China might be dominating the headlines of late, but AAR chief executive partner Michael Rose says that firms who ignore South East Asia do so at their own peril. By contrast, Rose says that opportunities in the Chinese market are limited by its increasingly competitive nature.
"[China] is a very competitive market and local firms are attaining a degree of expertise and sophistication and over time it will become increasingly difficult for foreign firms to compete - whereas in South East Asia, in markets such as Indonesia and Vietnam, there is the opportunity to be dominant," he told ALB.
AAR is one of the few Australian firms to establish a presence in those markets, in addition to offices in more predictable locations such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai.
Rose regards his firm's presence in South East Asia as a strong differentiating factor with top tier rivals Freehills and Mallesons. "If you compare us to Freehills and Mallesons, what we have is an Asia network which they don't - Mallesons have a strong presence in North Asia, we have a presence in North Asia and one of the strongest presences of any firm in South East Asia," he said.
This is an extract from a longer profile piece which will be published in issue 7.10 of ALB Magazine and on this website in October.
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