Orient Issue 76

Orient

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SINGAPORE ISSUE 76 | APR 2020

BUILDING NETWORKS | CONNECTING BUSINESSES | CREATING OPPORTUNITIES

RESPONDING TO COVID-19 The British Chambers of Commerce Global Network, how members are giving back, and resilience during COVID-19.

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IN FOCUS INTERVIEW

Paul Wilson, Head Master, Brighton College (Singapore)

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MY CHAMBER JOURNEY

By Anil Scott, Associate Partner, St. James’s Place Wealth Management

MCI (P) 067/04/2019

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President's Message Executive Director's Message Special Feature: Responding to COVID-19 News New Members Recent Webinars Upcoming Events & Webinars Feature: An Interview with Tom Peacock-Nazil, Co-founder of Seven Clean Seas Feature: My Chamber Journey In Focus: Paul Wilson, Head Master, Brighton College (Singapore) Feature: I Don’t Need an Executive Coach… Do I? Feature: Duty of Care: 4 Factors that Help Determine an International Assignment’s Success Feature: What you Need to Know about the Cloud Feature: Sport at Dulwich College (Singapore) and Links to Academic Excellence Feature: The Future of Power and Electrification Let's Discuss: Resilience During COVID-19 Member Discounts

Editor: Lucy Haydon lucy@britcham.org.sg

Orient is a bi-monthly magazine published by the British Chamber of Commerce, Singapore.

Co-Editor & Designer: Nicole Alison Lim alison@britcham.org.sg

© All rights reserved.

137 Telok Ayer Street, #06-03, Singapore 068602 Tel: +65 6222-3552 Fax: +65 6222-3556 Email: info@britcham.org.sg www.britcham.org.sg

The views and opinions expressed or implied in Orient are those of the authors or contributors and do not reflect those of the British Chamber of Commerce, its officers or editorial staff. No reproduction of articles without the prior permission of the Chamber.

Unsolicited transparencies and articles are sent at owner’s risk and the Chamber accepts no liability for loss or damage. Copy is not for sale and images belong to their respective owners. They are for illustrative purposes only, and no copyright infringement is intended.

@britchamsg @bccsingapore @british-chamber-ofcommerce-singapore

Advertising Inquiries Lucy Haydon lucy@britcham.org.sg +65 6718-0535

CONTENTS

Moving to the UK? Plan ahead to get your tax ducks in a row

www.thefrygroup.sg The Fry Group (Singapore) Pte Ltd is authorised to act as a financial adviser by the Monetary Authority of Singapore - licence number FA100057.

International outlook, local perspective

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OUR PARTNERS PLATINUM PARTNER

BRONZE PARTNER

GOLD PARTNERS

SILVER PARTNERS

SUPPORTING PARTNERS

BRITCHAM BOARD

COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS

MANAGEMENT TEAM

PRESIDENT:

BUILT ENVIRONMENT: David Mackerness (Chairperson), Alisdair Gillies (Co-Chair), Patrick Gidney (Co-Chair)

Executive Director: David Kelly

Richard Warburton, Arcadis Asia

VICE-PRESIDENTS:

Michael Shearer OBE, McLaren Applied Technologies Fiona Carney, Microsoft

SECRETARY:

Haslam Preeston, Jardine Matheson

TREASURER:

David Fowler, Sanne Group

BOARD MEMBERS:

Damian Hills, The British Club Paul Kelleher, Diageo Singapore Pte Ltd Angel Cheung-Horenfeldt, Barclays James Nesbitt, Standard Chartered Bank Caroline Underhill, The Fry Group James Hennah, BT Singapore Pte Ltd Shivkumar Seerapu, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets Plc Justinian Habner, Department for International Trade Lucy Watkins, British Council

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION: Andrew Ashman (Chairperson), Alexander Harrison (Co-Chair) ENERGY & UTILITIES: Tim Rockell (Chairperson), Bree Miechel (Co-Chair) FINANCIAL & FINTECH: Katharine Haggie (Chairperson), Francesca McKee (Co-Chair) HEALTHCARE & LIFE SCIENCES: Thalia Georgiou (Chairperson) INFOCOMM TECHNOLOGY: Magda Chelly (Chairperson), Hitan Mehta (Co-Chair), Faisal Parvez (Co-Chair) LEADERSHIP, TALENT & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Joe Tofield (Chairperson), Don Rapley (Co-Chair), David Gardner (Co-Chair) MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS: Suzy Goulding (Chairperson), Andrew Clark (Co-Chair) STARTUP, ENTREPRENEUR & SMALL BUSINESS: Lara Quie (Chairperson), Mark Florance (Co-Chair), Kris Sasitharan (Co-Chair) SUSTAINABILITY: Sarah Cragg (Chairperson), Mark Florance (Co-Chair)

Head of Marketing & Communications and Partnerships; Deputy Executive Director: Lucy Haydon Head of Member Relations: Nicole Wharfe Member Relations Administrator: Melissa Ng Head of Events: Helen Starr Events Executive: Safreen Anwardeen Events Executive: Sabeena Nayyar Senior Marketing & Communications Executive: Nicole Alison Lim Marketing & Communications and Events Executive: Samantha Nelson Trade Services Advisor: Aisyah Ariffin Finance Manager: Radhika Chauhan Office Manager: Anna C Garciso

TRANSPORT, LOGISTICS & SUPPLY CHAIN: Simon Petch (Chairperson), Nicholas Potter (Co-Chair) WOMEN IN BUSINESS: Luciana Vichino (Chairperson), Wanying Lim (Co-Chair)

CHAMBER INFORMATION

LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP $4,280

Published Fee: $6,955

Membership Benefits

EXCLUSIVELY FOR MEMBERS OF BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

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Use of 4 tennis and squash courts

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Workhub

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Invites to member exclusive events and activities

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The Hangout for teens

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A supervised playroom for young children

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Enjoy reciprocal arrangements with over 80 clubs worldwide including The Tower Club, Laguna National Golf and Country Club and ONE 15 Marina in Singapore

Call 6410 1100 or email membership@britishclub.org.sg to book a Club tour now!

Above price inclusive of prevailing GST. Other terms and conditions apply.

73 Bukit Tinggi Road Singapore 289761 www.britishclub.org.sg

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Message from the President

Dear Members, Since our last issue, the global COVID -19 pandemic has continued to impact in every aspect of life and the Singapore Government has put in place necessary measures, including a movementlimiting circuit breaker, to slow the infection rate of COVID-19. It has also looked to provide financial assurances and support to residents and businesses through measures announced in three budgets, with S$60bn allocated to the pandemic.

Richard Warburton President, British Chamber Of Commerce, Singapore richard@britcham.org.sg

As a Chamber we are continually looking to understand the impact that the pandemic has and is likely to have on our members and the wider business community and the regular surveys that Members are responding to provide good insights on overall mood and sentiment, along with specific issues and challenges being experienced.

In headline terms, based on those responding to our April survey the impacts of COVID-19 to our Members is increasing , with 94% now experiencing a tangible impact, compared with 77% in early March. Businesses have had to close their workplaces, teams are working remotely where they can and, for many, it simply cannot be business as usual.

The Chamber team have been regularly seeking your feedback, through the aforementioned surveys, committee calls and calls to members, to understand your pain points and questions on which we can assist to find clarity with Government representatives. The wealth of feedback being received from Members is really important as it is directly informing ongoing dialogue with both the British High Commission and the Singapore Government on the impacts to and concerns of our members.

The British High Commissioner and her team have been working hard to provide ongoing consular assistance to British nationals here and in support of regional colleagues. Chamber representatives are joining with those from other organisations in the British community for a regular dialogue with the High Commissioner to both discuss the ongoing situation and to identify where support is most needed.

Finally, I am delighted to see that we are highlighting those member companies who are actively involved, not just in Singapore, but around the world, in supporting the COVID-19 efforts. We also look at the activities of our counterparts in the British Chambers of Commerce global network, and in the UK where the team have been lobbying Government to gain increased support for businesses during this period. The collective effort of everyone involved in addressing the COVID-19 challenges is both inspiring and reassuring.

If you do need any support or would like to provide feedback, please do not hesitate to contact me at richard@britcham.org.sg or reach out to the Chamber team for help.

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

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Message from the Executive Director

Dear Members, 2020 has created several challenges for all of us, as we have seen a huge shift in the way we have had to operate but also some opportunities available in the way that we work. I would like to thank every one of you for your continued support and engagement with the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore.

In our latest issue of the Orient, we highlight some of the amazing work that our members are doing around the world to support the COVID-19 efforts.

Click on this video or scan the QR code to watch David's full update.

David Kelly Executive Director, British Chamber Of Commerce, Singapore david@britcham.org.sg

MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

STERLING MEMBERS

DETU R

P O N S M UN

DO

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STERLING MEMBERS

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Special Feature: Responding to COVID-19

The events of the past few months have been a shock to the economy, the global healthcare system and people’s livelihoods. No person can say that they have been unaffected as around the world, we navigate restrictions on movement and business operations for the good of all of our health. From the beginning, the Chamber has remained agile and engaged with our members to benchmark the ongoing impacts to businesses, working to provide the information and resources you need to keep businesses operating as close to normal as possible under the circumstances.

Our most recent polls among members, covered in the local media by The Straits Times on March 9th, March 16th and April 22nd, highlight the increasing level of impact in Singapore, from 77% in early March to 94% in April; yet the ongoing confidence of our members in Singapore for the long-term, remaining consistent at 97%.

In this special feature, we look at the work of the British Chambers of Commerce Global Network and the reaction of our member companies to the pandemic at a local, region and global level.

RESPONDING TO COVID-19:

THE BRITISH CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE GLOBAL NETWORK

The British Chambers of Commerce Global Network Throughout the year, our colleagues in the global network of 100+ British Chambers provide ongoing support to members. In difficult times with direct impacts to business, such as Brexit in the UK or the Coronavirus pandemic, the Chambers provide vital services to members such as information, resources, and connections to Government.

British Chambers of Commerce in the UK The local and regional Chambers across the UK have been hard at work supporting small businesses and their individual members. Lobbying on behalf of British businesses at the Parliament level has been the British Chambers team at headquarters in the UK, who have included the global network in all activities, updates, and support offerings.

Introducing the Global Business Network In these unprecedented times it’s vital that businesses across the world know who to reach out to for support.

The Global Business Network has a unique role to play in this support mechanism, stepping in to offer support and guidance to businesses across the world.

We are recognised as a truly international organisation with a “local-global” footprint; an international network of 100+ British Chambers of Commerce and business groups located across the world.

Here, Director of Global Business Networks Ann-Marie Martin provides an update for our members:

Furthermore, we are developing a series of industryleading, thought-provoking webinars spanning a range of subjects of interest in the longer term as we eventually move into recovery and renewed growth, that will bring value to business leaders from across the membership network under three distinct brands.

• Global Trade • Global Business Events • Global Insights Events

It is vital at this time, more than ever before, that we work together as a united cohesive network to support our collective membership to weather the storm and to continue to trade, prosper and grow beyond crisis.

We provide businesses, via the British Chamber of Commerce network, the opportunity to connect to a rapidly growing international ecosystem of 80K+ known, trusted business connections and support, all provided by a known and trusted partner.

How are we supporting global business in these unique times?

The global network of British Chambers is a powerful, collective force that is fighting for businesses of every size and sector in its membership during this difficult time. Our colleagues in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, SE Asia and Italy have been sharing their experiences to help the entire network learn from each other at this unprecedented time.

We have launched a series of interactive virtual events for our members and the business communities they serve, to provide insights into managing the business continuity challenges during this time of global crisis.

Anne-Marie Martin, Director of Global Business Networks, British Chambers of Commerce

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British Chambers across Asia Alongside our closest colleagues across the region, we have been curating a series of joint webinars and podcasts which are made available at no cost to our combined network of members, showcasing the regional insights available from each country and the commonalities between markets.

British Chamber of Commerce Myanmar Typically, foreign workers need to regularly exit and reenter Myanmar to obtain a new business visa.

The British Chamber in Myanmar alongside its members have been lobbying for regulatory changes to relax the rules for foreign workers applying to renew business visas in-country. As a result, there has been a reduction in the required length of time remaining on a current visa from 21 days before expiry to just five days before, which has helped people to circumnavigate the COVID-19 related travel restrictions and flight cancellations.

British Malaysian Chamber of Commerce Berhad The Chamber has been surveying their members to understand the impact of COVID-19 to the business community, increasing webinars, virtual roundtables and the frequency of interactions with the local Government. In addition, they have been working with the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur to gather data and share important information on travel and immigration.

Chamber members have been involved in a variety of ways: 1. HSBC Malaysia offers relief to Covid-19 affected customers More at: www.thestar.com.my/business/businessnews/2020/03/19/hsbc-malaysia-offers-relief-tocovid-19-affected-customers 2. Standard Chartered Malaysia donates over half a million Ringgit to help front liners combat COVID-19 More at: www.sc.com/my/news-media/scm-donates-overhalf-a-million-ringgit-to-combat-covid-19/ 3. Shell Malaysia sends equipment to hospitals More at: rojakdaily.com/btw/article/9154/shell-sendsequipment-to-hospitals 4. Marlborough College Malaysia, also a member of the British Chamber here in Singapore: Leeds teacher's face shield design protecting NHS staff from coronavirus

A Message From our Head of Member Relations The British Chamber in Singapore’s predominant focus is to support you and your business to develop and grow, generate opportunities through incoming trade and drive forward conversations that can enable businesses to thrive. Albeit we are now all subject to the ‘circuit breaker’ rules, over the past month or so we have evolved our offering to ensure members still get access to the very best insights and opportunities. We are ensuring that our members continue to have their voices heard – our regular flash polls and surveys, committee meetings and catch ups, and one-to-one conversations mean that we can relay real time scenarios to Government and stakeholders, and continue to drive forward the support you need to navigate through this challenging period.

We also often overlook the personal value of being part of this community, our ‘BritCham family’. In addition to addressing topics aligned with business, we are mindful of supporting the personal challenges you may be facing right now. Some of us are flying solo and finding our way through limited physical interaction, and many of us are discovering a whole new meaning to work and family balance.

The wellbeing of our members is very important to us and we will continue to provide the personal and collective support where needed. Keep an eye out for upcoming activity to help keep all our minds and bodies healthy.

If you do wish to reach out to the membership team at any point, please feel free to email either Nicole at nicole@britcham.org.sg or Melissa melissa@britcham.org.sg.

More at: www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/health/ coronavirus/leeds-teachers-face-shield-designprotecting-nhs-staff-coronavirus-2537494 5. The Lost Food Project: TLFP distributed over 20,000kgs of food since MCO More at: www.facebook.com/thelostfoodproject/photos/ pb.1059421797443522.-2207520000../3094008090651539/? type=3&theater 6. University Malaya donates protective intubation devices More at: www.nst.com.my/education/2020/04/582511/umdonates-protective-intubation-devices

Nicole Wharfe, Head of Member Relations, British Chamber of Commerce, Singapore nicole@britcham.org.sg

RESPONDING TO COVID-19:

THE BRITISH CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE GLOBAL NETWORK

RESPONDING TO COVID-19: MEMBERS GIVING BACK

Members Giving Back

We give a warm thank you on behalf of all our members to these member companies who have been supporting COVID-19 efforts around the world.

Addleshaw Goddard

Aetna International

Aviva

The company has been appointed to the key law firm panel set up by UK Finance to provide advice to their members on a range of urgent issues arising from COVID-19. Membership of UK Finance includes all the major banks and over 200 other financial institutions. A team across Addleshaw Goddard’s Banking and Financial Regulation has been working with a number of clients on the drafting of template documentation for the COVID-19 Business Interruption Loans. These loans form part of the UK Government package to provide support to UK businesses in response to the pandemic. The scheme went live on 23 March and provides loans for smaller businesses facilitated by the British Business Bank. The company has also created

All fully insured Aetna International members have free access to their virtual health service, vHealth, for a limited time.

Any member who undergoes diagnostic testing for COVID-19, as referred by a medical physician in an approved medical facility, will be reimbursed in full for the cost of the test and consultation. The company is also waiving cost-sharing, copay and other deductibles for inpatient hospital admissions related to COVID-19 within their medical network, and policyholders in Singapore whose finances have been affected by COVID-19 may apply for temporary support with their premium payments due for their current policy term.

Aviva has pledged $100,000 to the Sayang Sayang Fund initiated by the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS). The Fund was established to extend help to both healthcare professionals and sensitive communities that may be impacted by COVID-19.

the AG Force Majeure toolkit, providing a useful summary of the key stages in assessing a client's position, their options and strategy.

BSI Global

BP (1)

Control Risks

The company is working closely with Governments, regulators and organizations globally to share best practice and expertise, providing insight and information to help navigate the risks, mitigate crisis and enable resilience. In the UK they have made a suite of risk and business continuity standards publicly available which cover themes such as security and resilience, supply chain continuity and crisis management, providing best practice guidance on how to approach, manage and overcome some of the difficulties that many are facing. This has also been supported by several webinars. BSI have also made a series of standards for medical devices (especially ventilators) and personal protective equipment (PPE) available in the UK and will continue to expand this as necessary to other areas such as hygiene standards. On a global scale they have provided complimentary access to their Supply Chain Risk Exposure Evaluation Network (SCREEN) tool which provides supply chain insights and intelligence.

The BP Foundation will donate USD$2 million to the WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, which supports medical professionals and patients worldwide by providing critical aid and supplies. The company and it’s retail networks are providing free fuel to emergency services in various countries including the UK, Spain, Germany, Poland and Turkey. Air BP is providing free jet fuel for use by the helicopters of a number of UK air ambulance services. BP is also donating its significant supercomputing capability to help halt the spread of COVID-19. Working with the US government, leading universities and major tech firms like Amazon, Google and Microsoft, their Center for High-Performance Computing (CHPC) in Houston will be used by scientists developing answers to complex scientific questions about COVID-19 in hours or days versus weeks or months.

The company is providing COVID-19related support to dozens of organisations around the world to help them understand, anticipate and respond to events emerging around them.

These include 17 global NGOs working globally in areas such as education, children’s health, human rights and healthcare, who are receiving services on a complimentary basis.

Coventry University About 50 Paramedic Science students from the University who have previously worked with West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) on placements have joined up once again with ambulance staff at the service’s request to help bolster their numbers.

The paramedic students are all about six months away from becoming fully qualified paramedics, and they will be working as paid support staff for WMAS which will also count as their placement. In addition, more than 25 PhD students have volunteered to help University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire with COVID-19 testing. About 400 pairs of safety goggles and 90,000 pairs of gloves have been donated to Warwickshire County Council’s public health team for use in care homes and the University’s health simulation facilities have been made available for local health trusts to use for training purposes for their staff.

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Diageo SEA (2)

Dyson (3)

Diageo Southeast Asia is donating 60,000 litres of neutral spirit at no cost to governments and local manufacturers in the Philippines, Vietnam and Myanmar to help overcome shortages in their healthcare systems. This donation will enable the production of over a million bottles of sanitisers or disinfecting agents. This follows the company’s earlier global announcement of a pledge to donate Grain Neutral Spirit to the UK, Ireland, Italy, the USA, Brazil, Kenya, India and Australia, enabling the creation of eight million hand sanitisers for frontline medical workers in countries where Diageo has major distilling operations.

Dyson have worked with British product development and medical consultancy The Technology Partnership to design and build the CoVent after a request from the UK Government to assist in design and manufacturing of ventilation equipment. The design is said to incorporate the Singapore-made Dyson Digital Motor, originally designed for Dyson's cordfree vacuum cleaners and hand dryers.

Grand Hyatt

HSBC (4)

Micro Focus

The Hotel has been hosting various guests who are affected by the current situation, including Malaysians and workers who are unable to return home, as well as Singaporeans who have returned home from abroad. Working with Changi Airport and the National Taxi Association, the hotel prepped lunch boxes for 500 taxi drivers at all four terminals' taxi stands last month to recognise their tireless commitment and service during this period. To ensure the safety of guests, colleagues and contractors, Grand Hyatt Singapore worked closely with the local authorities to conduct an independent audit of the hotel’s public hygiene standards and cleaning measures. As a result of this comprehensive audit, it was the first hotel in Singapore to be awarded the SG Clean Quality Mark by National Environment Agency (NEA) and Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

In Hong Kong, HSBC is offering special relief loans to customers working in selected sectors impacted by the coronavirus outbreak and where appropriate, deferred principal payments on mortgages for customers experiencing hardship. In mainland China, HSBC is waiving all fees for remittances associated with donations and medical purchases and is partnering with healthcare providers to offer virtual and telephone consultation services to ease the pressure on hospitals and reduce infection. To assist governments across the world, the bank is helping raise money on sovereign debt markets to boost their economies and health services.

The company has extended business continuity offers to support their clients. In addition, they have added volunteering days for staff to contribute to their local communities which have led to extraordinary acts of kindness from employees such as sewing masks for the people in need, supporting children’s virtual learning transformations, helping to feed families and even donating platelets for Red Cross.

Microsoft (5)

McLaren

Microsoft is collaborating with NantWorks’ ImmunityBio to map out the spike protein of the coronavirus to understand the means it uses to pry its way into and infect human cells. It has created the Bing COVID tracker, a new remote learning community for distance learning, and made Minecraft: Education Edition available for free to teachers and students with O365 Education accounts.

The company is also offering its Azure Healthcare Bot service to organisations on the frontlines of the coronavirus response to help screen patients for potential infection and care.

McLaren Applied Pte, a British Chamber of Commerce Singapore member company since 2017 has been actively involved in supporting COVID-19 efforts through its parent company McLaren Group. McLaren Applied Pte’s Managing Director Asia Pacific (and also BritCham’s Vice President) Michael Shearer OBE explains: “When most people think of McLaren they tend to think of our racing team. However, the Group has built on its successful racing expertise and diversified to include a global, high-performance sports car business, McLaren Automotive, and a game-changing technology and innovation business, McLaren Applied, which operates across Asia Pacific from Singapore, focusing on electrification, virtual product development, and, telemetry, control and analytics. Right now, employees from all three of our Group companies – Racing, Automotive and Applied – are currently working with a consortium of significant UK industrial, technology and engineering businesses from across the aerospace, automotive and medical sectors, to produce medical ventilators for the UK. Over the past few weeks the consortium has been working hard to investigate production of a range of ventilator design options to meet a high-level specification for a Rapidly Manufactured Ventilator System (“RMVS”) developed by clinicians and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (“MHRA”). The consortium has evaluated all requirements to design, manufacture, assemble and test components, as well as finished medical ventilators. It will now accelerate production of an agreed new design, based on existing technologies, which can be assembled from materials and parts in current production. The device combines existing proven clinical equipment and is the clinicians’ first choice for the RMVS. All of us at McLaren are proud to be part of this Consortium and to consider how racing technology and innovation approaches can be applied to urgent, health challenges.”

RESPONDING TO COVID-19: MEMBERS GIVING BACK

RESPONDING TO COVID-19: MEMBERS GIVING BACK

PALO IT

Quilter International

Roche

The company spent 3 weeks with 7 developers and their CTO to talk to health care professionals before launching their Virtual Bed service, an app for healthcare professionals to monitor symptoms remotely which is being offered free to governments and healthcare providers.

Patients can log on and record their symptoms at regular intervals. The app stores details of any risk factors or preexisting health conditions and a range of health metrics including their temperature, respiratory and heart rate and blood pressure. This data is then used to create a National Early Warning Score which is something healthcare professionals can use to determine a patient’s degree of illness and whether they’re likely to require to see a doctor. An added bonus is that the app will generate a huge amount of data, which researchers will be able to use to study the disease as analytics are built in the product. Currently the company are in discussions with several countries and the United Nations.

The company has joined over 200 businesses from across the UK in an initiative to help Britain and its most vulnerable people to pull through the coronavirus pandemic. The national scheme encourages employers to join the coronavirus effort by pledging to help their employees, customers and communities during this crisis. It is targeting not just the immediate challenges, but also how Britain recovers. Employers who sign the pledge give their backing to three main objectives built around employees, customers and communities: (1) Support employees throughout and beyond this challenging time; (2) Publish clear and simple advice for customers; and (3) Help communities in Britain through the epidemic. In addition, The Quilter Foundation has donated £100,000 to the National Emergencies Trust coronavirus appeal and the company is continuing to support its existing strategic charity partners.

Roche’s emergency response teams have been working to develop a diagnostics test which was granted Emergency Use Authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration, and is also available in markets accepting the CE mark. Roche is committed to delivering as many tests as possible and is going to the limits of their production capacity. The company has confirmed initiation of a clinical trial, and is also collecting and compiling data from other, independently-led clinical trials that are taking place around the world. Roche is working with and supporting the WHO and global and national nongovernmental organisations, health authorities and the governments in affected countries to ensure people can get access to diagnostics and healthcare.

Scott Brownrigg

Standard Chartered (6)

Sunway Hotels & Resorts

The company’s Design Research Unit is focusing its entire activities into identifying and proposing design initiatives and outcomes that will support how we work, live and socialise together in future, to avoid high density environments that increase the potential spread of illnesses. The areas of study include responsive environments; plan, shape form and density; nano technology; automation; prediction modelling; digital twin testing and avatars.

Standard Chartered launched a $50 million global fund to help people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Group has already provided $25 million to support emergency relief in countries where the number of COVID-19 cases has soared and healthcare facilities are under significant pressure. The additional $25 million will help communities and businesses recover from the economic impact of the pandemic. In addition, the Group is committing up to $1 billion in loans, import/export financing and working capital for certain companies fighting COVID-19, and to support industry leaders who are adapting production resources to help fight the pandemic.

Sunway partnered with Malaysian Care, a local nonprofit organisation committed to serving the poor and needy, to provide 1,500 bars of Soapful repurposed soap to juveniles at Pusat Koreksional Puncak Alam (PKPA) for three months starting from 1 April until 30 June 2020. During the Malaysia Movement Control Order, visitations are barred and usually it is their family members who brings them personal hygiene items including soap. Soapful, launched in December 2018, repurposes leftover soaps from the hotel venues into new bars, following stringent standard operating procedures that adhere to safety and environmental standards. The company also donated its hotel amenities to Sungai Buloh Hospital, one of the designated facilities to treat COVID-19 patients, to help with the shortage of amenities faced due to an additional 600 wards being set up for treatment. A total of 14,525 items packed in boxes was collected by the hospital personnel from the hotel which included shower gels and shampoos, shower caps, vanity kits, gloves, used pillows and blankets.

Taylor & Francis

William Grant & Sons

One of the world’s leading leading scholarly and professional publishers, Taylor & Francis has enabled free digital access to all their COVID-19 research and have launched a microsite

The company is shifting production at three of its distilleries to supply about five million litres of ethanol over the next eight weeks for the production of hand sanitiser. Production of ethanol that conforms to World Health Organisation standards is now going ahead at its distilleries in Girvan in Scotland, Tullamore in Ireland, and plans are being put in place to meet Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards at Tuthilltown in New York State. William Grant & Sons will not keep any profit made through this work. The ethanol is being supplied at the standard commercial rate and all profits will be ring-fenced and invested into future actions that help alleviate the spread and impact of the virus.

consolidating journal and book resources - www. taylorandfrancis.com/coronavirus. Thanks to their recent acquisition of F1000, they now also help the Welcome Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with their open research science publishing.

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Footnotes (1) www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/news-and-insights/covid-19-bp-response.html (2) Diageo SEA Press Release (3) www.dyson.com/newsroom/overview/update/ventilator-update.html (4) www.hsbc.com/coronavirus/supporting-customers-affected-by-covid-19 (5) news.microsoft.com/covid-19-response/; https://fortune.com/2020/04/13/global-500-companiescoronavirus-response-covid-19-pandemic/ (6) www.sc.com/en/media/press-release/standard-chartered-supporting-our-colleagues-clients-and-

In Your Own Words: Matters of Opinion We asked members to share their perspectives on the ongoing pandemic as it related to their business and employees.

Arlene Wherrett, VP & MD, Sage Asia “The COVID-19 coronavirus has deeply impacted all businesses, with millions reporting decreased revenue and in dire cases, closure. But this pandemic has also highlighted the need for all businesses, irrespective of their size to embrace technology, from utilizing collaborative technology for Work-From-Home measures to using virtual conferencing and webinars to keep in touch with and support partners and customers.

Our primary focus at Sage is on caring for our colleagues, prioritizing mental wellness in addition to overall wellbeing whilst WFH. In addition, we are keeping our partners and customers updated via the Sage Asia Coronavirus Resource Hub with upto-date technology and government advice. Sage believes that this current challenge will require all of us to work together – with the government, peers in other sectors and even with competitors, so that every small and medium business has the very best chance of success.”

Robert Walters (Singapore) “Over the last few years, Robert Walters has been implementing technologies to help our employees become more mobile and as such, we are able to work from anywhere, including home – which has allowed us to continue our operations as normal.

However, COVID-19 has impacted our clients and their hiring appetite, which is having a knock-on effect for our business. One thing that has changed is the way we conduct our recruitment work. Given the social distancing measures in place, we have leveraged our technology capabilities to move the recruitment and onboarding process online for both ourselves and our clients. We are also helping with our clients to assist any employee of theirs who may be retrenched, not only with their job search but also upskilling in terms of improving interview skills, access to understanding areas of demand, improving their LinkedIn profile and others. We are expecting a challenging Q2 in revenue terms, however, we are also expecting cost savings through working from home rather than operating a full CBD office. Our priority is to protect the jobs of our employees and we will continue to monitor the situation and adjust business strategies accordingly to best achieve this aim. ”

RESPONDING TO COVID-19:

IN YOUR OWN WORDS: MATTERS OF OPINION

RESPONDING TO COVID-19:

IN YOUR OWN WORDS: MATTERS OF OPINION

Parveen Kumar, Hotel Manager, Grand Hyatt Singapore

Michael MacDonald, Director, Harley Street Heart & Vascular

“While ongoing developments continue to affect all industries in Singapore and around the world, we are very impressed and encouraged by how the Singapore Government has handled the current situation which has received numerous commendations by global communities, including the World Health Organisation. We are certainly very delighted our implementation of various precautionary measures has led us to this positive outcome, and we will continue to remain vigilant and steadfast in following the guidelines recommended by international and local authorities. The recent introduction of SG Clean Quality Mark is yet another step in the right direction to raise domestic and global confidence through independent auditing of public hygiene standards, and we remain confident in the resilience of Singapore’s hospitality industry to recover together.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on healthcare globally due to the direct effects of the COVID-19 illness, and also the indirect effects on other conditions. Patients are now avoiding engaging with both primary and secondary healthcare providers due to fear of contracting the virus. There have been big drops in the presentation of acute illnesses such as heart attack and stroke globally. It is unlikely that there are fewer events, it probably means that patients are suffering at home, and not seeking help. Potentially we will see sicker patients presenting later in the year or an increase in Non-COVID related deaths and disability. At Harley Street we now offer our patient’s Telehealth consults, along with home blood tests and ECGs to try to partly mitigate this issue.”

Simon Hearn, Group Account Director, Distillery “First and foremost, we are looking after our people, and making sure everyone is safe and well. Secondly, as a digital and agile business, we are trying to focus on the positives this situation is throwing up. The disruption means it's the optimal time for companies to innovate and try new things. We're continually re-thinking about our offering and trying to find new ways brands can engage their fans, and come out the other side stronger.”

Mark Teal, General Manager, Mezzo Lab “Mezzo Labs is a digital intelligence consultancy who believes in the power of your 1st party data that will help companies unlock their competitive advantage. However, COVID-19 has impacted our ability to foster closer and more direct relationships with prospective clients. And we are keen to explore new avenues where we are able to connect with companies virtually to see how we can help them navigate through this challenging time ahead.”

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Taylor & Francis “Taylor & Francis, founded as a family publishing business in 1798 and now part of Informa Plc, has adapted to many social, economic and technological challenges over the centuries. The COVID-19 pandemic is the greatest challenge we have faced, but it is also an opportunity to reaffirm our purpose: providing quality, trusted knowledge to the global research, teaching & professional communities. The demand for quality and timely information has never been greater, and our teams have never been busier. Our recent investment in digital content and eBooks is paying off. Border closures and lockdowns have resulted in the physical supply chain of books to be severely disrupted, but in many countries book publishing is regarded as a ‘life sustaining business’, so physical distribution is allowed to continue: our Singapore logistics operation has an Exemption. Amazon is our largest customer globally, and Kinokuniya has a great online bookstore too. Now is a good time to catch up with that reading!”

Cameron Gordon, Founding Partner + Head of Client Growth, Incite “As a Food & Beverage export development agency, our business has been slightly impacted due to brands deciding to put export plans on hold. That said, now is the time to prepare so that strong foundations have been laid for a successful launch in target export markets once things improve. For example, we were able to support UK brands and the British Chamber of Commerce recently by keynoting in a special virtual event - Exporting to Singapore and ASEAN. Grocery buyers are under a lot of pressure to keep their shelves stocked as consumers are buying more and more often in lieu of eating out. Supply chain constraints mean everyone is having to be patient when it comes to getting orders fulfilled as there is a lot of congestion at the ports. Some good news stories though - one of our clients has shipped the equivalent of 12 months of sales in 2019 in the first quarter of this year. In terms of identifying and working with distributor partners, video conferencing is an effective tool that has enabled Incite to keep our existing relationships strong and fortunately, we can lean on the 10 years of history we have with these distribution partners.”

Colt Technology Services “The telecommunications sector has always been transformational. Now we need to step up and help our staff and customers stay connected and manage a set of challenges that look very different to those they faced just six months ago. The past few weeks have seen some customers requesting 20 times their average data capacity with similar being requested for voice. We’re working closely with our partners in the telecommunications space to manage capacity and ensure all our customers continue to get what they need.

We’re seeing a significant increase in traffic across our network, particularly for voice, and many customers asking for bandwidth upgrades. The Colt IQ Network was built to deliver high performance, high bandwidth solutions, especially those in the cloud. We have the teams and the capacity in place to deliver and they are working closely in line with all local government restrictions.”

Stephen McNulty, President, APJ, Micro Focus “To slow the spread of Covid-19, Micro Focus has been able to scale quickly work-from-home practices for over 12,000 staff globally, to continue supporting our customers and partners through this critical period. This is not a major shift since we have gone through significant digital transformation within the organisation, leveraging many of our own automation software, and with employees already being familiar with enterprise conferencing technology and virtual interaction practices. We were able to quickly shift our customer outreach digitally as well, transforming our global conferences virtually within a matter of weeks to provide a seamless experience for customers and partners’ continuous learning of innovation updates and customer best practices. Through this collective experience globally, we stand united in doing our part to help customers, partners and employees stay safe while driving the best outcomes in transforming their businesses, and safeguarding lives and livelihoods. ”

RESPONDING TO COVID-19:

IN YOUR OWN WORDS: MATTERS OF OPINION

NEWS:

AROUND THE CHAMBER

Launching our New Podcast Channels & Webinars Podcasts: Introducing BritCham Singapore’s new Podcast channels, bringing our quality content to you in bite-size pieces! To hear the latest episodes as we publish, free and open to all, visit britcham.org.sg/ podcasts or subscribe on your favourite platform: Spotify: bit.ly/BCCSGSpotify Google Podcasts: bit.ly/BCCSGGoogle Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/BCCSGApple Breaker: bit.ly/BCCSGBreaker PocketCasts: pca.st/63fg36vr RadioPublic: bit.ly/BCCSGRP AnchorFM: bit.ly/BCCSGAnchor Webinars: Podcasts are just one of the ways that the Chamber is continuing to support our members with digital content during this period. The Chamber also brings you the opportunity to join live webinars and to watch webinars you might have missed, on demand. Visit britcham. org.sg/webinars to watch our webinars.

Enter the 21st Annual Business Awards How does your business lead the way? As the longestrunning awards initiative by an international Chamber in Singapore, we have been showcasing excellence at our Annual Business Awards for the past 21 years. We encourage all Singapore-registered organisations to take this opportunity to tell your good news story and focus on the positive achievements of your teams.

Entries close at the end of the day on Friday, 5th June 2020 1. Fill in the simple form below for each category you want to enter 2. Upload a one-pager providing any relevant further information to your category entry 3. Press submit!

You must be a Singapore registered enterprise to submit an entry to any category (or the employee of one for those entering the Individual Contribution category) but you do not have to be a member of the Chamber.

Be concise and make an impression to stand out to our judges. You can also add a video link, though it's not mandatory. Any additional documents beyond the onepage supporting your entry will not be considered. For more information on the awards please visit britcham.org.sg/ awards/21ABA, which provides more details on the Categories, the Rules for entry, answer your FAQs, and outline the Judging Process.

For any queries relating to the awards entry process, sponsorship opportunities or gala dinner, please contact helen@britcham.org.sg.

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#FiveFilmsForFreedom: a global LGBTIQ+ shortfilm celebration

The world's widest-reaching digital celebration of LGBTIQ+ themed film returns from 18 - 29 March 2020.

Five Films For Freedom is a global, online short film programme in support of LGBTIQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer) rights. We invite audiences everywhere to watch the five films online in solidarity with LGBTIQ+ communities in places where freedom and equal rights are limited, and to spread the word using the hashtag #FiveFilmsForFreedom. Self-expression, homophobia in rural communities, coming out as a teenager, and finding love later in life - this year's short films look at an intersection of LGBTIQ+ perspectives to explore love and acceptance.

Want to know more about the 2020 films?

134 (IRELAND)

Directed by Sarah-Jane Drummey Jack prepares to take the stage at an Irish dancing competition as family members come to terms with their feelings around their child's gender identity.

"Maddie what about you, which boy do you like?" This short film tells the story of a queer teenager struggling with her sexuality as her desires manifest their way from the depths of her eerie closet into reality.

AFTER THAT PARTY (BRAZIL) Directed by Caio Scot "Why would he hide something like that from me?" Leo struggles to approach his father after discovering a secret.

WHEN PRIDE CAME TO TOWN (NORWAY) Directed by Julia Dahr and Julie Lunde Lillesæte “Growing up gay in a small town wasn’t easy” Bjørn-Tore left his rural hometown to escape the everyday homophobia he experienced growing up. Decades later he returns for Norway’s first-ever rural Pride celebration. Thrilled to see his neighbours hoisting a pride flag, he hopes that the turn out for Pride is higher than the numbers of anti-pride demonstrators from the local church group.

PXSSY PALACE (UK) Directed by Laura Kirwan-Ashman "It is more than clubbing. It's that sense of community where people actually care about each other." Writer-director Laura Kirwan-Ashman welcomes you into the world of Pxssy Palace, a London based QTIPOC (queer trans intersex people of colour) collective and club night.

SOMETHING IN THE CLOSET (UK) Directed by Nosa Eke

Visit britishcouncil.org/arts/ fivefilmsforfreedom for more information.

Coventry University launches the International Internship Programme in Asia

Coventry University announced the launch of the International Internship Programme in Asia, which will bring top-notch undergraduate and postgraduate students for a 9-week internship in Indonesia.

The university is inviting companies with offices in Indonesia to seize this opportunity to train future leaders in the fields of business management and financial trading. Coventry University students have performed positively on key employability metrics in

recent years and have excellent areas of existing practice. This was reflected last year with a five star employability rating from QS stars, where we earned a perfect 150 points and were commended for our impressive graduate employment rate of 97%.

Please get in touch with us by clicking on the button or by emailing us at coventry.sghub@coventry.ac.uk.

NEWS:

MEMBER NEWS

NEW MEMBERS

STERLING MEMBERS

EVENTBANK The leading cloud-based engagement management technology company that provides event organizers, agencies, marketers, businesses, chambers of commerce, associations, and nonprofit organizations with solutions designed to streamline operations, modernize processes, and eliminate engagement challenges. EventBank’s cutting-edge SaaS platform combines the best event management, email marketing, CRM, membership management and mobile apps into one seamless and easy-to-use platform. Find out more at www.eventbank.com Representative Member: Kenny Holroyd, Senior Sales Director

NORTH LONDON COLLEGIATE SCHOOL (SINGAPORE) North London Collegiate School, founded in 1850, has an outstanding record of the highest intellectual achievements, and a strong tradition of providing an unparalleled academic education, while encouraging the development of individualism and a pioneering spirit among its students. NLCS (Singapore) will open its doors to students in August 2020. It is conveniently located on Depot Road and boasts a built-up area of approximately 300,000 sqft, with a diverse array of learning spaces required to deliver an outstanding world-class education which caters to every possible interest and talent. Find out more at nlcssingapore.sg Representative Member: Paul Friend, Principal

RSM RISK ADVISORY PTE LTD RSM Singapore is the sixth largest audit, tax and consulting network globally. In Singapore, we are the largest outside the Big 4, serving internationally active businesses. We focus on growing businesses, helping them to improve profits, enhance business value and internationalise. We provide Audit, Tax, Corporate and Risk advisory services. Stone Forest is an affiliate of RSM Singapore and the companies under this group provides a comprehensive suite of business solutions to support our clients’ business growth in Singapore and globally. Find out more at www.rsm.global/singapore/ Representative Member: Yvonne Tang, Senior Manager

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CORPORATE MEMBERS ARABESQUE Arabesque is a global group of financial technology companies offering sustainable investment, advisory, and data services through advanced ESG and AI capabilities.

Established in 2013, their story is one of partnership between leaders in finance, mathematics, AI, and sustainability working together to deliver a new approach to capital markets. Through its companies, Arabesque leverages cutting-edge technology, research and data to deliver sustainable, transparent financial solutions for a changing world. Find out more at www.arabesque.com Representative Member: Dominic Godman, Head of Singapore

BAE SYSTEMS BAE Systems helps our customers to stay a step ahead when protecting people and national security, critical infrastructure and vital information. We provide some of the world’s most advanced, technology-led defence, aerospace and security solutions and employ a skilled workforce of 85,800 people in more than 40 countries. From state-of-the-art cyber threat detection to flight control systems that enable pilots to make better decisions, we never stop innovating to ensure that our customers maintain their advantage. Find out more at www.baesystems.com Representative Member: Daisy Radford, Head of Operations and Delivery

BRIDGETEK PTE LTD Bridgetek is a leading global semiconductor company providing high performance microcontroller units (MCUs), display IC products and developing innovative silicon solutions that enhance seamless interaction with latest connectivity technologies.

Our key objective is to provide core bridging technology in order to support engineers with highly sophisticated, feature-rich, robust and simple-to-use product platforms. These platforms enable creation of electronic designs with high performance, low peripheral component requirements, low power budgets and minimal board real estate. Find out more at brtchip.com

DUCO TECHNOLOGY PTE LTD Duco provides innovative technology that enables financial institutions to normalize, validate and reconcile any type of data in Duco’s cloud, providing firms with on-demand data integrity and insight. Our SaaS solution is used by some of the largest companies in the world, including international banks, exchanges, asset managers, hedge funds, administrators and service providers. Find out more at du. co Representative Member: Keith Man, Head of Asia Pacific

NEW MEMBERS

NEW MEMBERS

INCITE We are an F&B export development agency with “boots on the ground” in highgrowth Asian markets. We will help you to quickly determine the right markets and entry model for your products, understand the local regulations and develop the perfect pitch to take your product to market. Our knowledge and connections will fast track your export sales to get your brand on the shelf in the right stores, at the right price with the right distribution partners. Find out more at www.exportincite. com Representative Member: Nada Young, Founding Partner & Head of Client Growth

M&C SAATCHI M&C Saatchi is one of the leading independent marketing networks in the world.

Founded in London 25 years ago, M&C Saatchi now operates in 26 countries across the globe offering a wide range of services including advertising, performance marketing, PR, strategic consulting, brand development, talent and influencer management, and sports and entertainment marketing. In Asia, M&C Saatchi has offices in Singapore, Delhi, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Shanghai and Tokyo. Find out more at mcsaatchi.com Representative Member: Richard Morewood, CEO Asia

ROCHE Roche is the world’s largest biotech company, with truly differentiated medicines in oncology, immunology, infectious diseases, ophthalmology and diseases of the central nervous system. The company also aims to improve patient access to medical innovations by working with all relevant stakeholders. Roche is also the world leader in in vitro diagnostics and tissue-based cancer diagnostics, and a frontrunner in diabetes management. Find out more at www.roche.com.sg Representative Member: Ariosto Matus, Policy and External Affairs

SLEEK Disrupting a conservative and paper-based industry, Sleek works with start-ups and SMEs to streamline their compliance and get rid of the hassle of company admin in both Singapore and Hong Kong. With Sleek you can incorporate a company 100% remotely without leaving your desk, file requests to your company secretary 24/7 and get hassle-free accounting and tax services. Find out more at sleek.sg Representative Member: Claire Wilson, Head of Regulatory Affairs

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THE HARBOUR CLUB PTE LTD The Harbour Club is an experiential training course created by Jeremy Harbour where we teach people how to find, buy, and sell businesses. Specifically focusing on distressed and motivated sellers, where you can buy a company using no upfront capital. The strategies we teach can all be done without borrowing money from investors or banks. Find out more at www.harbourclubevents.com Representative Member: Jeremy Harbour, CEO

TWINZA OIL LIMITED Incorporated in 2004, Twinza is an unlisted oil and gas company focused on opportunities within the Asia-Pacific region. Since 2004 Twinza has built, through direct negotiation, acquisition and licensing rounds, a portfolio of discovered oil and gas field development and exploration projects, all of which it operates. The Company is now a well-established business with assets positioned for substantial growth. Find out more at www.twinzaoil.com Representative Member: Michael Lynch, CFO

CORPORATE SME MEMBERS CHARTERED INSTITUTE FOR SECURITIES & INVESTMENT The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment is the leading professional body for securities, investment, wealth and financial planning professionals. We promote the highest standards of professionalism amongst our members and the wider financial services profession and we believe professionalism is a blend of three elements – Knowledge, Skills and Behaviour. Find out more at www.cisi.org Representative Member: Andrella Guzman-Sandejas, Regional Head

HARLEY STREET HEART & VASCULAR The Harley Street Heart & Vascular Centre helps you with a wide range of heart and vascular conditions. Whether you are looking for a general check-up or the right treatment plan, we offer screening packages and management plans tailored to your cardiovascular needs. Our key mission is to optimise your quality of life because we take your health to heart. Find out more at www.harleystreet.sg Representative Member: Michael Macdonald, Director

NEW MEMBERS

NEW MEMBERS

CORPORATE START-UP MEMBERS DIGITAL BUSINESS LAB Digital Business Lab is a digital marketing agency in Hong Kong and Singapore, specialising in social media strategy, influencer marketing and video production.

We help our clients localise their digital strategies across the APAC market and the unique social media platforms (Western, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Taiwanese) through our understanding of different user habits, cultures and languages led by our local market experts. Find out more at digital-business-lab. com Representative Member: Hattie Trounce, Senior Key Account Manager

MEZZO LABS (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD. Mezzo Labs is a digital intelligence consultancy. We believe that first party data is a company’s biggest asset, and our purpose is to help clients transform it, orchestrate it and activate it to achieve four key outcomes: increased marketing efficiency, deeper customer intelligence, improved customer experience, and better customer lifetime value. We use our Performance Accelerator operating model to provide these outcomes. Find out more at www.mezzolabs.com Representative Member: Mark Teal, General Manager

OVERSEAS CORPORATE MEMBERS PARIS PROPERTY AGENTS Paris Property Agents is a real estate agency specialised in helping international and expatriate clients buy or sell property in Paris. With the ethos of a Family Office PPA is well adapted to clients requiring a highly personalised service, full access to property listings at the top end of the market and the best professional advice from a network of partners such as lawyers, notaries, tax advisors, property managers, interior designers etc. Find out more at ppa-paris.com Representative Member: Laurel Conway, Owner

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RECENT EVENT WEBINARS 11 March 2020: 2020 Real Estate Market Outlook Organised by our Built Environment Committee in collaboration with CoreNet Global Singapore Chapter, this discussion was recorded on 11th March 2020 with leading industry experts providing their insights on the opportunities and challenges of the year ahead in the real estate market for Singapore. The session will be of particular interest to businesses within the real estate industry and companies leasing commercial space in Singapore.

7 April 2020: Marketing & Communications Strategies During COVID-19 On 7th April 2020 BritCham Singapore's Marketing & Communications Committee brought together a panel of experts to discuss strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Event Partner:

15 April 2020: Grasping Growth Opportunities in ASEAN On 15th April, speakers from Hawksford and Julius Baer discussed growth & expansion opportunities in the ASEAN region.

Event Partner:

15 April 2020: Impact of COVID-19 on the Singapore Economy On 15th April we dissected COVID-19's impact on the Singapore Economy, tax & business support measures with insights from IQ-EQ, The Straits Times & Singapore Business Federation.

Event Partner:

17 April 2020: Let's Talk about Mentorship - Women & Mentoring This unique webinar on 17th April 2020 brought together the British Chambers in Taipei, Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore and Tokyo to discuss the power of mentoring for women.

22 April 2020: Decarbonising Shipping Our Energy & Utilities, Transport, Logistics & Supply Chain and Sustainability & Responsibility Committees brought together this highly relevant Road to Net Zero discussion on 22nd April.

Event Partner:

Discover more webinars at britcham.org.sg/webinars

RECENT EVENT WEBINARS

UPCOMING EVENTS

UPCOMING EVENTS & WEBINARS Visit our Upcoming Events page at www.britcham.org.sg/events to find out more about the following events, or contact the events team at events@britcham.org.sg

DATE

NAME

TIME

VENUE

13 May 2020

China Onshore Strategy for Financial Institutions (Webinar)

12:30 PM 1:30 PM

19 May 2020

Purpose-led Leadership (Webinar)

9:00 AM 10:30 AM

09 Jun 2020

Annual General Meeting 2020

6:00 PM 9:00 PM

Eden Hall, 28 Nassim Road, Singapore

19 Jun 2020

International Women's Day 2020

11:30 PM 2:30 PM

Shangri-La Hotel, 22 Orange Grove Road, S 258350

29 Oct 2020

21st Annual Business Awards Gala Awards Dinner

7:00 AM 11:30 PM

Tower Ballroom, Shangri-La Hotel, 22 Orange Grove Road, S 258350

05 Dec 2020

The Great British Ball

7:00 PM Late

Island Ballroom, Shangri-La Hotel, 22 Orange Grove Road, S 258350

EVENT PARTNERS

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An Interview with Tom Peacock-Nazil, Co-founder of Seven Clean Seas

By Sarah Cragg, Chairperson of our Sustainability Committee In this article, Sarah Cragg, Chairperson of our Sustainability Committee sits down with Tom Peacock-Nazil, Co-founder of Seven Clean Seas, to discuss plastic consumption, pollution and Seven Clean Seas’ dedication to removing plastic pollution in the marine environment.

FEATURE:

AN INTERVIEW WITH TOM PEACOCK-NAZIL, CO-FOUNDER OF SEVEN CLEAN SEAS

FEATURE:

AN INTERVIEW WITH TOM PEACOCK-NAZIL, CO-FOUNDER OF SEVEN CLEAN SEAS

What is Seven Clean Seas and what is its mission?

Seven Clean Seas is an ocean clean up organisation dedicated to removing plastic pollution in the marine environment. We prevent plastic from entering the natural environment and educate the public around responsible plastic consumption.

Why did you start it?

After living in Singapore for seven years, my wife, Pamela Correia, and I have been lucky enough to travel extensively throughout the region. Plastic pollution was evident everywhere we went, but a particular trip to an island in the South Andaman Sea really shocked us into action. The beach went from pristine to plastic nightmare overnight. We were so shocked that we decided to organise some educational clean up events upon our return to Singapore and Seven Clear Seas was born.

How do you work with businesses?

We have come a long way from our early community events and Seven Clean Seas is now the world's first Ocean Plastic Offsetting solution. This means we help responsible corporations to first; reduce their plastic use and then second; to offset any necessary plastic consumption so they can achieve plastic neutrality. We are also

developing an innovative River Clean Up system which will be available for corporations to sponsor from 2021.

Lastly, we are very busy hosting corporate social responsibility (CSR) beach clean-up events for our clients and partners to volunteer in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Individuals have the power to make a difference through their purchasing power. If people boycott companies who do not act responsibly, then the businesses will soon react in order to ensure their sales go back up Tell us more about plastic neutrality and what this means?

Plastic neutrality is when a company offsets their necessary plastic footprint whilst eliminating their unnecessary plastic footprint altogether. They can offset this by commissioning Seven Clean Seas to remove that same quantity of plastic from the marine environment on their behalf in any given year, making themselves ‘plastic neutral’.

There are lots of myths out there

about what’s good and what’s bad – are there any myths you would like to bust?

Totally. Although I am on a mission to rid the world's oceans from plastic pollution, it doesn’t necessarily mean all plastic is bad. It’s a super material and invaluable in so many use cases, take the medical industry for example. It is however our (consumers and businesses) interaction with it, particularly end-of-life plastics which is the issue. We all need to use plastic responsibly; recycle everything we use and to avoid using it if not necessary.

How can individuals and businesses make a difference?

Individuals have the power to make a difference through what their purchasing power. If people boycott companies who do not act responsibly, then the businesses will soon react in order to ensure their sales go back up.

We think businesses need to view plastic usage as an emission, just like carbon. Internal efforts should be made to remove unnecessary usage and offset what cannot be eliminated. Also, designing packaging which is 100% recyclable using common recycling technologies and trying to use 100% recycled material wherever possible would be invaluable.

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There is a lot of discussion about the problems with recycling, how important is recycling in Singapore?

Reaching a point where all plastic gets recycled is the goal, but unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Only a few types of plastics can be recycled, and even many of those don't get recycled for various reasons, it could be because of its colour, design or contamination. In Singapore, contamination is a huge issue and you only need to look in a recycle bin to understand why. Often food waste, liquids or biodegradables will be put into the recycle bins and then the entire contents become

'contaminated' and unrecyclable. We need education around how to recycle, as well as a real investment into collection and recycling infrastructure if we want to see our national recycling rates increase from 4%, as it was in 2019.

What are you most proud of?

Seven Clean Seas has removed over 54,000kg of ocean plastic pollution since we started and that is something I’m infinitely proud of. I’m excited to add many more zeros onto the end of that with the support from our fantastic client base.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sarah is the Associate Director at MullenLowe salt Singapore Pte Ltd. She is a social purpose communications expert working with multinationals and global brands, combining strong project management experience with a deep understanding and passion for sustainability. salt drives positive change inside and outside organisations by making the complex simple and the simple compelling. Sarah has worked with a number of Unilever brands including Clear, Lifebuoy and Ben & Jerry’s, Essilor, and Virgin Unite (Richard Branson’s foundation). She is also a qualified lawyer.

How can Seven Clean Seas help businesses?

Seven Clean Seas can host educational sessions for your staff, take you to experience plastic pollution first hand and organise volunteering beach clean ups. We can also help businesses tackle their plastic consumption through proactive reduction strategies and offsetting. We can help you be an ocean friendly, plastic neutral business. If you would like more information, please contact me at tom@sevencleanseas. com and I would be happy to schedule a meeting.

ABOUT THE SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE The Sustainability Committee seeks to educate and showcase Corporate Responsibility (CR) issues and practices in Asia. We encourage all businesses in Singapore to have good governance in place, and to use their influence to create systemic change through collaboration and partnerships, to manage the economic, social and environmental impacts of their activities wherever they operate in the world.

FEATURE:

AN INTERVIEW WITH TOM PEACOCK-NAZIL, CO-FOUNDER OF SEVEN CLEAN SEAS

FEATURE:

MY CHAMBER JOURNEY

My Chamber Journey Anil Scott, Associate Partner at St. James’ Place Wealth Management, has been a member of the Chamber for 12 years so far. In this interview Anil shares his highlights and advice for getting the most from your membership.

How did you find out about the Chamber?

I came to Singapore for my second stint in 2008, and the company that brought me over then was actively involved.

When someone is new to Singapore, you are looking for a landing point to build your network and get to know people, particularly within the British community. The Chamber was a very good platform to do that.

Initially, I attended events and got to know people in the Chamber through these. I can recall events around 2008-2009 that I still remember to this day as they were very engaging, particularly as this was during the global financial crisis and the Chamber covered this through extensive economic forecasts, sector impacts and more. The Chamber was a source of reassurance and information throughout that period as most businesses were genuinely worried about the outlook for the future.

How has your involvement in the Chamber changed through the years?

Today, I am involved in the Diversity and Inclusion committee. For several years, I was involved in the Financial Services committee (as it was then) and helped to drive regular networking events for the Chamber. We approached all the senior managers from the companies within the other business groups and encouraged them to join us each month for an informal gathering which helped

bring together people from different industries. Networking continues to be the primary interest behind many members’ involvement in the Chamber.

I can measure my length of involvement in the Chamber, and also my time in Singapore by the number of British High Commissioners we have seen as they each hold a four-year appointment. I well remember the early days of Paul Madden in Singapore, now the British High Commission to Japan, and in my time thus far we have been supported by Antony Phillipson (now HMTC for North America), Scott Wightman (now Director for External Affairs in the Scottish Government) and currently of course Kara Owen.

The Chamber was a source of reassurance and information throughout that period as most businesses were genuinely worried about the outlook for the future.

How have you seen the Chamber and its members change over time?

When I joined in 2008, the Chamber had a different atmosphere and demographic. Today, it is probably more diverse and socially relevant than ever before. You meet a more varied mix of members and business leaders

through networking at the Chamber than perhaps you did in the past. This simply reflects the changing demographic of Singapore’s expatriate business community, which is less single-country and much more diverse than before.

What have been your highlights so far?

Over twelve years I can remember so many highlights and stand-out events.

Chris Patten came several times to Singapore and that was always well attended and deeply informative. I can recall the BritCham Ball back in 2009 where I was horrendously late but had a fantastic night. The 2010 UK General Election when the Chamber ran a great live commentary event as the results came in over the television at The Tanglin Club. This was a superb combination of a social event and professional networking. Of course, I well remember the 2009 Economic Briefing networking drinks where I met the young lady who is now my wife!

There have been many interesting Singapore property updates, and one of the best events I’ve ever been to was the Leaders in Business Lunch with Adrian Hayes in October 2019. That is where the Chamber is fantastic, as you won’t find many other organisations in Singapore with the ability to bring people of that calibre who can talk about their incredible experiences in life that are directly relevant to you in your career.

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Where do you see the Chamber’s role today and in the future?

I think there are several elements – people tend to attend events and become involved in Chambers of Commerce when they feel they can either learn, contribute or both. If the Chamber’s committees and events keep their relevance and allow people to learn, contribute and develop themselves professionally then the Chamber will always be strong and will continue to prosper. To the Chamber’s credit, in the time that I have been involved it has always done that and has never dropped the ball on evolving with

the changing nature of industry.

People are interested in networking and building their business. This is integral to the Chamber’s value and it is a brilliant forum for this.

More recently I have observed the Chamber developing in an interesting and important way to become an advocate for things beyond the immediate day to day commercial concerns of the Singapore international business community. For example, trade missions, diversity, sustainability and interacting with Government.

What would be your message to new members of the Chamber?

I would encourage them to get involved early and not to hold back. When I joined, I took the opportunities that were presented to me. Make yourself visible within the Chamber, it’s a great community to get to know people in business. It may not be your only source of business connections, but you can either stand back and dip your toe in, or you can jump in. It is very likely that if you choose the latter, the outcome will be positive.

Eager to share your Chamber journey with us? Contact lucy@britcham.org.sg.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR As a Partner of St James's Place in Asia, Anil looks after the interests and investment needs of a chosen personal client base, managing their financial planning and wealth accumulation objectives strategically, and in line with their individual goals.

ABOUT THE COMPANY St. James’s Place is one of the largest wealth management companies serving the expatriate and Singaporean communities living and working in Asia, with many years of experience and

offices in Hong Kong, China and Singapore. As a UK FTSE100 company which is looking to grow its footprint in Asia, St. James’s Place is delighted to support The British Chamber of Commerce Singapore. The strength of the St. James’s Place business is underpinned by satisfied clients, their referrals and the dedication of the unrivalled team of St. James’s Place Partners. Find out more at www.sjp.asia

FEATURE:

MY CHAMBER JOURNEY

IN FOCUS INTERVIEW WITH THE EDITOR:

PAUL WILSON, HEAD MASTER, BRIGHTON COLLEGE (SINGAPORE)

In Focus:

Paul Wilson, Head Master, Brighton College (Singapore)

By Lucy Haydon In this issue, our Editor discusses Brighton College’s mission, values and aspirations with the Head Master of their new prep school in Singapore, Paul Wilson.

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IN FOCUS INTERVIEW WITH THE EDITOR:

PAUL WILSON, HEAD MASTER, BRIGHTON COLLEGE (SINGAPORE)

Firstly, welcome to Singapore! What's been your initial impressions of Singapore in your first six months?

Our family have been really impressed with Singapore so far and are settling in well on a person level. We’ve experienced several national holidays, our first Christmas in the sun, and it’s all been a joy so far.

I’ve been struck by how friendly people are, the Chamber being a good example of this, but also our local community who take the time to welcome new people, greet each other on the street and spend time enjoying meals together. It’s a lovely reflection on the culture here, despite how hard working and busy everyone is.

Over Chinese New Year, our neighbouring street held a big street party and welcomed everyone for the celebrations.

I’ve been really impressed with how the Government have handling the coronavirus and their long-term aspirations for the country.

You left behind the corporate world where you were a Chartered Accountant to become a teacher.

What led you to make the switch and what advice would you give others who have similar aspirations to make a mid-career change?

I had great experiences in my time with PwC and was considering a move to China. During my training, I met my wife and of course it follows that those plans changed, so I reconsidered my career. I had always loved learning, especially maths, and enjoyed outward bound activities, so with the financial and moral support of my wife I retrained as a teacher.

Any one of us is likely to be working for more than 40 years of our lives, so taking one year out to re-train is not actually that long a period in the bigger picture. In the UK and here in Singapore, there is plenty of support available for enhancing skills and changing careers, and you may be lucky enough, as I have, to find a new career that you love.

These standards of kindness and the quality of those teaching and interacting with children are ingrained into me after eight years in Brighton, and I’m looking forward to getting started here in Singapore to instil these values.

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What are the secrets to the success of Brighton College in the UK that you are excited to bring out to students here in Singapore?

Firstly, the culture of kindness at the school, led by the headmaster Richard Cairns, is fantastic. When I was a House Master back in Brighton, parents would often comment on how friendly and kind a place it is. When children feel loved, respected and safe, that gives them the opportunity to really flourish and develop.

The other thing that is really noticeable at Brighton is the quality of its staff.

Richard has been involved in every appointment and sees this as a key driver for the ongoing success of the school. We have been fortunate that the appeal of the brand and Singapore as a country have allowed us to recruit a fantastic team of people for when we open this year.

These standards of kindness and the quality of those teaching and interacting with children are ingrained into me after eight years in Brighton, and I’m looking forward to getting

started here in Singapore to instil these values.

When children feel loved, respected and safe, that gives them the opportunity to really flourish and develop.

Brighton College (Singapore) has a unique arrangement which will allow it to utilise the existing facilities of Cognita's existing schools in Singapore and the Early Learning

Village, while providing Brighton students with their own space and identity. Can you tell us more?

We are owned by Cognita in Singapore along with the Australian International School and Stamford American International School, they are our sister schools. They have been fantastic in welcoming us onto the campus, have been very accommodating and really want us to succeed. We share the resources of Stamford in the Early Learning Village, and in the prep school we share the facilities in the main campus. Although Brighton is a small school here, the children will get to enjoy some wonderful facilities.

We have also been very excited to see the sharing of training among the staff, as we have been invited to attend their training sessions and will reciprocate this when we do our own training. There will also be some great opportunities for healthy competition among the students and schools as we can just pick up the phone and suggest a swim meet or a game of football!

IN FOCUS INTERVIEW WITH THE EDITOR:

PAUL WILSON, HEAD MASTER, BRIGHTON COLLEGE (SINGAPORE)

IN FOCUS INTERVIEW WITH THE EDITOR:

PAUL WILSON, HEAD MASTER, BRIGHTON COLLEGE (SINGAPORE)

Click on this video or scan the QR code to watch the interview.

What are your hopes and aspirations for the College in its first few years here in Singapore?

We are aiming to be the leading prep school in South East Asia. The combination of a dynamic academic team and the culture of kindness will help us to achieve this.

Online personal tours with our Head Master, Paul Wilson and the Brighton College (Singapore) admissions team – running daily through May and June This is an experience to meet Paul as he shares an overview of our school, as well as a walk-through of some of facilities. This session is booked for you by our Admissions Manager, Ms Jaime Brown at your convenience and is fully personalised for your needs. To book an appointment, contact us onenquiries@brightoncollege.sg or call on +65 6505 9790 Virtual Afternoon Tea with Brighton College (Singapore) – Friday, 8 May at 3pm.

An online Open House experience, hosted by Head Master, Paul Wilson and his academic leadership team, as well as our Admission Team. This webinar will give interested families an overview of Brighton College (Singapore), as well as the opportunity to ask questions in advance. Registration is open now on our website: www.brightoncollege.edu.sg/Brighton-Afternoon-Tea/

ABOUT THE COLLEGE Brighton College (Singapore) strives to turn out well-educated, respectful and intellectually curious girls and boys who are ready to take a full, active and positive role in their senior schools, and as responsible citizens in the world. A Brighton College education doesn’t just enable a child to comprehend the world around them.

Our ambitious English curriculum promotes a problem solving, analytical approach, that alongside an outward looking perspective, encourages both social responsibility and engagement. It empowers our pupils to lead, shape and change their world. Brighton College (Singapore), enrolling now for August, offers an education that provides the best foundation for learning for children aged 18 months to 11 years, supported by its three key pillars of curiosity, confidence and kindness. Founded 175 years ago, Brighton College boasts a reputation in the British education sector that is second to none. Recently awarded England’s Independent School of the Year, our close relationship with our founding school and its rich heritage allows us to be a school of future shapers.

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I Don’t Need an Executive Coach…

Do I?

By Zoë Belcher, Founder and Director, OB1 Consulting Most of us don't see ourselves very clearly or realise that it matters. In this article, Zoë explains what Executive coaching is, its benefits and how what was once looked upon with curious scepticism is now embraced as the way to leading a more enriched, personalised and purposeful career journey.

FEATURE:

I DON’T NEED AN EXECUTIVE COACH… DO I?

FEATURE:

I DON’T NEED AN EXECUTIVE COACH… DO I?

What is Executive coaching and why should I care?

Considering we can get just about everything personalised and geared towards our satisfaction and goals, from holidays, sports gear, clothes, personal training and nutritious meals. It’s sad why many of us seem to neglect this thought and settle for a rather generic and impersonalised approach to our careers.

It is not surprising then that Executive coaching has emerged as one of the most important approaches to talent and career development. Over the past 30 years, executive coaches have gone from rare to commonplace. What was once looked upon with curious scepticism is now embraced as the way to leading a more enriched, personalised and purposeful career journey.

Bill Gates stated he believes everyone should have a coach. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the best advice he ever received was to get a coach.

Many other business leaders and

entrepreneurs tout the benefits of executive coaching. You don’t know what you’re capable of until there’s someone to push you outside your comfort zone. Just ask any professional athlete, musician or successful leader.

Why should I use executive coaching?

It’s simple, it works. According to PwC, the mean ROI for companies investing in coaching was 7x the initial investment. Meaning for every $1 spent on coaching, the value added to that employee’s worth was 7 dollars. 25% of the surveyed companies reported an ROI of 10 to 49 times investment.

ROI 7x the initial investment HBR estimates Coaching is a $3bn/year industry worldwide This aside, on a personal level investing in coaching will elevate your

career beyond what you believe possible. Most people report that working with a coach lead to an increase in confidence and fulfilment, enhanced decision-making ability, increased selfawareness and self-regulation, stronger emotional intelligence, improved worklife balance, enhanced accountability and reduced stress levels.

How many of us actually have a clear vision?

A coach enables new ways of thinking and operating, new skills allowing you more chance to reach your goals and create the career you want whilst managing distractions and behaviours that may impede your progress.

10 years ago, most companies engaged a coach to fix toxic behaviour.

Today the most effective coaching is about developing the capabilities of highpotential performers becoming agile business leaders.

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How will coaching benefit me?

Achieve what you want – This is the bottom line for an effective coaching engagement. A good coach can help you get clear about your goals and dreams, and about what you're capable of doing in order to achieve them. They are a neutral, non-judgemental third party. A coach will help you create a life of intentional design.

Enhanced self-awareness – Most of us don't see ourselves very clearly or realise that it matters. A coach’s role is to ask powerful questions that unearth deeply rooted values, perspectives, attitudes, and beliefs that otherwise left unchecked impede our ability to think openly and with meaning. Having a greater self-awareness in leaders is highly correlated with organizational effectiveness and profitability, and employees prefer to follow leaders who see themselves clearly and are willing to share their perceptions.

Enhanced awareness of others – Leaders can potentially run into problems because of inaccurate

assessments of those around them.

Prejudices, biases, or beliefs about people or situations may be detrimental to performance or decision making. Having an adaptable mindset and separating people’s ideas from their individual identity opens your eyes to new viewpoints.

Improved Emotional Intelligence (EQ) – Empathy, humility, not judging.

Working with a coach refines interpersonal skills. EQ involves being smart about emotions and using empathy effectively to empower and engage employees. Effective leadership is about understanding people emotionally. Daniel Goleman wrote that emotional intelligence is critical to the success of a leader.

Higher self-regulation – Marshall Goldsmith, wrote What Got You Here Won't Get You There. We all have a set of learned capabilities and responses that may (or may not) have served us so far. Learning new ways to respond to situations, people and challenges allows us to create better outcomes.

Accountability – It’s funny how easy it is to break the promises we make to ourselves, but not to others. A coach is an accountability partner challenging you to strategize and develop your goals, then holds you to achieving them.

A coach provides unqualified support – inspiration, motivation, emotional support and an occasional kick in the butt!

Leverage your strengths – An effective coach will help you see and leverage strengths that you already have but you may be underestimating. They also allow you to evaluate when your strengths are superpowers and when they prevent you from exploring other resources or outcomes.

Make better decisions – Your coach is your trusted partner and will point out what you cannot, will not, or do not see.

Nowhere else do you find somebody solely dedicated to act as your personal sounding board. Having a safe, confidential space and an unbiased view can help differentiate reality from perception and lead to better choices.

FEATURE:

I DON’T NEED AN EXECUTIVE COACH… DO I?

FEATURE:

I DON’T NEED AN EXECUTIVE COACH… DO I?

How much is that worth to you?

Simply put, coaching puts you in the driving seat for success. Great Coaching leads to increased confidence, increased productivity and increased fulfilment.

Like any new endeavour, working with a coach can be challenging and even a little scary. But if you're brave, committed and curious, you'll find your coaching relationship can be a powerful catalyst to becoming the person you most want to be.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR How much is that worth to you? Simply put, coaching puts you in the driving seat for success. Great Coaching leads to increased confidence, increased productivity and increased fulfilment.

Like any new endeavour, working with a coach can be challenging and even a little scary. But if you're brave, committed and curious, you'll find your coaching relationship can be a powerful catalyst to becoming the person you most want to be. Think of coaching as an investment, not an expense. The investment will pay off in clarity, happiness and increased success. The value of coaching resides in the mental tools the participant learns that help

Think of coaching as an investment, not an expense. The investment will pay off in clarity, happiness and increased success. The value of coaching resides in the mental tools the participant learns that help him or her navigate toward success both inside and outside of the business world.

him or her navigate toward success both inside and outside of the business world.

ABOUT THE COMPANY OB1 consulting specialises in personal and business transformation. Our focus is strategic and leadership coaching, people and organisational development, board advisory, digital and business transformation. Find out more at www. ob1.consulting

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Duty of Care: 4 Factors that Help Determine an International Assignment’s Success

By Derek Goldberg, Managing Director, APAC, Aetna International Every organisation’s success is highly dependent on its people, and businesses have a duty of care to ensure that their employees are well looked after while they are abroad.

FEATURE:

DUTY OF CARE: 4 FACTORS THAT HELP DETERMINE AN INTERNATIONAL ASSIGNMENT’S SUCCESS

FEATURE:

DUTY OF CARE: 4 FACTORS THAT HELP DETERMINE AN INTERNATIONAL ASSIGNMENT’S SUCCESS

Expanding business interests overseas can be a challenge for organisations with limited resources. Foreign assignees (expats) are often at the forefront of bringing a company’s values and corporate culture into regional or global offices. Globally mobile employees help ensure that geographically dispersed teams are all working towards the same goals, transfer operational knowledge and management skills, and build trust between locations. Therefore, the success of these employees and achievement of their objectives is of critical importance.

Every organisation’s success is highly dependent on its people, and businesses have a duty of care to ensure that their employees are well looked after while they are abroad.

Keeping your staff healthy, motivated and productive supports them in reaching their potential and contributes to your organisation’s success in a new country.

Access to quality healthcare in emerging markets Convenient access to high quality,

reliable healthcare is one of the most important priorities for organisations with employees travelling or relocating internationally.

In Southeast Asia, many assignees are posted to developing countries where public healthcare may not be of satisfactory quality. In such cases, it is important for firms to consider investing in international private medical insurance to support their key personnel. This type of insurance provides access to an international network of healthcare providers to ensure that their mobile employees can access quality care in the right place and at the right time, and by extension, at the right cost – ultimately leading to savings for the firm in the long run. There is also typically a medical evacuation benefit which covers transportation to the nearest appropriate facility when appropriate care is not available locally.

Virtual healthcare anywhere, anytime At times, organisations may need to send their top talent to isolated destinations or into high-pressure environments without quality

healthcare facilities or qualified personnel. This is not only a concern for those being sent overseas, but for their employers as well. Both parties will want to be sure that treatable conditions do not become life-threatening simply because of a lack of access to quality care.

The good news is that new technology is tackling the issue of accessibility, in particular that of primary care, making healthcare more accessible to those where time, distance and other logistical factors can make primary care appointments difficult. One such technology is our virtual health service, vHealth by Aetna, which allows international assignees to access primary care — including video appointments through the use of digital technology — wherever they are. A secondary benefit is the potential for reduced costs and more efficient monitoring and management of chronic diseases and conditions such as diabetes.

47 Supporting good mental health impacts the bottom line According to the Worldwide Employee Relocation Council, relocation is the third most stressful life event. Analysis

by Aetna International shows that mental health insurance claims between 2014 and 2016 increased by 19% in Southeast Asia. In developed markets like Singapore and Hong Kong, we have seen about a 30% increase in annualised claims for psychological and psychiatric services since 2015.

Two of the biggest challenges of international relocation is accommodation and children’s education. On top of researching what they can expect in their new role and job location, international assignees likely also must contend with finding accommodation, setting up a bank account, exploring schooling options for their children, and many other logistical challenges associated with establishing residency in a new country.

Heightened work demands, language barriers and difficulty assimilating to a new culture contribute to chronic expat stress. Trailing spouses also often struggle to adapt to their new circumstances and may not receive enough support from their busy partners.

As companies have become increasingly aware of the adverse impact of a failed overseas assignment on individuals, their teams, and the business’ bottom line, innovative organisations have begun creating holistic health and well-being solutions

employees with secure, confidential access to clinical counsellors and coaches who can help them address their concerns before they manifest into long-term health problems.

Providing cultural awareness, safety and security to employees Helping employees develop an awareness of the culture in their host country will help smooth their transition into a new way of life, and foreign business and social circles.

Understanding cultural sensitivities and business etiquette will help assignees feel prepared and confident in new situations. In addition, it is critical that they understand the security risks in their host country.

Specialist crisis response services such as Aetna International’s red24, provide 24/7 advice on staying safe overseas.

The ability to adapt to other cultures is critical to the success of international assignments. Many assignments fail due to people not adapting to the culture of their new home country, and the stresses associated with feeling like they don’t fit in. Knowledge of how to navigate the healthcare, financial, education and housing systems in their host country will help individuals to settle in more quickly, enabling them to focus on building the business locally.

that include Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) for mobile employees. Such programmes provide

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Derek is a mobile employee himself and understands the importance of having access to quality healthcare and support, having relocated from Connecticut to Hong Kong in 2008, and to Singapore in 2010, where he is based and continues to lead Aetna’s business expansion in Asia.

ABOUT THE COMPANY As a leader in global health insurance, Aetna International regularly publishes content to help the globally mobile manage the stresses of transitioning to a new country. The Aetna Explore Hub is publicly available and offers resources such as relocation checklists and Destination Guides on adapting to new cultures and environments. Find

FEATURE:

DUTY OF CARE: 4 FACTORS THAT HELP DETERMINE AN INTERNATIONAL ASSIGNMENT’S SUCCESS

FEATURE:

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE CLOUD

What you Need to Know about the Cloud By the Information & Communications Technology (ICT) Committee We sit down with Co-chairperson of the ICT Committee and CEO/Co-Founder (Asia) of Acuutech, Hitan Mehta, to ask all those questions we’ve been meaning to ask but never got around to doing so.

Can you start of by explaining what the ‘Cloud’ is?

The first thing to remember is that the term ‘Cloud’ is just a marketing term. It is a way to describe the provision of IT services based around networked computers. So, instead of accessing data from the hard disc in your laptop, you are accessing data (or services) from something much bigger that could be in another part of the world.

I read that there are different types of offerings or services. What are these?

You can have cloud services ranging from infrastructure (IaaS) to software (SaaS) to business processes (PaaS).

You can have the 'Cloud' wholly owned and run by you, from your data centre (think of this as a collection of powerful computers with very large hard discs).

Alternatively, it could be provisioned by someone else (think Amazon, Microsoft, etc.), consumed services hosted externally (Google, SAP), or a hybrid cloud where a company runs some cloud services and buys in others. You can buy cloud compute (CPU), cloud storage (data), cloud software services

or cloud business process services. Or most likely you would have a combination of the above. Note, when you use Google or Facebook, you are using a free cloud SaaS service or set of services.

... instead of accessing data from the hard disc in your laptop, you are accessing data (or services) from something much bigger that could be in another part of the world.

So why are all the IT companies offering Cloud services?

Good point. They will say that is gives you more flexibility and you can access the data on most devices. Though I am sure that they are motivated by the fact that offering Cloud services substantially reduces piracy and so they can make more money.

But remember, when you use a cloud supplier it is just like using any other supplier, only that you pay per use (when it’s not free). This means it is an operational spend rather than a capital spend, which causes all kinds of fun and games with the finance department come budgeting time. And like any other supplier, the contract should say what happens if the supplier fails - how do you get your data back. Once you have access to the data, you can shift to a new supplier. Of course, it is never that simple.

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Should we be worried if any of these providers have problems or go bust?

I think you have to take the view that they are 'too big to fail', and assume that if there are problems they have a suitable BCP (Business Continuity Plan) in place. For example, Travelex going to pen and paper when their systems were hacked.

If the data is in the cloud, do we need to worry about anti-virus software and the like?

Oh yes. You will be accessing the data via your laptop or mobile device and this needs protection. It is your responsibility to make sure your antivirus software is up to date, along with any device patches or updates. In addition, you should only access

ABOUT HITAN Hitan Mehta is an information technology professional with over 20 years of experience in the Asia Pacific, Europe and America - with both client and vendor sides.

Hitan has a rare breed of business acumen and technology, focused on delivering service and value to his clients globally through the use of technology - be it on-premise, cloud or hybrid. He has worked with companies in their early stages of start-ups, educational institutions and globally spread out multinational companies.

sensitive data using a Wi-Fi signal that is secure, such as your office or home and definitely not free places like Starbucks or the likes. Finally, remember not to open dubious emails, no matter how tempting they may be, and never, ever give your password to that nice person from IT or anyone else.

ABOUT THE ICT COMMITTEE The ICT committee’s mission is to inspire, educate and engage Chamber members and non-members on the transformative capabilities of Information Technology to their business. The goal of the committee is to add value to the Chamber and its members through activities that demonstrate the value of ICT solutions to their business; educate them on future ICT trends that will impact their business; offer member networking opportunities to better enable business across the region; share knowledge and insights, and attract new members to the Chamber. Find out more at britcham. org.sg/committees/ict

FEATURE:

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE CLOUD

FEATURE:

SPORT AT DULWICH COLLEGE (SINGAPORE) AND LINKS TO ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

Sport at Dulwich College (Singapore) and Links to Academic Excellence Regardless of the level of sporting ability, Dulwich College (Singapore) works with students to make them the best that they can be, focusing on developing attitudes and behaviours, not simply training skills and tactics. It is the attention to the individual and the positive development of their intrinsic behaviour values that makes sport at Dulwich College (Singapore) so unique.

“In my judgment, physical fitness is basic to all forms of excellence and to a strong, confident nation.” – Robert Kennedy 1925-1968, 64th US President.

The thoughts of the late Robert Kennedy are very similar to those practiced now at Dulwich College (Singapore). Sports and physical education are part of the DNA of the College, helping students achieve excellence in all areas.

There have been many academic studies in the recent past which have finally disproved the myth that taking part in sport occurs at the expense of attaining well academically. In fact, taking part in competitive sport and leading a healthy lifestyle is fundamental in developing excellence in all areas; an approach which Dulwich College (Singapore) is proud to be driving. An article in the Daily Telegraph last year highlighted that “Children should not stop playing sport in the run

up to exams as it has no impact on results”. Harvard Medical School recently published an article stating that “Regular exercise changes the brain to improve memory and thinking skills”. And John Ratey's book ‘Spark: The revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain’ underlines the direct link between active healthy living and improved cognitive function and positive behavioural change. The place of sport and quality physical education in schools has never been more relevant for young people.

The sports programme at Dulwich College (Singapore) is based on the long-term athletic development of the individual, with specific focus given to every single student throughout their time at the College. Particular focus on the Early Years and Junior School fundamental movement patterns, and developing games for understanding

Early morning training sessions help students to focus in class and instil discipline and positive behaviour patterns which are then transferred into the classroom.

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results, is a strong foundation for each individual. Through the Senior School, students are exposed to a cleverly engineered and well-balanced approach to training and sport for all. High performing students are then nurtured through the Student-Athlete Support Programme (SASP), providing extensive support in the four key pillars of technical and tactical support: individual health and fitness plans, cognitive support and training and lifestyle mentoring to support their academic futures. At Dulwich College (Singapore) sports and academic excellence are dove-tailed to ensure the student achieves in all areas. Early morning training sessions help students to focus in class and instil discipline and positive behaviour patterns which are then transferred into the classroom.

It is the attention to the individual and the positive development of intrinsic behaviour values that makes sport at Dulwich College (Singapore) so unique, popular and to date incredibly successful for the whole community, improving not simply sports results, but behaviour, respect and academic attainment across the board.

The College has created an environment where sports staff assist students to participate at whatever level they aspire to, recreationally, as well as supporting those who endeavour to play sport at an elite level; there are pathways available for all. It is the attention to the individual and the positive development of intrinsic behaviour values that makes sport at Dulwich College (Singapore) so unique, popular and to date incredibly successful for the whole community, improving not simply sports results, but behaviour, respect and academic attainment across the board.

Demonstrating commitment through both ongoing resource investment and providing students access to a notable range of state-of-the-art sporting facilities, it is the personalised approach which is the core of the sports programme.

FEATURE:

SPORT AT DULWICH COLLEGE (SINGAPORE) AND LINKS TO ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

FEATURE:

SPORT AT DULWICH COLLEGE (SINGAPORE) AND LINKS TO ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

The College recognises that competition is key to any sporting programme and there is a vast array of opportunities, both local and global, which ensure students have maximum exposure to fixtures and competitions at all levels.

As part of the Dulwich network, students take part in the Dulwich Games, a celebration of sport for students in the Junior School. Every four years, the Dulwich Olympiad enables Senior School athletes to compete in iconic venues around the world, against all the Dulwich Colleges. Students can take part in the FOBISIA Games as well as other international tournaments and sports tours for all individual sports, with local leagues and competitions a

weekly occurrence within ACSIS (Athletic Conference of Singapore International Schools) and also against local schools.

In only five years, Dulwich College (Singapore) is already seeing the results of its investment, celebrating outstanding achievements in all sports, notably leading the ACSIS Season One leader board, winning 10 championship shields. 76 squads represented the College in the first season of sport, led by a coaching team in excess of 80 personnel. This enabled over 800 students to represent the College in the local ACSIS leagues, and two thirds of the squads finished in the top 3 of their respective leagues. Success came

ABOUT THE COMPANY Dulwich College (Singapore) is an international school with a British independent school ethos welcoming over 50 nationalities. It was the 7th College to join the Dulwich family of schools and is built on 400 years of innovation. The close collaboration among the colleges encourages an international outlook and the result is a community where academic ability is nourished, creativity is valued, diversity is celebrated and inspiration is paramount. Find out more at singapore.dulwich.org

across the board, from participation in Year 3 to high performance in the Upper Senior School; all students have performed consistently well.

Regardless of the level of sporting ability, Dulwich College (Singapore) works with students to make them the best that they can be, focusing on developing attitudes and behaviours, not simply training skills and tactics. It is the attention to the individual and the positive development of their intrinsic behaviour values that makes sport at Dulwich College (Singapore) so unique.

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The Future of Power and Electrification By the Energy & Utilities Committee In November 2019, BritCham’s Energy & Utilities Business Committee held a panel session moderated by Allard Nooy, CEO InfraCo Asia, and tackled key hot topics effecting the future of the power industry.

FEATURE:

THE FUTURE OF POWER AND ELECTRIFICATION

FEATURE:

THE FUTURE OF POWER AND ELECTRIFICATION

Hot topics effecting the Future of the Power industry The future of the power sector is unclear, but one thing is certain, the industry needs to significantly change in order to meet the emerging opportunities and threats and the disruptions that are reshaping the power sector. For example, we are seeing the migration to decentralised power solutions that address energy demand closer to the locations where energy is needed. There has also been a significant upturn in renewable energy with consumers changing attitudes; driving change for more clean and sustainable solutions. And then there is the Climate Change Agenda and the drive to reduce carbon footprints, which become topical in relation to the UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) COP 26, now postponed over to 2021, to be held in the UK. In November 2019, BritCham’s Energy & Utilities Business Committee held a panel session moderated by Allard Nooy, CEO InfraCo Asia, and tackled 4 of the key hot topics effecting the future of the power industry, including:

• The future of storage • Are hydrogen fuel cells the answer?

• The role of integrated battery storage solutions • Interconnectivity of global power supplies – SunCable case study Panellists and speakers included (L-R) James Prothero, Sector Leader, Water, South East Asia, Mott Macdonald; Dr Fraser Thompson, Director and Economic Advisor, SunCable; Mark Sun, Head of Marketing – Asia Pacific Precious Metals & Business Development, Anglo American; Rosa Milano, Sr. Sales Manager, GE Renewable Hybrids – Energy Storage APAC; Mark Leslie, Managing Director, Green Investment Group of Macquarie Capital; Allard Nooy, CEO, InfraCo Asia Development Pte Ltd; Jean-Philippe Buisson, Senior Vice President Asia, EDF International Division; Camilla Fenning, Head of South East Asia Climate & Energy Network, British High Commission; Tim Rockell, Chairman of the Energy & Utilities Business Committee. (picture courtesy of InfraCo Asia) South East Asia is a region with

burgeoning middle classes, while 65 million people live day-to-day without electric grid access. The audience heard that everything now will evolve around ‘smarts’ - distribution, carbon and other greenhouse gas reduction, energy efficiency and the adoption of smart grids and meters. Many options exist in the future of power and keeping the regions options open is key.

Are hydrogen fuel cells the answer?

Mark Sun, highlighted the work Anglo American had carried out to decarbonise its own operations.

Investments have been made in the use of hydrogen as part of the energy mix, including at mine sites in rural South Africa. Transportation of hydrogen is an issue; investment into liquid organic hydrogen carriers has been made. The company is working on efficiency in its mining trucks and the use of fuel cells in underground mines. Platinum is a catalyst in fuel cells, an element sitting in Anglo’s portfolio.

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Hydrogen faces a number of challenges in its production, transport and storage.

Liquid organic hydrogen carriers have advantage over long distances of hundreds of kilometres and release hydrogen at the point of use. Pipelines can be used, although the small hydrogen molecules penetrate the metal casing. Less than 200 km in transportation distance, high pressure trucks are efficient.

Fuel cells are becoming more efficient and are seeing greater use in transportation including shipping, buses and commercial fleets where they circumvent the charging time of battery electric.

The role of integrated battery solutions In the last 10 years, GE has been working to build out propositions in the renewable energy-hybrid battery storage space. Rosa Milano, GE RE Hybrids spoke of the platform GE had developed to design and integrate complex storage solutions, using a lithium ion Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). GE has integrated a

variety of battery modules from several Tier-1 suppliers and inverters (GE and non-GE), all managed with GE proprietary plant controller software.

GE is also working closely with RE companies on solar and wind technology advancements focusing on hybrid controls. BESS advanced software controlling the full database of the operating spectrum of each asset (whether it’s the wind turbine, the solar inverters or a gas turbine integrated with storage) advances from a sub-system level optimisation to a complete hybrid-system level optimisation; unlocking the maximum value for stakeholders.

A growth in energyhungry data centres and existing intensive refining, petrochemicals and semi-conductor manufacturing industries, means having optionality of renewable energy via an interconnector worth studying.

Nowadays, grid-scale battery energy storage systems can last more than a decade and their use as storage is now attractive, particularly in hybrid situations. One interesting application is the thermal hybrid configuration where the BESS can enhance operation of a gas turbine. As GTs need time to ramp up, they usually are kept running at minimum load to provide electricity instantly, burning fossil fuels in the process. The hybridisation of the GT with GE’s BESS brings several advantages, including very fast response times as the BESS provides immediate energy while the gas turbine attains capacity load. Other environmental improvements include reduced air pollution and water consumption with cost improvements as GT operations are optimised. GE is implementing this type of application in several GT+BESS projects globally: the first was completed in 2017 in Southern California.

FEATURE:

THE FUTURE OF POWER AND ELECTRIFICATION

FEATURE:

THE FUTURE OF POWER AND ELECTRIFICATION

Solar and storage projects are becoming more widely understood. So far, in emerging markets most investments have involved public sector finance; the technology is gaining more integrated and efficient systems to support commercially driven projects.

multiply its regional business in the coming decade. These include hydropower in Myanmar and Vietnam and EDF is considering new countries for wind and solar including Vietnam Indonesia, Laos and Myanmar.

EDF is a top 5 global power and utility company with a 30-year history in Asia including nuclear and wind power in China. Jean-Philippe Buisson discussed EDF’s portfolio in South East Asia and India investments and operations including large scale 1GW hydropower dam in Laos and gas-to-power projects in Vietnam. Nuclear power is on the periphery for those of us in this region, however Jean-Philippe emphasised that in a low-carbon world, electricity generation using nuclear power is considered zero carbon; and that gasto-power is a good energy transition strategy.

As renewables and storage ‘go mainstream’ in a region where many grids are highly based on coal generation there are opportunities for technology investments such as flexible solar arrays on rooftops that have not been designed to carry heavy loads. The panel noted that banks have moved to advisory roles in principal investments and creating new finance solutions as the world transitions away from rotating generation. More renewable investments are becoming similar to merchant asset markets with storage seen as mitigating risks. A recent large-scale project in Vietnam demonstrated that solar with battery storage was lower cost than equivalent LNG-to-power.

Wind and solar PV have a strong future in EDF’s India business. ASEAN is currently a small part of EDF’s overall business. However, plans are in place to

Indonesia has a huge opportunity to reduce greenhouse gases. However, a core issue is grid access and bankability of a power purchase

The future of storage

agreement with state-owned PLN as an off-taker. Something discussed at one of our panel events earlier in 2019.

Jean-Philippe urged optimism and saw access via microgrids with a mix of Renewable energy and local gensets.

EDF is pursuing hybrid solutions including wind and battery and seeking ways to work with PLN. A major outage in Jakarta in 2019 pushed thinking towards new solutions for distribution and supporting the grid. Other markets are more receptive. The Philippines is seeing many renewable projects. In markets where there are many isolated grids, maintaining old kit and persevering with inefficient and expensive, diesel generation will not take economic development and carbon reduction very far. New business and financial models are required to bring renewables and storage into the mix and eventually replacing traditional assets.

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Interconnectivity of Global Power Supplies An Australia-to-Singapore High Voltage DC (HVDC) interconnector utilising renewable energy generated in the Northern Territories is a project on the drawing board of Director, Fraser Thompson’s SunCable. The project includes a 3 GW HVDC overhead transmission line system from Tennant Creek to Darwin; a town with one of the highest solar radiances in the world, located approximately 1,000 km south of Darwin on the Stuart Highway. A 2.2 GW HVDC subsea cable system connecting to Singapore’s transmission grid, supported by a Singapore battery.

With an undersea cable of 3,000km in length, this combines to form a $20bn project currently under consideration by the private sector, with strong G2G interest into the options that an interconnector provides.

Southeast Asia is the only region the International Energy Agency forecasts the share of energy from coal to increase in the coming decade. A growth in energy-hungry data centres and existing intensive refining,

petrochemicals and semi-conductor manufacturing industries, means having optionality of renewable energy via an interconnector worth studying.

Fuel cells are becoming more efficient and are seeing greater use in transportation including shipping, buses and commercial fleets where they circumvent the charging time of battery electric.

Influential RE100 companies

expanding into the region have pledged to be 100% renewable and cannot do this by existing generation, or solely by trading renewable energy certificates, would welcome the cable project in solving their carbon abatement gap.

A silent revolution in HVDC with over 250 projects in the works has meant the trade-off between transmission losses and capex and opex costs has reduced.

A lot of modelling has gone into mitigating the losses. The AU-SG connector project could stack up economically to LNG, even with the assumption of no subsidies. For the rest of ASEAN and with talks at the ASEAN Secretariat of a regional power grid, a longer-term play could come in latter phases of the project. Precedence for underwater regional cabling is in place with existing subsea fibre optics.

Archipelago connectivity as compared to isolated island-based grids could open up opportunities for economic development and improved healthcare.

FEATURE:

THE FUTURE OF POWER AND ELECTRIFICATION

FEATURE:

THE FUTURE OF POWER AND ELECTRIFICATION

UK Government’s Prosperity Fund

Feedback session

Camilla Fenning, British High Commission, provided an update on the UK Government’s Prosperity Fund programmes in the region. The Prosperity Fund ASEAN Low Carbon Energy Programme, focused on 6 key markets in ASEAN, is shifting from scoping to delivery phase and provides policy support, capacity building and technical assistance on green finance and energy efficiency. It will run until March 2022.

Following the panel, a table discussion and feedback session covered insights from four topics in discussion with the panellists. Attendees were interested in options for hybrid solutions in shipping, combining biofuels, LNG and hydrogen in various scenarios including town gas and distributed generation and storage systems.

Examples of interventions include support to enable the availability and creation of Green Finance (a topic at a recent workshop held in Thailand), and work in Western Java to support green financing of rooftops solar on public buildings.

A second Prosperity Fund programme focused on renewable energy in Indonesia will commence in 2020.

The UK is well connected into other multilateral agency programmes. Part of the inception phase ensured that there was no duplication and sought opportunities to leverage other studies and collaborate with clean energy philanthropic funds and other stakeholders.

Uses of storage systems in the home and challenges and opportunities of integration with battery storage in personal cars was considered an option with potential advantages of managing peak load.

There were concerns producing hydrogen at scale given current technology. The use of hydrogen in carbon capture systems – converting carbon dioxide to methane when combined with hydrogen was a proposed pathway.

The future of power including storage systems will take many forms depending on scale, geography and centralised/ decentralised use cases.

This article was contributed by Tim Rockell and Allard Nooy on behalf of the Energy & Utilities Committee.

BritCham’s Energy & Utilities Business Committee consists of members based in Singapore working across the region and dedicated to building out the region’s infrastructure. Our programme of activity in 2020 has a strong focus on climate change and decarbonisation in the run up to the COP26 conference to be held in the UK, postponed to 2021. The design, operations, and the financial, legal and technical expertise needed for the power, water and waste treatment buildout in the region are the cornerstone of the committee and forms the expertise that we showcase and connect to our members. For more information visit britcham.org.sg/committees/ energy-and-utilities

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At this early stage of your journey in ASEAN, the Chamber can provide support through our Trade Services team, with market research, business matching, introductions and partner identification services readily available for British companies.

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EXPERT OPINION FROM OUR COMMITTEES

Let's Discuss...

Resilience During COVID-19 Contributed by the Transportation Logistics and Supply Chain Committee

Responding to COVID-19 While all industries are impacted by the continued spread of COVID-19, those companies involved in transportation and logistics have suffered disproportionately as a result of the pandemic.

Government decisions relating to travel restrictions and the increasing need for various communities to go into lockdown are having a significant downturn on the movement of people and goods.

Beyond the obvious economic consequences relating to the movement of people, the continuing crisis is straining the finances of many transportation and logistics companies as well as threatening the global supply chain.

Resilience in the face of such difficulties is challenging but governments should recognise the importance of the transportation industry and provide immediate support during these unchartered waters.

The figures

• The International Air Transport Association warns that COVID-19 could cost global air carriers between $63 billion and $113 billion in revenue in 2020. Airlines may burn through $61 billion of their cash reserves during the second quarter ending 30 June 2020, while posting a quarterly net loss of $39 billion.

• The situation with shipping is far more complex. Approximately 80% of world goods trade by volume is carried by sea, with China and the USA, two of the countries hardest hit

by COVID-19, also being two of the largest importers / exporters of seaborne goods. The full cost to the industry will not be known for some time.

• The COVID-19 outbreak and resulting quarantines have led to a record number of blank sailings, according to the latest figures from Alphaliner.

Inactive fleet size has swelled to 2.04 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) or 8.8% of global capacity. The decline is greater than

the 1.52 million TEUs of cancelled capacity during the 2009 financial crisis, the previous record, 11.7% of the total fleet at the time. SeaIntelligence estimates that box carriers have blanked some 50% of previously scheduled sailings since the virus overwhelmed China endJanuary, and that multiple carriers have enacted force majeure clauses and rates will be 'spot' until the • situation normalises.

"Our analysis points in the direction that it can no longer be ruled out that container shipping might be looking at developments similar to the financial crisis of 2009," SeaIntelligence wrote in its note. "This implies a potential volume loss of 10% equal to 17 Million TEU globally."

Key Issues, directly relating to the Covid-19 Outbreak • • Workforce – Protecting the health and wellbeing of workers.

• Supply Chain – Re-routing, delays, cancellations, disputes.

Sales – Decline in sales leading to

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lower revenues = cash flow issues for companies.

• Operations – Business operations being disrupted (e.g. Circuit-Breaker policy now in implementation) • Travel – Severely restricted and affecting all sectors, esp. T&L sector.

• Regulations – Ever-changing Govt. policies to manoeuvre through Government measures to date Singapore's strong response has been praised internationally and represents a best practice model for governments who wish to ensure the well-being of the public while continuing to facilitate economic security.

BritCham supports all efforts undertaken by the Singapore government to date while continuing to advocate for greater support to be provided by global political and financial institutions while the global community works to solve COVID-19.

The ‘Resilience Budget’ and subsequent ‘Supplementary Resilience Budget’ highlights that the Singapore Government is continuously assessing the support needs of business and individuals. This is a welcome approach given the ever-changing landscape, as COVID-19 continues to add strain on cashflow, particularly for smaller businesses within the supply chain and the self-employed.

What government should continue to provide?

The industry is and will continue to play a vital role in the fight against COVID-19 by facilitating the delivery of essential medical equipment, such as protective clothing and masks and spare parts for medical machinery, as well as time-sensitive and perishable cargo and foodstuffs. Urgent measures do, therefore, need to be taken to prevent the failure of industry participants.

All governments should consider the following: • Ensure robustness and resilience of supply chain to enable critical goods to reach those that need them most.

• Air, sea and road freight play a vital role in the battle against COVID-19 and governments are urged to provide clarity relating to the movement of freight across borders to ensure that vital supply lines remain open, efficient and effective.

• Encourage the banking and financing industries to provide favourable credit arrangements to enable companies to face short-term liquidity challenges. The global economy will recover from COVID-19 and the airlines, logistics, and shipping companies will be key strategic partners in this recovery. To allow such companies to fail at this stage will be detrimental to the global rebound.

LET'S DISCUSS...

LET'S DISCUSS...

• Relax current taxation and charges relating to the use of government owned and operated airports, ports and terminals.

• Implement systems for the safe arrival, crew changes, quarantine and departure / repatriation of aircrews, mariners and cross-border logistics personnel to facilitate the continued and responsible movement of goods.

A major point stressed by the • International Maritime Organisation circular released recently and advocated by the Singapore Shipping Association – ‘the safety* of life at sea and protection of the marine environment must remain paramount’ * To recognise ‘safety of life’ incorporates not just physical strain but also psychological pressure and in turn stress and distraction, potentially leading to a higher risk of operational shortcomings and maritime safety breaches Continue to observe the success of initiatives applied by other countries

• and consider implementing in Singapore. For example, the UK furlough scheme which is proving to release considerable pressure on both company cash flow and job security.

• the website to support companies that are looking at exploring the Singapore and ASEAN markets. More information can be found at britcham.org.sg/trade-servicessupport

How can BritCham help your company?

Content across our other business committees is shared, providing real • time and updated information for members to keep up to date with business landscape

The TLSC Committee and the British Chamber of Commerce stands ready to assist companies in relation to their response to COVID-19 by: Providing members with a forum to discuss best practices and share • ideas relating to the response of COVID-19. While face-to-face meetings are becoming increasingly challenging Advocating and representing members and the wider British • business ecosystem with the Singapore and UK governments The Chamber has soft-launched a new online trade services portal on

The Chamber team remain committed to supporting the connectivity of • companies and can provide introductions to support your business.

Our relationship with other regional British Chambers enables our • members to become connected to markets outside of Singapore.

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TLSC Updates The Transport, Logistics and Supply Chain (TLSC) Committee brings together experts working within the realms of these three sectors. The committee is a platform to deliver multiple means of engagement across industry for the chamber network and wider business community, to be a source of

formidable insight and thought leadership, as well as being a route to regulators and governmental influence.

In 2020, we introduced three new sub forums which feed into the TLSC committee: Land – Automotive; Sea – Maritime; Air – Aerospace. This new approach provides a platform for

deeper discussion and knowledge exchange, with an objective to deliver high level unique opportunities that strategically engage with companies and individuals working within a specific field and build relations with industry associations, key influences and spearhead advocacy in the areas required.

This article was contributed by the Transport, Logistics & Supply Chain Committee.

The purpose of committee is to provide Chamber members and the wider Singapore business community with a forum in the transportation, logistics and supply chain sectors; to meet and develop contacts; to share information and know-how; to create a channel of communication to the Singapore Government; to share and highlight key trends, and to provide relevant insights for businesses to benefit and learn. For more information visit britcham.org.sg/committees/transport-logistics-supply-chain

EXPERT OPINION FROM OUR COMMITTEES

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