Hong Kong-listed Ming Fai Group, an international manufacturer specialising in hotel and travel amenities, has chosen Cambodia as its key production hub in the region due to the Kingdom’s friendly business policies.

The group’s subsidiary Ming Fai Enterprise (Cambodia) Co Ltd, which commenced operations in the Kingdom in 2018, and currently operates a 17-block factory. It employed more than 2,000 workers during the peak of operations.

Most of the company’s exports are targeted at the US and European markets.

It manufactures products such as hotel slippers, eye masks, socks and shower caps, as well as travel kits, airline bags and fashion bags.

Its products are intended for the hotel, travel and aviation industries.

The supplier was not spared during the Covid-19 outbreak – with a dramatic drop in sales and production lines functioning under capacity.

However, Ming Fai Group’s founder and chairman Ching Chi Fai is confident that business will bounce back as the Kingdom’s manufacturing sector recovers from the slowdown triggered by the Covid-19 outbreak.

“Our business operations were highly affected by the coronavirus pandemic. There was a period when our workforce was reduced to 700, due to a sharp fall in orders from our clients. But as of last month, the number of our active workers is around 1,200.

“Demand for our products mainly comes from the travel industry, which in recent years had seen steady growth in the Southeast Asia region before the coronavirus pandemic. I believe that in five years’ time Southeast Asia’s travel industry will have recovered and again enjoy vibrant growth.

“We are also working hard to expand our business in Cambodia and Southeast Asia, hoping to make further use of the advantages of running manufacturing operations in the Kingdom,” he said.

The operations hub of Ming Fai is located in Shenzhen, China, while it owns five production bases, including in Cambodia.

Ching said that since the pandemic, orders from the US and European markets have witnessed the biggest decline, while demand from China has begun to pick up slowly.

“With orders gradually climbing back to pre-pandemic levels, the number of active workers will rebound to the previous number of 2,000 by the end of this year,” he said.

Despite declining revenue, Ming Fai offered a special allowance to workers who were temporarily suspended as required by the Cambodian government’s Covid measures.

While noting that the unprecedented pandemic threatening the global market could pose a mid-term impact on Ming Fai Group’s manufacturing operations, Ching remains optimistic.

“I believe companies will make adjustments according to their own circumstances to gain better development in the future,” he said.