Hello everyone, here we are again with ACCT11081 - Introductory to Financial Accounting. I hope the first few weeks into Term 3 has been treating everyone well and that we are all learning about our selected companies.
The company I have been allocated for this Term is Li & Fung, a whole different type of company from my first company in Term 1. Last time I was allocated Adacel Technologies Limited, who specialised in the Aviation industry. This time my company Li & Fung specialises in end-to-end supply chain solutions. At first (having only touched on the supply chain in previous studies) I was curious as to what this entailed. I have since come to learn that this involved designing, sourcing and delivering consumer products. They have a vast network of suppliers - 10,000 to be exact! in over 50 countries, with over 2,000 consumers globally.
Li & Fung was founded in 1906, in Southern China in a city called Guangzhou, by Fung Pak-Liu (an English teacher) and Li To-ming (a merchant). They initially started as an export trading company, first focusing on trading porcelain and silk from China, and then including bamboo, rattan, jade and other handicraft items. They were the first companies that was financed solely by Chinese capital to export to the West. The company was moved from Guangzhou to Hong Kong by Fung Hon-chu, who was the grandfather of the company’s current CEO, during an intensifying war in China, where they set up their first overseas branch in Central.
In 2020 Li & Fung made the decision to delist as a public company and go private. I found this rather interesting and wanted to know more as to why they made this major decision. I have come to learn that with the ever-expanding online platform in the retail industry, Li & Fung had suffered significant losses and market value.
My main questions after first learning about my company, was to learn more about the supply chain solutions they specialised in. I also want to dig a little deeper into their annual reports to learn more about why they made the decision to go private.
I am already finding this company interesting and happy to have been allocated Li and Fung. Now to learn more about them and get cracking on Steps 3 - 6!
Happy learning everyone!