ASiAn invASion wElcomEd - ProMéxico

mexico’s partner Otm
in different high value sectors like electronics
or Information Technology. These sectors
have been established in the country
with one objective in mind: to meet the
growing demand of North and Latin American
markets.
As a result, Mexico is buying raw materials
for traditional sectors. For example, Mexico’s
shoe industry imports large volumes of
synthetic soles from China. Mexico is also
buying more electronics, computers, automobile
accessories and toy parts to meet the
needs of a growing specialized industry.
The Mexican product most in demand
in China is beer. But Mexico has much
more to offer the Asian country, said Martino
Liu Jr., head of business development
for the Mexican company Outsourcing &
Trade Magnum (OTM).
Since 2004, OTM, with offices in Guadalajara,
Mexico City and Beijing, China, has
dedicated itself to the purchase of Mexican
and Chinese products for their export and
import through its predecessor, Orbicargo,
an international cargo and logistics agency
born in 1994. Both were funded by their
founder, Martino Liu Chow, Liu Jr.’s father.
Orbicargo was born from an unprecedented
vision of the future. “The company’s
objective was to offer consulting services to
Mexican firms so they could begin trade relationships
with China,” Liu Jr. said.
OTM is a young company
but essential to trade between
Mexico and China. It has an
important advantage: its founder
Martino Liu Chow was born
in China and after journeying
through various countries in
Europe and the Americas, he
established himself in Mexico
in the early 1980s.
www.orbicargo.com
OTM emerged after its predecessor was
well established and its founder moved to
Beijing. It buys products from both countries
and sends them at the request of their
clients.
Contrary to what one might think, the
exchange of goods is easy. Mexico and China
have signed one treaty that offers preferred
interest rates to import and export
loans and another that avoids double payment
of taxes in both countries.
“My father’s life has been chameleonic,
from when I was a child until today. Every
day he speaks English, Chinese and Spanish,”
Liu Jr. said.
Martino Liu Chow (whose proper
Chinese name is Shin Jen Liu Chow) was
born in the 1950s and was raised in Tai-
wan. During his adolescence he moved to
Italy, where he went to high school and rechristened
himself with his Latin name. In
Spain, he completed a bachelor’s degree in
liberal arts and then in Canada he studied
business. There he got to know Mercedes,
the Mexican woman who would later become
his wife. In 1981, the family moved to
Mexico. Martino Liu Chow worked for a
trading company. Later, he founded a plastics
factory, which he closed in 1994.
After traveling so much from continent
to continent and through his firsthand experience,
Martino Liu Chow knows very
well what China and Mexico need from
each other. “We have sent containers with
several tons of processed juice; two (40 ton)
containers with giant squid that have been
so successful we are sending a third; soap
for restrooms; and samples of whole-grain
cookies,” said Liu Jr.
It should also be added to the mix the
fact that China and Mexico are excellent
trade partners. An example: in the Asian
country they favor eating organic foods and
healthy products. Mexico has centuries of
experience in the production of these goods.
The Chinese and Mexican economies complement
each other. Each one has much of
what the other needs and that is the foundation
of a solid trade relationship that has yet
to say everything it needs to. n