“Recently, there has been a surge in promotional materials from various advisory firms touting overseas risk-mitigation strategies,” said one executive at a consumer goods manufacturer based in China’s eastern Zhejiang province.
He declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the topic, but said overseas expansion has been on the company’s radar for several years, making his company a prime target for the consultants’ entreaties.
The episode highlighted the rising need for risk management among Chinese firms looking to expand abroad, he said, but did little to slow what many see as an irreversible push outward, driven by shrinking domestic opportunities and the growing benefits of localisation.
Chinese entrepreneurs in Latin America, jolted by the political turmoil in Venezuela, said they have become more attuned to geopolitical risks, but also recognise the region is not a monolithic bloc. Each country, they said, must be approached with a tailored strategy.
