Chinese company Wilco Limited claims it is not stated owned however, it was not denied that Wilco Limited had branches in Vanuatu and was owned by China National Building Material Investment (CNBMI).

A search on CNBMI shows the parent company is China National Building Material Group (established in 1984), a state-owned enterprise administered by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) is an institution directly under the management of the State Council. On its website, SASAC says it is an ad-hoc ministerial-level organisation directly subordinated to the State Council. The Party Committee of SASAC performs the responsibilities mandated by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

CNBMI is the largest cement and gypsum board producer in China and the largest fibreglass producer in Asia and has signed billion-dollar deals on solar projects in the United Kingdom and has taken over 10 Ukrainian solar power plants.

“Shareholders are CNBMI but not the China government. The China government doesn't care about this,” said Jade Sun, the general manager of Wilco. He even insinuated that the Samoa Observer were spying on their business alleging that their competitors had sent people to spy on them saying this was “not good”.

There was also dubious activity observed by the journalist during the interview. Mr Sun said they were not operating and the workers at the premises were only there to do some “cleaning”. However, during the interview, several customers arrived at the hardware company to place orders.

Mr Sun was then asked why he said the company was not in operation when there were customers placing orders, he stood up and declined to be interviewed.  Further questions put to Mr Sun were not answered insisting he does not want to be in the media and did not want to be quoted. He got up and left in the middle of the interview.

Wilco’s business activity is listed as “retail trade only” and has three directors; Yuqing Chen residential address in Shenzhen City China, Daliang Qin residential address in Port Villa Vanuatu and Ruilai Song residential address in Guangdong China.

The Chinese Embassy in Samoa was diplomatic in its response and also did not deny the links to the company being state-owned.

Wilco is backed by a big parent company, in billions. Its backing ensures that competition from local companies would be barely felt. This also allows them to sell products the parent company manufactures at lower prices cutting many local hardware. Local companies are worried. Lately, there has been more than one Chinese-owned hardware companies that have popped up. They could be legitimate businesses but a check should be made, in this case, all could be owned by the same shareholders.

It is also important to note that the hardware business could be the first step to move into the energy sector. The Wilco situation is also a reminder of how geopolitics could be moving. There is interest in the Pacific and trade could be one way to ensure that interest. Why is there interest in countries like Samoa and Vanuatu? Has Samoa with its remoteness become a hub of the region? That would be a good thing.

In 2013, CNBM acquired China's manufacturer of solar photovoltaics modules, Jetion Solar. In 2014, CNBM acquired German thin-film solar cell manufacturer, Avancis. In the middle of 2014, CNBM took over all of the risks and benefits for 10 Ukrainian solar power plants. In 2016, UK solar developers WElink Energy and British Solar Renewables (BSR) signed a £1.1 billion deal with CNBM to develop solar energy projects and zero-carbon homes in the UK.

Foreign investment should be promoted but not at the cost of local businesses. The government must ensure that if large foreign investors are moving in, a proper background check should be done and ensure that it would promote growth in the local market. Locals need to be employed and money made needs to stay in the country.

There should be a level playing field without undermining foreign investments and at the same time protecting local businesses. Above all locals need to be protected from inferior products flooding the market at cheaper prices.