NANYANG MBA

BUSINESS STUDY MISSION (CHINA) 2019

Contributed by Anmol Wahi, Class of 2020

Ni Hao!

Exhilarating, insightful and immensely enjoyable – these are the three words that sum up the Shanghai-Hangzhou Business Study Mission for us. While we had done our research and had our itineraries in place, we were in no way prepared for the pace and sheer “largeness” of our experience! From exploring the charming streets of Old City Shanghai to the uber-chic setting of the Financial District, from being mesmerised by the serenity of the Yu Garden to the lit-up brilliance of the Bund, from savouring the soupy goodness of Xiao Long Baos to testing our taste buds with the Hai Di Lao hot pot – we did it all! While we faced minor difficulties with the language barrier and social rules, it was refreshing to experience first-hand the sense of community and nationalism that the Chinese culture is known for. We were also immensely fascinated by China’s drive towards revolutionizing existing systems and adopting holistic digitalization. Our visit to Hema supermarket, for example, was an eye-opener to a “new retail” model boosting Chinese consumerism.

On a more professional front, we met with a few companies in China, from the homegrown Ant Financial and OCBC to global giants such as Medtronic, JWT, Ascott and Lanxess. We got amazingly insightful information on how business is run in China, local consumer insights as well as the hot topic of intellectual property. We learnt that some of the key challenges that foreign firms face in China are the lack of local cultural intelligence as well as the eagerness to grow immediately. While, what they should be focusing on is going local, forming relationships and rethinking their entire customer experience. We are coming back to Singapore with all these wonderful insights, which would definitely help us in our respective careers.

We would like to thank the ISP team for organizing such a wonderful week for us and would also like to thank our very own Prof. Goh and Audrey for mentoring and guiding us through the entire week.

Xièxiè China! Hope to see you again really soon.

To learn more about our Nanyang MBA programme, please visit our website.