8 SINGAPORE NEWS
Demand for
Business China signs MOUs
with five of its partners
Collaborations
aimed to broaden its
range of activities
By BRITTANY KHOO
THE new year in the Chi-
nese calendar is bringing
the prospect of even closer
business contacts between
Singaporeans and Chinese.
Working to this end is
Business China, whose mis-
sion is to nurture an inclu-
sive bilingual and bi-cultur-
al group of Singaporeans
well-positioned to develop
deeper links with China.
“Business China is ex-
ploring new horizons and
working with more organi-
sations to organise more ac-
tivities,” said its chairman
Chua Thian Poh.
Yesterday, Business Chi-
na signed memorandums
of understanding (MOUs)
with five of its working part-
ners to broaden its range of
activities. The five are Nan-
yang Technological Univer-
sity (NTU), National Youth
Council, the Singapore
Chamber of Commerce and
Industry in China (Sing-
Cham), the Singapore Chi-
nese Chamber Institute of
Business and omy.sg,
which is a bilingual news
and interactive Web portal
of Singapore Press Hold-
ings (SPH).
The collaboration is ex-
pected to bring about a wid-
er selection of programmes
and activities for Singapore-
ans to further their appreci-
ation and understanding of
China, the Chinese lan-
guage and culture.
“Business China and
SingCham will exchange in-
formation in various fields
and jointly organise bilater-
al economic events,” said
SingCham chairman Dor-
othy Seet said.
The MOUs were signed
at Business China’s 2nd
Spring Reception yester-
day, jointly supported by
SingCham.
The event was attended
by about 200 Business Chi-
na members, SingCham
members and local entre-
preneurs, academics and
professionals – many of
whom are back from China
to celebrate the New Year
with family and friends.
Witnessing the signing
of the MOUs was Health
Minister and Business Chi-
na Adviser Khaw Boon
Wan. He spoke of the poten-
tial for cooperation be-
Search
starts for
national
science,
technology
awards
THE search is on for
scientists and engineers to
be nominated for the
National Science and
Technology Awards
(NSTA).
Nominations are open
until Feb 23.
The awards are in four
categories – the National
Science & Technology
Medal, National Science
Award, National
Technology Award and
Young Scientist Award.
The awards are given to
scientists, engineers and
others who have made a
significant contribution to
research here.
Previous winners of the
National Science &
Technology Medal include
NUS president Tan Chorh
Chuan in 2008 and Nobel
laureate Sydney Brenner
in 2006.
Prof Tan was honoured
for his role in shaping
medical education, health
care, biomedical science
research and translational
and clinical research in
Singapore.
Dr Brenner won for his
contributions to the
development of
Singapore’s scientific
capability and culture,
particularly in the
biomedical sector.
Companies have also
won the awards, such as
Infineon Technologies for
its contribution to building
the foundation for the Very
High Speed Digital
Subscriber Line standard.
The awards were first
given in 1987 and 212
individuals have received
them so far.
Forty-nine of the 212
were from the private
sector.
Nomination forms for
the 2009 awards can be
found online at
www.a-star.edu.sg/nsta.
THE STRAITS TIMES
tween Singaporean exper-
tise and the provincial au-
thorities on numerous infra-
structure projects.
“My wish is that we can
learn from the current eco-
nomic crisis and hopefully
the economy may recover
in time,” he said. “People
should learn that excesses
like overspending have to
be avoided. Profit-making
for businesses should be
based on strong ethics and
integrity.
“I encourage more Sin-
gaporeans to discover the
cultural beauty and rich-
ness of the Chinese lan-
Making S’pore a more exciting place to visit
By ROBIN HICKS
THE Singapore Tourism
Board (STB) is looking to
breathe new life into its
Uniquely Singapore cam-
paign amid dwindling visi-
tor numbers, sparking de-
bate on whether the cam-
paign needs a complete
overhaul.
STB issued a tender for
marketing activities recent-
ly, which will bring the
Uniquely Singapore cam-
paign and the disbursal of
its $30 million advertising
budget under scrutiny.
Marketing consultancy
R3, which handled the
$100 million Singapore Air-
lines pitch last year, has
been brought in to gauge
the performance of STB’s
marketing agencies and
hear presentations from
others vying for the prestig-
ious account.
The advertising account
is being defended by Young
& Rubicam (Y&R) and me-
dia agency Starcom Media
Worldwide, whose con-
tracts expire on March 31.
Singapore Computer Sys-
tems is STB’s current Web
vendor.
Competing agencies
have been tasked with iden-
tifying solutions to stem fall-
ing tourist numbers, which
shrank 9.7 per cent year-
on-year last November af-
ter contracting 8 per cent in
October.
The first campaign to re-
sult from the STB tender is
expected to launch around
the same time as the open-
ing of Resorts World on Sen-
tosa next year. But first,
agencies must get through
to the second round of the
review, which depends on
their ability to answer
Merchant Solutions targets SMEs
MERCHANT Solutions, which equips com-
panies with point-of-sale (POS) terminals
and other products and services to accept
payment by credit card, intends to reach
out to more SMEs.
CEO and managing director Sean Hesh
said: “A lot of small businesses are still
cash-based. We would love to be able to
break into that market segment.”
Merchant Solutions – a joint venture be-
tween Standard Chartered Bank and glo-
bal electronic payments processor First Da-
ta – is headquartered in Singapore and has
a presence in nine countries and Special
Administrative Regions across Asia.
Asked whether the global economic
slowdown will affect growth plans, Mr
In the loop: Business
China signing a
memorandum of
understanding with
omy.sg yesterday.
Watching on (from left)
are Mr Chua, Mr Khaw
and SPH chief executive
Alan Chan
guage. While English trans-
lations may be of use, they
are sometimes inadequate
in capturing the original es-
sence of the language. Busi-
ness China has provided a
plethora of learning oppor-
tunities tailored for this pur-
suit.”
Among the collabora-
tions entered into yester-
day was the Business Chi-
na-NTU Internship Pro-
gramme, which provides in-
ternship opportunities to
NTU undergraduates from
the university’s Global Im-
mersion Programme to
help them gain working ex-
perience in China.
During their six-month
stay, students will study Chi-
nese culture, contemporary
history, politics and eco-
nomics at top universities.
They will also gain work ex-
perience at MNCs and lead-
ing Chinese enterprises in
major industrial parks to
better understand the Chi-
nese economy and market
conditions.
An MOU signed by Busi-
ness China and the Nation-
al Youth Council will like-
wise promote and strength-
en cooperation between the
former and the Young Busi-
ness Leaders, an initiative
to engage young working
adults.
The collaboration will al-
so better equip Singapore
businessmen with the tools
to tap on opportunities in
the Chinese market.
STB’s initial brief and cre-
dentials requirements.
Agencies with comple-
mentary expertise are ex-
pected to group together in
“pitching clubs” to give
shops of all sizes and disci-
plines a chance of winning.
According to the tender
document, STB wants to
“enhance Singapore’s posi-
tion as a compelling, excit-
ing and must-visit destina-
tion”.
Marketing ideas will fo-
cus on boosting tourist num-
bers and receipts from
high-growth visitor-gener-
ating countries such as In-
donesia, China, Australia,
India and Japan. STB also
wants to widen its focus be-
yond mainstream tourism
to include segments such as
business, medical and edu-
cation.
Industry watchers say a
weakness of the STB mar-
keting operation has been a
preoccupation with main-
stream tourists and an over-
use of traditional media,
particularly TV, to reach
them. The global review
will cover media strategy
and buying, advertising
and digital marketing – a
discipline observers say
could be better utilised by
targeting influential travel
bloggers and websites.
Still, STB’s communica-
tions director Rostam
Umar has said the decline
is a reflection of “the chal-
lenging global economic en-
vironment and outlook for
the tourism sector” as op-
posed to the campaign.
Mr Umar points out that
before last June, Singapore
had enjoyed year-on-year
visitor increases every
month since 2004, when
the Uniquely Singapore
Hesh said the effect is already noticeable
“in the volume of transactions processed
through our system”.
However, he is optimistic that business-
es in general, and SMEs in particular, will
recognise the value of being able to “accept
as many forms of payment as possible”.
“What if somebody walks into your
shop and doesn’t have NETS or cash, but
happens to have credit?” he asked. “We
look at it as lost opportunity. If you don’t ac-
cept credit cards, you may lose that one
customer who’s out there to buy and make
a big purchase from you.”The company al-
so provides “24/7 customer service, that
typically, for this product, in this region,
has not been customary”, said Mr Hesh.
power to remain
flat this year
Industry sources cite
shrinking economy
and fall in electricity
consumption in Oct
and Nov last year
By RONNIE LIM
ELECTRICITY demand is
tipped to stay flat this year
as the economy shrinks 2 to
5 per cent.
The average 3-4 per
cent annual demand
growth of the past few
years will not be repeated
in 2009, industry sources
say.
“We’ve been surprised
by how quickly the econo-
my has turned and are not
as bullish we were a few
months ago,” said a gener-
ating company source,
pointing to the sharp drop
in manufacturing in the
fourth quarter of last year.
“It’s premature to
‘guesstimate’ demand in
2009,” the source said.
“We certainly expect
growth to be less than 3 per
cent, though we have to see
the Q4 numbers first to get
some idea.”
The Energy Market Com-
pany (EMC), which oper-
ates the wholesale electrici-
ty market, said demand for
power shrank in October
campaign was introduced.
However, questions have
been raised as to why Singa-
pore’s tourism decline be-
gan before that of its South-
east Asian neighbours.
In June 2008, tourism
numbers in Malaysia, Indo-
nesia, the Philippines and
Thailand were still growing
healthily year-on-year, ac-
cording to the World Tour-
ism Organisation. Even as
the global economic slow-
down began, Malaysia and
Thailand – Southeast Asia’s
most popular tourist desti-
nations – reported year-to-
date tourism growth while
Singapore saw a net fall de-
‘Uniquely Singapore is a powerful
brand idea but it has been poorly
executed. It fails to capture the
heart and soul of the city. Besides,
few of the executions portray
Singapore as unique, and too
many people still think of it as the
place where you can’t chew gum.’
– Dan Paris, managing director of TBWA Singapore land, the tourism au-
spite high-profile events
such as the Formula One and CEO of DDB Singapore,
night race.
Singapore’s reputation and Health Promotion the effects of the country’s
as an expensive place to vis-
it, coupled with rising hotel advertising is “waiting for a rescue effort will involve a
rates in recent years, has
been blamed for its early ex-
clusion from holidaymak-
ers’ travel plans even as a
stopover destination.
Dan Paris, managing di- high-net- worth market, Vietnam and India, which
rector of TBWA Singapore both the holidaymakers expects a sharp downturn
(which creates advertising and business chaps,” he in tourism numbers in the
for Singapore Airlines and said. “We have been win- wake of the terror attacks
Resorts World), said it is un- ning on quality visitors, as in Mumbai.
The Business Times, Thursday, January 29, 2009
and November last year. De- since 2003, when Singa-
mand in October was down pore was hit by Sars. De-
3.2 per cent and November mand then was flat to slight-
was 2.7 per cent lower. ly negative.
These are the third and BT reported this month
that some generating com-
fourth instances that
monthly average demand panies are putting expan-
has been negative sion plans on hold as poten-
year-on-year since the mar- tial customers defer petro-
ket started, the EMC said in chemical projects on Ju-
its latest bulletin. rong Island.
Another genco official Tuas Power, for in-
reckons power demand stance, has delayed plans
this year will be flat at best for a $2 billion clean
unless the economy turns
around.
“It’s hard to estimate,”
the official said. “We have
coal/biomass cogeneration
plant by six to 12 months as
potential customers like
Germany’s Lanxess put off
projects.
to look at the next few
And Sembcorp is hold-
months and see if the Budg-
ing back on its plan to build
et stimulus package helps.”
a second cogeneration
Industry officials stress plant.
that while there is a correla-
tion between gross domes- Prices tumble
tic product and electricity
One positive result of softer
demand, other factors also
power demand is that elec-
come into play, such as tem-
tricity prices have tumbled.
perature. The daily average Uni-
“If it’s hot, demand form Singapore Energy
shoots up because air-con- Price (USEP) was down to
ditioners are turned up,” $63 per megawatt hour on
said one official. Dec 15, 2008, or 65 per
On the other hand, cold cent lower than the peak of
weather and public holi- $203 in May.
days, like the Chinese New
The USEP plus regula-
Year break for many com- tion charges, administra-
panies, means demand tive charges and other com-
falls off. ponents make up the whole-
If electricity demand sale electricity price, which
does turn negative this is the net purchase price
year, it will be the first time paid by wholesalers.
fair to blame the Uniquely we offer quality treats and
Singapore campaign for the infrastructure. Bangkok
slump and does not suggest can have the backpackers;
the platform should be re- we want the high rollers.”
placed altogether. Howev-
er, he reckons it needs re-
STB has said that it will
not cut its marketing budg-
freshing.
powerful brand idea but it
et in the short term, which
“Uniquely Singapore is a
is being spent on initiatives
such as the Uniquely Singa-
has been poorly executed,” pore Weekends campaign
he said. “It fails to capture
the heart and soul of the
to attract short-haul region-
al travellers.
city – the Singapore brand Meanwhile, Tourism Ma-
has been undersold to the laysia has said it will try to
world. Besides, few of the
executions portray Singa-
pore as unique, and too
remedy its own slowdown
in visitor growth through
“aggressive promotion” to
many people still think of it
as the place where you
can’t chew gum.”
meet its target of 20 million
visitors in 2009. The coun-
try will target the MICE
(meetings, incen-
tives, conventions
and exhibitions) sec-
tor as it attempts to
position Malaysia as
a business hub.
It will also re-
vamp its “Malaysia
My Second Home”
campaign by ad-
dressing complaints
it has received from
tourists, and will pro-
mote Malaysia as a
health and eco-tour-
ism hotspot.
In troubled Thai-
thority has an-
David Tang, president
nounced a US$625 million
rescue package for the ail-
which handles the StarHub
ing sector, which is feeling
Board accounts, says STB’s
political uncertainty. The
definite idea and a deliber-
ate strategy”, but also ar- PR offensive to improve the
gues that Uniquely Singa- kingdom’s image abroad.
Increased efforts to lure
pore should stay.
“We should build on it tourists are also planned by
and go all out for the Indonesia, the Philippines,
SINGAPORE ROUNDUP
Conference on fair employment practices
SINGAPORE’S first Conference on Fair Employment
Practices will be held at the Orchard Hotel on Feb 10.
The conference, presented by the Singapore Tripartism
Forum in partnership with the Tripartite Alliance for
Fair Employment Practices and the Tripartite Centre for
Fair Employment, aims to inspire strategies that will
engender fair and inclusive workplaces.
SDU and SDS to merge
THE Social Development Unit (SDU), which was formed
in 1984 to address the problem of declining number of
marriages among female graduates, and the Social
Development Service (SDS), which was set up a year
later to promote marriage among non-graduates, will be
merged to reap economies of scale, enlarge the database
and provide more opportunities for singles.