“A successful business should meet the needs of the market as well as society, be people-oriented and care for the environment.”
It has always been in Dr Alex Wong Siu-wah’s nature to give back. As a young boy, Alex grew up in a family with limited means and received financial support from the church to complete his primary and secondary education.
“My parents taught me the importance of giving back to the community. We should always be thankful for the help we’ve been given and never forget where we come from. We should also try our best to help the underprivileged,” says the Chairman and CEO of King’s Flair International (Holdings) Limited, a Hong Kong-listed company specialising in household products.
Alex has been most supportive of PolyU, where he studied mechanics and electronics in the predecessor of the university in the 1970s and earned a Doctor of Business of Administration (DBA) more than four decades on. In addition to setting up an endowed professorship to support research in product design engineering, he also offers internship opportunities to PolyU students and finds time to talk to the young people, sharing with them his business and life experiences. Most recently, he has donated to the PolyU COVID-19 Student Support Fund.
For Alex, giving back doesn’t stop at writing a cheque to a school or charity. He practises what he preaches by running his business in a socially responsible way. In designing and developing a new product, for example, he prefers raw materials that are renewable or biodegradable.
“Corporate social responsibility isn’t a cosmetic exercise to promote the company. It is something that has to be put into action. Running a business in a socially responsible manner enables a company to gain the respect of its staff and customers,” he says, adding that a balance can be struck between making a profit and doing good.
With the long-term development of his business and the community in mind, Alex ensures that his company is equipped to respond and adapt to any changes and uncertain circumstances. Indeed, since starting off as a small factory more than 40 years ago, his company has weathered the ups and downs of the economy - often by using new knowledge and creative business models. For instance, by applying the concept of “Virtual Manufacturing”, his company is able to focus on talent development and product innovation while leveraging its business partners to manufacture a wide range of products. Meanwhile, a share incentive scheme has been put in place to offer employees an opportunity to become shareholders and has proved to be a great motivator.
Alex believes trustworthiness, continuous learning and improvement are the keys to success in both business and life. To this end, he undertook a DBA at PolyU several years ago, which he completed in 2019. “It was a recognition of my ability. I also got to know many classmates who came from different generations and were engaged in different types of work. I learnt about different views from them. I shared what I learnt with my staff and applied some of the theories in my company to improve its corporate culture and business development,” he says.
He encourages PolyU students to aim for more than good grades and set a life goal. “While it’s important to study well and acquire knowledge, we also need to fulfill our responsibility to society. Hong Kong is our home. We need to treasure it and do our utmost to take care of it as well as its neighbouring region,” he adds.
Publishing date: August 2020
