Any company planning to do business beyond the home market should have a large pool of international talent and deep knowledge of local culture, according to Lei Jun, founder of Xiaomi.
In a written statement on Tuesday to chinadaily.com.cn, Lei said Xiaomi relies on local partners in many countries to co-develop products that meet local needs.
Although Xiaomi initially gained fame worldwide for its online sales model of its smartphones and always labeled itself as an internet company, Xiaomi set up a plant in Indonesia with three local companies to manufacture smartphones in February. However, in China, Xiaomi does not manufacture smartphones itself and claims it does not depend on hardware for profits as it generates revenue from apps imbedded on devices it sells.
Lei shared little on the company's strategy in Indonesia, a market it began tapping as early as August 2014, but said Xiaomi's products, services and business models are a match for the Southeast Asian market.
Xiaomi's Southeast Asia Director Shi Yan said in February that the company would work with Indonesian software developers to provide better experience to local Mi fans. The company has set up 21 Mi fan clubs in the country.
However, Shi did not disclose much to chinadaily.com.cn as Xiaomi was "still in the early stage of exploration in this regard."
Lei, also a member of the National People's Congress of China, proposed in March that Chinese companies should take advantage of the Belt and Road Initiative to tap foreign markets.
Liew of MainSpring Technology, agreed with Lei on tapping local talent in Southeast Asia and suggested that companies work out a win-win model based on pooling of capital and technology and a joint understanding of market demands to avoid mistakes that global technology multinational companies have made in China.
He added that the workforce in Southeast Asia is young, hard working and talented but relatively less experienced in deep technology and engineering.
"The Belt and Road Initiative's goal to train 5,000 foreign scientists and managers will help kick-start the process of pooling technology, expertise and talent," Liew said.
