Challenges faced by Chinese firms and Singapore's unique role

In the first of a six-part BT-Lianhe Zaobao series on China capital flows to Asean, we learn more about the challenges faced by Chinese companies in their forays to this part of the world

Published Mon, May 17, 2021 · 05:50 AM

Asean

Singapore

IT IS not all hunky dory for Chinese enterprises coming to this region, as they face challenges such as cultural differences and language issues.

The hiring of Chinese workers by Chinese firms can be highly contentious in some countries, due to misperceptions that they are taking over local jobs, according to Tham Siew Yean, visiting senior fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Research Institute in Singapore.

"Host economies would like to see increasing use of local labour but the speed of replacement with local workers depends on how fast the local workers can acquire the technical skills needed for these jobs," he said.

"That can take some time as Chinese supervisors speak in Mandarin, and manuals are in Mandarin an…