Hong Kong supplier to Uniqlo, Tommy Hilfiger bets US$713.8 million on real estate, factory in Greater Bay Area manufacturing hub Huizhou
- Wong Ting-chung, Nameson’s chairman, and his family have invested 5 billion yuan in Huizhou over the past 18 years.
- The family’s bet on real estate has paid off handsomely, with home prices in Huizhou recording the second-highest gains on the mainland between March and June
The Hong Kong family behind Nameson Holdings, which among other businesses also makes jumpers for fashion brands Uniqlo, Tommy Hilfiger and others, is a big fan of Huizhou, and believes the city next to Shenzhen in mainland China will benefit from Beijing’s Greater Bay Area development policies.
Wong Ting-chung, Nameson’s chairman, and his family have bet big on Huizhou over the past 18 years. The family has invested 5 billion yuan (US$713.8 million) across the manufacturing, property and hotels sectors.
“We found Huizhou to be a great place to invest, as it is close to Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Its government has been very supportive and has welcomed Hong Kong companies, which bring capital and create jobs,” Benny Wong Wai-yue, the chairman’s 38-year-old son and himself a vice-chairman and executive director at Nameson, said in an interview.
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China's ambitious plan to develop it own ‘Greater Bay Area’
“Huizhou is covered by the bay area plan, and governments of the nine mainland cities [covered by the development plan] have over the past five years launched a number of measures to promote the flow of capital and talent. The Hong Kong government is also starting to catch up. This will bring in more development opportunities for Huizhou in the coming years,” he said.
The beauty of Huizhou, Wong said, was that it was close by – an hour-and-a-half by car from Hong Kong and need less than an hour from Shenzhen.
Shenzhen, the “Chinese Silicon Valley”, has adopted a strategy to develop eastward, which will benefit Huizhou, he said. Shenzhen’s start-ups will “use factories in Huizhou to manufacture their innovative products”, Wong said.
The family has spent 1.6 billion yuan on Nameson’s manufacturing business, including investment in land, factory and machinery; and 3.4 billion yuan on 17 real estate projects, of which eight have been completed. The family also owns the five-star Crowne Plaza Hotel in Huizhou.