Beijing Tiankelong Company Opens its First Chain Store in Macao

Beijing Tiankelong Company Limited, the first mainland supermarket to open a chain store outside the Chinese mainland, set up its first Macao store in June 2002. The store in Macao can serve as an outpost to export quality goods from the mainland and introduce products from Hong Kong, Taiwan and foreign countries. The store's General Manager, Mr Fan Ping, told Macao Image that the turnover for the first two months was better than expected, and that the group had increased its confidence in Macao's market.

Tiangkelong Company's Eighth Chain Store Outside the Mainland

Beijing Tiankelong Co. Ltd. was the first mainland Chinese state-owned group to tap the overseas market. It has set up eight large supermarkets in Bulgaria, Canada, Russia and elsewhere. The company's President, Mr. Yang Qirui, said during a visit to Macao that opening the supermarket was not the main objective of the company, but to give it the opportunity of purchasing directly quality goods from Hong Kong and Macao to cut costs. In addition, the store could take advantage of the close commercial and economic links between Macao and Taiwan in order to supply typical mainland products to Taiwan.

Mr. Fan said that Macao is a free port and a separate customs territory like Hong Kong, but things are much better here because costs are lower and competition is less severe. Preparations for the store took two years. The total area is 32,000 square feet and the total investment amounts to 10 million patacas. There are more than 12,000 types of goods available in the store.

Macao's Tiankelong supermarket was opened in the densely populated northern area in June 2002, a neighbourhood that had been without any large supermarket. Mr. Fan pointed out, “The turnover in the first two months was better than expected. We would have been happy if we had just broken even. You know, we mainly want to have such a store here to export mainland products and introduce foreign goods.” Based in Macao and Linked with the Rest of the World

The strength of Tiankelong Company lies in its comprehensive purchasing and distribution system, which enables it to bring quality goods straight from the mainland to Macao. For instance, Tiankelong purchased a tonne of peaches fresh from the orchard in Beijing. The peaches were packed at 3 pm, arrived in Macao at 10 am the next day and were sold out in two and a half days. Mr. Fan said, “Back then we did not know that one tonne would not be enough. Now we purchase at least three tonnes, and the consignment can be sold within one week.”

According to Mr. Fan, the company sometimes imports some foreign goods just to see how the market reacts. If the goods are well received, then the company can then sell them also on the mainland. Mr. Fan pointed out, “This bottle of spirits is a very good example. If it is popular in Macao, we shall consider importing it to the mainland.”

Currently, Beijing Tiankelong Co. Ltd. has a total of eight stores outside the mainland, including the one in Macao. All the stores are linked up part of a trading network to export domestic products and to introduce foreign goods in an well-organised fashion.

Tiankelong was attracted to Macao by the Macao Investment and Trade Promotion Institute. Mr. Fan stressed that “the Macao Investment and Trade Promotion Institute has indeed helped us a lot. The Institute even helped us to find the right location for our supermarket.”

Company : Beijing Tiankelong Supermarket (Macau) LTD.
Address : Rua Nova Do Patane, 72 Edf. Lue San Square C, R/C, Macao
Tel : (853) 233000
Fax : (853) 233023


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Macao's First IC Design Company Starts Business Operations

Mr. Tam and Mr. U Seng Pan, Engineering Director of Chipidea Microelectronics (Macau) Limited, hold doctorates in microelectronics, and in July 2002 together established the company in conjunction with the Portuguese company Chipidea Microelectronics. Mr. Tam pointed out, “We both are Macao residents, so we should do something for the development of the high-tech industry here.”

Although they are minute, chips are the central component of all digital products that have changed the world so remarkably over the past few decades. Nowadays, chips are everywhere, from electronic notebooks to the Internet, from PCs to game machines and digital cameras. Chip technology has been driving the development of the whole telecommunication industry and information industry for the past ten years. Chips are made of semi-conductors, so it is in the PC industry and semi-conductor industry where chips are most frequently used. Chips are, therefore, inherently connected with the semi-conductor industry.

Macao Has its Special Strengths
Mr. Tam emphasised that the whole semi-conductor industry is highly specialised and compartmentalised into different segments such as design, production, assembling and provision of tools. Chipidea specialises in design and their manufacturing units produce the necessary chips once the design has been completed. Mr. Tam points out, “We have clients from all over the world. China is poised to become the number-one market in the next ten years, following its accession to the WTO. Its semi-conductor industry is still in its infancy, so all big semi-conductor companies have set their eyes on China.” He added, “We are in a better position to tap the markets of Taiwan and the Chinese Mainland than a purely Portuguese company.”

The most valuable assets of an IC design company are its talents and technology. IC design companies do normally not have their own production lines, so they customarily move to where the manufacturing plants are located. Taiwan is the world's fourth largest semi-conductor production base, and semiconductor plants from Taiwan in the past two to three years started to move to the Mainland, so a lot of IC design companies have set up offices on the mainland as well. As a result, the semi-conductor industry on the Mainland will experience new developments in the next three to five years, and competition among IC design companies will become fiercer.

As far as competition is concerned, Mr. Tam said, “IC design companies either work on digital or analog designs. Most of the IC design companies choose digital. But we have chosen to produce mainly analog and mixed signals that are more skillful and professional than digital design.” Mr. U was quick to add, “The Mainland does not have sufficient analog technology and talents. So our sub-micron technology will put us well ahead of our Mainland competitors for at least several years to come.”

Designing Unique Chips
Chipidea now designs chips for manufacturing plants. According to Mr. U, due to the fact that a lot of finished chips are available on the market, designers need to differentiate their products so as to attract customers. Chipidea can design tailor-make chips for its clients and can further upgrade them, so that their products cannot be bought anywhere else on the market. Mr. U said, “As an example, mobile phones are getting smaller and smaller with more functions thanks to the progress in chip design and semi-conductor technology. People want to have video images and Internet access on their phones in addition to voice mail. Our chips can make all this possible, so our design is very popular among big companies.”

Macao, a city long known for its gaming industry, does presently not have that many well-known high-tech companies. Chipidea is the first high-tech IC design company incorporated in Macao. Mr. U underlined the fact that the University of Macau was a good base for talents since it is strong in microelectronics. He also believes that the small size of Macao and low rate of mobility will benefit with a steady growth. “For us in IC design, the most important thing is talent. The University of Macau can provide us with enough talents, given its strength in microelectronics. You know, all our engineers are graduates from the University of Macau. Macao is a simple city, unlike those bustling metropolises. People here do not change jobs so much. All this recommends Macao as a base for R&D.” He added, “It is very bad for an R&D company if the employees hop from one job to another after they are properly trained. We do not have to worry about that in Macao.”

Chipidea was set up in Portugal in 1997 and has been growing steadily ever since. It is now a leading supplier of analog and mixed signal IP’s. It is headquartered in Lisbon, with branches and joint ventures in Porto, Poland, Great Britain, France and the Macao Special Administrative Region.

Company : Chipidea Microelectronics (Macau) Limited
Address : Av. Xian Xing Hai, Edf. Zhu Kuan, 6 Andar D. E. F. G., Macao
Tel : (853) 758597
Fax : (853) 752240
Website : http://www.chipidea.com


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