Orient - The Official Magazine of the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore - Issue 66 May 2018 - Page 7 Message from the President Bicky Bhangu Present, British Chamber of Commerce, Singapore
Dear Members, As you’ll see, the editorial team has taken the Orient Magazine digital this month with a brand new design. More to follow as the Chamber continues its own digital transformation, so watch this space! The past two months have seen good progress made in key areas of focus for the Chamber.
In April, the UK hosted leaders at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Under the theme: ‘Towards a Common Future’, leaders reconfirmed their commitment to the common values of the Commonwealth. And specifically, how member states can work together to contribute to a fairer, more sustainable, more secure and prosperous future. It’s a timely and important reminder given the backdrop of anti-globalisation sentiment.
At our AGM in April I shared an update about the growth in membership we’ve seen and the efforts we’re taking to ensure we remain relevant as a Chamber heading into an exciting future. These efforts include strengthening our relationships across Singapore, as well driving even closer links with the UK Department for International Trade and various Ministries. Beyond Singapore, we’ve seen great progress to reinforce our regional chamber community across South East Asia to increase the opportunities for British companies in the region.
The Britain in South East Asia (BiSEA) Roadshow in the UK this past month saw more than 100 companies from various industries attend one to one sessions with Chamber representatives from six countries in eight different cities. Events like this give companies the opportunity to identify areas for expansion, and to ultimately grow across Southeast Asia.
Looking ahead, we will soon host the first event of our Future of Work initiative, launched at April’s AGM to very positive feedback from member companies stepping forward to get involved in what our future working and living spaces will look like.
Entries to our Annual Business Awards are now open and I’d like to encourage you to look across your company for potential nominations. As our past winners will agree, the recognition and visibility provided through the Awards make the entry process worthwhile and if successful, the Awards night that much sweeter!
The BritCham calendar for the rest of the year continues to feature a range of events. Take a moment to look through our event pages and come along to one of the many engaging activities the team has lined up.
Message from the Executive Director Olivia Widen, British Chamber of Commerce, Singapore
My New Year’s message at the end of January laid out the vision and goals for 2018. Four months into the year I am happy to report that we have had a fantastic commencement.
In my last message I spoke of our commitment to enhancing the voice of the UK and the Chamber in Singapore. Our trade policy dialogue with DIT colleagues is one such avenue where we will push to get your views across and influence the policy environment. Our External Affairs Committee recently met to begin to put forward an agenda for the year with further up-dates to come. We will further be circulating our annual membership survey where we will be seeking your views and inputs on topics impacting your business from trade to Brexit.
We are delighted to be partnering in this significant series with our annual Platinum Sponsor Prudential Assurance Company Singapore, a long-time supporter of the Chamber and proponent of workplace and workforce transformation. Further I would like to take this opportunity to also recognise our Annual Sponsors who have come on board with us so far for 2018. This includes our Gold and Diversity Sponsor Barclays; our Gold Sponsors The Fry Group and GEMS World Academy (Singapore); and our Silver Sponsors British Airways and St. James Place. Additionally, our partners The British Club.
Placing you at the heart of what we do is after all what the Chamber is about. Celebrating your business and your achievements is one such way and once again, we welcome you all to submit your nominations to Annual Business Awards which will be launched soon and will feature our Future of Work theme for the year ahead. Entering their 19th year, our Awards are the longest running awards initiative by an international chamber of commerce in Singapore. They form a key event in our calendar and we hope as many of you as possible will enter to showcase your company’s achievements and also join us for the evening’s celebrations on the 27th of September.
To end my message, I wish to welcome our incoming Board voted in at our Annual General Meeting held in April. I further wish to acknowledge and thank three members of our Executive team who have moved on; our Events Manager Sophie Gowing and our two Business Services Advisors Nico Putri and Jessie Or. Like the rest of the team, they have allowed us to deliver and serve our members with excellence. We subsequently welcome Helen Starr, Events and Member Relations Manager, Charlyn Song, Business Services Events Executive and Arvind Jeyabalen, Business Services Advisor.