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IN THE PAST DECADE, Hong Kong and China Gas (Towngas)  has invested more than $35 billion in ventures on the mainland, and has  no intention of slowing down.

Like many established Hong Kong firms, Towngas knows that if it seeks expansion, it must aggressively stake its territory  in the mainland market. Though profits remain small, Towngas managing director  Alfred Chan Wing-kin said the mainland held the promise of exponential growth.

'Hong Kong is a mature market, while China is an expanding market,'  said K.S. Yeung,   head of corporate human resources. 'We have to get into China for better marketing opportunities, better expansion. It's the only option.'

Towngas already had 28 joint ventures on the mainland, and planned to set up another three or four before the end of the year, Mr Yeung  said.

The firm's employment structure already reflects its philosophy. After more than 140 years as one of Hong Kong's most successful companies, it has 1,972 employees. In its  10 years  in the mainland, it has hired 5,000.

While nearly all of the firm's employees on the mainland were locals, Towngas continued   to draw on Hong Kong talent for managerial-level positions, Mr Yeung said.

He said  that while the firm's rapid expansion was an indication that it would be hiring continually, the number of positions that would become available did not necessarily depend on how many projects were about to  be launched.

Mr Yeung said Towngas was  big enough  to be able to afford to hire people largely on the basis of long-term needs. This allowed its human resources department to concentrate on getting the best talent available, instead of scrambling to fill positions.

'In the gas business, safety [and] reliability always come first. We need to develop our new hires to help them understand our culture. So we build up our talent pool which allows us time to train our people.'

This  might be expensive,   but Towngas did not  see its staff as an overhead. 'We look at them as investments,' Mr Yeung said.

The firm had three major recruitment intakes in Hong Kong, he said. The first intake was of graduate engineers who might be posted to the mainland;  the second was of apprentices who were trained  to be gas fitters or technicians and who might  also   be posted to China.

The third intake was of 'seasoned professionals who don't necessarily have gas industry experience' but whose  primary qualification was 'a lot of China experience'.

'These [employees] from the apprentices to the professionals, are the people I use to create a talent pool. When I need them, they are always there,' Mr Yeung said.

This year Towngas has about 30 openings for the gas fitter apprenticeship scheme.

About 12 experienced professionals were recruited last year, and the firm hires between eight and 10 gas engineers a year.

Mr Yeung  said salaries at Towngas  were competitive. 'As they say, you pay peanuts, you hire monkeys.'

The income of those hired   at 'mid-career intake ...  could be slightly less than a million a year', although salaries varied widely, depending on qualifications.

Mr Yeung stressed  that Hong Kong residents hired specifically to work in the mainland would  be paid Hong Kong rates.

Hong Kong-based employees  posted to the mainland were  expected to stay there for at least two years.

Towngas has already  seconded about 44 Hong Kong employees to the mainland. In addition,  there are more than 100  'frequent fliers' - employees  based in Hong Kong but doing much work in the mainland. Some, like Mr Yeung,  spend most of their office time there.

Most Towngas employees working in China either as seconded staff or as frequent fliers found the experience 'very rewarding in terms of career, in terms of challenge and exposure', he said.

'We feel that our mainland operations may offer better long-term career opportunities for some Towngas employees as the natural gas market is expected to grow exponentially,' Mr Yeung said.

Putonghua was a basic requirement. For those who wish to develop their skills further, the company provided private tuition and had set up a Putonghua club 'which can be very effective because they learn in a casual way, such as singing karaoke, and they pick up colloquialisms', he said.

Mr Yeung expected the number of employees working in the mainland to  'go up very fast, considering the number of projects being planned'.

He said  most employees  were enthusiastic about the prospect of working there. Some had to be convinced, but 'normally they find that going there is at least acceptable'.

'We encourage our Hong Kong employees to be actively involved in our mainland business. We never stop giving employees information on how we are expanding in the mainland, so they know where the business is going.'



Towngas in growth explosion