Badan Island, the largest island of the Malacca Strait, across the sea across the sea and go to the boat for only 40 minutes. This is one of the main ports in Indonesia and an important port of Southeast Asian Airlines. The single -day container throughput is approaching 2,700, and it is expected to increase to 1 million per year in the future.

In the industrial park 15 kilometers away from the port, dozens of workers are rolled into a rolling assembly line. They are injecting tobacco oil and storage into the well -assembled oil storage cotton in turn. On the breath, when the cigarette clams spit out white mist, an electronic cigarette was assembled.

In the past two years, an electronic cigarette trade route that started in China has risen rapidly. The ports and factories of Basang Island are incorporated into it, making it more busy here. Departing from Shenzhen all the way south, passing the Malacca Strait to the port of Pasaki Island, and then transporting it to the Industrial Park with a truck. Soon, these accessories were assembled as the finished product, then returned to the port, and then sent to the place where 82 million e -cigarette users were located through the Malacca Strait.

Who is controlling this hidden line? The answer is of course Chinese. At least no later than in 2021, a group of Chinese businessmen began to appear in Indonesia. In the past, they were active in Shenzhen and Dongguan and its surroundings, and mastered nearly 90 % of the world's electronic smoke capacity.

Right now, the savvy Chinese businessman is pouring into Southeast Asia, trying to copy the success of the past in the new market. This wave of gold rush is still rising, and the changes in the electronic smoke industry are part of this wave. Although this article focuses on electronic cigarettes, it tells the story and details of Chinese companies going to Southeast Asia.

01 Go to Indonesia! Go to Basan Island!

Chinese businessmen are watching Indonesia without any reason.

Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia. In 2022, GDP was close to 1.32 trillion US dollars. Not long ago, the president of the country released his words: By 2045, Indonesia's GDP can rank among the top 5 in the world and enter the list of developed countries!

Indonesia has more than 270 million people, and is the fourth country in the world, and the country with the most overseas Chinese. At the same time, there are more than 70 million smokers, which is also the only country in Southeast Asia that allows use of TV and other media to publish tobacco advertising. Indonesians who are accustomed to open electronic cigarettes (tobacco oil can be injected multiple times) have achieved self -sufficient smoke oil.

Bada Island is one of the most important electronic cigarette production bases in Indonesia and the place where Chinese businessmen gathered.

At present, the old Chinese -branded electronic cigarette factories such as Meishenwei, Honeycomb workshop and VTV have been built in a new factory in Pasang Island.

Malang is another electronic cigarette production base in Indonesia. Malang is a city under the jurisdiction of East Java, Indonesia, more than 2,000 kilometers from Basang Island. Simo, the world's largest electronic cigarette equipment manufacturer, is headquartered in Baoan, Shenzhen, and controls nearly 23%of the world's e -cigarette equipment production capacity.

In July 2022, Simo's 14th plant in the world was officially completed. The factory is located in Lang, Indonesia. It covers an area of 6 hectares and 16 production lines. Each line can produce 7,200 electronic cigarette bullets per hour. Industry insiders estimate that the annual output value of the Simarma Lang plant is about 860 million US dollars.

Today, dozens of factories have appeared in Indonesia. "It's not just Badan Island, Surabaya, Indonesia, Jakarta, and Tang Genglang already have factories." Said a Chinese factory who settled in Basang Island.

They appeared thousands of miles in Indonesia, not all of them.

Most of the electronic cigarette factories in Shenzhen and Dongguan are international brand foundry, especially head factories. Over the years, due to fierce competition, foundries have often been weak in negotiations with the brand. A brand can determine their production decisions and even life and death.

Considering the cost and the unstable supply chain in China in the past two years, strong overseas brands forced head foundations to set up factories in third -party countries with lower tax and labor costs (Yibang Power learned that these headquarters companies are in China The factory is still operating normally).

"Mainly the brand's compulsory." Zhou Yan, the general manager of Xiao Feichen, told Yibang's motivation. The company was established in 2016 and is headquartered in Shenzhen. It is the main electronic cigarette logistics, but has storage outlets in many places around the world in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia.

Before the arrival of electronic cigarette companies, Indonesia attracted brands such as Nike and Uniqlo with their cheap labor. "Four Heroes of the Shoes" Baocheng, Fengtai, Yuqi, and Zhixiong set up factories in Indonesia, making Indonesia jump into the second largest producer of Nike sneakers. In 2021, Indonesia produced 26%of Nike sneakers, second only to Vietnam.

In addition to cheap labor, another advantage of Indonesia is tariffs. The United States exempts tariffs on goods from Indonesia, or taxes at a lower tax rate, including electronic cigarettes.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the Indonesian government realized that the strategic position of Pasam Island began to build it into industry, commerce and tourism centers. In 1978, Badan Island was set as a bonded area and enjoyed preferential policies such as exemption tariffs and consumption taxes. As of 2020, the population of Badam Island was 1.19 million, and the Chinese accounted for over 6%.

In addition to the electronic cigarette factories, companies who rush to Pasaki are also companies that provide the former, such as Hongfu Yantou and Huabao International.

Huabao International is a giant in the flavors of the Chinese tobacco, with a market share of nearly 50%. It has maintained cooperation with 19 provincial cigarette industry companies in China. It is reported that Huabao International Indonesia plans to begin in 2020 and complete plant construction and equipment installation last year. An industry insider revealed that Yibang's motivation told Yibang's power that Huabao International invested tens of millions of dollars and built at least three factories on Pasang Island, one producing smoke oil, and a HNB electronic cigarette. Tobacco products), there is also a factory in cooperation with other electronic cigarette brands.

Jinjia shares, mainly engaged in the business of outer packaging cigarette box business, providing a cigarette box for 18 cigarette companies, maintaining a net profit of 20%. The company also established a joint venture with Zhongyan Zhongyan in Yunnan to be the latter's foundry HNB electronic tobacco utensils. Jinjia also established a subsidiary of Indonesia in Indonesia's Yunpoxing River in Indonesia, undertaking tobacco production and electronic cigarettes.

In 1978, an ingredient processing enterprise called "Taiping Handbag Factory" appeared in Dongguan County, marking that Shenzhen and Dongguan officially entered the era of processing trade in the processing trade. Soon, Nike, Adi, and Apple also moved the foundry to Shenzhen, and the name of Shenzhen World Factory started.

Today, Indonesia is copying Shenzhen's experience and trying to become a new world factory. As Chinese electronic cigarette brands, foundries, fragrance spice vendors, and even outer packaging manufacturers appear in Indonesia. Oil storage cotton and lithium batteries from China will continue to be deducted and assembled in the final assembly.

02 "Go to Indonesia", how are you living?

If it is "replaced by Shenzhen", it is still too early.

Shenzhen has the world's most complete electronic cigarette industry chain, and related parts and raw materials are very cost -effective. For example, the most conventional horizontal spiral hair heating wire, Shenzhen's purchasing price is only 0.2 yuan, and the price of single -piece oil storage cotton is not more than 0.4 yuan; lithium batteries with slightly technical barriers are mostly produced in Huizhou, which is less than 100 kilometers away from Shenzhen. In recent years, Emerging enterprises such as Yiwei Lithium have been born.

In order to reduce costs, many overseas electronic cigarette companies have long been used to purchasing accessories in Shenzhen, and then they are returned to their national assembly.

Duan Hong was once a product director of an Indonesian local electronic cigarette brand. The brand is used to buying semi -finished products such as cigarette rods and batteries in Shenzhen, transported to the port of Jakarta, Indonesia, and then completed the final oil injection and assembly work locally.

However, most people will not think that in order to reduce costs in a few years later, this overseas enterprise will be followed by small and medium -sized foundries in China.

Sun Zhefei is a man who grows from the barbaric growth of Chinese electronics to gold. When the most popular e -cigarettes in 2020, Sun Zhefei, who was sensitive and pretty, made hundreds of millions of yuan in annual sales of fruit -flavored electronic cigarettes in China. Essence

But in the second half of last year, he found a good plant and workers on Pasang Island, and the raw materials required for production were almost transported from Shenzhen. "You can produce semi -finished products in China without production qualifications, so everyone is making semi -finished products in Shenzhen, and it is taken away after finishing." He said.

One day in January this year, when the belt on the assembly line again made a familiar rotation sound, Sun Zhefei (pseudonym) sent a circle of friends:

"Indonesia's Basang Island Factory (produced) mango, cola, etc. (taste electronic cigarettes), 50,000 stocks, convenient logistics."

What happened in the middle from Baoan, Shenzhen to Badan Island, Indonesia? The answer is "production qualification". Before April 2022, most people were not very sensitive to these four words. But soon, their destiny was rewritten by these four words.

In April last year, the state issued a policy on electronic cigarettes with reference to cigarette management. Subsequent policy requirements involved production (processed by cigarette oil, nicotine, and electronic cigarettes titles) all need to apply for production qualifications (licenses). With the limitation of production capacity (such as the annual production capacity of Yue Ke, the annual capacity of 15.05 million smoke rods, about 329 million smoke bombs and 6.1 million disposable electronic cigarette products), fruit -flavored electronic cigarettes for sale, production (import) The taxes of 36%and the wholesale were 11%, and the barbaric era of electronic cigarettes ended.

As of December last year, only more than 600 companies have successfully obtained the production license. It is reported that there are still at least 700 in Shenzhen and Dongguan that have not obtained permits.

One month after the New Deal, Sun Zhefei was frustrated. At that time, seeing obtaining the certificate was hopeless, the agents cut off their cooperation with Sun. "There is no business at all, just lying flat, one step is one step, otherwise what can you do?" He said.

Soon, they discovered the way to transport semi -finished products to Indonesia's assembly and sales. These small and medium factories have also become the second force to Indonesia after the electronic cigarette head factory.

Regardless of the size of the enterprise, when entering Indonesia, it will be "not convinced." For example, they have to face high staff management costs. Among them, the low -person effectiveness of grassroots workers caused by culture, as well as high expenditures brought by high -level high -levels in the middle school.

The monthly salary of Indonesian workers is 2300-2400 yuan, and the average front-line workers in Shenzhen are about 6,000 yuan. Although the salary of ordinary workers in Bada Island is less than half of Shenzhen workers, 90 % The weekly working hours are often less than 40 hours; the time wage gap between workers in the two places is not very huge, which does not include the efficiency difference caused by the proficiency of the workers. Sun Zhefei found that the assembly cost of single electronic cigarettes in Indonesia was 0.3-0.4 US dollars (2-3 yuan), Shenzhen's assembly cost was only 2.08 yuan, and Indonesia was 10%higher than Shenzhen.

Xiao Fei's partner Tang Binbin has frequently traveled to Shenzhen and Indonesia in the past two years. "We just finished their meals at 6 o'clock in the evening to work overtime, and put it in Indonesia early." He said.

The average monthly salary of middle-level management and R & D personnel of Shenzhen electronic cigarette production management is 15,000 to 18,000 yuan, and most of them have been sent to Indonesian mid-to-high-levels, and their salary has risen to more than 20,000 yuan. In the second half of last year, Sun Zhefei had to double their salary in order to send a group of senior executives to Indonesian factories.

An investment manager of an electronic cigarette park from Indonesia told Yibang's motivation that the most problem he heard is "How much does it cost if only a small factory of a small factory of 500 square meters is built in Indonesia?" The foundry permit is still in waves, which makes some small and medium factories still watch. For small and medium -sized enterprises, the New Deal has clearly controlled and controlled, and it is only a matter of time.

03 Go to get the original origin certificate

In November last year, Xu Peng, a native of Jiangsu, ended the seven -day entry isolation at the Shenzhen Hotel, and rushed to the nearby electronic cigarette factories. He has to see at least seven or eight customers every day, not including WeChat and telephone contacts.

Xu's boss is Xiong Delong, a wealthy merchant in Indonesia, and purchased more than 20 hectares of land in Kundian, Indonesia (Indonesia, Sagaraman, Indonesia) to prepare to build an electronic cigarette industrial park. And Xu Peng's trip is to invest in the park.

Kundian is located in the world's third largest island of Galimanan. Although it is not as famous as Bada Island, a large number of Chinese people are gathered. The Chinese of Kundian account for about 30 % of the total population. Many of them are descendants of the Chinese people in the Nanyang people of Nanyang, Guangdong, Fujian and Guangdong. They come here to settle in business and say that this Hakka eats Hakka cuisine.

Xu Peng told Yibang's motivation, "The Chaoshan kurou (Chaoshan classic snack) here is more authentic than Shenzhen."

Historian Peng Mulan said that before the emergence of modern commercial organization corporate companies, companies with all continents were condensed, relying on blood relationships. The Chinese who are gathered in Indonesia today, the blood connection they brought more or less, has more or less dissolved the fatigue and doubts that the long migration brings to Chinese businessmen.

At the end of November last year, there were more than 20 factories on Xu Peng's intention inspection list. In addition to the blood connection between the same roots and the same source, Xu Peng believes that the original origin certificate issued by Indonesia has the greatest temptation to Chinese businessmen, and it is even better for head foundries that pay attention to tariff compliance.

The United States is the world's largest consumer consumer, consumes 58%of China's export of e -cigarettes each year. Electronic cigarettes from Chinese electronic cigarettes to the United States are not advantageous in tariffs, and even more than 20%higher than Indonesia and other places. In April 2018, the United States issued a list of tariffs on China's tariffs. For the first batch of products including $ 34 billion, it began an increase of 25%tariffs in July of that year, including electronic cigarettes. This has led to a one -time electronic cigarette that was originally exported from China to the United States. The tariffs rose from 6.5%to 31.5%.

However, since the restoration of Indonesia's most benefited national treatment in 2020, its exported to the United States' electronic cigarette suits, the United States only levies 2.6%of import tariffs.

According to US laws, if companies want to enjoy tariffs, they must obtain a certificate of origin issued by the above -mentioned exporters. The premise of obtaining the original place of origin is that the product value of 35%(including the procurement of raw materials and the production of local workers) must stay in the local area. In other words, if you want to obtain a origin of origin, companies need to build factories in Indonesia and other places, hire local labor production, or purchase local raw materials.

For electronic cigarette companies built in Indonesia, it is not difficult to obtain a origin of origin.

Taking an electronic cigarette with a single support value of 20 yuan as an example, the purchase cost of Indonesian tobacco oil is 4-5 yuan (12ml), the labor cost is 2-3 yuan, and the shell packaging cost is about 0.5 yuan. These three items can often meet the standard of "value -added part of local processing accounts for 35%of the total value".

"If you are almost, you will reduce the purchase price of semi -finished products purchased from China, or give some money for the (Indonesia) customs." Xu Peng told Yibang's motivation.

In fact, after improving tariffs, in order to avoid Chinese businessmen who avoid heavy taxes, the products will be transported to a three -party countries in the early days, and the container is replaced in the bonded area to obtain the origin certificate of origin.

Compared to applying for a place of origin, a more popular and simple approach in the early years was to set up leather bag companies in Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries. After replacing the goods locally, it was shipped to North America. But now, the United States has become stricter and stricter for the review of commodity cost structures and their details.

According to Lawyer Chunhua who is familiar with international trade, now US Customs often checks the records, payment, and customs clearance of the customs. If necessary, the customs will even go to the local investigation.

"If the company has public data, the customs may also contact the company's audit report when reviewing." Said Lawyer Chunhua. He is also a partner of Beijing Jincheng Tongda (Shanghai) Law Firm. In recent years, the company has provided consulting services such as customs clearance and regional permits for the establishment of a Chinese furniture manufacturing enterprise in Southeast Asia.

It is reported that in the past, manufacturing companies that moved to overseas were used to leaving raw material procurement and most processes in the country, leaving only the last two processes overseas. For example, furniture manufacturers will put the final paint and assembly overseas.

04 What is the next localization link?

The transfer of the industrial chain is a dynamic process. The first to follow the assembly session is tobacco. Last year, when the Simo foundry appeared in Indonesia for the first time, at least 3 companies that provided e -liquids provided them followed.

However, now in Indonesia, smoke oil and their raw materials are not lacking. Indonesia is the third largest tobacco market in the world and is very developed. According to data from the Indonesian Ministry of Industry, in 2020, Indonesia has more than 300 tobacco factories and 18,677 cigarette sales. Tobacco leaves are the core raw materials for making smoke oil. Most of the tobacco leaves produced by Indonesia and North Kaishi up to 60,000 tons each year.

An owner of the Basang Island foundry who once purchased from Shenzhen, after discovering the shipping freight of 4,700 yuan per cubic meter, he quickly found the tobacco oil factory in Indonesia. Since then Local.

In addition, the domestic new policy stipulates that transactions involving nicotine, tobacco, and e -tobacco products must be performed on the designated website. This means that no qualified foundries will not be able to purchase smoke oil in China.

The industrial chain of electronic cigarettes is long. A head electronic cigarette brand will also authorize several factories to be the foundry smoke ammunition and tobacco utensils. Behind these foundries, dozens of factories are usually standing to provide heating shreds, cotton storage cotton, batteries and tobacco oil; they Behind the upstream factories such as hardware molds.

After smoke oil, what is the next part of the local procurement in Indonesia?

Most respondents give the same speculation: lithium battery. Nickel ore is the core material for making lithium batteries, and its production capacity is currently firmly controlled by Indonesia. As of 2020, Indonesia's nickel ore reserves were about 21 million tons, accounting for about 22%of global reserves, the world's highest. In the past two years, Indonesia is no longer satisfied with simply earning raw material value, trying to leave the processing of natural resources in China.

For example, the nickel ore export ban issued four years ago requires that the export of nickel ore was completely banned from January 2020, which annoyed the EU countries that strongly rely on imported nickel ore, and thus filed a lawsuit to the WTO.

In 2017, the Apple foundry first appeared in India, with lower labor costs. However, due to the level of operational operation and the incomplete local supply chain, the production has always been mature and niche products such as iPhone SE.

Compared with Shenzhen, the e -cigarette supply chain in Southeast Asia still needs to be improved.

For example, the development of new product spare parts requires constantly adjusting mold size and specifications, so a large amount of hardware materials are required. A product manager of an electronic cigarette that had been inspected in Vietnam found that even the hardware materials used to make electronic cigarette accessories molds were 3-6 times that of Shenzhen's local procurement costs. For example, H13 (a kind of heat -making mold steel), Shenzhen's purchasing price is 50 yuan/kg, Vietnam cannot buy it at all.

The development of new electronic cigarette products require talents, especially the core R & D talents, which is relatively lacking in Indonesia. Even engineers who have technical development experience in other fields, need to spend at least half a year after transferring to electronic cigarettes.

Like Apple, although the supply chain has been deployed worldwide, research and development and products are still placed in the United States. The changes in the electronic cigarette industry may also experience similar development. Last year, Duan Hong had a research and development post in Huabao International. He learned that the other party was planning to expand from tobacco oil to electronic smoke agency workers, and the research and development positions were located in Shenzhen.

Last November, I met an electronic cigarette dealer in Huaqiangbei, Shenzhen. In his early years, he resigned from the work with a lot of treatment, rented a facade of less than ten square meters under Huaqiangbei. Two years later, he bought a three -house house in Shenzhen. This area was once the largest electronic cigarette trading market in China, with hundreds of electronic cigarette wholesalers. However, in 2022, after the new policy of electronic cigarettes, the way of making money changed.

Today, he simply sleeps at home every day until noon and departs to the store at two or three pm. Standing in the distance, you will see that a middle -aged man wearing a shirt and a black plastic bag walks into the store. The young people at the nearby stall quickly gathered and asked if there was a watermelon -flavored smoke bomb. I have customers. Later, he told me, do you think you can make a honest tobacco flavor (electronic cigarette), what can you make?

He didn't know that at the entrance of Badang Island, Indonesia, at the door of an electronic cigarette park, the truck that had just been unloaded was preparing to drive back to the pier. The wheels rotated hard and friction with the ground raised a dust. And he didn't know that more and more flying dust was affecting their destiny.