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China: no longer the place to be for young Singaporeans?
- When Singaporean-born businessman K.K. Chua was sent to China in the 1980s, it was like being ‘sentenced’
- Now its economy is so advanced it may no longer be the best spot for young people in search of opportunities
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Having amassed decades of experience working outside of his home country, Singaporean-born businessman K.K. Chua is a big advocate of young people taking their careers overseas – honing the explorer’s spirit, as he called it.
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But China, he said, was no longer the place to be.
“My advice for young Singaporeans trying to go into China is this: there are better places, more spaces for you to grow elsewhere,” said the Hong Kong-based president of Asia-Pacific at American make-up brand Mary Kay Cosmetics.
“China now is already way ahead, and the opportunities are far and few [between]. If you’re serious about wanting to do something for yourself where the opportunities are, it’s no longer China.”
Young Singaporeans should instead consider other markets, such as the fast-growing Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region, he said. Those who did end up going to China should go there to learn, rather than teach, he added.
Being the only ‘yellow skin’ around, I was sentenced to Beijing
“It’s closer to home, there are 600 million people there, so you’ve got the best of both worlds.”
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