment and local development by promoting connectivity when visiting Kazakhstan and Indonesia in 2013. The initiative inspired an active response from Southeast Asian countries. In 2016， Thailand officially released the Thailand 4.0 Policy aimed at developing the country into a value-based economy to align with the initiative. More specifically， the East Economic Corridor （EEC） scheme under the ambitious 4.0 Policy is designed to better align with the Belt and Road Initiative.

“Rayong is central to the EEC scheme，” illustrated Xu， president of the Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Park. “When these initiative and policies were released， it was the dawn of a booming period at Rayong Industrial Park. Businesses started settling at faster and faster rates.”

By carrying out the EEC plan， the Thai government introduced incentives to attract foreign investment to develop local infrastructure and high value-added industries like biotech， intelligent industry， pharmaceutics， robotics and digital industries. “These are also sectors Rayong Industrial Park is committed to grow，” Xu added.

According to him， of the 105 Chinese enterprises from 22 provinces， municipalities and autonomous regions as well as Hong Kong Special Administration Region operating in the industrial park， over 20 enterprises are listed among Chinas top 500. These enterprises have invested nearly $3 billion and generated industrial output of $10 billion. More than 30，000 permanent jobs have been created locally.

Estimates tally about 19 million overseas Chinese in Indonesia， Malaysia， Singapore， Thailand， the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations， just like these three innovators. Encouraged by opening-up policy， they ventured to foreign soil to explore new life and business opportunities.