中國製造商走進盧旺達尋覓商機
Rwanda may be landlocked in central Africa and saddled with prohibitive energy costs, but it has become the latest beneficiary of a quest by Chinese manufacturers to find competitive margins as wages rise at home.
盧旺達是一個地處非洲中部內陸、能源價格高得離譜的國家，但在中國製造商迫於國內工資水平上漲、走出國門尋找有競爭力的利潤率的潮流中，這個國家卻成爲最新的受益者。Candy Ma, a 40 year-old Chinese industrialist, has hired 200 trainee workers at her government-built factory in the east African country, and this month she invited buyers from Walmart, H&M and Tesco to inspect the facility.
在這個東非國家，40歲的中國實業家Candy Ma（見上圖）剛剛在她由政府建起的新工廠裏僱了200名實習工人，這個月，她邀請了沃爾瑪(Walmart)、H&M和特易購(Tesco)的進貨商前來參觀工廠。
She plans to export 30,000 T-shirts a month — enough for an initial $10m in first-year sales — and expects to expand tenfold to 2,000 workers next year.
她計劃每月出口3萬件T恤，對於頭一年1000萬美元銷售額的目標來說，這個量足夠了。明年，她希望把員工人數增加9倍，至2000人。
Her investment underscores a rising trend. The Chinese, often blamed for destroying African industry by flooding the continent with cheap goods that undercut local markets, are now at the forefront of foreign manufacturers expanding their footprint in it. Chinese factory owners, driven by a strengthening renminbi and rising salaries at home, are relocating to secure more competitive margins.
她在盧旺達的投資凸顯出一股新興趨勢。人們往往指責中國人大量向非洲輸出廉價商品，以低於當地市場的價格銷售，從而摧毀了非洲的工業，而如今，在那些不斷在非洲擴大足跡的外國製造商中間，中國人走在了前列。在人民幣升值以及國內工資上漲的驅動下，中國工廠主正在遷移工廠，以獲取更有競爭力的利潤率。The World Bank says China is set to lose 85m manufacturing jobs in the next decade. While most Chinese companies are looking closer to home in Southeast Asia, more far-flung countries are also beginning to benefit.
世界銀行(World Bank)表示，未來十年中國將失去8500個製造業崗位。儘管大多數中國企業將目光投向離本土更近的東南亞，但一些更遙遠的國家也開始獲益於這股趨勢。One of the main attractions of African countries is their preferential trade agreements with the US and Europe, which mean that finished products, such as textiles, avoid import duties of up to 30 per cent.
非洲國家的一個主要吸引力是，它們與歐美簽署了優惠性的貿易協定，這意味着紡織品等製成品可免去最高達30%的進口稅。Chinese manufacturers such as Ms Ma have also been impressed by the example of Huajian Shoes, the first Chinese plant to relocate to Ethiopia in 2012 and which is to expand its workforce to 30,000 as part of a $2bn investment.
Candy這樣的中國製造商也受到了華堅製鞋(Huajian Shoes)這個榜樣的鼓舞。2012年，華堅在中國企業中率先遷往埃塞俄比亞，眼下它計劃將僱員人數增加到3萬人，作爲一個20億美元投資計劃的一部分。“Every country has its own comparative advantage; you just need to find it,” says Helen Hai, the former factory executive who pioneered Huajian’s move and who has since become a champion for industry in Africa.
曾擔任華堅集團高管的海宇(Helen Hai)表示：“每個國家都有自己的比較優勢，你需要的只是找到它們。”海宇率先帶領華堅走向非洲，自那以後成爲非洲紡織業的領軍人物。The two are friends. Ms Ma met Ms Hai on a research trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, and last year visited Rwanda at her suggestion. Ms Ma even named her company C&H Garments after the two of them — Candy and Helen.
Candy和海宇兩人是朋友。Candy在去埃塞俄比亞首都亞的斯亞貝巴考察途中認識了海宇，並在後者的建議下於去年去了盧旺達。Candy的公司C&H Garments甚至也是以兩人名字命名的——Candy和Helen。Ms Ma believes the advantages of Rwanda’s business-savvy government, the cheap, disciplined labour force and ready-made factory space outweigh transport and other logistical challenges. “I feel this country is special . . . and I like a challenging job,” says Ms Ma, who visited Rwanda for the first time last year.
Candy認爲，盧旺達政府通曉商業，勞動力廉價而訓練有素，而且還有現成的工廠，這些優勢抵消了交通以及其他物流方面的不足。Candy表示：“我覺得這個國家非常特別……我喜歡有挑戰性的工作。”Candy去年才第一次來到盧旺達。Although Rwandan labour costs are about 10 per cent higher than in Ethiopia, they are still roughly half those of Kenya — where Ms Ma also has a textiles factory for higher-end products — and, crucially, she says it offers disciplined workers who are quick to learn.
盧旺達的勞動力成本比埃塞俄比亞高10%左右，但只有肯尼亞的一半，Candy說，關鍵是，盧旺達有受過訓練、學習能力很強的工人。Candy在肯尼亞也有一家生產高端紡織品的工廠。“In two days these people [in Rwanda] are already understanding how to use the [sewing] machines . . . next week my standard can come to exporters’ standard,” she says, handling a freshly made khaki-coloured children’s polo shirt.
Candy拿着一件剛剛做出來的土黃色兒童polo衫說：“（盧旺達的）這些人兩天就已經明白瞭如何使用縫紉機……下週我的工廠標準就可以達到出口商的標準。”Rwanda, which earns only $600m a year from exports and runs a 17.2 per cent trade deficit, offers hefty tax concessions and other support in an effort to boost foreign currency earnings.
盧旺達每年出口收入只有6億美元，貿易逆差比例達到17.2%，該國提供了很大的稅收優惠以及其他支持措施以增加外匯收入。“Rwanda has amazing leadership, otherwise I wouldn’t take [Ms Ma] to Rwanda and also she would not make the decision,” says Ms Hai of President Paul Kagame, who has faced criticism for his human rights record.
海宇在談到盧旺達總統保羅•卡加梅(Paul Kagame)時表示：“盧旺達的領導人非常棒，否則我也不會建議Candy去盧旺達，她也不會做出在盧旺達投資的決定。”卡加梅曾因人權紀錄而遭受抨擊。Ms Ma’s light and airy factory, in Kigali, the capital, is located in a new government-backed special economic zone, which offers reliable power and water, good road links and land. These can be tough to access elsewhere. Only three exporters, including Ms Ma, have located to phase one of the zone, which houses 61 units. She does not expect to be alone for long. “More will come.”
Candy的工廠明亮而通風，坐落在首都基加利一個政府支持的新成立的經濟特區裏，那裏有穩定的電力、水和土地供應，交通便利。其他地方很難有這些條件。包括Candy在內，只有3家出口商入駐特區一期——特區有61家企業。她預計這種情況不會持續太久，“將會有更多企業進駐”。
