Southeast Asia (SEA) is the 4th largest market in the world.
According to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, 10 SEA countries including Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Brunei and Myanmar constitute a vital consumer market of 600 million consumers with US$1.5 trillion worth.
With China’s Belt and Road advocation and the increase of overseas investments from Japan, more and more ASEAN countries are benefiting from the relocation of factories as well as cheaper consumer products available from local production. And in a political sense, India is also increasing its power over the region by pouring money on investing infrastructures.
So, how promising is the region? Here are some outstanding markets that you would probably be interested.
Singapore
Of course we know that Singapore has the highest GDP per capita among all ASEAN countries, and because of having an open market, sound legal system and a pool of highly-competitive labour force, thousands of MNCs have chosen to establish their headquarters in the city-state.
Indonesia
According to HKTDC’s research in July 2019, Indonesia is the largest market in ASEAN in terms of total number of consumers and expenditure. The cosmetics and the medical service sector have the highest growth rate and, by estimation, their sizes will increase 2 times by 2030.
Thailand
Thailand is also an appealing market for business not just because it has the second largest market in terms of consumer expenditure in SEA, but also of being a future logistic hub in the region.
Bangkok is now building its forth train route, connecting its BTS with the intercity train system and trying to link up all the surrounding cities to all directions within the country. According to Thailand’s National Statistic Bureau, 85% of major urban areas in different cities will be well connected by 2035. That means, the process of urbanisation will accelerate and the chances of cross border trade will increase as well.
And more, Thailand is at the centre of the whole region serving as a logistic bridge in between countries. In 2018, 34% of crop products produced in SEA are being transferred and redistributed to other countries via Thailand.
Malaysia
Though Malaysia has been in a harsh time during the financial crises in 1997, it now has a dynamic market with full of opportunities in both the B2C and B2B sector, enjoying an annual GDP growth of 7.1% since 2014.
Malaysia also possesses a pool of well educated talents, having over 11% of its population taken the tertiary education. The government’s target is to get Malaysia onto the list of well developed countries by 2025.
What other factors should I consider before doing business in a South East Asia Country?
Online or Offline
Some economic miracles happening in developing countries are due to the development of internet infrastructures. In most SEA countries, people even tend to buy and search for local products online, because transportation is still not available throughout the whole country.
You may try to sell your products online and test the market before setting up a local team.
Demography
As the development of cities within a single nation varies, you have to consider some micro demographic factors such as purchasing power, religion values, gender, etc. and study their local statistics city by city.
Culture
South East Asia is constituted by countries with different ethnics, religions, level of developments, etc. There are over 100 dialects speaking in Indonesia, and even there are 2 types of Bahasa, Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malaysia, being used by different groups of Malaysians in some part of Indonesia and Malaysia, not to mention about the taboos that should always be taken care of.
How Spear can help?
We are expert in bridging the world. We have a local market specialist team in Southeast Asia to help you overcome all the barriers.
We can help to strategise your expansion plan and build a marketing mix by offer the following services:
Translation Service
- Ttranslate and localise all your materials (contracts, marketing materials, website localisation, etc.)
Certified Translation
- Translation / Certification / Notarisation for any Visa application
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Service
- Rank your website higher on major Search Engines in APAC
Content Development
- Your business always grows with creativity and well-established plans
Copywriting
- When translation is already insufficient to draw attention of your target audience
Desktop Publishing
- Though you may want to sell products online, a fancy print brochure would increase the chance of business for you
Website Engineering
- SEO isn’t just about keywords and writings, click here to know more.
Advertisement Write Up
- If you want to generate immediate sales online, this is the service you would need
Of course, our multicultural marketing service doesn’t just end here. Talk to us and know more.
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