(MartesFinanciero) The corridors of the mall and the Boulevard of El Dorado and surrounding areas have become the new Chinatown in the city of Panama. In the windows of the premises you can see images of Buddha, Feng Shui symbols and signs with Chinese characters. In a clothing store that bears the name of Fashion Inn, upon entering it is as if for a moment being transported to China.
There is a Cantonese audio welcomes everyone who enters. All the decoration and price signals are the language of the eastern country, to the letters in the box computer.
Nicholas Femg is in charge of the store that opened more than two years. After two minutes between a girl and resumes the door sensor. They come two more and watch the clothes. The sound is repeated over and over again. “It’s to know when people go to the store,” Femg responds when asked what does the recording. In Cantonese, the buyer asks the clerk if you have a pair with a smaller size, and he says yes. Also in Cantonese. Only in this hall there are 10 shops in the top supermarket Hung’s Center and more clothing stores.
Outside there is another hallway where all the shops in the surrounding areas are the same type. On this site you can do from the famous “iron” China to buy a piñata for the party of his son. Most do not speak Spanish well and not well understood when a “Latino” asked something, but they defend themselves with the basics. On the other side of the city were the companies that were engaged exclusively in the distribution of wholesale products, such as Avenue B, now have become entrepreneurs covering all areas of the economy, not just the wholesale and retail.
Change?
For one thing, says John Tam, director of China Association of Panama and historian of ethnicity, “people needed Cocle Colon and started buying houses and apartments in the area of El Dorado, her children lived there and little by little they saw the possibility of opening stores. ”
The children study in the Chinese Panamanian Association which is located nearby, “he adds.
Businesses take a turn
They are in Panama for more than 150 years, being the most precious labor to build railroads, and play a key role in the economy. They represent more than 5% of the Panamanian population. Throughout the national territory is estimated that about 20 thousand businesses, of which 9 000 are grocery and convenience store. “85% of stores are businessmen of Asian origin, and when going from industries such as laundry, hardware, electronics, auto parts, building materials sales, we have a 70% share,” says Ernest Cheung, owner of Ethnic Marketing Company.
Due to the growth of the community-that on February 3, celebrates the Chinese New Year, now is an interesting niche for banks, distribution companies and food processing and telephone. “Earlier in the paper [New Era] not seen as Digicel billboards with models of ethnicity, or Maggi gives him the card shops dealers + Mobile for free when promoting their products,” says Tam.
Open the newspaper and notice by advertisement is showing (all in their language). They offer dental services, real estate, beauty salons, and not just to be informed, but also to promote their businesses.
Although the community makes a difference between companies that cater to Chinese-Panamanians and “Latino” – as they themselves define them, “these have been diversifying and growing every day. “We are not only the classic stores that we defined, but has reached a new generation that has emerged from the shops to open these businesses,” said Cheung.
On average, a small business, a store, generating $ 2 billion and 3 billion dollars a month, depending on your location.
However, with the third and second generation of Panamanians of Chinese descent, have decided to change business as it is more profitable and win, without much effort, over 5 thousand dollars a month. “The younger generation will not return to shops, now are engineers, doctors, lawyers, have other professions and want to invest,” says Tam. When they see a captive market come and invest, so we have also entered other businesses such as furniture, electronic, and even hotels. “There are travel agencies, corporate legal advice, insurance brokerage, restaurants, beauty salons, clothing stores, in short, a range of businesses covering a niche that few attended, and come here because they speak the same language, “says Cheung.
But there are other long-standing, as Fermin Tomas Chan, who is the fifth generation of his family in the country. He is Panamanian, and that at the beginning employed only 12 people now have more than 150 people in the company they run, and is dedicated to the school uniform and for corporations. He is one of the five survivors of the 20 garment manufacturing companies that existed in the Panamanian market.
“The growth of new generations in the business of distribution of mass is natural, as the country they come from (China) is growing year on year by an average of 10%, and the tendency is to become the first world economy, “he says. In Panama there is a phenomenon, almost all from Guangdong province, and as there are factories, have more access to products and the ease of language, can do more business, he explains.
The new generation
Marisol Chen is a young entrepreneur. She arrived in Panama at five years old, and like many of the children entering the country, began helping his family in a store and is now manager of a company that sells accessories wholesale and retail. As a representative of Napel Collection, a company that has a year on the market and is located in the areas adjacent to El Dorado, go on changing the way we do business. They are no longer empirical, but also have the management tools that help them to have higher profit margins. There are all encrypted, “can not lose anything, there is an inventory and so far have done very well.”
The vision is different. “We have grown professionally, so now we are inclined to larger businesses, more formal, where you can have greater benefits, professional and personal growth,” he explains.
But not only in these areas have been developed, beauty salons also abound in the place. They are said to be the best “plate” of the city, or at least that’s what it looks like when a girl who is in the lounge chair is her hair. Frizz happens to be completely smooth, in just minutes.
Raul Huang, manager Amy Beauty Salon on the Boulevard El Dorado that are always the “Latina” to ask you the blower.
“They say that here are the best, but we serve all age groups, countrymen and countrywomen not,” he says. From Canton, see how the business runs every day is filled.
In front there are other salons, all who attend are ethnic Chinese, both women and men.
This business owner Charles Chen, who arrived in Panama to eight years.
Now at 32, is president of Feng Shui Real Estate and opened four years ago, precisely to serve the Chinese community in Panama, since there was a need for this type of business.
“It is aimed at the community trilingual (English, Spanish and Chinese), sell homes, properties, apartments, commercial premises and land,” he says.
Previously, Chen explains, there was no such companies in the country to offer the community all the facilities for the purchase of a property.
“We are now three to four real estate that serve the Chinese. And we’ve done pretty well, “he says.
They came to seek better opportunities. Carolina Wu tiene una tienda de confección, venta y alquiler de vestidos de bodas y de noche. Wu Carolina has a clothing store, sale and rental of wedding gowns and evening. He opened the shop five months ago Allen.
Sitting at a sewing machine with some fabric ready to make an evening gown, has learned this task at age 14 in Canton, so we decided to open the business.
“I worked near here, in a clothing store, but I wanted to open my local” he says.
Outside of these local travel every day Panamanians of Chinese descent and some newcomers who want to buy and do business, they do not stop, and is projected to continue growing the community. Previously concentrated on Avenue B, but this sector has become the new meeting.
Chen estimated that in 10 years, 80% of businesses are of Chinese businessmen. This area of El Dorado has become for some in the second Chinatown in the country, because some businesses Avenue B have been migrating to the area for safety, said John Mock, president of the Association of Chinese Professionals and owner of Los Pinos Tiles.
“In the afternoon its like you’re in China for the amount of people moving from side to side,” says the entrepreneur.