In 1973, some 20 worsted spinners and sellers in Hong Kong including Mr. Chao's manufacturing interests amalgamated to form Hilwin Enterprises Ltd. Mr. K.P. Chao was the Managing Director of Hilwin. Major shareholders in Hilwin included Hutchison International and Winsor Industrial Corporation of Hong Kong, Joseph Dawson Holdings Ltd of Scotland, and Marubeni of Japan.
In 1975, Mr. Chao resigned from the Board of Hilwin Enterprises Ltd and concentrated his effort on developing the business of Novel in Hong Kong and Macau. He established the first spinning and knitting factory in Macau through a subsidiary, Macau Textile Ltd. He established Bonnit Benelux in Amsterdam as its major European sales office in Europe. The sales network was further strengthened by the establishment of Frabounel S.A. in France later.
In 1978, he broke new ground by signing a compensation trade agreement in Xiang Zhou, Zhuhai, China. He became the first Hong Kong investor to set up a manufacturing, unit in China. This project was the forerunner of a series of joint ventures between Novel Enterprises Ltd and various authorities in China.
To broaden its industrial base in Macau, Mr. Chao ventured into silk weaving in 1979 with the establishment of a subsidiary, Macau Silk Products Ltd, whcih manufactures silk fabrics for export to Japan. By this time, Mr. Chao had set up substantial manufacturing operation in Macau and his group of factories became one of the leading manufacturers and exports of industrial products in Macau.
Since 1979, Mr. Chao led the Novei Group into a rapid expansion phase, which saw more joint ventures with China and expansions into other textile and non-textile activities such as spinning cotton, silk, linen, and angora yarns, weaving, denim fabrics, and non-textile business such as trading, electronic and computer systems and equipment.
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