Standard Chartered strives to be the "navigator" for enterprises going overseas

Author | Zhou Zhiyu

Editor | Zhang Xiaoling

The old script of globalization is being rapidly torn apart, and the grand proposition of Chinese enterprises "going global" has entered the 2.0 stage of coexistence of risks and reconstruction from the era of opportunities and dividends 1.0.

Wang Xinjie, Chief Investment Strategist of Standard Chartered China Wealth Management, pointed out on June 6 that Chinese enterprises going global are gradually maturing and diversifying, with small and medium-sized enterprises seizing opportunities to enter overseas markets. At the same time, the strategies for enterprises going global are showing a multi-path collaborative development route, extending to infrastructure, services, and products in various overseas models.

This also means that enterprises are facing a more complex and multi-dimensional global battlefield.

Wang Xinjie believes that the resilience of the global economic engine still exists; however, demand and destinations have undergone structural shifts.

The previous generation of enterprises focused on how to sell products, while the new generation of entrepreneurs must think about how to "settle down" locally. Wang Xinjie observed that Chinese enterprises are shifting from simple re-export trade to establishing regional centers in places like Singapore and Malaysia, engaging in localized "reprocessing design, incubation operations, and products."

This elevation from "going out" to "integrating in" means that enterprises are no longer mere point-based goods exporters but must become a comprehensive entity with global operational capabilities. This transformation directly leads to the difficulties faced by business owners evolving from singular business issues to a systemic "going global syndrome," the complexity of which far exceeds that of the past.

This systemic challenge is corroborated by data in the report "Insights and Trends on the International Banking Service Needs of China's Affluent Clientele and Entrepreneurs" released by Standard Chartered Bank (hereinafter referred to as "the Report").

The Report shows that nearly 90% of respondents have held international bank accounts for over three years, but their experiences are fraught with obstacles. The core issue lies in the significant "disconnection" and "mismatch" between the services provided by banks and the actual needs of entrepreneurs.

First is the disconnection between personal and corporate services. For entrepreneurs, the preservation and appreciation of personal wealth and the global expansion of their enterprises are two sides of the same coin. However, the traditional banking system strictly separates the two, leading to service disconnection. The report points out that half of the entrepreneurs in the Greater Bay Area regard "one-stop cross-border banking services" as their first choice, reflecting a strong desire to bridge personal and corporate business.

Secondly, there is a mismatch between basic services and professional consulting. As enterprises establish roots overseas, simple payment and settlement have become basic operations, while the real "hard nuts" lie in professional fields such as law, taxation, and intellectual property. At the roundtable forum, Liu Zhengfu, a partner at King & Wood Mallesons, emphasized that the differences in legal systems between regions are significant risks that enterprises must avoid.

Data from the Report indicates that as high as 95% of entrepreneurs consider tax and legal consulting as core needs, yet nearly 60% of respondents express that there is a lack of high-quality related services in the market. Language and communication barriers, along with poor offline service quality, further exacerbate this supply-demand imbalance.

These pain points clearly indicate that when the overseas expansion model of Chinese enterprises has evolved to version 2.0, if financial services remain at the level of 1.0, they will inevitably fail to meet market demands In the face of this market gap, Standard Chartered Bank's choice is to launch the "Corporate Overseas Butler" service, which can be seen as a strategic move in this new chess game. Its core logic is to transform from a passive "financial tool" provider to an active "resource integrator."

This service attempts to break down the barriers between personal and corporate services through a "one-stop" solution, integrating the needs of corporate overseas investment, family wealth inheritance, and next-generation overseas education into a single service framework. At the same time, through strategic cooperation with external professional institutions such as the Hong Kong Productivity Council, it aims to bring industrial resources into its financial service ecosystem to address the shortcomings of entrepreneurs in professional consulting. The Chief Marketing Officer of the Hong Kong Productivity Council, Feng Jiabao, stated that they can provide one-stop professional services to support enterprises in enhancing their global competitiveness.

Behind this series of actions is a self-revolution of the bank's role. In the era of globalization 2.0, the value of banks is no longer just in the breadth of their global networks, but also in their depth of resource integration, bridging information gaps, and providing systematic solutions.

Li Haiqiang, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank's Greater Bay Area, stated that by releasing reports, Standard Chartered hopes to gain deep insights into the core needs of clients and provide high-quality banking services covering major international markets for China's affluent clientele, fully meeting their personal and corporate banking needs.

The globalization journey of Chinese enterprises has entered a deep-water zone, with new opportunities and hidden reefs along the route. For financial institutions involved, this is both a challenge and an opportunity to reshape their own value. Those who can first complete the evolution from "cashier" to "butler," and those who can integrate fragmented services into precise solutions, will find their winning path in this complex new chess game