New initiative launched to help SMEs enter China
Paige Lim
SINGAPORE companies will get more support to expand into China under a new initiative to help them seek growth opportunities in the market.
The GlobalConnect@SCCCI initiative was launched by Enterprise Singapore and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCCI) at the 26th SME Infocomm Commerce Conference (SMEICC) on Tuesday (Aug 15).
The conference, which is SCCCI’s flagship event, was held at Suntec Convention & Exhibition Centre. Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat was the guest of honour.
GlobalConnect@SCCCI will provide companies with support to familiarise themselves with in-market business norms and culture in China. It will allow them to learn more about new business opportunities and connect them with the right partners to establish their market presence.
It expands on the existing GlobalConnect initiative led by EnterpriseSG and the Singapore Business Federation. GlobalConnect@SBF was first established in November 2019 to help Singapore companies internationalise.
Under GlobalConnect@SCCCI, a dedicated website containing self-help resources and information on in-market investment and business trends will be set up.
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Singapore companies will also receive support via GlobalConnect@SCCCI’s partner network in Guangzhou to cover additional regions of interest. This includes the Greater Bay Area in South China, which offers opportunities in areas including urban development, sustainability and biomedicine.
This extends the current range of support provided by SCCCI’s existing Singapore Enterprise Centres in Shanghai and Chengdu.
In addition, SCCCI has expanded the scope of its existing suite of services in China to help businesses keep pace with evolving needs and market trends.
Firstly, business owners will be able to enrol in courses to deepen their in-market knowledge and gain practical knowledge of doing business in China, under the Singapore Chinese Chamber Institute of Business’ China Ready Programme.
Secondly, the association will roll out augmented overseas market workshops for companies to gain first-hand experience in doing in-market business. Each workshop will focus on a new market or sectoral trend, and offer a curated programme of site visits and sharing sessions with industry stakeholders.
“Since SCCCI opened its first office in Shanghai in 2010, our initiatives to facilitate Singapore companies to venture into China has significantly broadened,” said SCCCI president Kho Choon Keng.
GlobalConnect@SCCCI will “integrate (SCCCI’s) value proposition and offerings in a manner that companies can readily access,” he added. This ranges from market insights to advisory services, in-market assistance, capability development “to be China-ready”, business opportunities and market contacts.
While many businesses received a boost from the reopening of the economy after the pandemic, Heng noted in his opening address at SMEICC that growth has been dampened by the geopolitical situation and high interest-rate environment.
“The global environment has become less favourable, with supply chains fragmenting, and more restrictions being placed on trade and investment,” he said. These factors have put pressure on business costs for companies, he added.
Such concerns were articulated in SCCCI’s annual business survey, the findings of which were revealed at SMEICC.
The survey, which was conducted from June to August 2023, polled over 600 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across industries.
According to the survey, 35 per cent of respondents projected that their revenue would increase in 2023. Meanwhile, 35 per cent projected that their revenue would remain the same as in 2022, while the remaining believed they would record a lower revenue in 2023 than in 2022.
Over 77 per cent of respondents indicated that they faced an increase in business costs. While 77 per cent of respondents said they expected to post profits in 2023, close to half of that same group believed they would make less profits this year, as compared to last year.
Rising business costs, availability of suitable manpower, as well as uncertain economic and political conditions overseas ranked among SMEs’ top three concerns.
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