Helping companies expand in the ASEAN region

SMF Electrical, Electronics and Allied Industries industry group hosted a business seminar for companies looking to expand their business in the ASEAN region, on 25 July 2016. The session is part of SMF’s efforts to guide and drive the country’s manufacturing sector by ensuring growth and sustainability of Singapore’s manufacturing businesses.

 
The session drew some 70 attendees

Said SMF’s President, Mr Douglas Foo, “Manufacturing is, and will continue to remain a key contributor to Singapore’s economy.” He was referring to the dismal outlook of manufacturing sector and its reports of the shrinking industry. On top of rocketing business costs and a tight labour pool, businesses still have the global and regional economic slowdown to contend with. One way businesses can counter this is through market expansion overseas – something SMF actively advocates by hosting various activities to encourage enterprises to look beyond the shores of Singapore and consider business opportunities beyond their existing markets.

With that, SMF jointly organised a business seminar with International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Religare Capital Markets to explore the possibility of expanding into neighboring ASEAN countries, also touching upon whether those countries may be considered as a market or a base for manufacturing. These were brought up as key considerations for SMEs to order to continue to be competitive and grow. IFC, a part of the World Bank Group, provides funding for business expansion into developing countries as well as expertise on the business climate of the country a client is considering moving into. Religare followed by a presentation, giving an overview of the manufacturing sector in Singapore and ASEAN, followed by an outline of Equity Capital Markets.

The seminar was rounded up by a panel discussion

The seminar presented an opportunity for participants to network amongst one another