33years old to take over the family business,3years of huge losses of nearly 10 billion, but can in just a few years the Chinese agricultural and animal husbandry enterprises new hope to bring overseas revenueof 20billion, the helmsman behind this, is the new hope six and chairman Liu Chang.
From the initial youthful rebellion, to now sitting firmly in the headquarter office in Singapore, she has interpretedthe growth process of“domesticating the industry, but also domesticating herself“with her actions. Singapore, a city with sound laws, transparent policies and internationalized talents, is not only the center of Liu Chang’s strategic layout, but also an important springboard for Chinese agricultural and animal husbandry enterprises to go global.
This article will bring you an in-depth analysis of how Liu Chang has made his pig business an international benchmark through his overseas headquarters and physical factories, as well as a detailed analysis of the key steps and advantages of registering an agribusiness in Singapore.
I. From“second generation rich“to helmsman:
Liu Chang’s12-year succession path
If China’s first generation of entrepreneurs are the pioneers in the wave of the times, then Liu Chang is thesecond generation whoundertakesthe task of“inheritance“and“reconstruction“.
Born into a business family and with a father who topped the Forbes list of China’s richest people, she could have chosen a more glamorous path in life, such as the entertainment, investment and fashion industries. Instead, she got involved in the“least fashionable“industriesof pig farming, feed and slaughtering, and eventually became one of the key players in the global agricultural supply chain.
Taking over at33, that year she faced not celebration, but skepticism.
But12years have passed, and the times have given her the answer:
In2024, New Hope Group became the firstChinese agricultural and animal husbandry enterprise withoverseas revenue exceedingRMB 20billion, and overseas feed sales exceeding5million tons.
And one of the key points at which all this happened was, well,Singapore.
In 2025, New Hope Group was honored as one of the “Top 500 Private Enterprises in China” and “Top 500 Private Enterprises in China’s Manufacturing Industry”!
II. Why Singapore?
The strategy behind the 2011 layout
Back inthe 2000s, Chinese private enterprises started to go overseas, and New Hope also took its first step toVietnamduring that period.
But the real acceleration of internationalization came withthe decision to locate its overseas headquarters in Singapore in 2011.
New Hope’s choice of Singapore is not a coincidence, but the result of a long period of validation, trial and error, and strategic deduction. Liu Chang has recalled–Southeast Asia has a large population and a big market, but the rules are complex, the language is diverse, and the legal systems are very different, without a regional coordinating center, it may be caught in an endless cost, communication and institutional divide.
Picture/Liu Chang on a study tour in Egypt, source: United Morning Post, New Hope, erasure
And Singapore has several decisive advantages:
The legal system is mature and can be benchmarked against the EU and global regulatory systems;
Financial openness and support for the free flow of multi-currency funds;
Concentration of international talent, suitable for building multinational management teams;
Proximity to Southeast Asian agricultural markets, but with developed economic governance.
Therefore, New Hope establishedNewHopeSingapore Pte. Ltd.in Singaporeto assume the role of overseas headquarters, responsible for investment layout, regional management, cross-border finance and M&A collaboration.
Subsequently, the enterprise not only placed its strategic functions in Singapore, butalsobuilt a high-tech premix feed factoryinDas Industrial Zone.This factory adopts a7-storey three-dimensional production method, withan annual production capacity of11,000tons and an output value of aboutRMB 200millionina spaceof only3,600square meters, and has successfully passed the certification of Singapore’s stringent EU standards.
It’s not just production, it’s a signal:
Chinese agricultural companies can not only sell their products overseas, but also export technology, management and food safety systems.
Picture/Liu Chang on a study tour in Egypt, source: United Morning Post, New Hope, erasure
Third, fall into the abyss and turn over again:
3years of losses to a complete rebound
If2020is the high point of New Hope, then2021-2023will be the most brutal test.
With the hog cycle falling and capacity expansion superimposed on cost pressures, New Hope has suddenly fallen into a quagmire–with losses exceedingRMB9.5billionin 2021alone.
And for those three years, Liu Chang suffered from almost constant insomnia and nightmares, and she said she had:
Broke down and cried 3 times a day;
Meetings until the early hours of the morning, and the next moment appear in pig farms, harbors, and markets;
Sitting at meetings and having to be“carried” atthe end of the day.
Picture/Liu Chang at Caixin Summit, Source: New Hope Sixth Harmony, deleted.
She made3key moves:
Slimming program: selling assets and repairing the balance sheet;
Wartime culture: debriefing can’t exceed three pages, decision-making team no more than ten people;
Back to the production site: personally ran through factories and farmers in China, Africa and Southeast Asia.
This counterintuitive, de-bureaucratic reform ultimately translated into aturnaroundin 2024:
New Hope endedthreeconsecutiveyears of losses and realizedfirst-half profits for the first time innearlyfiveyears.
That’s the same one she said:
“Success is not how I measure myself, but achievement is.“
Picture/Liu Chang Accompanying superiors to visit the enterprise, Source: New Hope Six, Invasion and Deletion
Fourth, New Hope2025overseas map:
Not only selling feed, but also exporting supply chain capabilities
Today, centered in Singapore, New Hope is expanding:
Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Egypt, South Asia and Middle East markets.
Among them,the Egyptian businessgrows by50%in2024, showing great potential for overseas expansion.
In the next3-5years, New Hope plans to continue to increaseits overseas production capacityby3-4million tons, which means that the competition in the global agricultural supply chain will enter a new stage, andagricultural companies from China will no longer be just“producers“, but exporters of standards, capabilities and technologies.
Picture / New Hope Factory, Source: New Hope VI
V. The Singapore model:
How does a Chinese company register a farming company?
Many Chinese agribusinesses, COFCO system supply chain companies, and food investors are beginning to care about one issue:
What do we need to do if we want to follow New Hope’s example of setting up a regional headquarters or an agricultural company in Singapore?
Schematic diagram, source: New Hope
Below is the critical path (simplified version) organized based on real business processes:
Step 1: Determine the corporate structure and governance path
Farmers & Ranchers General Options:
Private Limited(Pte. Ltd.) Limited Company System;
Cross-border credit and free settlement of currencies can be introduced;
Support for holding-type structures for regional investments.
Step 2: Complete company registration
Preparation is usually required:
Company name (subject toACRAreview);
At least one director who is a Singaporean orPR;
Registered capital (usually≥S$100,000 or more foragribusinessesfor subsequent bank credit review);
Registered Office Address.
Registration is usuallycompleted in2-5days.
Step 3: Bank account opening and cross-border business design
The reason why New Hope can layout overseas is inseparable from Singapore’s mature banking system, including:
Multi-currency settlement (SGD,USD,EUR,CNY);
Trade finance, supply chain finance;
Structure of support funds for the agricultural and livestock sector.
Step 4: Apply for industry licenses and sites
Agricultural and feed businesses are required to file differently:
Food Safety Authority Certification (SFA);
Environmental and Plant Operations License;
Import licenses for animals and plants;
If factories are included,land and environmental assessmentsare required.
Step 5: Talent visa and operation system construction
Agribusinesses may apply:
Employment Pass(EP) professional visa;
Tech.Pass / Open Work Permit(depending on the nature of the project);
Labs, feed engineers, and supply chain specialists can apply for special approvals.
This system is not only standardized, it also means:agriculture is not a rough industry, but international supply chain engineering.
Schematic diagram, source: New Hope
VI. From“The Little Prince’s Rose“
to the future of global agriculture
Liu Chang once quoted The Little Prince as saying,“A rose truly belongs to you only when it is domesticated.“
While the outside world sees her as the daughter of the richest man, she sees countless farmers, workers, factories, supply chain partners, hog farms, vaccination systems, and an ever-changing world of agriculture.
She says,“I’m not an out-of-this-world hero like GenX, I don’t have a story, I’m a process.“
But the fact is: she has put Chinese agriculture on the global stage, with a story, a place and a power. And Singapore, too, is becoming the next stop in the strategic entrance of Chinese agribusiness globalization.
Schematic diagram, source: New Hope
Conclusion:
From facing the domestic hog production capacity regulation, to exploring50%growth inthe Egyptian market, to steadily pushing the overseas revenue to exceed20billion, the story of Liu Chang and New Hope tells us:
Globalization is not a slogan, but a long-term layout achieved through strategic choices, execution and technical capabilities. Singapore’s location advantages, well-established legal and financial systems, internationalized talents and policy support make it an ideal headquarters for agribusinesses moving into the international market.
For Chinese enterprises that are planning overseas expansion, especially those related to agriculture, food and supply chain, registering a company in Singapore will not only allow them to efficiently integrate their resources, but also enable them to quickly radiate into Southeast Asia and even the global market and achieve sustainable growth. By seizing Singapore as a springboard, your company can also write its own internationalization legend.
*References from: SingaporeACRA,IRAS,SFA,MOM,EDB, Lianhe Zaobao, New Hope, China Business Times, comprehensive news reports collated, reproduced with attribution, infringement and deletion of contact.
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