Almost one-quarter (24 percent) of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China that export their products are achieving annual revenue growth of 11 percent or more, compared with 13 percent of non-exporting SMEs, U.S.-based logistics company FedEx Corp said in a survey released on Wednesday.
The study reveals that there are considerable financial benefits to SMEs that sell beyond their own borders. Most Chinese SMEs export 20 or fewer times per month, but these combined exports bring in an average of $1.2 million in revenue per year.
Such gains are expected to continue in the short term, with 56 percent of SMEs that export projecting revenue gains in the next 12 months, compared with only 43 percent of SMEs that don't.
More Chinese SMEs are considering exporting for the first time: 45 percent of Chinese SMEs currently export, which is 7 percentage points above the global average. However, 62 percent of all Chinese SMEs surveyed believe they will be exporting in five years, 17 percentage points higher than the current level.
However, many Chinese SMEs are still hesitant to take the plunge. While 71 percent of respondents said they are "excited by the potential of [their] business to go global]", the majority (92 percent) also believed that there are barriers to exporting.
Financial concerns top the list of these perceived obstacles, including the risk of not getting paid, the potential costs of exporting and the possibility of foreign-exchange losses.
Many respondents identify a lack of advice and support as a further barrier. Only 11 percent of Chinese SMEs surveyed said they already had all of the advice and support they needed to export successfully.
The report was based on interviews with 613 senior executives of Chinese SMEs, among a total of 6,891 globally in 13 markets.
