Representation of Russian IT companies in Singapore: why not?

Greetings, colleagues!



One day, while sorting out my inbox, I noticed that a considerable part of customer questions related to the opening of their IT business in Singapore. Our portal specializes in cases of this kind, but I didn’t really want to advertise my participation in the project since I don’t consider such an adverting acceptable. Therefore, friends, I ask you: do not complain about the poor author in the comments that he is “pushing” the advertisement. Not for profit, but tokma as you please ... Well, you understand.



Returning to the topic of conversation, I’ll say that the general conclusion that should have been made after reading the letters of the clients sounds something like this: “it’s very difficult and difficult, so it’s better to have our own hometowns.” On the one hand, it is. It’s really easy to open an IT company in the village of Gadyukino, where, as you know, it always rains (authorship of Gennady Khazanov), especially if there is a decent, most often satellite, Internet.



On the other hand, all the greats of this world began with something small. Steve Jobs, may he rest in peace, assembled the first computer together with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in an extension garage. The Beatles at the beginning of their career rehearsed American rock and roll hits. The great Arnie in 1966 got involved in working out at a Munich fitness club.



In general, you understand what I wanted to say. To say that it is impossible in principle to open a representative office in Singapore for a Russian company is not worth it. Let the glass be always half full for you (better - more than half, but not the point). And to convince you of my innocence, I will give some typical examples of the fact that this is quite real.

Acronis

He opened his headquarters in Singapore back in 2001, when offshore companies of all stripes actively bloomed and smelled. Why the leadership chose precisely the midshore jurisdiction, and did not hide in the Caymans or the Virgin Islands, is unknown. But when regulators began to tighten their screws and actively push clean offshore companies out of the economic space, it became clear that the move was right.

Baseride

Develops intelligent control systems for any vehicle: from small mopeds to special equipment and bulky transport. The company offers the "ordinary" people to use the DorogaTV service. Having received investments (IncuVest) several years ago, BaseRide aimed at the markets of Southeast Asia. They say that even the great and powerful Ilon Musk became interested in its developments.

Bookmate

Hard times have come for companies selling books, because consumers have stopped reading even TV programs. Therefore, the entry into the Singapore BookMate service market in 2014 became something like an experiment. As it turned out, not so unsuccessful. A contract was signed with the local company STAR HUB, investors were found and work began to actively expand the list of services. Fortunately, the e-book market in Singapore is practically not occupied by anyone. Interestingly, the company is going to compete with AMAZON itself, which looks very bold. But not the fact that BookMate will not repeat the fate of other IT innovators absorbed by large corporations.

CDNVideo

Content Delivery Network Recently, it has been represented in Singapore. Own nodes, in addition to the Russian Federation, are also in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and even the USA.

Evenpanda

At first, the service provided the opportunity to choose non-standard activities (for example, a morning run with the chef of a large company). But then the creators decided that it was too boring, and began to promote the idea of ​​an online platform for in-depth communication with renowned chefs and chefs. They, by the way, can be invited to a personal meeting. Given that there are plenty of restaurants in Singapore, customers are guaranteed an unusual service.

Freshoffice

St. Petersburg company engaged in business management systems (and not at all office suites, as many might think). In the Russian Federation, its position is quite stable, and there are very reputable companies among the clients. Whether FreshOffice will be able to gain a foothold in the Singapore market is an open question. But management claims that favorable business conditions and a favorable business climate justify a small (who would say ...) risk.

Frontierventures

Venture fund focused on the markets of the Russian Federation and Asia. It is noteworthy that the first deal in Singapore was concluded in 2015. And you say, futile ...

iMoney

An interesting service of credit products, which experts predict a great future. Infiltrated the market of Southeast Asia through Malaysia (a grant from the Ministry of Finance of this country helped). Now in Singapore, one of the offices. Allegedly, quite successfully.

Invideon

Cloud video surveillance system. The idea is quite interesting, especially in the light of the widespread dissemination of the concepts of the Internet of things and smart home. In Singapore, there is one of the data centers.

Kaspersky Lab

The great and terrible "Uncle Zhenya" (well, or his ex-wife, although this version does not stand up to criticism), whose products are actively hated and just as actively put forward by users, opened an office in Singapore in early 2015, which became 34 in a row . IT specialists need to pay more there, because the usual "average" salary of an IT specialist will not work. But the quality of the product only benefited from this (together we are silent and pretend that this is really so).

A.

Life.SREDA

Another venture investment fund, which not only opened a representative office in Singapore in 2015, but even moved its headquarters here. The official reason is a much more favorable investment climate. Unofficial - an attempt to escape from Russian jurisdiction and “free” itself from potential sanctions. But the fact remains: they did it.

Life pay

The leading mPOS service of the Russian Federation, in fact, is one of the side projects of the already mentioned venture investment fund. It works not only in Singapore, but throughout Southeast Asia.

Parallels

An American company (Seattle, Washington) with obvious Russian roots stretching from the beginning of the 2000s. Her area of ​​expertise is virtualization software, so the rumors that Parallels was acquired by Canadian Corel corporation seem a bit strange. In this case, the decision to open a representative office in Singapore is quite understandable, because a quarter of the company's profits come from Southeast Asian markets. So to speak, to be closer to the people ...

Ruvento

2-in-1 kit, including a business incubator and venture investment fund. His area of ​​interest is hardware 2.0 startups, regions - Russia and Asia. One of Ruvento's successful projects is the CreoPop 3D pen. It differs from the host of analogues already on the market in that it “writes” in cold ink. It is interesting that one of the top managers of the structure, Mr. Vyacheslav Solonitsyn, was at one time considered the investment director of the Skolkovo Fund, who was predicted to play the role of the Russian Silicon Valley.

SPB TV

A provider that actively uses modern digital technology in its work. He appeared on the Singapore market in 2013, having made, in fact, a real revolution. The company miraculously managed to conclude a contract to launch a mobile TV platform with the local operator STAR HUB (something familiar, don’t you?). To make you understand, this is equivalent to taking all three prizes at the next World Cyber ​​Games by the Russians. True, dreaming is bad? ..



You can argue that all these companies had sufficient sources of funding and a team of experienced managers who provided access to the Singapore market. Perhaps it is. But it is hardly worthwhile to set limits in advance. Knock on all the doors and someday one of them will certainly open.



And as a confirmation of my words, let me mention Brian Epstein, who struggled to promote a certain group from Liverpool. And even after the refusal of Dick Rowe (Dick Rowe, Decca), he continued to upholster the thresholds of record labels. What came of it, we all know very well ...