Hengtong has overseas vision

Workers inspect products at a workshop of Hengtong Group Co Ltd, a Jiangsu-based company. [Photo/Xinhua]

Editor's note: In this ongoing series on the birth and growth of privately owned Chinese companies that are redefining innovation, China Daily profiles Hengtong Group Co Ltd, a Jiangsu-based company engaged in optical fiber manufacturing and electric power and network construction, which eyes overseas expansion.

Hengtong Group Co Ltd, a Jiangsu-based company engaged in optical fiber manufacturing and electric power and network construction, aims to establish two to three overseas bases and achieve two to three overseas acquisitions annually. This plan is aligned with the country's Belt and Road Initiative.

The company is making efforts to speed up its overseas market activity. It has established seven research and development centers overseas, and set up branches for marketing and technology services in more than 30 countries and regions.

It established its first overseas factory in Brazil in 2012, followed by a joint venture in India in 2013. It also bought optical fiber and electric power enterprises in Indonesia, South Africa, Spain and Portugal in 2015.

It has registered trademarks in more than 100 countries and regions and its business covers 120 countries and regions. Its optical fiber products account for a 15 percent share of the global market.

"If there is no optical fiber web, there is no internet, let alone big data and cloud computing," said Cui Genliang, chairman and president of Hengtong Group.

The communication infrastructure is relatively backward in some countries along the B & R Initiative, which gives huge opportunities for Chinese companies like Hengtong to expand overseas, Gui added.

China's B & R Initiative aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa, along ancient trade routes.

Founded in 1991, Hengtong has seen its businesses covering not only telecom and electric power, but also being involved in finance, culture, tourism, real estate, capital investment and e-commerce platforms.

It has put forward a goal called the "5-5-5" internationalization target. That means that more than 50 percent of its products will be sold overseas, more than 50 percent of its capital will be from overseas and more than 50 percent of its professional people will have international background, according to the company.

The optical fiber communication giant now serves various national programs, including, intelligent cities and communities, ultrahigh voltage and intelligent power networks, big data, internet of things, high-speed trains, aerospace, national defense and other high-end fields.

In 2015, its overseas revenue accounted for 20 percent of the total sales. In the next decade, Hengtong will grasp the opportunities brought about by the B & R Initiative and continue to push forward its internalization strategy.

"The international market is a touchstone of an enterprises' competitiveness, in which we test our products and achievements, as well as the technology level of an enterprise," said Gao Anmin, the international vice-president at Hengtong Group.

Hengtong will make comprehensive use of talent and technology in the domestic and overseas markets, expand the channels inside and outside China and speed up its international expansion by depending on foreign investment and acquisition.