China’s largest technology and financial services companies are stepping up efforts to expand in Singapore, as doors slamming shut on mainland groups in the US and India make the Asian finance hub crucial for international growth.
Alibaba-backed Ant Group, China’s second-largest brokerage Haitong Securities, Huawei’s cloud division and Tencent-backed digital bank WeBank are among the companies that have in recent months approached Singapore’s industry groups about becoming members or partnerships.
The Investment Management Association of Singapore said it had seen such a surge in interest that it was setting up a China chapter to better support and attract mainland companies.