(Yicai Global) April 29 -- Small and medium-sized businesses make up the majority of Chinese companies planning to expand abroad with the help of digital technology, The Paper reported today, citing an executive at US e-commerce giant Amazon’s cloud computing services arm.

Although most Chinese firms with a presence overseas are large enterprises, those with plans to go abroad are mostly small and medium-sized ones, said Li Xiaomang, general manager of the commercial sector of Amazon Web Services (AWS)China.

Large enterprises account for 63 percent of those who have already entered the overseas market, with the rest being smaller companies, Li said. Of those with plans to head abroad, 65 percent are small and medium-sized firms and the remainder are big enterprises.

“Southeast Asia is the first stop for many Chinese companies looking to enter the digital market overseas where there is a large population and similar culture to China,” Li said. Gaming and fintech firms, for instance, seek to benefit from the young, well-educated and hard-working demographic in the region, he added.

Chinese service providers, such as those that work in resource planning, customer relationship management, database building and big data analysis, are also expanding overseas. “Some serve Chinese companies and follow their customers abroad. Others design services needed by Chinese firms overseas, such as marketing services for cross-border e-commerce. Some directly aim to work for foreign companies,” Li added.

China’s outward foreign direct investment flows and overseas holdings have ranked among the world’s top three for four straight years, according to a report released by the Academy of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade last month. Nearly 80 percent of Chinese firms intend to maintain and expand their outward investments.

Southeast Asia, Europe and North America remain the preferred destinations for Chinese companies, but more than 60 percent of them have hiked investment in South America, Africa and the Middle East, according to a report by Sino-Bridges Research and Consulting.

Editor: Kim Taylor