● Hong Kong is one of the world’s largest merchandise trading economies ● Export has been a recovery driver of the Hong Kong economy amid the pandemic ● Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have been actively going global to build resilience ● E-commerce has made it easier for SMBs to export. About half of Corporates are pressured by their peers to go global ● More than 60% of exporters consider Southeast Asia as an attractive region, as its Internet economy is expected to reach USD360 billion by 2025 ● Marketing Barriers: Exporters face challenges in localisation, getting local insights and using digital ads. SMBs particularly lack agency support ● Policy and Regulatory Barriers: Exporters need to get accurate information of trade regulations and rules. SMBs need more support in overcoming regulatory barriers ● Business Operations Barriers: Exporters express difficulties in building partnerships and managing production abroad ● 68% of exporters plan to increase their investment in digital tools this year ● SMBs currently rely on offline approaches for market research, while they express the desire to be educated on digital ads and other digital tools. Corporates want to learn more about digital ads that can increase consideration among prospects ● To service and retain their clients, SMBs and Corporates want to be upskilled for cloud tools including data analytics and productivity tools