Industry Gurus to Discuss Business Strategies for a post-COVID World

For Immediate Release
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Industry Gurus to Discuss Business Strategies for a post-COVID World

July 29, 2020, HK: The fourth webinar organized by China Daily, themed “Getting Your Business Ready for a post-COVID World”, was held today with an aim to help businesses gain new insights and opportunities in the current challenging environment. Some 200 business leaders from across the world registered and joined the online event.

Recently, there has been a surge in coronavirus inflections across the globe. While Hong Kong and Tokyo recorded nearly or more than 100 new cases per day in recent days, the US has saw more than 60,000 new COVID-19 cases per day continuously. In view of signs that another wave of COVID-19 inflections may soon begin, social distancing and borders control measures have been tightened again, slowing down the pace of economic recovery. In face of the ever-changing epidemic situation, what innovative strategies can corporations and international enterprises adopt under such a challenging business environment? How can different business sectors be well prepared for another large-scale outbreak of coronavirus inflections?

The webinar featured four prominent speakers – Mr. Calvin CHOI, chairman of the Board and CEO, AMTD Group; Mr. DAR WONG, vice president, ASEAN-China Commerce Association; Dr. Daniel YIP, chairman, Federation of Hong Kong Industries; and Mr. Pana JANVIROJ, Executive Director, Asia News Network. They shared their insights and discuss survival strategies in the “new normal” commercial environment.

Daniel YIP recommended Hong Kong manufacturers to start to explore more the local Chinese domestic market, and also the ASEAN market. Because according to the trading figures of China in the first six months, trading with ASEAN has already been the biggest trading part of China’s total trading while European is the number two and the US is only the number three. So the trading with the ASEAN is becoming more and more important. Moreover, he observed that the ASEAN countries are doing better than Western countries concerning the recovery from pandemic.

He thought that if Hong Kong manufacturers have diversified the business model, they can split the risk by not relying heavily on the one single American market. He pointed out that the initiative of Federation of Hong Kong Industries is to reinvent Hong Kong industries. If manufacturers reinvent Hong Kong’s industrial value, all the highly value-added processes can be done in Hong Kong while the final manufacturing place can be taken in the mainland or in ASEAN or in Hong Kong.

Dar WONG deducted that we will need to take at least two to three years, or even longer period to recover from this pandemic crisis. This pandemic crisis came in as a surprise and hit the world simultaneously. So the whole world is moving to a standstill and very bad even in Singapore or in the 10 ASEAN countries.

He identified a very big challenge his business and those cross-border businesses are facing during the COVID-19, which is the on-site due diligence due to travel bans. In order to solve the problem, they are planning to set up a lot of cross-border business partners and professional bodies for such on-site due diligence so that they can assign their cross-border partners to do the on-site due diligence.

He predicted that there will be a huge correction on the global basis next year, but the recovery will only come in probably 2022. In a post-COVID-19 world, he foresaw most of the companies will be recovering while the fastest one with highest growth should be those companies that embrace the high-tech, gadgets or involving 5G or satellite connectivity.

Pana JANVIROJ analyzed the outlook of Thai economy. He predicted that the development of the energy sector will be in an L-shaped in the coming five to seven years. The outlook of the oil industry is rather pessimistic. He foresaw that the development of tourism industry will be in a W-shaped. Although the recovery of tourism industry will be quick one, the industry will still be affected by the pandemic repeatedly. For the insurance industry, he foresaw that the recovery will be in a V-shaped. He advised if people want to invest in the Thailand, they can reduce the investment in gold and commodities.

Calvin CHOI said digital world is supposedly seamless and well-connected so he thinks in order to be well-prepared for opportunities in a post-COVID world, it will be vital, necessary and also important to build up a digitally connected solution map.

He said that on an overall basis, since the acquisition of PolicyPal, his company’s gross written premium has grown over 11 times this year during COVID-19, compared to last year. Thus, he is very bullish on the potential of digitalizing power in Asia and around the globe. Considering the cost accounting, he thought if entrepreneurs find the right angle and the right opportunity to plan the longer-term development, it's still a good timing to invest now.

He thought that the potential of virtual space to develop financial services is huge. The opportunity is not just about building something virtually in a particular space, but how we can build up a more open platform to connect different sectors and services in different regions. He pointed out that the current pandemic is a stress test for companies’ fundamental business model. Therefore, it is time for enterprises to be innovative and open-minded for transformation.

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About China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable
The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia, providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to Asia’s economic, business and social development. Our aim is to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding between China, Asian and Western countries. Roundtable events are held in major cities across Asia.