At a time when the government is speaking of tough economic times and sacrifice, the takeover of a Mauritian textile company by a Hong-Kong firm is a breath of fresh air. Corona Clothing, which was in financial difficulties, has been renamed Corona Hong-Kong after being bought by Wing Tai Asia, world famous for the manufacturing of high-quality suits.

The arrival of Wing Tai Holdings in Mauritius is symbolic at different levels. The most down-to-earth approach is that it will help the 300 employees of Corona clothing to keep their jobs after a few years of difficulties and uncertainties regarding their future. After the company lost one of its main customers, Hugo Boss, the company has faced many problems and was put in receivership last December.

Since the beginning, the receiver-managers from DBO DCDM thought it more appropriate to make sure the company was taken over rather than closing it down. With its experience with upmarket customers in the making of men’s suits, they knew the company had a strong potential and did not want to compromise the country’s chances of finding another means of saving it. The sequence of events has proved them right.

With Wing Tai Holdings, the company is expected to live many more happy and fruitful days… and allow the Mauritian economy to start getting out of the crisis. Wing Tai Holdings manufactures suits for renowned high-class shops like Austin Reed and Harrods in London. “The products of Corona Clothing will find their way to important centres for clothing in Japan and in Europe,” explains the president of Enterprise Mauritius, Amédée Darga.

The fact that the company has chosen Mauritius instead of any other country where labour is cheaper shows that the country has know-how and that big companies still trust the Mauritian savoir-faire.

After the closure of several Hong-Kong factories, which found it more profitable to establish themselves in countries where labour is cheaper, the return of such a big group is a source of pride and hope for the future. “This takeover will boost the sector. The Hong-Kongese have come again and are thus showing their trust in the quality of our labour force. The clothing business is tending to develop into a fashion industry,” explained the minister of Industry, Rajesh Jeetah, after the transaction was concluded at the factory in Curepipe last Friday.

Not only will the 300 employees keep their jobs but the group has also announced its intention of employing more people and buying new equipment with more high-tech machines. This is a sign that Wing Tai Asia firmly believes in the potential of its new acquisition. The group also bought the supplying agent of Corona Clothing in Europe, the suits business of Wemsum.

For the most pessimistic, who had thought that the EPZ was dying in Mauritius, the arrival of such a group is not the only sign that the sector will soon see brighter days. The agreement between India and Mauritius for a zone of preferential exchanges should benefit the textile industry. Negotiations had been on since 2003 to achieve a free exchange zone between the two countries and the good news was finally announced last week: India has accepted that 3 million pieces of cloth be sent by Mauritius within the agreement. This will probably concern mainly the export of designer clothes.

All this might be a sign that Mauritius has better days ahead. This does not mean that the population no longer has to make sacrifices. We can’t get out of the crisis overnight. If companies want to succeed, they may have to change their business models. The next few months will still be hard for our economy. But, with some good will, we should all bear in mind that there is hope ahead…