Westpac's Strategic Business Expansion in Asia Pacific Region

This report provides a detailed analysis of Westpac's business strategy and expansion in the Asia-Pacific region, with a focus on its operations in Singapore. It explores the motivations behind Westpac's initial investments and expansion into Asia, including the strategic relationships formed with Standard Chartered Bank and DBS Bank. The rationale for choosing Singapore as a key location is examined through a PEST analysis, assessing the political, economic, social, and technological factors that made the country attractive for investment. Furthermore, the report delves into the competitive landscape using Porter's Five Forces to understand the intensity of competition in the Singaporean market. The report also identifies the sources of market intelligence available to Westpac, discusses the do's and don'ts of conducting business in Singapore, and highlights the key competencies that contributed to the company's successful expansion. Finally, it addresses the challenges Westpac has faced in sustaining its business in Asia over the years.

Running head: ASIA PACIFIC BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE
Asia pacific business perspective
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s note

1ASIA PACIFIC BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE
Table of Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................2
1.1 Overview of the company......................................................................................................2
1.2 Westpac in Asia.....................................................................................................................3
2. Initial stages of expansion in Singapore......................................................................................3
2.1 Strategic relationship of Westpac in Asia..............................................................................5
3. The rationale for choice of country or countries for Westpac.....................................................6
4. Rational for the business segments and competitive approach of the company..........................9
5. Source of market intelligence for the company........................................................................12
6. The Do’s and Don’ts in conducting business in Singapore.......................................................15
7. The key competence of the company that made the expansion into Asia successful................16
8. Challenges that Westpac faced over the years in sustaining its business in Asia......................18
9. Conclusion.................................................................................................................................19
10. References List........................................................................................................................20

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1. Introduction
A multinational company is an organisation that has its operations and other functions of
the business in different nation states. For a number of organisations one of the major objectives
of the business is to expand the business overseas (Forsgren and Johanson 2014). This not only
provides the company with greater opportunity in terms of target market, it also provides the
company with improved turn over and profitability. Growth and expansion of the business is the
long term of objective that managements look forwards to. In order for a company to ensure that
the process of expansion is profitable there are a number of factors that has to be considered.
International business includes a number of strategic management decisions which has to be
organized on the basis of the analysis and research (Forsgren and Johanson 2014). Making a
global footprint and expanding the business in other markets has a number of challenges and
barriers as well. According to Forsgren and Johanson (2014), a business organisation operate in
two environments internal and external, the factors in these environments have to align with each
other in order for a company to do business overseas. In this report the company that is going to
be focused upon is Westpac. The company has a considerable presence in the Asian countries
and is among the most prestigious financial institutions of Australia. This report will focus on the
countries investment and expansion decisions in Singapore.
1.1 Overview of the company
Westpac is one of the oldest financial organizations in Australia, established in 1817 the
bank was then known as the Bank of New South Wales (Westpac.com.au 2018). In 1982 the
name has been changed to Westpac Banking Corporation. Over the years of operation the
company has gathered significant importance and reputation among the stakeholders of the
company. The organisation has played an important role in shaping the economy of Australia as

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well (Westpac.com.au 2018). Today Westpac has established itself a consumer oriented
company that has a number of services to help the people improve their financial condition. The
vision of the company is to become one of the leading organizations to support the customers as
well as the community and people to grow (Westpac.com.au 2018). In order to follow this vision
the management of the company ensures that there is a valuable relation in between the company
and the customers provide the employees with opportunities so that people would like to work
with the company and also deliver the best returns for shareholders (Westpac.com.au 2018).
1.2 Westpac in Asia
Thought the focus of the organisation in the initial times were on the Australian and the
New Zealand market, the management decided to venture into the international market as the
wanted to seize the opportunity to make a global name (Westpac.com.au 2018). Westpac has its
presence in the Asian market as well. The regional head office of the company is in Singapore
and has a number of branches in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Mumbai. The focus of the
company is to serve the customers based in Asia better and also do business with Asian
customers. The company also wants to provide a passage for Asian firms and customer with
interests in Australia and New Zealand (Westpac.com.au 2018).
2. Initial stages of expansion in Singapore
When an organisation chooses to venture in to a new market in terms of geographic
location, the external environment factors are the initial parameters that are chosen by the
company. Factors such as political scenario, social aspects, economic background and prospect
of the country as well as the way technology is used and accepted by the people of the company.
The Singapore head office of Westpac is set up to serve the people of the organisation. The
company had ventured in the Asian Market 40 years ago and the mode of entry that had been

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selected is direct investment. There are two services available in Asia: Westpac Corporate &
Institutional Bank in Asia and Westpac Migrant Bank in Asia (Westpac.com.sg 2018).
Asia is a market that has always been the focus of a number of companies who are based
in the west. The population of the continent and the potential of the customers to be the target
market provide the company with a wider opportunity in terms of business. There are a number
of people who travel and settle in Australia form the Asian countries, there are also significant
numbers of travels in a year who visit these countries and this provided the company an
opportunity to set up the business in Singapore.
There are a number of reasons for a company to choose to invest in Asian Market firstly
increase in Asia and Australian immigrants, Westpac is known as one of the major banks that
focus on the domestic customers, the increase in the immigration has provided the company with
opportunity to help people across borders. There are also a number of organizations in Australia
that want to venture in the Asian market and in order to support these companies the decision of
establishing the offices in the Asian market was determined.
The motivation that drove the company was the fact that there was no bridge in terms of
finance in between the two regions during the time of investment and thus the focus of the
investment and the services that are provided by Westpac in Asia revolves around mostly
corporate and institutional customers (Westpac.com.sg 2018). Globalization and the objective of
expansion among the business environment in the country was the motivator for an institution
like Westpac to invest in the Asian countries. Asia is one of the major markets for Australian
investors and thus in order to support the business the company had established the operations in
Asia. A number of Australian companies are looking for their foothold in the region like red

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rooster chain of restaurant, AAL, Australian post etc. Westpac is an organisation that has been
focusing on the Asian companies operating in Australia as well (Westpac.com.au 2018).
On the other hand there are also important benefits of investing in Asia, the fact that the
countries in the region are geographically at a close proximity makes it an easier market to
commute and expand. Politically there are hardly any constraints; the economies of the region
are looking for foreign investment either to help in the development of their economy or to boost
their economy even further. Westpac has over the years of operation in the Asian market has
aligned with the culture of the region which is very significant and important for any
organization to operate in Asia.
2.1 Strategic relationship of Westpac in Asia
Standard Charted Bank
The company has direct investment but in the process of establishment of the operations
in the Asian market the company has built a strategic relationship with one of the major banking
companies of Asia Standard Chartered Bank. Much like the history of Westpac Standard
Chartered Bank has also been established a long time ago and has developed significant
reputation among the people. The company has a wide presence in the Asian market and has
built a strategic relation with Westpac (Westpac.com.sg 2018). As the company is focused on
promoting Australian business in the Asian market, Westpac focuses on the common challenges
that an Australian business organisation might face in the Asian market. In order to deal with
these challenges of diversity of political economic and cultural aspect the company has
developed a strategic relation with the Standard Charted Bank (Westpac.com.au 2018). The
association of the two companies provides the customers of Westpac with better banking

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services in Asia. It has offered the company to represent the banking services of Australia unlike
anyone in the market. Some of the other benefits that the company has gathered from this
relation are: telephonic support to the customers during business hours in Australia for all Asian
account inquiries, online banking services, and negotiated credit facilities for the customers,
reputation in the industry and faith among the customers to receive better opportunities
(Westpac.com.au 2018).
Global ATM Alliance
The company has a strategic relation with the DBS Bank in the Singapore market where
the companies can share their ATMs. This is an alliance that would help the customers to avoid
expensive money withdrawal while travelling in Singapore and Australia. The relation Westpac-
DBS ATM Alliance is a joint partnership and is a part of the Global ATM alliance that the
company has with a number of other bank all around the world. For example the Alliance with
DBS is for Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong. On the other hand the company also has similar
alliance with other financial institutions like Bang of Nanjing in China, CIMB in Indonesia and
Malaysia (Westpac.com.sg 2018).
3. The rationale for choice of country or countries for Westpac
The country that is focused upon is Singapore, with the help of a PEST analysis of
Singapore, the rational of the company to expand in the country can be analyzed. Apart from that
in order to understand the rational for choosing the country the intensity of competition also has
to be identified. In order to understand the competition in the market Porter’s five forces will be
used.

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Westpac is an organisation that operate in the finance industry and has a established a
strong base in the Singapore region. The objective of the operation is to provide the people of
Singapore and Australia a smooth cross broader financial service. The operations of the business
are mostly focused on the corporate and institutional customers. Following is the PEST analysis
of Singapore in order to understand the reason why the company chooses to establish their
operations in this region:
Political: Singapore is a republic based on parliamentary democracy, the government of
the country is focused on providing the people with better opportunities in life so that they can
lead a higher standard of living (En.portal.santandertrade.com 2018). The government of the
region is stable and has an understanding relation with the people as well as the business
environment. The government understands the importance of international investment in the
economy and encourages the same with low rates and removing other trade barriers. Australia
and Singapore has a long history of healthy trade relations, from the time of the country gaining
independence there are a number of companies that has invested in Singapore. The Singapore-
Australia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) was signed in 2003, which has made the processes in
the business environment easier for the organizations (En.portal.santandertrade.com 2018). In
Southeast Asia the bilateral relationship with Singapore is one of Australia's most comprehensive
relations and this is because of the tourism, education, defense and commonwealth ties in
between the two countries (En.portal.santandertrade.com 2018). Therefore, it can be said that the
opportunity of an organisation like Westpac in the country is supported by both the governments
of the two countries, following some of the amends in the agreement; it can be expected to see an
improvement in the trade relations in between the two countries in such case the services of

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Westpac will be of significant importance. Foreign labour, addressing weak productivity growth
and increasing wages are some of the areas of focus for the government to improve (Ho 2014).
Economic: The GDP of Singapore is 305.76 USD (En.portal.santandertrade.com 2018)
and is observed to have a growth trend. The growth from the previous year is recorded at 3.5
percent owing to the global demand for electronic gadgets (En.portal.santandertrade.com 2018).
The economy of Singapore is dependent significantly on international trade and thus is featured
with an open economy (Austrade.gov.au 2018). Australia has a significant trade and investment
relationship with Singapore, trade in services in terms of export to Singapore amount at
5,333(A$m) in 2017 ans import from Singapore amounts to 5,141(A$m) (Dfat.gov.au 2018).The
economy of Singapore has the potential to grow further thus making the economic ties in
between the two countries stronger. Financial services are one of the most dominating industries
in the economy of Singapore providing Westpac further opportunity in the country (Hargreaves
2015). According to the 2017 economic freedom index Singapore is in the 2nd position
(En.portal.santandertrade.com 2018). This aspect of the country makes it easier for foreign
investors to freely operate in the region(Austrade.gov.au 2018). This is also one of the reasons
for Westpac choosing the country to be the Asian Headquarters.
Social: tourism art culture and education are some of the aspects of the society that ties
the two countries together. Singapore is a country whose society is characterized to be enjoying
a high standard of living owing to the developed economy. The country is a secular state and the
people are accepting in terms of changes and development. Education is given importance in the
society and there are a number of languages spoken the country, English is the business language
and thus it is easy for Australian companies to operate in the region. The Singapore community
in Australia stands at over 70,000 people, including more than 8,000 Singaporean students

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(Dfat.gov.au 2018). Financial institutions and banks in the country form a significant part of the
society as it ensures that the people are secure in terms of their financial background
(Dfat.gov.au. 2018).
Technology: Singapore has been one of the most technologically advanced countries in
the world and is also a part of a number of benchmarking innovations in the technology (Ho
2014). The financial industry in the country is digitalized and therefore, Westpac has a number
of alliance and strategic relations based on the facilities that digitalization can provide the
customers (En.portal.santandertrade.com 2018). The people of the country accept changes in
technology and incorporate it in their daily lives (Ho 2014). Social media communication, digital
banking, usage of Smartphone etc are some of the features of the technological advanced of the
society. The government of Singapore also invests in research and development as well as
technological infrastructure so that people can utilize the facilities of technology that is available
((Ho 2014).
The above analysis of the country indicates the prospect that the company has found in
the expansion strategy. There are opportunities as well as support from the authorities which has
made the process of business easier for the company.
4. Rational for the business segments and competitive approach of the company
Business segments in Singapore
The company was set to expand in the Asian market due to the increase in the business
ties in between the two countries. The above PEST analysis indicates that the Australia and

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Singapore have healthy business connections. The segment of business operations carried out in
Singapore is: day to day banking and corporate banking (Westpac.com.sg 2018). In day to day
banking the services includes ways to help the customers move to Australia or New Zealand.
This is to support the people who choose to move to the countries for education or work or just
to travel. Not only that the bank also assists the people who have been living in Singapore trying
to return to Australia and New Zealand. The focus on the country and the customers has made
the company make a unique service in the otherwise intense market in Singapore. The services of
Westpac help the people connect with the right person at the right time in the process of
transition. It also helps the people to deal with finances by allowing them to use the platforms
that the company has strategically built through strategic relations. These services include: ATM
services, digital banking platforms, mobile banking services, customer care response etc
(Westpac.com.sg 2018).
Another business segment that Westpac has developed over the years is the corporate
service support. This segment in the business helps institutional clients to do business across the
border and acts as a bridge in between the business environments of Australia and Singapore
(Westpac.com.sg 2018). The company has the facility of customizing the services as per the
clients’ requirements. This segments has a number of services like development of relations,
transactional banking, international trade, assists the people in foreign exchange, focusing on the
debt markets etc. this helps the clients in developing an understanding of both the markets and in
the process deal with the financial process that lie ahead (Westpac.com.sg 2018).
Competitive approach in the Singapore finance industry

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The services of the company are focused on individuals who are associated with
Australia and New Zealand in Singapore. Not only that the major clientele of the company in
Singapore are corporate organisation who have their business in either of the two countries. This
specialized service has helped Westpac maintain their competitive advantage in Singapore. The
services of Westpac Singapore are exclusive and customizable (Hargreaves 2015). The monetary
authority of Singapore is the authoritative body in the country that governs the financial
institutions in Singapore. There are over 200 banks in Singapore and significant number of
companies has chosen to form their base their operational headquarters in the country to service
the Asia-Pacific region (Mas.gov.sg 2018). The country is well connected and has a good
network with the global business access the approximately 4 billion strong Asian markets within
a radius of 7 hours’ flight time (Mas.gov.sg 2018). The porter’s five forces framework will help
in analyzing the competitiveness of the company in the industry.
Threat of new entrants: there are chances for a new company to enter the market and the
segment of business that Westpac serves in Singapore. This is due to the facilities that are
provided by the countries in terms of improving their trade. On the other hand, Westpac is a
company that has been in the market for a long time and over this period the company has
established significant reputation and goodwill in the industry (Srivastava et al. 2013). For a new
company to deliver the same kind of service and gaining similar trust is difficult. Therefore it can
be said that the threat of new entrants for Westpac in Singapore is medium (Dobbs 2014).
Intensity of competition: there are a number of banking and financial support institutions in the
country, but the segment of the market that is served by Westpac is niche and exclusive which
makes it one of a kind service provider. Hence it can be said that the intensity of competition for
Westpac is low.

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Bargaining power of the customers: As the intensity of competition is low the switching cost
of the customers in the Singapore financial market is high for the customers of Westpac. Hence
the bargaining power of the customers is low in this case (Srivastava et al. 2013).
Bargaining power of the suppliers: Both for the customers as well as for the suppliers when the
intensity of competition in the market is low, the bargaining power of the suppliers falls as they
have no other option than to choose from the option that is available.
Threat of substitute: The substitute to the services of Westpac is other banks of Singapore who
has their branches in Australia and New Zealand. These banks provide their customers with
similar options. These cannot be said to be direct competitors as the company is not based in
Australia (Dobbs 2014).
From the above discussion it can be concluded that the company has built its niche
market successfully in the Singapore finance industry.
5. Source of market intelligence for the company
While running a business in the country of origin or the host country for a multinational
organisation it is important to understand and keep up with the changes in the industry. As
mentioned above the external factors that impact the business environment are not under the
control of the company, the managers and the leaders of the organisation has to have a
contingency approach in the management in order to deal with changes and maintain flexibility
in the process. In order to foresee changes and understand the ways a change will impact the
situation. The information regarding the market is called market intelligence and there are a
number of ways by which Westpac can gather market information (Bryman and Bell 2015). This
information can be gathered from either primary sources or secondary sources. Primary

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information is the new data that is collected by a number of tools that the company can
employee. On the other hand secondary information is collected from the data that is already
available. this information can be collected form official documents, information in the official
websites, e-documents, journal articles, news articles, purchased information form research
papers by research organisation etc (Bryman and Bell 2015).
The market intelligence that is gathered by the company is used to make strategies by
which the company can cater to the current and potential requirements of the customers as well
as deal with the competition in the market. On the other hand it also helps the company to
achieve the objective of the business as well. Some of the ways in which Westpac gathers
intelligence are: market research, the company has a research team that conducts market research
in order to address some of the problem areas that the company might face (Eriksson and
Kovalainen 2015). Research gives detailed insight of the industry as well as the trends in the
market. The market research helps the company to formulate policies and develop ideas which
will be impactful and positive for the company. There are also cases where the company also
heirs third party research organisation to conduct the process on their behalf.
Official documents that are realized by the organisations be it authoritative organisation
or business organisation, which are available for the public consumption are a good source of
authentic data regarding the changes in the business environment. The source of information is
one of the major aspects that have to be in check as the authenticity of the information lies in the
source from which it has been derived (Sekaran and Bougie 2016). For example: there are a
number of treaties and trade agreements in between Singapore and Australia, for Westpac to be
updated by the detailed information about the agreements they can go through the documents

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that are available on the website. This will help the company to formulate policies and develop
understanding of the changes and use it for the benefit of the company.
A part of market intelligence is competitive intelligence where the company keeps a track
of the competitors in the market. Some of the sources of getting information of the completion in
are the sales and annual report of the competitor organisation (Bryman and Bell 2015). The sales
information of the competitors also give out insight of the market that the competitors have been
targeting and the ways in which they have been dealing with the challenges in the industry.
Another way in which the company can get market information is the press releases published by
the competition, based on the announcement the management can understand the policies and the
steps that the competitors are taking in order to combat the other players in the market (Bryman
and Bell 2015).
Information that is gathered from the internet or the search engines can also be used to
determine the trends in the industry to gather general information regarding the market.
However, there is also a certain amount of risk associated with the information that is available
on the internet. The source of information should always be checked before making any
decisions regarding the information. There are a number of open sources where information can
be tampered with; hence the researcher should always be conscious about the source of
information. For example Wikipedia is the most common address that is shown in search engines
but, it is advised not to retrieve any information from the site as anyone without any authority
can change the information in the website (Bryman and Bell 2015).
As a foreign company in Singapore, Westpac needs to be in sync with the external
business environment in order to formulate any policies or take any other decisions for the

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company. In such cases the company will need to gather information regarding the industry and
the market to maintain the competitive advantage (Hair et al 2016).
6. The Do’s and Don’ts in conducting business in Singapore
For a company that has planned to operate in the Asia-pacific region strategies to
establish an operation center in Singapore owing to the factors that has been already discussed
above. The country has a number of trade facilities and also a number of facilities in terms of its
geographic locations from other major Asian markets. However, there are always barriers in the
process of setting up a business internationally Singapore is also a global financial hub. Some of
the factors that a company should keep in mind while setting up business in Singapore are:
Some of the factors that the companies should keep in mind while operating in Singapore
as discussed below. There are a number of cultures that are prevalent in the country, which the
organisations must understand and respect (De Jong 2013). There are native people and have
their own set of cultural traditional however, there are also significant population of Chinese,
Malay and Indian origin who follow their own culture (Chew 2017). Therefore, it is
recommended for a company to understand the background of these cultures and develop the
policies accordingly. The culture has to be analyzed as there are a number of etiquettes and
behavioral aspects of each of these cultures which are different from the ones that are practiced
in the western culture countries or even in Australia. The culture in the organization is formal in
nature and thus organisations must ensure to communicate and approach in a formal way while
dealing with other organisations based in Singapore (De Jong 2013). The companies in the
country should be focused on innovations as the government of the country has strict rules of

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protection of intellectual properties. The safe and secure government and legal structure in the
country helps the organization to run in a easy way, however, the companies must ensure that
there is no corruption or malpractices in the company. The legal system of the country also has a
number of strict regulations against corruption. In Singapore it is very important to make a good
impression on the people and the customers and aligning with the cultural aspects of the country
and the customers will help in creation of a good impression. The company must also adhere to
the regulations of setting up the organization in the country following the legal jurisdictions (De
Jong 2013).
7. The key competence of the company that made the expansion into Asia successful
Westpac has been operating in the Asian region for a significant period of time. The
company has over the years of operation developed goodwill and reputation in the industry
(Westpac.com.sg 2018). The major focus of the company in providing the people with better
opportunities is the key to the success of the organisation in the region. The company is focuses
on the customers and hence they make policies and innovations keeping in mind the needs and
requirements of the customers (Westpac.com.sg 2018). The fact that the focus of the company in
Singapore is on the people who are moving to Australia or has business in Australia or
Australians who have moved to Singapore provides them a customized and niche market this is
the core competency that sets the company apart from the other competitors in the market
(Westpac.com.au 2018).
Westpac has been an organization which makes market leading strategies and the strategy
that the company has been following in Singapore is successful as the company has a number of

17ASIA PACIFIC BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE
clients in the region and over the period of time the company has expanded its operation in a
number of countries in Asia as well as developed several strategic relations as well
(Westpac.com.au 2018). This has provided the company to serve the customers all over the
world in a more effective way. Like many other organisations, the management of Westpac had
analyzed the potential of the country 40 years ago, and the head office in Singapore has let the
company explore other Asian countries as well. The company has seen 9 percent primary growth
in Asia in 2017. However, in order to reduce the expenses of the company has reduced the
expense contributed towards Asia (Westpac.com.au 2018).

18ASIA PACIFIC BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE
8. Challenges that Westpac faced over the years in sustaining its business in Asia
Some of the challenges that the company has faced while doing business in Asia are:
 The adjustments with the difference in culture in the two countries are the most
challenging aspect of doing business in Asia (Shenkar et al. 2014). The countries in Asia
have a wide range of culture and cultural aspects that make the market unique as well as
challenging for an organisation from Australia. Singapore is a multi-cultural country
which comprises of Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian communities, the company has
to understand the culture and deal with the business carefully so that they process does
not disrespect any of the cultures (Warner 2013).
 The focus on Australia and Australian clients has been a challenge for the company,
dealing with a niche market in the foreign land requires strategic and efficient
communication. In order to let the people be aware of the company and its existence is
important in the initial stages (Shenkar et al. 2014).
 Another challenge that the company faced while operating in Asia is the fact that there
are are issues with the convertibility of the currency (Warner 2013). On the other hand a
number of economists have forecasted the stagnancy of the economic development in the
countries. On the other hand, there are also a number of countries which are
underdeveloped.
 Adherence with some of the legal aspects of running an organisation in the country is
another challenge, for example, in Singapore it is necessary to have a director in the
board of the company who is a citizen of the country (Shenkar et al. 2014). For a

19ASIA PACIFIC BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE
multinational company this can be a challenge however, this can be used as an
opportunity as well. Westpac has some of the best employees in the Singapore division.
 Westpac is based in Australia and hence there are some of the employees who work in
the Singapore division who are of the Australian origin, in such cases it becomes difficult
to get the work pass (Shenkar et al. 2014). The Labour legislations imposed by the
Ministry of Manpower in Singapore have made have incorporated a number of extra
steps in obtaining the working pass in the country. Though the workforce of Singapore is
recognized to be world’s most professional, there are strict employment limitations which
makes the employment cost in the country high (Warner 2013).
9. Conclusion
Form the above discussion it can be concluded that Westpac has a unique take on the
expansion strategy of the company. The company expands the business in order to support the
clients rather than spreading the business internationally. The company is committed to promote
Australian economy and the Australian clients and this is also the core competency of the
company which has helped in gaining success in the foreign land.

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