bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Sandy Li

TSANG HIN-CHI, founder and chairman of menswear group Goldlion Holdings, is definitely not on the VIP lists of the bankering community.

He does not use credit cards, nor does he borrow money from banks. He pays for everything in cash, even when buying HK$500 million, seven-storey premises.

Mr Tsang, aged 68, is also a National People's Congress Standing Committee member. He works half a day in his company offices and has no plans to retire.

Which is just as well, as all crucial decisions still need his approval.

The Informer  spent some time with Mr Tsang and found out he has a good reason to shun the concept of borrowing.

Q: Do you buy all your personal and company property in cash?

A: Yes. My home and the company's properties, including the Goldlion Digital Network Centre (GDNC) in Guangzhou, the firm's seven-storey Sha Tin headquarters, the Goldlion Commercial Building in Shenyang and the building in To Kwa Wan . . . all were paid for in cash.

Q: Why do you prefer to do that?

A: I think I have developed a phobia about borrowing money.

It is probably because I was very poor when I was young. At that time, I needed to borrow money from my friends, relatives and business partners to fill all sorts of financial holes. That kind of desperate, insecure feeling is not easy to express in words.

I am very happy now because we are free of debt.

Q: Have you thought of retiring?

A: When I suffered from kidney malfunction several years ago, I did think of retiring. But I dropped the idea after recovering.

I do not feel comfortable just sitting at home doing nothing.

Q: You have three sons. What are their roles within the company?

A: My eldest son is a straightforward person and is suitable to head the company's computer division.

My second son has great courage when exploring new ventures. His idea to open restaurants and a business centre in the GDNC incurred losses.

I gave him 50,000 square feet of office space in GDNC, in which I have a 47 per cent stake, for that business to start-up.

My youngest son is in charge of the apparel division, the group's core profit contributor.

Q: How can your sons live up to your expectations?

A: I will look at their performances every year - just as though they were students sitting examinations -  to see whether they can overcome their shortcomings. Making mistakes is not a problem as long as they learn from them.

They should never become overly satisfied with their achievements.

My personal target is that they have to achieve a 30 per cent growth in sales every year. If they accomplish this, then it will be good for the company as well as for them.

Q: Do you only wear Goldlion clothes?

A: Certainly. My suit, my tie, my leather belt and my shoes . . . all are Goldlion. But they are defective, so there is no wastage.

Q: How about your sons?

A: No, they don't wear Goldlion all the time.

Q: How do you keep fit?

A: I swim every morning before work.

Q: Do you have plans to expand into women's fashion?

A: Yes, but (the plans are) still in the early stages. We are also thinking of expanding into franchises.

We would like to develop our business step-by-step instead of aggressively entering into new areas.



Goldlion founder takes no credit for his success