Source: Simon Mann, From factories to franchises, SMH, November 21, 2009

THEY are the new face of shop-front entrepreneurship: Asian Australians are a growing business band, whether they have migrated to Australia as Skilled Migrants, Refugee’s or through the Business Visa Program.

Milk bars, takeaways, newsagencies and Lotto outlets, post offices, dry-cleaners, fruit and vegie shops, mini-marts are all common business choices. As are bakeries, video stores, fish and chip shops, cafes and coffee lounges.

Previously, many Asian Australians came to Australia as skilled workers, refugees or through family reunion programs and worked in factories and low-paid positions. These people have worked their way up to business ownership.

Increasingly, these Chinese migrants are being joined by new migrants who are using the proceeds of their nation's emerging free market economy to buy businesses across Australia through the Business Visa Program. This program encourages successful business owners, investors and senior business executives with a track record in their own country to establish or develop a business or participate in investment activity in Australia.

The national migration program, launched in 2004 as part of Australia's general upgrading of skills, requires minimum assets of $250,000 for newcomers (in Victoria, $400,000). Migrants can enter on a four-year provisional visa during which time they must demonstrate their business acumen. Increased returns or the creation of local jobs are among the requisites for securing permanent residency. (Click here for further information).

Some qualify easily because of their substantial offshore assets; others invest smaller amounts through the sponsored business migration program, which entices foreign business people with the promise of permanent residency.

Irrespective of their pathway, the business owners share common characteristics.

''They're prepared to work their businesses really hard,'' says leading business broker Ian Wollermann. ''They see Australia as a wonderful country of opportunity. They can buy a business, they can run it and they can make money out of it, and they can work as hard as they like.''

All the shopkeepers agree that communication skills are an entree to success. ''Good English is good for business,'' says Peter Tang, who arrived in Australia in 1988 and worked as a material cutter for Coogi clothing until its local operation closed earlier this decade.

Tang bought his Charcoal Chicken outlet two years ago and works seven days a week, after running a similar venture in Lalor for five years.

For Australia, read: opportunity, he says in as many words. His endeavour has brought rewards - his daughter, now 26, has degrees in law and commerce and works as a tax consultant for a large city firm, and he expects to be able to retire within three years.

The pathway might be different to that taken by the thousands of migrants who preceded them years earlier, but the entry point can often be the same.

Wei, a technician who worked for Ericsson for 15 years and who now runs the post office, says the next generation are better prepared for Australia's business environment. ''When we came we didn't fully know Australian culture … but my sons, while they might look Asian, their thinking and all that they do is Australian,'' he says during a fleeting break from behind the counter.

The transition from generation to generation also confers a sense of belonging. But for many of the original entrepreneurs, the wrench from homeland causes lingering pain.

Chao Ying's milk bar hours are long - 7.30am to 9.30pm daily - and the constant presence of Hong Kong television beamed into the shop via satellite tests her emotions. Beijing's Olympics made her proud, but programs more often than not make her long for family and home.

''I think I will miss China for another 10 years,'' she says, before acknowledging that the couple's sacrifice had been for the benefit of their sons. ''The time will pass.''

Full Article Available: http://www.smh.com.au/small-business/from-factories-to-franchises-20091120-iqyb.html

AMVL has a team that specializes in assisting migrants interested in perusing a business visa. Contact Bill Gamack or visit our Business Visa information page.