OCBC's ASEAN Chinese Corporate Clients Surge Over 50% in 2025; Cross-Border Revenue Up Over 10%

In recent years, a large number of Chinese enterprises in high-end manufacturing, new energy and other sectors have expanded into Southeast Asia, making the region a natural extension of China's industrial chain and gradually building a cross-border regional value chain that is both resilient and competitive. Chen Qinghui, general manager of corporate banking at OCBC Bank, said that Chinese enterprises' expansion into Southeast Asia has shifted from 'going out' to 'going in'. The former focuses on product exports and cross-border trade, while the latter requires enterprises to deeply address multi-dimensional challenges such as local regulations, culture, supply chains and talent, requiring greater effort and a longer time to truly take root locally.

In terms of business models, Chinese enterprises' overseas expansion has evolved from sporadic cases to a structural trend and systematic strategic layout. Previously, the focus was on selling products abroad; now the entire chain—manufacturing, supply chain and services—moves outward together. In some industries, this has even shifted from 'enterprise going global' to 'industrial chain going global', with upstream and downstream suppliers also expanding overseas. In terms of regional layout, ASEAN is one of the most important and active destinations in Chinese enterprises' globalisation strategies. ASEAN has a market of 700 million people and a demographic dividend; in some countries, the median age is under 30, internet penetration is high, and e-commerce infrastructure is well developed, allowing Chinese enterprises to reach end consumers without large-scale offline store networks. In terms of industry structure, past overseas expansion was concentrated in labour-intensive manufacturing and traditional trade, while faster growth now comes from new energy, high-end equipment manufacturing, electronics and automotive supply chains, as well as TMT sectors.

After enterprises 'go in', their financial needs change in three ways. First, financing needs shift from short-term liquidity support to medium- and long-term capital investment, involving land acquisition or leasing, plant construction, equipment procurement and capacity expansion, which places higher demands on project finance, syndicated loans, cross-border financing coordination and cash management. When industrial chains expand together, demand for supply chain finance, trade finance and cross-border settlement services increases significantly. Second, treasury management needs rise markedly: as enterprises simultaneously set up procurement, production and sales networks across multiple countries, cross-regional fund coordination, cash management, liquidity arrangements and optimisation of capital efficiency become core concerns. Third, risk mitigation needs grow: capacity-driven overseas expansion has long cycles, large investments and high localisation, exposing enterprises to more complex risks from exchange rates, interest rates, liquidity and policy changes.

OCBC is Singapore's oldest local bank, with a network spanning Greater China and ASEAN, as well as operations in major economies such as New York, London and Sydney. OCBC China is OCBC's wholly owned subsidiary in China. In 2025, OCBC's number of Chinese corporate clients in ASEAN grew by more than 50%, and cross-border business revenue increased by over 10% year on year, with revenue in key sectors such as TMT rising by more than 30%. OCBC has launched financial products tailored to local market needs, including virtual accounts, umbrella guarantees and financing for new energy vehicle dealers.

In terms of service model, OCBC has introduced a 'global client manager' model that enables direct interaction between the bank as a whole and the client group as a whole. Based on its in-depth understanding of the client group, OCBC China appropriately extends the credit assets that clients have accumulated domestically to their newly established entities in Southeast Asia. Some credit facilities are accompanied by credit enhancement measures, including group guarantees, collateral and liquidity arrangement commitments from the group's overseas treasury centre. In terms of foreign exchange services, OCBC is qualified to directly convert RMB into Malaysian ringgit and Indonesian rupiah, enabling direct conversion to reduce exchange rate fluctuation risk, while also supporting Chinese enterprises in locking in exchange rates through forwards and non-deliverable forwards. In treasury management, OCBC China has built an integrated cross-border treasury management solution, leveraging the 'dual hub' advantages of Singapore and Hong Kong to help enterprises establish regional treasury centres. Through cross-border cash pools and other means, it supports clients in coordinating regional financing arrangements, liquidity management and cross-border fund transfers, integrating cash management, trade finance, supply chain finance and global markets services into one.