PwC partners CCC in supporting companies expanding into Southeast Asia

Prajeeth Balasubramaniam (left) and Channa Manoharan 

Located at the heart of the Asia-Pacific region and situated across major trade routes, Southeast Asia today has become one of the world’s most exciting areas for doing business. Even amidst the current global uncertainties, it still seems that nothing can stop the growth of this region, with Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, as well as the region’s hub Singapore, being at the forefront of this growth, attracting companies from all over the world to expand and benefit from the opportunities presented in these burgeoning markets.

As such, with the goal of giving Sri Lankan businesses an overall understanding of how they can benefit from the opportunities offered in these prospering economies, PwC Sri Lanka has collaborated with The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce to hold a discussion on Market Opportunities and Entry Strategies into the Southeast Asia markets (SEA) to be held on 13 October.

The discussion will feature consultants with experience across the Southeast Asian Region, each of whom has garnered a solid reputation of having helped many companies to expand to Southeast Asia, from the smallest startup to some of the largest MNCs. 

These consultants will illustrate the opportunities in Southeast Asia and delve into areas covering growth drivers in the region. Additionally, the consultants will discuss some commonly faced challenges for companies entering the region such as company structure and functions, tax and legal barriers, and strategic challenges for scaling up operations in the region.

The experts would share their observations from working with companies that have expanded in the region and outline how these companies were able to overcome the challenges and successfully scale into Southeast Asia.

Giving an insight into the goal of this discussion, PwC Sri Lanka COO and Advisory Leader Channa Manoharan stated: “Southeast Asia has been riding on the wave of globalisation that has brought benefits and economic growth with expanding trade and investment linkages. It is therefore important that Sri Lankan companies reap these opportunities and blaze a trail in these markets for their products and services. With our experience in helping companies establish a strong footprint in these regions, we are keen to support local companies and share our knowledge and experience with them to support their future expansion plans.”

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Council for Startups Chairperson and Sri Lanka-Singapore Business Council Chairperson Prajeeth Balasubramaniam stated: “We are pleased to collaborate with PwC on this knowledge-sharing webinar focused on helping identify some of the challenges faced by companies expanding into the Southeast Asian region. The members of the Sri Lanka-Singapore Business Council and Council for Startups, and the wider Sri Lankan ecosystem, are all keen to expand into the SEA region and will benefit from this event.”

With an overall aim of propelling discussions towards building up knowledge, opportunities and access to the leading and fast-growing Southeast Asian markets, this webinar is ideally targeted to both SMEs and leading exporters, who will benefit from the strategic actionable insights on the ecosystem provided by the keynote speakers and most importantly, how to successfully engage, connect and build successful businesses in the region.