Today, leaders of global TMT companies face complex business and geopolitical challenges, as well as an evolving regulatory environment that is impacting everything from corporate strategy, technology innovation, to customer and supply chain management. Looking ahead in 2021, we identify five themes impacting the Chinese TMT industry: the rise of U.S. China techno-nationalism, increased regulatory pressure on Big Tech around anti-monopoly and data privacy issues, “ The New Normal,” focus on digital transformation and technology infrastructure buildout, and ESG as an urgent business imperative.
Theme Three - “The New Normal”
The Covid-19 pandemic has radically changed our lifestyle. Besides radically altering traditional business sectors, the pandemic is accelerating the “stay-at-home” economy, giving rise to new consumption concepts and business models. Across markets, we observed a rapid adoption of new lifestyles including working from home, eCommerce, online social entertainment, and e-learning at all ages. The need for automated and non-contact smart manufacturing have also led to accelerated digitization in production. In the post-pandemic era, most of these trends will continue to be important forces driving the economic recovery to “The New Normal”.