Matches Made in Heaven

Wang Xiang

On June 29， 2015， a China-ASEAN Small and Medium-sized Enterprises （SMEs） Cross-border Investment and Trade Conference was held alongside the “Belt and Road” Malaysia-China Economic Conference in Kuala Lumpur， Malaysia， co-sponsored by the Bank of China （BOC） and the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia. It marked the first time that the BOC provided matchmaking services for SMEs in ASEAN member states.

Over the three years that followed， several meetings of this kind have been held in ASEAN countries. “We SMEs have very limited channels to find foreign partners，” sighed an attendee. “It would be difficult for us to invest and trade overseas without the matchmaking services offered by the BOC.”

Considering the characteristics of China-ASEAN trade relations and the mutually complementary traits of enterprises from both sides， BOCs matchmaking services primarily focus on industries such as apparel， food， rubber， furniture， electronics and real estate. To ensure efficiency， the matchmaking follows a five-step procedure： information collection， customer demand matching， initial contact， “one-on-one” meeting and field visit.

For the convenience of applicants who were unable to attend the meeting， organizers provided video conferencing. Such technology affords SMEs easy access to potential partners across the world without leaving their offices.

Well-received Services

During a meet-and-greet between Chinese and Thai companies， Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand Somkid Jatusripitak remarked in his speech that Thailands Eastern Economic Corridor and Chinas Belt and Road Initiative share common development goals. In the half-year of preparation for the meeting， the BOC selected suitable applicants and arranged video meetings for Chinese SMEs and their counterparts in ASEAN countries. A total of nearly 100 Chinese firms met with potential Thai partners at the event in Bangkok. The BOC expects to build a platform to bridge SMEs in China and Thailand and help them find greater opportunity， thereby strengthening economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. The matchmaking services are also an important step for BOC in light of its mission to serve as a forward-looking bank that takes on social responsibility.

Thailands Board of Investment （BOI） said that the meeting helps both Chinese and Thai SMEs reinforce their complementary advantages， enhance their competitiveness and prepare them for competing in global markets.

Attendees of the meeting also included representatives from several chambers of commerce in Thailand. They showed great interest in the matchmaking services offered by the BOC and expressed interest in actively participating in follow-up events. Tharakorn Wusatirakul， executive member of the Office of SMEs Promotion of Thailand， believes that the full cooperation between Chinese and Thai SMEs helps further enhance complementary traits of the two countries in trade.

Jitti Tangsithphakdi， president of the Thai-Chinese Chamber of Commerce （TCCC）， recognized the significance of the meet-and-greet as well as BOCs efforts to serve as a bridge between SEMs of the two nations. He mentioned that Thailand is home to multinationals and also has a good business environment for SMEs. The TCCC has always been committed to promoting the development of SMEs and has maintained good relationships with Thailands Ministry of Commerce， Ministry of Finance and the BOI. In the future， the organization will make greater efforts to strengthen Thai-Chinese economic cooperation.

In an event that brought Chinese and Singaporean companies together， the BOC signed comprehensive strategic cooperation agreements with International Enterprise Singapore， Singapore Business Federation and Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry， aiming to facilitate the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative in Singapore as well as in other ASEAN members and countries along the route.

Improved Services

To engage more SMEs in matchmaking services and simplify procedures， the BOC launched a Global Message System （GMS） in 2017. Using information technology， the GMS provides one-stop online financial services around the clock.

With the GMS platform in operation， SMEs in China and other countries can apply for BOCs matchmaking services at any time from any place. Through such electronic channels as a mobile phone app， they are able to check event schedules， register for meetings and select potential partners. The GMS also provides smart matching， automatic seating and on-site support， so that it can recommend ideal candidates to be matched to its users and provide them with field services.

“The GMS is designed to deliver solutions to communication problems emerging between Chinese and ASEAN enterprises， such as long-distance communication， language barriers and cultural differences，” explained BOC SMEs General Manager Zhu Jun. “In the impending upgrade of the system， we will utilize machine translation and instant messaging to further improve user experience. We also plan to add new functions like online matching， online matchmaking events and user interaction.”

Zhu believes that the GMS will ultimately enable SMEs in need to enjoy BOCs matchmaking services regardless of geographic location and time constraints.

In terms of long-term goals， Zhu sees the system developing into a world-leading， all-intelligent B2B platform for cross-border matchmaking of SMEs. It will continue to upgrade and provide new channels and services in accordance with user habits， business models and other requirements. Services like online communication， field visits via augmented reality， virtual reality technologies and online consulting based on artificial intelligence will be realized to better meet the diverse needs of SMEs and the real economy.

Since 2014， the BOC has held 41 cross-border matchmaking events around the world， which have attracted 20，000 companies from more than 80 countries and regions on five continents. A total of nearly 10，000 tentative agreements were reached at such meetings.