DBS has launched an internationalisation programme that, over the next 12 months, aims to engage 1,000 businesses in Singapore and across the region in entering new markets.
The Bridging Business Horizons programme, launched on Monday (Jun 3), is supported by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG).
It will engage businesses in three areas: discovering new market opportunities; developing and executing an entry strategy; and deepening onshore networks. Registration for the programme is free.
The engagement will be done through a series of networking sessions and workshops where companies can, for instance, tap advisory services to learn how to make their exports more competitive by leveraging on Singapore’s free trade agreements.
DBS will also provide in-market engagements in markets such as China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia and Taiwan.
In addition, businesses can tap financing solutions from the bank, and resources from SBF and EnterpriseSG in scaling their operations.
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Some 57 per cent of Singapore’s businesses are keen on overseas expansion to capture opportunities in South-east Asia, DBS said, citing data from the latest SBF National Business Survey.
Yet companies are facing “more headwinds than ever before” from increased market volatility, higher business costs and limited resources, DBS said. The new programme therefore aims to help bridge those gaps when expanding overseas, the bank added.
Monday’s launch is about going beyond “singular” conversations with individual companies and adopting a “programmatic” mindset, DBS group executive and Singapore country head Han Kwee Juan told The Business Times.
It is also about encouraging Singapore businesses to “go out as a pack” when expanding overseas, Han added, so they can help each other in the process.
One SME that intends to tap DBS’ new programme is car platform Motorist.
The company has a goal of expanding to 10 new overseas markets in the next two years, and it will leverage DBS’ overseas network of in-country contacts to achieve this target, said deputy chief executive officer Angela Poh.
“For us to internationalise, it is very critical,” she added. “(This) might help us to expedite our growth plan.”
