Edwin Chow, Enterprise Singapore's assistant chief executive, said that venture capital investors in the United States interests in the Asian market continuously increases because of the promising and strong growth in the region.
Mr. Chow is a member of an industry panel that includes Antler CEO and founder Magnus Grimeland, National University of Singapore (NUS) deputy president of Innovation and Enterprise Freddy Boey and SGInnovate head of venture building Pang Heng Soon.
Mr. Chow's comment is based on the comparison of his experience during a work trip to Silicon Valley last week to the sentiments of the investors about five years ago. According to him, the previous idea only needed to work in Silicon Valley and the US to be "good enough" for investors. He said at the event on April 26 that the kind of mindset, at least during the last trip, was completely absent. He added that the interest in Asia was a lot more preferred on his trip based on his experience at the conferences.
The steady growth in the Asian region specifically in emerging nations like China and India and the ASEAN bloc captured the interests of the investors. The interest of investors in the Asian market was also propelled by the existence of unicorns, start-ups that are worth at least $1 billion, in the region and outside the United States including companies like Grab and Gojek.
He also commented that it's no longer a case of there has to be only one hub, and everyone else is a feeder. He added that growth in ideas, money, and opportunities matter in the world of start-ups. He emphasized that it's about which node is densely connected with the rest, which node do the start-ups find it easiest to do business, to raise capital.
Professor Boey agreed with Mr. Chow as he commented that at the end of the day, cash is king, market also king. He pointed out that Singapore has two giants in its backyard, indicating China and the ASEAN. The professor noted the difference in the population numbers of the ASEAN, at 635 million, and the United States, at 327 million. He added that no one can find a better country than Singapore to do a start-up. He added that if you can't work it out in Singapore you won't make it anywhere else. He emphasized that there is a strong support system is in place to ensure that entrepreneurs have the best chance of success.
