May 2014
As anti-Chinese riots rage in Vietnam, with resulting fatalities and burned down factories, Wall Street Journal reporter Kathy Chu examines how the anti-Chinese sentiment is affecting Vietnam’s attractiveness for Hong Kong-based manufacturers In the article “Vietnam Factory Riots: The View From Hong Kong,” dated May 16, 2014.
Willy Lin, the deputy chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, is quoted in the article as describing the riots as a “huge blow” to investing in Vietnam, and he suggests the solution is “to pray very hard.” The feeling of despair and loss of control is obvious.
In contrast, Lever Style Chairman and CEO Stanley Szeto articulates that the company’s manufacturing isn’t at all impacted by the riots, as its manufacturing is contracted out to locally-owned factories. According to the article, “that's a big contrast to the experience of other manufacturers with factories in the affected region.”
Stanley is further quoted: “I understand some Hong Kong-owned factories... aren't so lucky as they are seriously hit. These incidents just further convince us that our strategy of outsourcing rather than building our own is the right one.”