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

On the afternoon of 18 February 2025, the “Southeast Asia Investment Seminar — Suzhou,” themed around outbound opportunities and markets in the new Trump era, was held in Suzhou. Set against China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the national push for companies to “go global,” the seminar was hosted by HE Partners (Jiangsu) and co-organized by KPMG (Vietnam), CM1 GROUP, Chuhai Group, Standard Chartered and Xingye United Business. It drew more than 60 business leaders from construction, electronics, software, biotechnology, finance and tax, who gathered to weigh the opportunities and challenges of Chinese companies expanding into Southeast Asia.

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

Reading the window to go global

Xie Yukuan, Director of the Management Committee at HE Partners, opened the seminar. Southeast Asia, he noted, is fast becoming a focal point for global investors thanks to its strategic location, manufacturing-cost advantages, young labor force and rapidly growing consumer market; in today’s shifting international climate, expanding overseas has become a decisive choice for many companies seeking long-term growth.

At the same time, he urged a clear-eyed view: the path of overseas investment carries opportunity and risk in equal measure. Laws, regulations, policy detail and culture differ markedly from market to market, and only by understanding them deeply and acting prudently can a company build out a new footprint on solid ground.

Mapping the routes into Southeast Asia

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

Yang Guannan, General Manager of Xingye United Business’s Shenzhen branch, spoke 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.

Fang Kun, Tax Director at KPMG (Vietnam), presented “Focus on Southeast Asia: why Vietnam stands out.” 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 companies considering the market.

Wu Junjie, Assistant Vice President at Sembcorp, shared on supply-chain deployment in Vietnam, while Li Minglong, Deputy Director for East China at Standard Chartered’s SME Banking division, outlined the bank’s solutions for supporting companies’ global footprints.

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 60 companies from a wide range of 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

18 February 2025

Location

Suzhou, China

Host

HE Partners (Jiangsu)

CM1’s role

Co-organizer · speaker (Indonesia)

Language

Mandarin

Speakers

• Xie Yukuan

  Director, Management Committee, HE Partners (opening remarks)

• Yang Guannan

  General Manager, Xingye United Business (Shenzhen)

• Fang Kun

  Tax Director, KPMG (Vietnam)

• Xue YuanCM1

  Senior Manager, CM1 GROUP (Indonesia)

• Wu Junjie

  Assistant Vice President, Sembcorp

• Li Minglong

  Deputy Director, SME Banking (East China), Standard Chartered