Asian entrepreneurs among world's most confident business owners: Amway survey

Entrepreneurs in Asia tend to have a more positive view of their business environment compared to their peers in other regions, according to Amway's Global Entrepreneurship Report 2018.

The direct-selling company surveyed 48,998 entrepreneurs aged 14 to 99 in 44 countries for the 48th edition of the report, and found that 53% of Asian respondents (from China, Japan, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam) felt corporate taxes in their respective countries were manageable, while 56% found regulations easy to understand and follow.

In addition, 55% said their countries had technology that aided entrepreneurship, and 51% found the economic situation to be beneficial to their business.

This was in contrast with the global averages, whose figures stood at 33%, 34%, 48% and 36%, respectively.

China in particular had the most positive responses, with over 70% of its respondents saying the country's taxes, laws, technology and the economy were helpful to their businesses

This should come as no surprise, as numerous supplement firms have reported improved business since China extended its cross-border e-commerce laws, providing companies much needed clarity and guidance.

Confidence counts

Perhaps due to their positive business environment outlook,  Asian respondents were also more confident than those in Europe and Latin America in starting their own businesses: 56% said they could raise their own money to support their business ideas, 55% expressed willingness to risk failing in their ventures, and 66% expressed willingness to dedicate even their free time to working on business development.

Once again, the aforementioned figures outstripped the global averages, whose figures were reported as 38%, 47% and 57%.

And yet again, China came out tops in this aspect, with over 80% of respondents confident of their ability to raise money, risk failure, and sacrifice free time. Vietnam was a close second.

Riding the Asian wave

This is likely good news for Amway, which has a growing presence in Asia, where it has made major investments in recent years.

At the beginning of last year, the company announced plans for 50 stores in India, where it later also upped its number of Express Pick & Pay (XPP) outlets from 32 to 57.

In June, Amway opened a new distribution centre in Thailand, shortly before introducing e-commerce and AI platforms in the Philippines.

Not long after that, the firm opened a $1.5m hub in the Philippines to help young business owners get ahead in the industry.

Most recently, Amway announced its decision to open yet another two XPP outlets in India, shortly after launching its Nutrilite Traditional Herbs range of products in the country, which it hopes will bring in $19m of revenue.