Local firms go abroad in search of growth, Latest Business News - The New Paper
Business

Local firms go abroad in search of growth

This article is more than 12 months old


Home-grown firms spread their wings abroad in bold ways last year in search of elusive growth.

Data from trade agency IE Singapore showed that well-known names such as barbecued pork chain Bee Cheng Hiang and budget airline Scoot were among those that ventured to new cities.

Bee Cheng Hiang opened its first retail outlet in Japan in September, aiming high by going for the glitzy Ginza shopping belt in the heart of Tokyo.

Scoot took flight in a different way by starting Singapore's first direct flight to Jaipur, India, as well as heading to Hokkaido, Japan - making it the city's second direct connection to South-east Asia - in September.

AEROSPACE

Precision engineering firm PBA Group expanded into aerospace manufacturing in the Philippines, with a production plant in the economic zone called Clark Freeport Zone.

PBA chief executive Derrick Yap said: "We have set aside $1 million for the next two years for the plant, and expect to have 30 employees there by 2018."

Raduga, which distributes mobile phones and telecoms equipment and provides solutions to retailers, was another firm that headed to Europe last year.

It started distributing products to countries such as Bulgaria and Moldova.

CapitaLand's serviced-residence business unit, The Ascott, bought a hotel in the Irish capital Dublin for 55.1 million euros (S$83 million) in December, and Oxley Holdings launched its first development project, Dublin Landings, there in October.

BusinessEconomyJapan