5 Reasons Why You Should Consider Expanding Your Business to China & SEA, and Why ‘Innovation’ Is a Must-attend event.

The prospect of expanding a business in China and the SEA ecosystem would make many tremble. Where do I even start? Where do I get the money from? The resources? The help? The alien notion of starting or expanding one’s own business into a foreign country is something most would never consider — but nearly every business must begin somewhere (or sometimes with little to nothing). Jeff Bezos began Amazon in the humble garage of his house at Northeast 28th Street in Bellevue, Washington. Facebook began in the dorm rooms of Mark Zuckerberg and college roommates at Harvard University. Both are now phenomenal global companies.

Luckily, there are many people who have ‘been there, done that’ and can share their insights, knowledge, and experience on successfully expanding a business into China and the SEA ecosystems — and Sinofy hopes to provide the platform for that.

Innovation: China & SEA Startup Ecosystems — Decrypted, is the second quarterly installment of talks exploring business in the APAC region. Powered by Sinofy Group, Innovation is assembling some of the greatest minds of freelancers, startup founders, and multinational company executives. Our speakers, with a strong professional background in Asia, will dive into conversations on attracting early-stage investments, legal landscapes, visibility in the Chinese market and even just the basics of starting your own business! Discussions will help shape your understanding of the Asian business environment, as well as help foresee the opportunities within the region.

So what can you expect?

Our first speaker is Rachel Wong, Counsel at Eugene Thuraisingam LLP, who specializes in legal advice for startups, legal services, consultancy services, and legal templates. Rachel will share the differences in legal landscape in South-East Asia vs Europe and vs the United States at this installment of Innovation 2022.

Up next is Tobias Bauer, Principal at Blockchain Founders Fund. For Innovation 2022, Tobias will provide insights on the key developments in the early-stage investment landscape in SEA and China.

Following is Sabrina Wang, a Global Community Builder, starting ventures in Germany and China. She is the founder of “Startup Yard”, a Pre-Accelerator Bootcamp to help early founders qualify for the best Accelerators in APAC. Within Innovation 2022, Sabrina will share her insights on the fundamentals a startup should have in order to succeed in China, its integration into the local ecosystem, and why it is so important. This talk is perfect for newbies to the world of startups.

Next is Jean-Yves Laguillez, an authentic China expert. As a C-Executive with strong experience in developing business, marketing strategy, sales and leading companies in China and Asia for 10 years, Jean-Yves will explore “how to be visible in the Chinese market”.

And finally, Lingyi Kong, who looks after fast-growing global digital assets markets and also contributes her extensive knowledge to Asian markets, will explore “Recruiting with Fintech Startups” in China in this installment of Innovation 2022.

But why should one even consider expanding or starting a business in China and the SEA Ecosystem? Well, here’s five reasons why:

1. Now is the time to invest in SEA’s Tech Ecosystem

Southeast Asia’s tech startup’s value has raised an impressive $8.2 billion just last year. It is estimated that the combined valuation of Southeast Asia’s tech startups will increase by more than 3x in a mere five years, from $340 billion to $1 trillion in 2025.

But why?

94 percent of new digital consumers intend to continue using digital services even after the pandemic, signaling that this digital acceleration is long-term, paving the way for concrete digital transformation in all areas of businesses. Whatsmore, SEA has a solid foundation for innovation. Southeast Asia’s tech ecosystem continues to burgeon which means there is white space for innovation and freedom for the creation of new infrastructures.

The time to invest in Southeast Asia’s tech ecosystem could not be any better — there is growth and opportunities readily available for your taking.

2. China is the fastest-growing major economy.

It’s no secret that China’s economy is the second-largest globally and is on track to become number one by 2030. Its citizens are powerful — China accounted for more than 25% of global GDP in 2018. The rising prominence of the Chinese business sector truly is on a global scale — Chinese companies now account for 135 of Fortune Global 500 firms. In the last three decades, China’s GDP growth doubled to over 13%, while America’s halved to 4.5%.

These numbers undeniably show continued and sustained growth — and your business can grow with it. Economic growth in China leads to increased profitability for your firm, enabling more spending on research and development. This can lead to technological breakthroughs, as well as increased confidence to take risks and innovate!

3. China and the SEA Region have a growing consumer base.

Few countries in history have modernized at the pace and scale of China and the SEA region. Asia has transformed itself from agrarian societies with a traditional outlook to a consumer-based society powered by urban development and technology.

As manufacturing in Asia boomed, many rural citizens have moved to urban centers for work. Whatever you’re selling, there’s likely an enormous market to consume it and importantly, this transformation is still ongoing.

According to McKinsey, three-fourths of China’s vast urban population will be middle class by Chinese standards by 2022. That’s up from a mere four percent in 2000.

4. SEA has sustained growth.

Join the others who enjoy increased revenues and profits in SEA. Diversifying into this growing economy increases protection. Entering new markets or introducing new products and services means that if one part of your business is exposed to market changes, you can rely on other income streams. Whatsmore, an expanding economy means an expanding number of consumers. A large and diverse customer base also helps insulate your business against over-reliance on a single client.

5. Access to a new talent pool.

Can’t find the right skills to fill a gap in your business? Perhaps you want to avoid taking your current employees with you and find new employees to complement your expansion? Finding the best talent is no easy task. It requires finding the intersection between what you need, new trends, the type of talent you can find and the budget available for the position.

Highly educated individuals (especially those focusing on technology) in China and the SEA region are perfect for companies looking to do anything from delegating entire projects, adding extra hiring power to HR teams and filling skills gaps to creating nearshore support teams. You can always rely on China and SEA talent pool to support and grow your business.

Starting or expanding your own business will not be easy — and especially if you’re starting one in a foreign country. But it is never impossible, no matter how inexperienced you are. The plethora of resources available will help make the journey simpler, smoother and much easier to crack.

We hope you can join us for Innovation 2022 ‘China & SEA Startup Ecosystem — Decrypted’ on January 17th at 11 AM GMT to help you do just this.

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