School of WeChat: the China study tours teaching tech to Singapore
- From studying messaging app WeChat to guided tours of state-of-the-art Hema supermarkets, Singaporean firms are seeking to learn from China’s e-commerce success
- The surge of interest comes as the city state knuckles down on digital development with an eye on the lucrative Chinese market
When Singaporean restaurant owner Tan Hock Yong visited Shanghai on a WeChat study trip, he was amazed at how easily Chinese shoppers paid bills using the app, even at traditional wet markets and street stalls.
Over the five-day visit in 2017, he attended talks by Chinese e-commerce experts, who opened his eyes to some of the opportunities for his business.
“It was far more than I had imagined,” says Tan, 48, the managing director of Kim’s Place Seafood in Singapore’s eastern Joo Chiat neighbourhood.
Returning to the Lion City fired up with ideas, he urged his diners to post photos of food on WeChat, which produced a big boost in business for the 54-year-old family firm.
Using WeChat, he now also offers a spin-and-win game through which customers can bag a free plate of fried fish skin, lime juice, or Tan’s grand prize – the restaurant’s signature black pepper crab. Since his China trip, Tan estimates revenue has shot up 20 per cent.
His story is an increasingly familiar one in Singapore, where small and medium-sized enterprises have been looking to Chinese tech solutions to drum up business.
