Hunan Merchants' Industrial Revolution in Laos
“The retail market in Laos is basically done by Hunanese. The Lao Hunan Chamber of Commerce actively builds a platform to help Hunan entrepreneurs gain a foothold in Laos. This time, they brought Lao rice and other products back to their hometown to display.” said Liu Xiaomin, President of the Lao Chamber of Commerce Hunan.
At present, the Lao Hunan Chamber of Commerce is stepping up the construction of the "One Road and Four Parks", namely, the construction of the Laos Vientiane-Champasse highway, the Laos Hunan Rubber Industrial Park, the Lao Hunan Rubber Plantation, the Lao Ecological Agriculture Industrial Park, and the Lao Hunan Industrial Park. The construction of "One Road and Four Parks" has led Hunan businessmen to break into a new world of their own in a foreign country.
There are currently more than 100,000 Hunanese living in Laos and working in all walks of life. The Hunan Chamber of Commerce in Laos was established in December 2008 and currently has more than 500 members. According to statistics from relevant departments in Laos, at present, in the sales of motorcycles, mobile phones, clothing and luggage, Hunanese operators dominate the market share of 75%, 60%, and 50%.
Seize the opportunity
Before 2006, he was a real estate developer in Shaoyang. By chance, he discovered that China needs about 3 million tons of rubber a year, while the combined annual output of Hainan and Xishuangbanna is less than 800,000 tons. Liu Xiaomin keenly sensed the business opportunities.
Yunnan is very close to Laos. When the Shaodong businessmen started their business, they basically followed the Yunnan-Guizhou route. Liu Xiaomin naturally set his sights on Laos and joined the action of planting crops to replace poppies.
When he first arrived in Laos, he found that the situation was not optimistic: almost every household was planting opium poppies, and changing the local tradition of planting opium poppies was called an "industrial revolution." Liu Xiaomin specially organized a team to show movies in each village to promote the dangers of drugs and the benefits of rubber. "In 2007, more than 30,000 mu of rubber was planted in cooperation with farmers."
In order to get the cooperation of the locals, Liu Xiaomin pondered many ways. "Compared with a farmer: the income of planting a tree is about the same as feeding a cow. Of course, farmers are more willing to plant trees." In addition, he found that many villages in Laos are relatively poor, and some people only have one quilt, so he gave thousands of them. Bed quilt, one bed per household; in order to get government support, Liu Xiaomin also supported the local government to repair stadiums and roads, and sponsored US$10,000 for the opening ceremony of the ASEAN Games.
In 2007, he established Laos Pocho Jiafeng Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Jiafeng Agriculture") in the local area, which is mainly engaged in rubber production, and all products are sold to China. In addition, 10,000 hectares of demonstration forests were leased in Laos for a 30-year lease term. At present, Jiafeng Agriculture has planted more than 600,000 mu of rubber in Laos, and plans to expand to 2 million mu to build the largest rubber plantation in Asia.
Build the "Overseas Hunan Army" brand
On a street in Laos, there are more than 500 Hunan merchants who set up shops to operate small hardware and north-south goods. Due to historical reasons, these merchants have never applied for business licenses. After learning about the situation, Liu Xiaomin learned about the situation between local government departments and merchants in Laos, and actively strived for it. In the end, every Hunan merchant successfully applied for a business license, effectively safeguarding the interests of Hunan merchants.
The Hunan Branch of the Lao Chinese Chamber of Commerce, established in December 2008, is the first overseas chamber of commerce in Hunan Province and one of the three branches of the Lao Chinese Chamber of Commerce. The Hunan Branch of the Lao Chinese Chamber of Commerce currently has more than 1,200 member companies. One of the important daily tasks of the Chamber of Commerce is to assist members to communicate with Lao government departments, solve some difficulties and problems encountered in work and life, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of members.
Promote Hunan enterprises to develop the ASEAN market
"Some companies have no advantage in the province, but they have great development opportunities in Laos. For example, the old household appliances, mobile phones and other products that have been eliminated in the province can find a good market in Laos." Liu Xiaomin said.
In recent years, under the leadership of Liu Xiaomin, the Hunan Chamber of Commerce in Laos has given full play to its advantages in overseas network resources [0.75%], and leveraged the role of a platform for friendship among the villagers to coordinate Hunan's superior enterprises to the international market. He has taken a special trip to Yongzhou, Xiangtan and other places to investigate and connect ASEAN and enterprises' "going out" work, to pass information and matchmaking to Hunan enterprises and businessmen who come to Laos for investment and inspection, and to promote Hunan enterprises to explore the ASEAN market.
According to the commerce department, most of the motorcycle sales, mobile phone market, clothing and luggage markets in Laos are occupied by Hunanese. Hunan businessmen have become an important force in Laos' economic and social life. Liu Xiaomin also actively planned Hunan Construction Engineering and other enterprises to Laos to build a highway that runs through Laos from north to south and integrate into the national "One Belt, One Road" strategy.
Liu Xiaomin, who has rich contacts in Lao political circles, actively promoted the advantages and construction capabilities of Hunan construction enterprises, and finally won the recognition of the Lao government. The Laos Vientiane-Champasek Expressway built by Hunan construction enterprises will transform Laos from a land-locked country to a land-linked country.
Actively promote the construction of "One Road and Four Parks"
The Hunan Chamber of Commerce in Laos is stepping up the construction of "One Road and Four Parks".
One Road: Construction of the Vientiane-Champasek Expressway in Laos. The expressway is 1,250 kilometers long and has a total investment of more than 10 billion yuan. After the completion of the highway that runs through the north and south of Laos, it will provide a good development space for the Lao transportation industry, economic and trade exchanges, and tourism, and will bring benefits to the Lao people. According to the agreement and the memorandum of cooperation, the 450-kilometer expressway from Moting on the China-Laos border to Vientiane will be constructed by Yunnan Construction Engineering Group for the preliminary feasibility study and route survey. The 800-kilometer expressway from Vientiane to the southern city of Champas will be constructed by Hunan. An enterprise consortium composed of Industrial Group, Hunan Transportation Planning, Survey and Design Institute, Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Group, etc. will carry out preliminary related work. Future construction will adopt the BOT (build-operate-transfer) model, and the feasibility study of the project has been initiated.
Four Parks: Taking the park as a breakthrough point to promote the development of trade, four major industrial parks are actively built in Laos: Hunan Rubber Industrial Park in Laos, Hunan Rubber Plantation in Laos, Ecological Agriculture Industrial Park in Laos, Hunan Industrial Park in Laos, and the industrial park’s Export Hunan products to Laos.