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Message from the President
Dear Members ,
Welcome to the final edition of the Orient Magazine for 2022 . Reflecting on the first six months of my term as President , I am really pleased by the number of new member companies we have welcomed to the network – 44 since May – and the levels of engagement that we are already seeing from these members , as they participate in our busy programme of events and Committee meetings . A warm welcome to you all , I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible at upcoming events .
Damian Adams President , British Chamber of Commerce Singapore damian @ britcham . org . sg
Since the last Orient edition , the UK has undergone a period of radical monarchical , political and economic change . Having mourned the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and welcomed her successor King Charles III , we have had the resignation of not one but two Prime Ministers , and now welcome the appointment of Rishi Sunak as the new Prime Minister , hoping that this ushers in a period of much needed stability for the nation . We look forward to working with PM Sunak ' s cabinet in supporting British business in Singapore and the wider region . In past weeks , we have been fortunate to host Sir Lindsay Hoyle , Speaker of the House of Commons in an entertaining dialogue , and colleagues from the Financial Conduct Authority during their visit to the Singapore FinTech Festival . We were especially active around the Festival this year , with our Financial and FinTech Committee hosting market briefings and supporting networking events for a trade mission of companies from the UK . In this edition of Orient you will find an article contributed by FINTRAIL on the UK-Singapore Crypto Market . During September , we supported a product showcase event for UK trade mission delegates in Singapore for the Food and Hotel Asia ( FHA ) MICE event , connecting them with potential distributors and retailers in-market , and this month our Energy and Utilities Committee have delivered one of the Thinktank Roundtables as part of Singapore International Energy Week for the Energy Market Authority .
Mid-October saw the resumption of an in-person Gala Dinner , to celebrate and congratulate finalists and winners of the 23rd Annual Business Awards , which was well covered in the press by The Straits Times , Channel NewsAsia ( CNA ) and CNA938 Radio , and at which we welcomed as our Guest of Honour Dr . Tan See Leng , in his capacity as Second Minister for Trade and Industry . In his keynote speech at the event , Dr . Tan outlined the opportunities in Singapore , for British businesses , of which there are over 5,700 . He also highlighted the UK as being Singapore ’ s 6th largest services trading partner , while in turn , Singapore is the UK ’ s top trading partner within ASEAN . Both sides have also made sizeable investments in their respective economies – exceeding S $ 190 billion of investment in 2020 . This mutually beneficial economic partnership is underpinned by the UK-Singapore Free Trade Agreement , the UK ’ s first with an ASEAN country . Connecting member organisations in Singapore with key Singapore Government decision-makers continues to be a priority for the Executive Team , illustrated by the recent edition of our ongoing Member Dialogues , which again featured Dr . Tan , this time in his role as Minister for Manpower .
I look forward to seeing many of you at our sold-out Great British Ball , to be held in early December in partnership with The British Club , and also to our next edition of the Orient Magazine , which will be published in January 2023 . In the meantime , I wish you all a wonderful festive period with family , friends and loved ones .
Best Regards ,
Damian
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT