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Hainan
BusinessChina Business

Hong Kong businesses test waters in Hainan, China’s shopping mecca, aiming to seize on post-Covid consumption boom

  • Hong Kong firms are following peers Chow Tai Fook, Kerry Logistics and Micro Connect to expand in China’s ‘Hawaii’ as consumer spending rebounds
  • City’s businesses are paying more attention to opportunities in mainland China markets, says Hong Kong Trade Development Council official

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Hong Kong company All Time Healthy showcases its products at the China International Consumer Products Expo in Hainan on April 13. Photo: Iris Ouyang
Iris Ouyang
Hong Kong businesses are testing the waters in mainland China’s tropical Hainan province, following the footprints of local companies such as Chow Tai Fook and Bank of East Asia (BEA) as they reconnect with consumers and lay out expansion plans amid hopes of a recovery in spending after Covid-19.
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Ken Wong, director of All Time Healthy, a Hong Kong-based health supplement producer and retailer, is busy preparing to register a new company in May or June in China’s southernmost province and holiday destination, often compared to Hawaii.

The company, which sells two self-developed products as well as items from other international brands, will open a flagship shop on the island, which is set to become the largest free-trade port in China by 2025, with all goods being duty free.
The move will follow other local firms such as jewellery companies Chow Tai Fook and Tse Sui Luen Jewel, BEA, Kerry Logistics and Micro Connect, all of which are gearing up to regain mainland customers after three years of disconnect during the coronavirus pandemic.
People visit the third China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, capital city of south China’s Hainan Province, on April 15, 2023. Photo: Xinhua
People visit the third China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, capital city of south China’s Hainan Province, on April 15, 2023. Photo: Xinhua

“We hope to do some trading [via the new entity]” to attract bulk purchasers, distributors and wholesalers, Wong said, adding that he is betting that more favourable tariff policies on the island will help boost sales to the broader mainland market.

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Around 35 companies and more than 50 brands exhibited their products – foods, health supplements, fashion, jewellery, watches and personal-care products – last week at the annual China International Consumer Products Expo in Hainan, many of them for the first time.

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