As the Region Emerges from COVID-19 First Wave Business is Looking Up
APAC TEAM is a group of veteran sales guys based in Singapore, KL and Hanoi with successful sales experience all over Asia. Let APAC TEAM (www.apac-team.com) be “Your A-TEAM in ASIA.”
Being on the front end of the COVID-19 outbreak coupled with aggressive government action, results in much of SE Asia being back in business for the rest of 2020 and looking at a strong recovery in 2021. The challenge for non-local businesses will be access as international travel is at a standstill and may take many years to recover.
In the pre-COVID world when business folks think of Asia, China generally jumps to mind. Some of the older folks might remember the glory days of the booming Japanese economy or the emergence of the Asian “Tiger” economies of South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. But more recently attention is moving south towards the SE Asian economies.
Why is this?
It might just be an attempt to find “new” markets to explore but it is also based on some solid growth rates in this region. Some of the challenges of entering the Chinese market have also motivated Western companies to look for more open opportunities with less competition. While SE Asian markets are interesting for many reasons like; large populations, emerging middle classes, openness to foreign goods, etc., business leaders should also consider the challenges.
The biggest challenges to success in this emerging area include:
· Fragmented regulatory environments between countries
· Cultural and linguistic variety in the region that may require some customization
· Varying degrees of economic development between markets
· SE Asia is not a “common” block but a grouping of geographically contiguous counties
To navigate your way around the region you will need “feet on the street” and some local knowledge. Without experienced regional and local help it will be hard to understand where to focus your energy and in what sequence you might approach the many markets. The “fly in / fly out” approach is not viable in the COVID-19 era so new approaches will be needed.
APAC TEAM is staffed and ready to help – we are local, experienced and can be up and running quickly. If you need help let us be your A-TEAM in ASIA!!!
