Coronavirus: who are those hoping to jump on Hong Kong’s mask production bandwagon?
- As the city continues to face a shortfall of masks amid the epidemic, some people and businesses are exploring ways to source or innovate
- The Post learned at least four organisations and companies would make a minimum of 45.7 million masks monthly from March
Dicky Chan’s ambition has led him to a small en suite bedroom he cannot leave – at least temporarily.
Inside a cramped, subdivided flat in the New Territories, the 38-year-old cleaning firm boss is undergoing self-quarantine, an inconvenient, if necessary, step in his bid to become one of Hong Kong’s next-generation mask producers.
Chan settled into the temporary accommodation earlier this week after venturing to the mainland city of Dongguan in neighbouring Guangdong province to secure two mask-making machines.
The entrepreneur had been inspired to order the machines for more than 800,000 yuan (HK$891,277) – more than double the normal price – after his own company began having trouble sourcing masks amid the city’s battle with the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.
The trip, he believed, had to be made to ensure he did not lose the equipment to eager mainland buyers, several of whom were on the factory floor trying to secure machines of their own when he arrived.
On Monday, the first of his two machines was delivered to Hong Kong.