Local companies make good, following path to expansion abroad

Zhuhai's local companies have achieved sustainable gains through investing abroad and expanding vigorously into global markets, while helping to boost the economic and social development in those countries in recent years.

Setting the standard and one of the first companies to invest overseas was Gree Electric Appliances, a major manufacturer playing a leading role in Zhuhai.

Gree initially built an air conditioner factory in Brazil in 1999, with an integrated channel for production, sales and customer services, and as a result became known as a high-quality brand in Brazil.

It can produce 200,000 units a year, accounting for 30 percent of the total market share in Brazil.

At last year's Rio Olympics, Gree air conditioners were presented at many sports venues and its supporting facilities were used in related hotels and airports.

Gree also won the bidding for supply contracts to the South Africa World Cup, Brazil World Cup, Sochi Winter Olympics and many leading international games events.

According to the company, its sales in Latin-America maintained steady growth even though the local economy had gone into recession in recent years.

Gree products have a 33 percent market share in Argentina and an estimated 35 percent in Mexico.

More than 2 million units are sold to Latin-American countries annually, an export volume worth $400 million.

Dong Mingzhu, chairwoman and president of Gree Electric Appliances, said that investing abroad is not only about building factories in foreign countries, but also about establishing brand image.

"We would prefer to transfer our successful technology, quality and management culture to the world," she added.

Gree has practiced localized operations, leaving 95 percent of the jobs to local employees. It has been an important taxpayer in Brazil, contributing about 1.5 billion Brazilian reals ($483.87 million) to Brazil in taxation and salaries, in addition to $17,000 worth of donations ever since.

Following suit, a growing number of enterprises, most of which are high-tech ones, have gone abroad, especially since China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013.

One of them - Zhuhai Singyes New Materials Technology - has also made progress expanding into global markets in recent years.

The solar technology developer said it has many products in its factory and R&D facilities, which are also prototype projects for overseas markets.

Since it completed its first photovoltaic project in 2007, the company has generated more than 3,000 megawatts of photovoltaic power in developing, off-grid and desert regions.

Singyes has promoted its technologies for green architecture clean energy, and in the new materials and ecological agriculture sectors to countries and regions active with the Belt and Road Initiative.

The company signed an agreement with Tonga Power Ltd last year, for the construction and commissioning of a 2 mW solar generating facility.

Operation of the power plant in October put an end to the history of the South Pacific island nation when it had to hinge on diesel for power generation.

The Chinese company also won the bidding to build a PV station in Uzbekistan, which is its first local ground PV power station.

The group said that last year its international export business accounted for 6 percent of Singyes's total sales.

The company is promoting PV business, whose volume is expected to account for 20 percent this year.

Statistics from the city's commerce bureau indicate that the city's business people launched six investments in Belt and Road countries and regions in 2016, involving contractual capital input of $50.86 million and representing an increase of 83.92 percent from 2015.

And the city posted an outbound investment of $856,000 in those countries in the January-October period of this year.

(China Daily 11/29/2017 page15)