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What Startups Need to Know About Setting up in Asia

Asia is home to around 4.5 billion people and one of the biggest, most dynamic, and fastest-growing economies across the globe. These facts alone should put the continent on the radar of any business owner worth their salt. For startups in particular Asia is full of opportunities and could be the perfect place to set up your next business.

In this article, we’ll examine what you need to know about getting set up in Asia, the benefits this brings, and which countries are going to best compliment your business. And let’s not forget about the obstacles.

startup in asia

What are the Benefits of Setting Up in Southeast Asia?

Southeast Asia is a region of the world that is really starting to see rapid economic growth. In fact, many analysts see it as the world’s growth engine for years to come. According to Westpac Private Bank analyst George Toubia, there are five main reasons for this rapid growth, namely financial inclusion; domestic consumption and service; R&D and manufacturing in Southeast Asia; infrastructure and agriculture; and healthcare and aging.

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Growing economies

Nearly every country in Southeast Asia has seen impressive economic growth over recent years. Of course, this makes the region the ideal place to do business and you can expect the markets to get even stronger in the future.

Getting into business in a place that is still developing economically will hopefully mean you get swept along in that growth and start to see rapid results. This is much harder to do in more established and stagnant economic situations, such as in Europe or Silicon Valley.

The online boom in Asia also makes it a fertile location for E-Commerce companies.

Big investment potential

The huge success of recent Southeast Asian startups has got a lot of people interested in finding the next big thing. In fact, over the last year investment in startups has doubled across the region. It’s clear to see that the startup scene is very healthy in Southeast Asia.

This rise in investment has been influenced greatly by the company Grab in Singapore, which is a taxi service that operates in a very similar way to Uber.

There are plenty of opportunities for entrepreneurs in the area, especially if you can introduce something that is popular elsewhere but hasn’t yet made its way to Southeast Asia.

Which Asian Countries are Popular with Startup Communities?

Countries like Singapore and Thailand have proven popular with tech startups for some time now, both having the infrastructure required for startup companies. Their comparatively low corporate tax rates are another benefit. This is just one of many stories among the startup scene there.

Vietnam also has a healthy startup ecosystem and is predicted to be one of the fastest-growing economies in the area over the next few years. Entrepreneurs look at Vietnam as a potential base of operations for their startups and it’s definitely for good reason.

Outside of the Southeast region of Asia, there are some countries that are tough to ignore, China being the obvious one has grown to be one of the biggest economies in the world.

More importantly for us though, China has some great opportunities for companies looking to make a break, but it’s probably going to be a tougher experience than in Singapore or Vietnam, especially since startups are not forced to enter into a joint venture.


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