On the platform of the 9th China International Import Expo, the trend of open cooperation continues to promote the industrial linkage between China and ASEAN. During this period, Cheng Zhixiong, CEO of Singapore's OA Group, appeared at a number of CIIE supporting activities. As a member of the Executive Council of the Singapore Small and Medium Enterprises Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA), he attended the 2026 Specialized, Specialized and New Small and Medium Enterprises International Development Conference to share the theme, and also delivered a speech at a special event at the ISCA booth to promote the interconnection of the professional service fields between China and Singapore.
Relying on the CIIE, an important window for observing economic and trade trends, and combined with his long-term practical experience in deeply cultivating the ASEAN market, Zheng Zhixiong sorted out the paths and analyzed the difficulties for domestic enterprises to develop in ASEAN. In an interview with the media, he broke down the regional endowments, industrial needs and cooperation opportunities of the ASEAN market, and admitted that he is more concerned about the practical problems encountered by companies in the process of going overseas.
Chinese enterprises going overseas: unique practical blocking points
According to Zheng Zhixiong, a large number of Chinese companies that possess hard-core technologies and are deeply involved in market segments are actively setting their sights on the incremental market in ASEAN.
"In the early years, it was more about attracting investment and bringing overseas resources into the country. In the past ten years, the logic of cooperation between Singapore and China, and ASEAN and China has changed significantly, from the initial model of exporting goods and taking orders for single-point projects, to moving companies overseas, technology overseas, and solutions overseas." Zheng Zhixiong judged that what supports this change is the product operation and service polishing capabilities accumulated by China's huge user base. A large number of domestic service providers have mature products and technical solutions accumulated in long-term market practice, and have the ability to export to the outside world.
Having the ability does not mean that the path is clear. Large-scale enterprises often have sufficient funds to go overseas, mature overseas teams, and complete legal and financial systems. They can set up branches in different countries and independently cultivate local channels. For small and medium-sized enterprises, although they have differentiated technology and segmented track advantages, their resource endowments are quite limited.
"The first is the pressure of early investment." He said that if you build a complete local sales, technology, finance, and administrative team at the beginning of going overseas, the fixed costs will remain high. If the market feedback is not as good as expected, there will be little room for adjustment. The second is the shortcomings of market information and business networks: companies are familiar with their own products, but they do not understand the procurement logic and industry access rules of customers in ASEAN countries. It is difficult to quickly screen out reliable channels and upstream and downstream partners. "It is easy to be blind and feel the elephant." The third is that the business model is not adapted to the local environment. The charging methods, cooperation cycles, revenue distribution, and responsibility arrangements that are popular in China often do not work directly in ASEAN. They need to be reorganized according to local business habits and customer risk preferences.
The last type of problem often emerges when the business expands: after the company moves from a single project to a multi-country and multi-regional layout, the overseas main structure, cross-border capital flow, multi-country tax compliance, and regional management coordination are all overwhelmed, which is difficult to digest by its own team alone. Zheng Zhixiong added that cultural differences, language barriers, differences in fiscal and taxation regulations and regulatory systems are common concerns among companies going overseas. "This is also the reason why we are deeply involved in the mainland."
Singapore: ASEAN strategic hub for overseas companies
Faced with multiple difficulties, Singapore’s hub value has become highlighted. Zheng Zhixiong emphasized that for Chinese companies going overseas, it is not just a place of registration, but a strategic fulcrum that takes into account market trial and error, risk isolation and regional coordination.
First, it is a market in itself. Singapore has a clear legal system, transparent fiscal and taxation rules, and market rules are in line with internationally accepted standards. Companies that are going overseas to ASEAN for the first time can first connect with industry resources, verify technical solutions, and polish localized business models here. They do not need to roll out to multiple ASEAN countries at the same time from the beginning. The cost of cross-market trial and error is thus greatly reduced. "Many companies really hope to bring their technology, business philosophy, and brand culture together. International layout requires a bridgehead that is close to them and can understand their own logic. Southeast Asia is a very close and preferred region."
Secondly, it is a cross-market regional management and investment coordination center. When an enterprise successively implements projects in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam and forms a business layout, relying on the Singapore holding structure, it can coordinate cross-border investment, resource allocation, fund management, and brand technology output, string together business scattered in various countries, and upgrade from single-point project expansion to regional collaborative operation.
However, Zheng Zhixiong reminded that setting up a regional headquarters is not a necessary option. "Just test the waters of a single market, undertake sporadic projects in the short term, and focus on customer development and investment costs first. There is no need to build a structure prematurely. Only when the business has spanned multiple countries, a stable project cluster has been formed, and long-term business plans are in place, the value of the hub will be fully released."
There is another layer of support above the hub, which is people. To this end, while AoYa has landed in Shanghai and Hangzhou, relying on the network of the Singapore Institute of Certified Public Accountants, it has linked up with Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics and other accounting schools to carry out industry-university-research talent exchanges to cultivate talents with both Chinese accounting professional capabilities and Southeast Asian international qualifications.
Relying on the hub to accompany you to the ground: Aoya’s service path and practice
Aoaya's core work is to rely on the above-mentioned hub base to build a landing support system suitable for overseas enterprises. Zheng Zhixiong split the service chain into three stages: first, market research and judgment, assisting enterprises in researching target markets, industry opportunities, potential customers and procurement decision-making mechanisms, and sorting out local entry strategies; then, overseas structure and professional services, designing overseas headquarters and regional management structures according to corporate development plans, supporting company establishment, bank account opening, company secretarial, accounting and auditing, tax planning and cross-border compliance; finally, connecting local resources and industries, relying on business associations, industry organizations and business networks to bring potential customers and partners to the enterprise.
The most recognizable one is the self-built Industry Ambassadors mechanism: according to the industry to which the company belongs, it connects with senior practitioners who have practical experience, industry influence and professional connections in the local area. Many of these ambassadors are old customers who have been with Aoya for many years and have completed overseas travel or even successfully exited. For example, the ambassador of the catering track is a senior chef who has won a gold medal in the Catering Olympics. After starting his business, he was acquired and exited by capital.
"When domestic catering brands go overseas, issues such as central kitchens, meat access, prepared vegetable supply chains, food access, and local supply chain approvals are directly handled by industry ambassadors." Zheng Zhixiong further gave an example. Similarly, there are ambassadors in e-commerce fast-moving consumer goods, taxation and other fields. They are familiar with the practical details of cross-border distribution and cross-border taxation, and can provide direct assistance to Chinese companies going overseas.
"Enterprises focus on technology and solutions, and we solve the problems of how to enter the market and how to build business." Zheng Zhixiong said that this "play method" has been reused by more customers. For example, Shanghai Changting Information Technology Co., Ltd., a smart parking technology company, has obtained national-level digital certification in Malaysia. Another fund client has landed in Malaysia and obtained digital qualifications to serve a group of content customers behind it.
What underpins delivery is people. Zheng Zhixiong is proud of the fact that Aoya has its own delivery teams in Singapore and Malaysia, without intermediary subcontracting; it has established a local team of more than ten people in Shanghai and Hangzhou, and first thoroughly understands the demands, compliance requirements and business logic of domestic enterprises, and then coordinates with the Southeast Asian delivery center. "The delivery link is more flexible and the response is more timely. This model has been honed by our ten years of practice."
Digitalization and AI are another foundation. In 2019, Aoa Asia migrated all delivery tools to the cloud and implemented paperless office. It became a digital partner certified by the Singapore government and one of the few accounting institutions in Malaysia with digital qualifications. Since 2020, it has extended its experience to the client side and assisted a traditional trade distribution company to adopt a cloud accounting system and optimize its financial and inventory processes. The checkout time was shortened from 45 days to 7 days without adding financial personnel. Starting from 2024, AI capability building will be systematically promoted. AI has been used in the consulting department’s industry research, business analysis, and proposal preparation. According to team estimates, data collection and sorting that used to take three to five working days can now be completed within eight hours.
"For me, AI is not simply a tool to improve efficiency, but a tool for value upgrade. But what ultimately widens the gap is people's experience, depth of questioning and excellence in delivery." Zheng Zhixiong himself studied for a master's degree in computer-related fields at the National University of Singapore and built his own AI assistant system for sorting out meeting minutes, managing agendas, drafting emails, archiving communication records, etc.
Facing the future, Aoaya does not pursue large-scale expansion in China, but focuses on Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai with Shanghai and Hangzhou as the fulcrum, focusing on technology-based enterprises, specialized new enterprises and growing private enterprises. Relying on Shanghai's industrial foundation of biomedicine, artificial intelligence, and integrated circuits, as well as Hangzhou's digital economy and private economic ecology, it can meet the international needs of different types of enterprises. The service port continues to move forward - not waiting for the company to decide to go overseas before getting involved, but to study and judge the market entry path, overseas structure, business model and local operating needs in advance when the idea of internationalization comes up.
Zheng Zhixiong said that Aoya not only helps Chinese companies expand the ASEAN market, but also assists Singaporean and ASEAN companies to connect with the Chinese market, building a two-way economic and trade channel. "Now is a good time for two-way open cooperation. What we are doing is two-way empowerment. The core concept is symbiosis and win-win."
