Li & Fung spin-off Global Brands wants China brands to compete globally

Home-grown mainland consumer brands could be ready to compete on the world stage by 2017 and Li & Fung spin-off Global Brands wants to be the one taking them there, according to chief executive Bruce Rockowitz .

"There haven't been any obvious emerging brands yet that have the sensibility to go to the other side of the water but they're getting better," he said.

He added that the company had a large global distribution network and could "do a lot for Chinese brands".

"That would be the next three-year plan when Chinese brands are ready," he said.

Rockowitz, who spoke to the South China Morning Post before Global Brands' debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange today, has taken the helm of the new unit after a decade as president of global trading group Li & Fung. He has been succeeded there by Spencer Fung, the son of honorary chairman Victor Fung Kwok-king and the third generation of the Fung family to run the business.

The restructuring sees Li & Fung returning to its core trading business, with Rockowitz taking his branding expertise and focusing it full-time on the spin-off consumer brands division.