Outbound Opportunities in the New Trump Era: Southeast Asia Investment Seminar — Shanghai

On 14 February 2025, the "Southeast Asia Investment Seminar — Shanghai," themed around outbound opportunities and markets in the new Trump era, was held in Shanghai. Set against China's Belt and Road Initiative and the national push for companies to "go global," the seminar was hosted by Shanghai Guangming Law Firm and co-organized by KPMG (Vietnam), Chuhai Group, CM1 GROUP, Shanghai Shizhi HR Services, and Xingye United Business. The event was moderated by Zhang Xiaoyan of Guangming Law Firm and drew nearly 80 companies from a wide range of industries.

CM1 GROUP took part as one of the co-organizers, with Senior Manager Xue Yuan presenting on Indonesia's investment environment and opportunities.

Opening remarks

Wang Shuping, Director-General of Guangming Global Management Committee and Managing Partner of Shanghai Guangming Law Firm, opened the seminar. He underscored that, in today's complex and rapidly shifting international environment, the moment is right for Chinese companies to venture overseas in search of new growth — and extended warm wishes for a productive session.

Mapping the routes into Southeast Asia

A series of speakers shared on the investment environment and opportunities across Southeast Asia — and Vietnam and Indonesia in particular — from tax, legal, industrial and human-resources angles.

Fang Kun, Tax Director at KPMG (Vietnam), presented "Focus on Southeast Asia: why Vietnam stands out — opportunities and insights." Drawing on detailed data and case studies, he set out Vietnam's distinctive strengths in economic growth, foreign-investment appeal and labor cost — a useful reference for Chinese companies considering the market.

Shan Wenrong, Senior Partner at Xingye United Business, gave an in-depth session on "Equity-structure design for overseas investment: a tax comparison of Hong Kong and Singapore." Looking at tax planning, ease of capital deployment and financing advantages, he unpacked how equity structures differ across jurisdictions and offered targeted guidance for companies choosing the right investment platform.

Niu Qiang, Chairman of Chuhai Group, spoke on "Site-selection risk and adjustment for factory investment in Vietnam," sharing first-hand experience from Vietnam operations and presenting case studies of the risks companies face — and strategies to address them.

Zhou Jinyan, COO and Chief Global Operating Officer at Shanghai Shizhi HR Services, presented "The three-ring value model for overseas talent deployment in 2025: compliance, cost and cross-culture." She addressed the full scope of human-resources challenges for companies going global, offering solutions across compliance management, cost control and cross-cultural communication.

Cao Sheng, Deputy Director of the National Overseas Investment Practice Committee at Guangming Law Firm, spoke on "International arbitration and cross-border enforcement: case studies from Singapore and Indonesia." Through real cases, he analyzed the legal risks in international arbitration and cross-border enforcement and outlined practical responses — helping Chinese companies protect their rights in overseas markets.

CM1 GROUP: a focus on Indonesia

As one of the seminar's co-organizers, CM1 GROUP's Senior Manager Xue Yuan turned the spotlight to Indonesia — surveying its industrial structure, investment environment and policy framework to give companies eyeing the market a clear frame of reference.

As Southeast Asia's most populous economy and a vast domestic market, Indonesia complements markets such as Vietnam and Singapore. In her session, Xue Yuan stressed that companies entering Indonesia should weigh its market potential alongside their own industrial profile, planning carefully around investment structure and compliant on-the-ground execution.

On-site exchange

The seminar drew nearly 80 companies from across industries. Beyond the presentations, attendees engaged in in-depth exchange on hot topics in the Southeast Asian investment market — discussing practical questions of industrial landing, tax compliance and capital arrangements with the speakers.

The seminar offered companies hands-on guidance and strategy for going global, echoing the Belt and Road Initiative and the national "go global" strategy.

As a Singapore-headquartered firm, CM1 GROUP will continue to work alongside partners across the field to support Chinese companies' Southeast Asian and global footprints — with expertise in corporate structuring, investment landing and cross-border allocation, and coordinating with licensed professional firms on the related legal and tax arrangements — so that companies can open overseas markets on solid ground.

Event details

Date

14 February 2025

Location

Shanghai, China

Host

Shanghai Guangming Law Firm

CM1's role

Co-organizer · speaker (Indonesia)

Language

Mandarin

Speakers

• Wang Shuping

  Managing Partner, Shanghai Guangming Law Firm (opening remarks)

• Fang Kun

  Tax Director, KPMG (Vietnam)

• Shan Wenrong

  Senior Partner, Xingye United Business

• Niu Qiang

  Chairman, Chuhai Group

• Xue YuanCM1

  Senior Manager, CM1 GROUP (Indonesia)

• Zhou Jinyan

  COO, Shanghai Shizhi HR Services

• Cao Sheng

  Deputy Director, National Overseas Investment Practice, Guangming Law Firm