Our Story So Far...!
Incubation Period: 1984-1992
Picture this: It's 1984, and I'm on an early morning flight to Hong Kong, glued to the window. The iconic skyline, bustling harbor, and lush hills are coming into view. The plane glides over Victoria Harbour, and I catch glimpses of the Star Ferry. As we inch closer to Kai Tak Airport, the thrilling checkerboard approach offers a mesmerizing view of the city. The plane touches down smoothly, and I feel a rush of exhilaration and awe at the beauty and energy of Hong Kong. Welcome to Hong Kong!
The next day, we hopped on the through train at Kowloon Station (now Hung Hom) for a 3-hour journey to Guangzhou (now only 47 minutes in High-Speed Rail to Guangzhou South!). The journey was smooth and scenic, with views of green countryside and bustling towns. It was an unforgettable experience, blending the charm of old Hong Kong with the excitement of exploring a new city.
aircraft landing at Kai Tak
We stayed at Dong Fang Hotel (one of the few hotels open for foreigners to stay in those days) – even the ex-PM of the UK, Margaret Thatcher, stayed here! Early the next morning, we took a taxi ride to Liu Er San Road, an adventure through a bustling cityscape passing through traditional markets and historic buildings, with a glimpse of Guangzhou’s vibrant street life filled with lively chatter.
It was only in 1978 that India-China Trade re-opened after the war of 1962. China too started opening around the same time. Until then, domestic prices were tightly controlled and substantially frozen to levels of the good old days. Export prices weren’t really correlated to domestic prices. Export was tightly controlled. There were only two exporters licensed to export Chinese Cassia, Sikiang Origin, Sailing Boat Brand – and my father’s favorite supplier – Kwangtung Native Products Imp. & Exp. Corp (“KTNB”), who had their office on Liu Er San Road! Our trip to China was part of a visit to the Canton Fair (lasting 30 days, twice a year, and accounting for nearly half of China’s Trade in those days), and to KTNB for a pre-fair exchange of ideas! The price of Cassia Whole had fallen from $4200 to just $3500, but supply was tight at this level. There was nervousness among sellers as well as buyers – many of whom stayed at the same hotel – whether from India, Pakistan, Singapore, the UK, the USA, or elsewhere. We would meet before or after meals and sometimes during dinner (enjoying Onion Cake, Tomato Soup, Green Salad, vegetable curry with steamed rice – these were almost all of the vegetarian dishes that we could get in those days) discussing Cassia and other market conditions – each trying to find something new from the other – in an era of no mobile phones or internet!
FEC – Foreign Exchange Certificate – the only legal tender for foreigners in China during 80s.
The next decades saw a faster pace of China opening and decentralization – starting with branches of KTNB and other exporters who were allowed to export, followed by sub-branches, and more and more privatization until everyone who could follow procedures and certain pre-set universally applicable criteria was allowed to export. This provided us with opportunities to further develop our business as quality control, adherence to contract fulfillment, customer service, and financial terms from us could be better and much more reliable than what most new packers and exporters could offer.
60th Canton Fair Badge
Vijay Dubey, Nilesh Dattani and Mr. Patak (of Patak Pickles, UK) at Canton Fair Fountain late 80s.
Mr. Patak and Gopaldas Dattani enjoying home-made food at Dong Fang Hotel Room
New Office Building – GDNP at Jiang Nan Road, Guangzhou
Traditional Cassia Specifications – from Guangxi Native I/E Corp.
Early Years 1992-2000
I moved to Hong Kong in 1992, joined and started business at China Business Ltd from Table Space provided by a very kind friend of my father – Mr. Wong Yee Chat, and gradually expanded business not only to include several products but also started export/import trade with countries around the world. Early years’ Windfall from Cassia market fluctuation provided enough funds to buy self-owned / self-financed small 592sft premises at Lucky Commercial Centre at floor generally viewed as unlucky (4) in Hong Kong, unit number (also 4) viewed as unlucky, and direction too (facing west) also not preferred but proved to be very lucky and fruitful to us!
Mrs. Rupa Dattani with Mr. Wong Yee Chat.
First came the setting up of Sunray Resources (Holdings) Co. Ltd (1995) as an umbrella company for all upcoming joint ventures and wholly-owned enterprises, which then became the holding company of Sunray Foods Co. Ltd. (1995 – Raisins), Sunray Native Products Co. Ltd. (1996 – Cassia/Star Aniseeds), and finally Regency Enterprises FZE (1997 – Mid East sourcing and marketing).
On Trade side, Regency trademark was registered in China (1996), Hong Kong (1999) and elsewhere. Our very first Domain name (regencyworld.com) and website was setup in 1997. ISO 9001 certification (1998) for Quality Excellence was obtained followed by HACCP (2003) – the very first Greater China company specialized in Spices to achieve both!
The year 1996 saw our Company begin Branding and formalized Quality control – starting with ORC Quality Control Label on Cassia 50kg bales followed by Year 2000 in which we were the first Globally to introduce more hygienic, economical and user friendly 25kg carton packing for Cassia - no more excessive weight lost due to use of bamboo in packaging, no longer need to unbundle, no more need to throw away bamboo. 1st lot shipped to SpiceMasters, Sydney, Australia from Chiwan to Sydney on 5 June 2000.
Cassia 50kg bales
Cassia 25kg carton
ISO9001 achieved - 1997 - Nilesh Dattani with Simon Tse and Kulwant Singh Uppal.
Jose maria lazara (L3), Nilesh dattani (L4), and Chen Jian Jiang with PARTNERS FOR CHILLIES PROCUREMENT in Yunnan
Growth amidst struggle 2000-2017
We saw and were jolted multiple times – by Asian Crisis in 1997, 60 consecutive months of deflation 1997-2003, SARS in 2001, Financial Crisis in 2007. Each of these taught was to achieve new methods of cost savings, increased efficiency, even more improved quality and service, and expansion:
HACCP certification achieved demonstrating our commitment to Food Safety in addition to Quality.
Several products added to our scope - Hibiscus (1995), Chillies (1999), Dates (2000), Sugar Candy (2001), Agar Agar (2002), Dehydrated Garlic (2002) and Onion (2008), Canned Fruits and Vegetables - Pineapple/Lychee (2004) Mushroom (2008), Foul Medame/Fruit Cocktail (2009, Bamboo Shoots (2013), Chinese Tea (2005), Edible Seeds (2010), Sweet Paprika (2013), Dehydrated Fruit (2012), Peanut Butter (2013), Herbs (2015), Walnuts (2015)
Moved to larger self-owned premises at Qualipak Tower to accommodate growing staffing needs.
Rock sugar, Brown candy, Lump sugar
Dehydrated : Onion, Garlic, Paprika
HACCP achieved - 2003
Consolidation and Specialization 2015-2022
Starting with higher tariffs from just around 2017, greater and then with even higher freights (at times exceeding FOB value of goods!), we responsibly concentrated on our core strength, specialized further, and spin off some business for the sake of more efficient Marketing and Management:
Canned Business fell victim to record high freight.
Trade - especially - non-China trade was given up as we couldn't handle pre-shipment inspections due to tight Covid-19 restrictions.
On the other hand,
import, processing, packaging and domestic marketing of Dates, Edible Seeds, Herbs, Nuts and some other lines were introduced, developed and subsequently spin off to able hands and minds at Regency Spices Ltd.
Agar Agar and Dehydrated Garlic self-owned / partnered production, processing and packaging arrangements were setup not only to control costs but also ensure Quality Control and enhanced Safety of our products as well as timely fulfilment of contractual obligations.
Garlic Flakes selection
Agar Agar packing
Today, our Company encompasses experience of Trade for 40+ years in 3 jurisdictions with 60+ countries, Manufacturing at 5+ facilities having done business of tens of thousands of containers and hundreds of millions of dollars in the process. We now concentrate in 3 core strength - viz Cassia/Cinnamon, Agar Agar (Chinagrass - Falooda), and Dehydrated Garlic providing unparalleled Quality Control and Safety Standards at mutually beneficial pricing and terms with Excellent Track Record and Customer Service.
Tel: +852 25172316
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5/Fl. Qualipak Tower, 122 Connaught Road West
Hong Kong.
China Business Ltd. T/A Orient Resources Company
Fax: +852 25178741