Indian entrepreneurs were knocking on doors and looking for windows of opportunity to create wealth long before Hong Kong was handed over 'in perpetuity to Her Majesty, heirs and successors', under the Treaty of Nanking in August 1842.
These enterprising merchants were known to have been trading with China for hundreds of years, and were among the first to set up shop in the fishing village that the then British Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston described as 'a barren rock'. That village, Hong Kong, would later become one of the world's biggest trading entities.
The tradition of trading continues, but the pattern and composition of trade has changed.
The Indian Chamber of Com-merce Hong Kong, which marks its 50th anniversary this year, continues to nurture the trading tradition. Over the past five decades, the chamber has played a pivotal role in Hong Kong's economic fortunes, while also being a conduit for Sino-Indian trade.
Like the early pioneers who sailed in clippers to various trading ports in search of commodities, today's entrepreneurs are navigating the seas of commerce in search of business ventures.
Last year, Raj Sital, chairman of the Indian chamber, headed a delegation to Xiamen on the invitation of the Xiamen sub-council of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT). Xia-men, in southern Fujian, was once a Treaty Port, then known as Amoy.
The meeting, which included talks with senior municipal officials, opened avenues for partnership. A few months later, the chamber participated in the China Fair for International Investment and Trade. It was a first for the chamber.