Aberdeen, a working class community of 162,000 on the south side of Hong Kong island, is a long way from China. Home to the territory’s fishing fleet, the weather coming in off the South China Sea has been of more interest to Aberdeen’s residents than the winds of change on the mainland.

Yet it is from here that Philip Lau, chairman and managing director of Starlight International Holdings manages a $230m-a-year business manufacturing audio and visual products, with two factories in Guangdong province and another under construction.