Before establishing Hyway group, Liu worked at China Railway Construction Corp for almost 30 years, eventually becoming director of a bureau. It was around that time that he began looking for new challenges. In 2007, he left the company and established Hyway with some of his friends.

"The enterprise was established during a time when the Chinese government encouraged enterprises to go abroad and develop themselves," Liu says. "A lot of SOEs went abroad with the support of the government and banks, but for small- and medium-sized companies, there were a lot of challenges and difficulties ahead."

Liu plans to help these small- and medium-sized enterprises by using the networks he established while working at the CRCC. Hyway has developed into a company that covers fields including infrastructure, trade, logistics, real estate, ecological agriculture, investment and financing in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Southeast Asia.

"When Hyway was established, we wanted to make it an international company and develop our business all over the world," Liu says.

Aside from maintaining stable development in Angola, Ethiopia and Mozambique, Liu plans to explore the manufacturing and resource exploration markets in South Sudan, Namibia and Guinea.

Liu says having a business in Africa has brought commercial benefits and, most importantly, connected him with the local people. He still remembers the hugs he received from locals after the Mocamedes Railways was completed.

"You can feel the sincere thanks from the African people, because they know you have done something that really helped them," Liu says.

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