Orient - The Official Magazine of the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore - Issue 71 April 2019
Message from the President As we enter the second quarter of the year, the Chamber is driving a forward-thinking agenda. This month, we elected our Board for 2019/20 and I would like to take a moment to recognise the contributions of our Board over the past twelve months towards the strategy and performance of the Chamber. In particular, I would like to thank departing Board members Damian Adams and Andrew Vine who have been instrumental in the Chamber’s growth over many years.
On behalf of the Board, I would also like to take the opportunity to express our appreciation to Olivia Widen for her dedication, hard work and driving some of the instrumental transformation change in the Chamber during her time in the role of Executive Director.
We will also shortly be saying farewell to the British High Commissioner, His Excellency Scott Wightman, and I would like to personally thank Scott on behalf of the Chamber Board, executive team and our members for his tireless efforts to support the interests of the UK in Singapore, particularly in working with us to keep our members informed on the UK's exit from the EU. I look forward to thanking him in person alongside many of you at our Farewell Reception event on 15th May.
For the past twelve months, we have been driving a Future of Work theme across all elements of our activities with our Official Partner for this project, Prudential. In this issue, we welcome the contributions of several of our members on the topic and look back on the events and activities we have completed. This theme will continue through the next twelve months with a skills perspective. Earlier this year, we reflected on the Future of Learning at a special forum held in collaboration with the Education is GREAT campaign, AVADO Learning, the British Council and Event Partner, JLT Asia. This unique half-day event was well attended by participants and speakers from both Singapore and the UK and continues to drive ongoing discussions on the strength and opportunities of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and EdTech sectors in Singapore.
We will shortly be launching a Future of Trade theme, connecting with a selection of key stakeholders to strengthen the business community’s understanding of trade opportunities and to support the continuing relationship between the UK, Singapore and ASEAN, a bond highlighted by the recent launch of the SG-UK Partnership for the Future.
Our Senior Trade Services Advisor has just returned from a Roadshow around the UK with our Partner for the trip, Hawksford Singapore, and our regional ASEAN British Chamber and UK-ASEAN Business Council colleagues. This bi-annual Roadshow is a unique opportunity for us to highlight the export opportunities in Singapore to British companies interested in the region, working with the local British Chamber network. We look forward to continuing these conversations and welcoming some of the companies we met into Singapore in the future.
With Brexit negotiations continuing in the months ahead, the British Chamber network will continue to act as a reference of trusted information and access to Government stakeholders for our members throughout the region.