Asia Market Expansion

We help companies expand in the major East Asian economies of China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan – and into Singapore and its southeast Asian neighbours.

These are complex markets, but our multi-lingual teams on the ground can make your growth there fast, easy and cost-effective.

Whether you want to sell directly, put in place distribution partners or appoint a local representative to manage your key customers, we can help.

Importantly, we won’t just develop a market entry or expansion strategy for you. We’ll roll up our sleeves and implement it, securing deals with Asian customers on your behalf. Then, when you’re ready, we can help you set up your own entity – whether through a local subsidiary, partnership or acquisition.

We work across many sectors, and particularly focus on supporting cutting-edge tech companies that are addressing the big issues facing our society – such as climate change, ageing populations and the need for rapid decarbonisation and digitisation.

And we have specialists in the fields of medtech and life sciences, energy, automotive, digital media, industrial materials, software, telecoms and ecommerce.

We bring the most innovative companies in these fields together with the big Asian corporations which have the scale to make real impact.

Our services include:

Market research & strategy

We will analyse your market to understand the opportunity. We’ll then develop your strategy, combining desk research with meetings with potential customers, partners and other stakeholders.

Sales & licensing

We run comprehensive programmes to identify and engage your potential customers in Asia and secure sales or licensing deals for you. Our Surrogate Sales Program™ will give you an immediate sales presence in Asia without the costs or risks of having to establish your own operation.

Channel development

We will develop your distribution in Asian markets by researching the best channels. We’ll start by undertaking a thorough analysis of the options, generate a long list of the most qualified candidates, and help you negotiate a deal with and onboard your chosen partners.

In-country representation

We will act as your local representative to oversee and safeguard your interests – without the need for you to set up an Asian company or hire a team. That could be to manage your relationship with an important customer, partner or supplier, or to support your own people in Asia.

"Intralink helped us nurture prospects and navigate the complex path to deal closure."

Richard Staveley – VP Global Sales, Ubiquisys

Client stories

Product:Car infotainment & connectivity systems

Targets:Asia's leading car OEMs/tiers

Results:Multi-million $ licence deals

VNC Automotive is a UK-based developer of vehicle connectivity and infotainment software.

The company appointed us to drive demand with Asia's largest automakers and to license its technology to in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) head-unit OEMs in Japan, Korea and Greater China.

The programme has proven a great success. We’ve secured licence deals worth millions of dollars with IVI brands including Panasonic, JVC Kenwood, Fujitsu, Alpine, Clarion, Humax, Yanfeng and Changxing for cars from Asia’s top OEMs.

Read full case study

Technology:On-chip debug and analytics IP

Market:China

Targets:Semiconductor manufacturers & design houses

Results:Licensing deal with China's largest semiconductor firm, HiSilicon

UltraSoc needed an immediate sales presence on the ground to capture the growing opportunity in China for its on-chip debug tools.

Intralink targeted major players who were either developing highly complex chips or working on RISC-V core-based designs. Targets included HiSilicon, Spreadtrum, Phytium, MediaTek, Realtek, Sanechips, and Horizon Robotics - companies that UltraSoc had yet to engage.

This direct sales approach resulted in successful licensing deals, including with HiSilicon, and formed the basis for Ultrasoc to establish its own entity in the territory. It has also contributed to UltraSoC's subsequent acquisition by Siemens in 2020.

Read full case study

Technology:Solid oxide fuel cells

Market:Korea

Targets:Korean energy multinationals

Result:US$ 57M deal with Doosan

Ceres, a British company specialising in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology, already had a Korean partner. But the relationship was a difficult one and progress was slow.

We decided to take a different approach, focusing on potential new partners with a greater appetite and technical capacity to develop fuel cell products.

We identified an opportunity with Korea’s largest fuel cell player, Doosan, and ultimately enabled Ceres to license its technology to Doosan in a series of deals worth US$ 57 million.

Read full case study

Technology:Safety device for prefilled syringes

Market:Japan

Targets:Pharmaceutical & medical device companies

Result:Distribution agreement with Nipro

As part of delivering an opportunity assessment for Owen Mumford’s highly innovative Unisafe® safety syringe in Japan, we facilitated an exhibition for the firm at Interphex Tokyo. It was through this that we first attracted interest from Nipro - one of Japan’s top medical device manufacturers.

We played an active role in not only managing the day-to-day interactions and deepening the relationship between Owen Mumford and Nipro, but negotiating the scope of the partnership. This resulted in an exclusive distribution agreement between the two parties in Japan.

Read full case study

Asia Market Expansion

Our services include:

Market research & strategy

Sales & licensing

Channel development

In-country representation

If you'd like to discuss your options in Asia, get in touch.

Client stories