Upcoming Events

SBC will be hosting several business networking tea receptions after the summer holidays are over. If you are interested, please contact the Honorary Secretary at tanyeehua@gmail.com.

SBC members continue to act as conduits, references and catalysts of business sources and development. Members and visitors of this website who have new business ideas, businesses for investment/sale or need information or introduction in Canada and Singapore, please contact any SBC board members.

Members are requested to submit a short write-up of their business for Singapore Business Council business directory.

RECENT PAST EVENTS

2010 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

At the 2010 Annual General Meeting of Singapore Business Council, the following were elected to hold office for 2010/2011:

President: Kwek Teong Sin
Honorary Secretary: Tan Yee Hua
Honorary Treasurer: Michael Cayetano
Directors: Brian Chong, Simon Chow

Mr Lyall Knott, QC, has kindly agreed to serve as Singapore Business Council’s Honorary Legal Advisor.

SINGAPORE’S NATIONAL DAY DINNER 2009

SBC hosted a 10-course seafood dinner to celebrate Singapore’s 44th National Day on Saturday, 8 August 2009, at Burnaby Palace Restaurant, 3110 Boundary Road
Burnaby, BC V5M 4A2, Canada.

This event was very well attended and provided an excellent opportunity for business networking. Attendees enjoyed the sumptuous and scrumptious food during the event. Many went home with prizes donated by Singapore Business Council, HSBC Bank Canada and other well wishers.

2009 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

At the 2009 Annual General Meeting of SBC, the following were elected to hold office for 1 year:

President:  Kwek Teong Sin

Vice President: Ronnie Tan

Honorary Secretary: Tan Yee Hua

Honorary Treasurer:  Michael Cayetano

Directors: William Chew, Brian Chong & Simon Chow

Mr Lyall Knott, QC, has kindly agreed to serve as SBC’s Honorary Legal Advisor.

SINGAPORE'S NATIONAL DAY DINNER 2008

This sold-out event was attended by a wide spectrum of business people from Singapore and Canada. There were excellent opportunities for attendees to network and at the same time enjoy excellent a 10-course seafood dinner.

Many attendees went home with prizes donated by SBC and sponsors.

FAREWELL & WELCOME OF SINGAPORE AIRLINES’
VICE PRESIDENT, CANADA

A dinner was hosted on 23 June 2008 to bid farewell to Mr Campbell Wilson, Vice President, Canada of Singapore Airlines and to welcome his successor, Mr Andrew Budiman. 

2nd ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
17 May 2008

At the Annual General Meeting, the current Board of Directors was elected.

SBC Board of Directors

From Left: Brian Chong, Tan Yee Hua (Hon Secretary), Kwek Teong Sin (President) Simon Chow, Michael Cayetano (Hon Treasurer), William Chew, Ronnie Tan (Vice President)

Several educational talks, seminars/workshops were offered to members during 2007.

On the Friday evening of 26 January 2007, some of Vancouver’s most influential people in Governments, politics, business, diplomatic corps and civic organisations gathered at the Canadian Memorial Centre for Peace to celebrate the official launch of the SINGAPORE BUSINESS COUNCIL.

More than 100 distinguished guests and members of SBC listened intently to the speeches of our Guests of Honour, The Honourable Colin Hansen, B.C.’s Minister of Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Asia-Pacific Initiative and the Olympics, and His Excellency Vanu Gopala Menon, High Commissioner of the Republic of Singapore to Canada and Permanent Representative of Singapore’s Mission to the United Nations.

Minister Hansen’s very engaging speech touched on two very important aspects of business relationships and the future of British Columbia and Canada. He said that the future of B.C. and Canada rested with two words – Asia Pacific. He said that the B.C. government had developed a deliberate campaign to make B.C. the gateway to Asia Pacific. He touched on the importance of the people of B.C. and said that 20% of the people of Canada have Asia Pacific ancestry and aid that people do business with people they know and trust. Singapore Business Council is where people can come together to build those relationships and share those experience and knowledge.

He said that Singapore Business Council has a vital role in building the relationships between the two jurisdictions and the future of B.C. is very much the future of our relationship with Asia Pacific and in particular, Singapore. He encouraged the guests to join the Singapore Business Council to help build this relationship.

His Excellency, Vanu Gopala Menon spoke about the warm and long-standing relationship, most notably in the economic sphere. He said that bilateral trade has increased from S$1.5 billion in 2001 to S$2.2 billion in 2005. Canadian investments in Singapore have risen by 28% over five years to reach S$5.4 billion in 2004. Singapore is Canada’s second largest foreign investment destination with about 70 Canadian companies presently located in Singapore. Singapore investments in Canada have also been growing in recent years. They almost doubled to reach more than S$100 million between 2001 and 2004.

He said that Canada presents many opportunities for Singapore companies. It has a highly skilled workforce, relatively low business costs (compared to other OECD countries) and a highly sophisticated infrastructure and a network of well-regulated financial institutions. Canada and Singapore share broad-based and complementary interests in sectors such as oil and gas, digital media, infocomm technologies and electronics. As a major international business hub, Singapore is ideally located to serve as a convenient gateway for Canadian companies seeking to expand into the Asian market. Forming partnerships with Singapore companies will enable their Canadian counterparts, in British Columbia and elsewhere, to have better access to the markets in Southeast Asia and the rest of Asia. Canadian companies with operations in Singapore will be well placed to tap the business potential not just of Singapore but the entire Southeast Asian region.

He said that Singapore Business Council would serve as an important bridge between Canada and Singapore and well placed to serve the interests of the business communities from both countries. The SBC, as the first point of contact for many Canadian companies in Vancouver, will also provide useful advice to these businessmen on the latest developments and opportunities in Asia.

Ambassador Vanu also touched on two issues, which if satisfactorily resolved, could pave the way for greater cooperation and economic collaboration between Singapore and Canada. The first relates to the fact that there is currently no Air Services Agreement (ASA) between Singapore and Canada and the second relates to the Canada-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (CSFTA) negotiations.

He hoped that with the establishment of the SBC and its efforts to promote closer business relationships between Singapore and Canada, there would be a new impetus for both sides to break down these barriers and take the relationship between our two countries to new heights. He then congratulated the Board for launching the Singapore Business Council and said that he had no doubt that this initiative will help to strengthen the growing links between Canada and Singapore.

The President of SBC, Kwek Teong Sin, in his welcoming speech, spoke about the ambitions and challenges of most private not-for-profit voluntary business societies.
Despite the limitations of time and resources, SBC’s Board and members have informed relationships with businesses and government trade agencies in Canada and Singapore, and hoped to focus on the following:

We have received very encouraging reviews from the guests and members. The success of the launch was made possible by the corporate sponsors, Parkway Group Healthcare Pte Ltd, Prima Taste Restaurant, Singapore Airlines and, Singapore International Foundation, and the members who volunteer their time.

This is just the beginning of a very exciting journey that SBC is embarking on.

Please visit our photo gallery for memory shots of the evening, the press coverage and congratulatory messages.