Gen2 family firms look to world future (3)

It is a common vision for the future of private-owned family businesses to take their products to the world by working with overseas business partners.

It is an advantage that most of the younger generations of entrepreneurs have a related overseas educational background or work experience. It enables them to know more about how to go about entering the global market.

Study abroad

"Many young family members who were born in the 1970s or 1980s, had an overseas education, have different characteristics and enjoyed a comfortable life, unlike their parents," said Yu Mingyang, a professor at the China Enterprise Development Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Jin Feipeng, for example, a 32-year-old Wenzhou-born son of the founder of Shanghai Jiuding Clock Co, transformed the family company from a basic manufacturer into a top brand in the world clock industry after taking over the business seven years ago.

Having graduated from Thames Valley University, London, Jin appears to have been born with a business mind, selling DVDs at weekend markets in London just one-month after he arrived at the age of 17.

Jin returned to China and took over his father's 10-year old clock company in 2005, when Jiuding was just an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for clock replacements and clocks owned by international brands.