SINGAPORE, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Despite the economic fall-out from COVID-19, enormous business opportunities lie ahead for Singapore companies to venture into China - from the food tech space, transport and logistics to medical services, said Singaporean economists and business leaders on Tuesday's webinar.
The "Beyond COVID-19: Mitigating the Impacts and Preparing for New Business Opportunities in China" webinar was organised by the Singapore Business Federation.
The panellists included Alex Capri, visiting senior fellow at the National University of Singapore (NUS); Bert Hofman, director of East Asian Institute at NUS; and Eugene Wong, chairman of Singaporean tech company CrimsonLogic.
With regards to China's economic outlook over a period of the next two months to the next two years, Hofman said that initial growth of 2 to 3 percent is "possible" and will be largely driven by domestic demand. If nothing "disastrous" happens in the next year, there may be 6 to 7 percent growth for China to be "back on track," he said.
Amid the restructuring of the global supply chain, Singapore will be an attractive destination for supply chains to relocate to, said Capri.
For instance, it has a high-tech semiconductor sector, is building its own 5G infrastructure as well as new capabilities in artificial intelligence and drones, said Capri.
On emerging business opportunities in China, Wong of CrimsonLogic said Singapore companies can look at sectors like technology, seek to raise the efficiency of China's transport and logistics industry, work with Chinese companies to improve healthcare services and develop food technology solutions for sustainability, and offer e-financing services.
"These are the few areas which are bright spots in the post-COVID period," said Wong.
Post-COVID, the rise of telecommuting and e-commerce will also change the way Chinese and Singapore firms do business, said Wong.
Singapore firms should also tap on intergovernmental projects such as Chongqing Connectivity Initiative, and work with more private sector enterprises instead of state-owned enterprises, he added.
Capri reminded that Singapore companies have to think about an "In China, For China" strategy to better cater to the Chinese market. Enditem
