Making money in manufacturing is not easy, but people with a keen sense for seizing an opportunity can achieve success.
"Toy King" Francis Choi Chee-ming, for example, spotted an opportunity early on to make masks and has gone all out into this sideline business, making over 200,000 pieces a day for marketing to the United States.
When the tycoon meets friends these days, he shows them a video clip of his mainland mask production lines churning out the product.
But what precisely triggered a toymaker to suddenly go into making masks?
Seeing Wuhan going into lockdown during the Lunar New Year holidays, he knew demand for medical protective gear would definitely rise. So he immediately ordered machinery to set up production lines and deployed engineers to help assemble them.
He says with a laugh that setting up the production facilities was not a problem, as he commands a 1,000-strong team of engineers.
But delivery could start only once certification was cleared in line with additional quality standards imposed by the United States.
Choi said the initial cost estimation of 60 HK cents per mask rose to close to HK$1 as the cost of non-woven fabric - one of the raw materials - shot up from HK$20,000 a tonne to HK$500,000.
But selling at the equivalent of HK$2 a piece to US buyers means demand remains robust.
After the SARS epidemic 17 years ago, Choi bought a lot of real restate.
But the present situation is different, he observes.
With the US and European economies seized up, some export inventories are at glut levels and manufacturers can run into dire straits. So he is conserving cash to fight future battles.
He also gives himself a pat on the back, saying his masks are cheaper and have a shorter production time than those made locally by a fellow manufacturer, Executive Council member Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung.
But Choi notes that Lam has been successful in achieving a relaxation of restrictions on Hong Kong businessmen entering the mainland market, which is a great help to manufacturers.
For that, Choi, who is usually sparing with praise, says he must give Lam a "like."
Siu Sai-wo is publisher of Sing Tao Daily
