From Wenzhou "Hardware King" to Cambodia "Electric King"

During the interview in Cambodia, the author met Hu Jinlin, the head of Wenzhou's “Big Eight” in the legendary year. He is currently the Vice President of Cambodian Chinese Chamber of Commerce, President of the Wenzhou Association of Cambodia, and President of Sanlin International Engineering Electric (Cambodia) Co., Ltd. In Cambodia, it is engaged in rubber planting and industrial electrical equipment operations. It has just won the 2010 World Top Ten Outstanding Contributions Award for Characters.

From Wenzhou "Hardware King" to Cambodia "Electric King"

Hu Jinlin warmly invited the author to the "mountain farm" to see. In 2007, he obtained the concession of the use of 150,000 mu of primeval forest in Kratie province, in the northeast of Cambodia, and he is transforming the forest into a rubber forest. At the same time he is engaged in agricultural planting and wood development. When talking about the rubber business that just started, Hu Jinlin came to mind. He told the author that in recent years, domestic rubber is urgently needed, and 80% of them rely on imports, and the price of rubber has soared again and again, approaching US$6,000 per ton. The outlook for planting rubber is very good. Although Cambodia is a small country, its population is sparse, agricultural land is abundant, there are few natural disasters, and there is a large amount of concession land that can be used to grow rubber forests. The most important thing is that the Cambodian government is friendly to China, so he decided to contract the land for 70 years and grow rubber to export to China.

Due to the interview with Preah Vihear Temple, the plan to go to the farm did not take place, but Hu Jinlin's story left a deep impression on the author. Those who have seen the documentary “The Road to Recovery” are familiar with Wenzhou’s “Eight Great Kings” and “Hu Jinlin”. In the early 80s of last century, as the leader of China's private economy, the “eight kings” appeared in Liushi Hardware Appliance Market in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, and was once regarded as a “speculative villain” and was severely cracked down. Later, it was rehabilitated in 1984. Today, Hu Jinlin, the “first-generation self-employed Chinese household”, is active on the stage of transnational operations and has become a representative figure of China's private economy going abroad.

Hu Jinlin told the author that his departure from the country was actually related to the People’s Daily. In November 2000, the Prime Minister’s first speech on the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area was published in the “People’s Daily”. After seeing the report, he produced a report. The idea of ​​entrepreneurship in Southeast Asia.

In February 2001, Hu Jinlin came to Cambodia to live in a company that he had opened in his hometown. He bought every day's savings of more than 10 US dollars to buy food for everyone. He stayed in Cambodia for 7 days and bought 6 days of dishes. In addition to going to the grocery market every day to buy food, he also visited the main local market, with special focus on electrical appliances and small commodities. Hu Jinlin found that the local electrical products are all European and the price is high. Chinese goods have a price advantage here, so they decided to invest in Cambodia.

In May of that year, Hu Jinlin came to Cambodia for the second time to conduct more targeted investigations. Hu Jinlin found that Cambodia’s electricity supply is seriously deficient. Most companies generate electricity on their own, and power generation and distribution equipment is backward. It is not only unsafe, it also consumes electricity, and energy-saving equipment is unheard of. Thus, Hu Jinlin provided power distribution equipment as an entry point to establish a foothold in the Cambodian market.

After two inspections, in 2001, Hu Jinlin established Sanlin International Electric (Cambodia) Co., Ltd. in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He quickly worked out a market development plan and established 70 Angkor breweries and Tai Yang garment factories within one year. The local factory has carried out energy-saving transformation of power distribution. Not only sell power distribution equipment, the company also provides users with one-stop service of design, installation and commissioning, and quickly established a foothold in the Cambodian market.

With strong economic strength, integrity management and quality assurance, Sanlin Electric's business grows bigger and bigger. In the past 10 years, Hu Jinlin’s “Sanlin Electric Appliances” has occupied more than half of Cambodia’s market. In particular, low-voltage power distribution equipment almost monopolizes the local market. In 2005, he brought domestic electrical production technology to the past and produced electrical products directly in Cambodia. Hu Jinlin also proudly told the author that he has just signed a contract with Cambodia’s National Electric Power Company and will provide him with cables for the country.

While the electric appliance business was getting more and more prosperous, Hu Jinlin began to explore new fields. After comprehensive analysis of several effective information, he decided to invest in rubber forest development: China's rubber raw materials are increasingly scarce, while the northeastern region of Cambodia has a lot of undeveloped In the forest, the No. 7 highway aided by China will improve the local traffic conditions.

In 2007, Hu Jinlin obtained the franchise rights of 150,000 mu of primeval forest in Kratie, Cambodia, and began to develop forest resources and plant rubber. He told the author that planting rubber can be tapped after 4-5 years. The tapping time is as long as 40 years and the profit is considerable.

The author asked him whether he needs to pay more for doing business in Cambodia where power is relatively concentrated. Hu Jinlin said: It may not always be necessary to take the side-slope approach because we only conduct legal business and sub-branch operations. As long as we identify the market, we will gain something. . The most important thing is to be proficient in business, honest and trustworthy, and not to tell lies. The first time he invested in Cambodia was because of the establishment of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. Second, Cambodia needed post-war reconstruction. Hu Jinlin also said that Cambodia is in a state of exhaustion. Although its overall national strength is poor, its infrastructure is backward, and its workers' skills are low, this is a good opportunity to occupy the market.

As a witness in the early days of reform and opening up and a successful person who has now gone abroad, Hu Jinlin strongly feels that the fate of an individual is inseparable from the fate of the country. He solemnly told the author that China can have its current development and achievements. Reform and opening up have contributed to China's prosperity. We have more confidence in starting overseas.

Hu Jinlin also said that the country’s “going out strategy” is very far-sighted, because the domestic market is basically saturated, and if we want to continue development, we must go out. Going out early will have a larger living space. At the same time, it is very important to have an in-depth understanding of the local market. He himself drove the area of ​​Cambodian roads through the road, and sometimes he rented a helicopter to inspect him so that he knew the local market well.

With the start of the Cambodian economy, trade between China and Cambodia has developed rapidly. In 2010, Sino-Cambodian trade amounted to 1.44 billion U.S. dollars, a record high, and the increase in trade between China and Cambodia was 15 percentage points higher than the increase in China-ASEAN trade over the same period. In addition, China’s rapid investment in Cambodia has been the largest source of foreign investment in Cambodia for many years. As of the end of 2010, China had 367 investment projects in Cambodia, and the agreement amounted to more than US$7.7 billion.

Gao Hua, President of the Cambodian Chinese Chamber of Commerce, said in an interview with the author that compared to other countries in ASEAN, Cambodia’s economy is relatively small. In addition to large-scale national projects, privately-owned and privately-owned SMEs are more suitable for the local market, especially in Cambodia. Economic and trade enterprises have shown great vitality. In the Sino-Cambodian trade, China has always maintained a large surplus, and a large quantity of cheap, high-quality daily necessities are exported to Cambodia, especially small commodities such as motors, stationery, daily chemicals, and clothing. Therefore, “small business hawkers” engaged in these industries have played a major role in the trade with Cambodia. In the more than 10 years after they left the country, they quickly grabbed handcuffs, walked streets, and developed goods into containers. Great success.

However, due to the small size of Cambodia's economy, high logistics costs, and high tariffs, China has not set up large-scale investment in Cambodia, and has not established large-scale industries in the country. At present, Cambodia actively promotes its open policy. The economic environment is relaxed and foreign investment is welcomed. Some Chinese companies have begun to try to carry out product assembly and component production in the region. This will help solve local employment and reduce product prices, and ultimately benefit the Cambodian people.