Orient Issue 83

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SINGAPORE ISSUE 83 | AUG 2021

BUILDING NETWORKS | CONNECTING BUSINESSES | CREATING OPPORTUNITIES

SPECIAL FEATURE: THE FUTURE OF TRADE

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How the UK Government is Championing Free Trade Singapore Continues to Draw British Companies Looking for Regional Hub In Focus Interview: Caroline Baker, Managing Director Southeast Asia, Vistra Singapore and Scotland's Food and Drink

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Scaling Up Investments in Southeast Asia's Sustainable Infrastructure

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ICT and the City - How Digital is Upscaling for Citizens and a Sustainable Future

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Starting Your Own Company

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Featured Courses from As recommended by Shortlisted for University of the Year in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021 Awarded TEF Gold for outstanding Teaching and Learning University of the Year for Student Experience in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021

Next intake September 2021

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President's Message

09

Executive Director's Message

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News

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Welcoming New Members

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Recent Webinars

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Upcoming Webinars & In-Person Events

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Latest from the BritCham Singapore Podcast

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Special Feature: The Future of Trade

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How the UK Government is Championing Free Trade

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BritCham in the Press: Singapore Continues to Draw British Companies Looking for Regional Hub

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In Focus Interview: Caroline Baker, Managing Director, Southeast Asia, Vistra

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Singapore and Scotland's Food & Drink

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Updates from the Trade Services Team

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Great British Sunday Roast Competition

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Committee Content: Scaling Up Investments in Southeast Asia's Sustainable Infrastructure

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Committee Content: ICT and the City - How Digital is Upscaling for Citizens and a Sustainable Future

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Committee Content: Starting Your Own Company

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Member Discounts

Visit our Education & Learning Hub to find out more Editor: Lucy Haydon lucy@britcham.org.sg Advertising and contribution enquiries to be directed to the Editor

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

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

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.

education.britcham.org.sg CONTENTS

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OUR PARTNERS PLATINUM PARTNER

GOLD PARTNERS

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D ET U R

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OUR BOARD

COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS

MANAGEMENT TEAM

PRESIDENT:

BUILT ENVIRONMENT: Alisdair Gillies (Chairperson), Andy Marr (Co-Chair)

Executive Director: David Kelly

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION: Andrew Ashman (Chairperson), Anna Liddell (Co-Chair)

Head of Marketing & Communications and Partnerships; Deputy Executive Director: Lucy Haydon

Richard Warburton, Arcadis

VICE-PRESIDENTS:

Fiona Carney, Microsoft Damian Adams, Watson Farley & Williams

SECRETARY:

Haslam Preeston, Jardine Matheson

TREASURER:

Christina Mason, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

BOARD MEMBERS:

Angel Cheung-Horenfeldt, Barclays James Nesbitt, Standard Chartered Bank Joe Tofield, IBO Luciana Vichino, Barclays

A legacy of learning.

Reinvented for today.

Nick Magnus, Dulwich College (Singapore) Shivkumar Seerapu, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets Plc Simon Bennett, Swire Pacific Offshore

In changing times, our values define us. When young people are empowered to be kind, they can change the world.

Steve Firstbrook, Department for International Trade Lucy Watkins, British Council

January 2022 intake now open.

ENERGY & UTILITIES: Tim Rockell (Chairperson), Allard Nooy (Co-Chair), Mark Florance (Co-Chair) FINANCIAL & FINTECH: Mike Rourke (Co-Chair), Francesca McKee (Co-Chair) HEALTHCARE & LIFE SCIENCES: Thalia Georgiou (Chairperson) ICT: Derek Murray (Chairperson), Penny Murphy (Co-Chair), James Price (Co-Chair) LEADERSHIP, TALENT & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Joe Tofield (Chairperson), Don Rapley (Co-Chair),

Member Relations Administrator: Melissa Ng Head of Events: Helen Starr Events Executive: Safreen Anwardeen Events Executive: Sabeena Nayyar Marketing & Communications and Events Executive: Samantha Nelson Trade Services Advisor: Sitti Mariyah Abu

STARTUP, ENTREPRENEUR & SMALL BUSINESS: Vanessa Errington (Chairperson), Mary Barrett (Co-Chair)

Finance Manager: Radhika Chauhan

SUSTAINABILITY: Lorena Paglia (Chairperson), Mark Florance (Co-Chair)

Office Manager: Anna C Garciso

Contact us today.

TRANSPORT, LOGISTICS & SUPPLY CHAIN: Simon Middlebrough (Chairperson), Nicholas Potter (Co-Chair)

Brighton College (Singapore). One of a Kind.

www.brightoncollege.edu.sg +65 6505 9790

WOMEN IN BUSINESS: Luciana Vichino (Chairperson), Wanying Lim (Co-Chair)

Registration Number: 201904884D Period of Registration : 14 October 2019 to 13 October 2023

Business Services Director: Nicole Wharfe

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS: Suzy Goulding (Chairperson), Andrew Clark (Co-Chair)

Scan to find out more

Brighton College (Singapore) Pte Ltd is registered by the Committee for Private Education (CPE), part of SkillsFuture (SFSG)

SILVER PARTNERS

CHAMBER INFORMATION

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Message from the President

Dear Members, Within the pages of this edition of the Orient you will find a recent message from the Board to our members. As I share in this message, we are all looking forward to a return to overseas travel and some level of normality, and I was pleased to see the announcements that have since followed on Vaccinated Travel Lanes and the resumption of entry approvals for Work Pass holders.

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

In the weeks since my last message, the UK has officially been granted ASEAN Dialogue Partner status, a momentous achievement which continues the message of positivity and encouragement for businesses in our region. This Orient edition focuses on the Future of Trade, with an update for the community from Her Majesty's Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific, insights for businesses looking to expand to Singapore and beyond, and a closer look at the exports delivered to Singapore's restaurants and retailers from Scotland.

I am especially pleased to see the return of in-person events in our calendar, with two Ministerial engagements focusing on Singapore's Green Plan taking place in September. These will be followed up with a dialogue with the Minister for Manpower in October. I look forward to seeing some of you at these engagements.

Best Regards,

SOLVING PROBLEMS TOGETHER FOR A BETTER FUTURE. Dulwich College (Singapore) is an international school, for students aged 2-18, with a British independent school ethos which draws upon 400 years of excellence, innovation, tradition and values. To learn more about the Dulwich Difference, and to book a private tour, please contact us. singapore.dulwich.org

admissions_dcsg@dulwich.org

(65) 6890 1003

Dulwich College (Singapore) CPE Registration Number: 201027137D. Period of Registration: 09 January 2020 to 08 January 2024. School Location: 71 Bukit Batok West Avenue 8, Singapore, 658966.

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

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CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2021

Message from the Executive Director

Thank You For Making Us Proud!

Congratulations to our Class of 2021 students for achieving the school’s highest scores ever and our strongest performance yet on this year’s IB exams.

80

students took the IB Diploma Programme

100% passing rate

Dear Members, Please click on this video image to watch my latest update.

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average IB score

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

Best regards,

21/2/2020 – 20/2/2024

Stamford American International School CPE Registration Number: 200823594D Period of registration: August 10, 2018 to August 9, 2022

MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

STERLING MEMBERS

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D ET U R

P O N S M UN

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STERLING MEMBERS

GET IN TOUCH

GET IN TOUCH

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INFORMATION HUBS

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

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Includes news, events, thought leadership, explainers, digital content and more. covid.britcham.org.sg

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15

NEWS

International school members announce outstanding exam results

The UK finalises Dialogue Partner status with ASEAN

Members Dulwich College (Singapore), Tanglin Trust School and Marlborough College Malaysia are among those announcing exceptional results.

In I/GCSEs, over 80% of Dulwich College (Singapore) students were awarded A*/A grades this year, 2% more than the previous year, with 45 students obtaining A*/A grades or equivalent in all their subjects. The overall pass rate was 99% with 94% of grades awarded A* - B (or equivalent). At Tanglin Trust School, of all grades achieved, 61% were A* or the equivalent numerical grade. 83% of all grades achieved were either A, A* or equivalent, compared to 28.5% in the UK. 100% of all grades achieved were A* to C or equivalent, versus 76.9% in the UK. At Marlborough College Malaysia, 64% of all grades were A*/A and almost a quarter of the 80-strong cohort achieved at least 10 straight A*/A grades.

The UK has agreed on a new partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The second graduating cohort of Year 13 students at Dulwich College were able to sit all of their examinations in person and achieved an average IB score of 39.85 out of 45 points, which far exceeds the global average of 33.02. More than half (54%) of students achieved a score of 40 points or above and two students were awarded a perfect 45-point score.

Even more importantly, 100% were awarded the full diploma, and all of them have secured their first choice of university at top institutions across the UK, Europe, North America, Australia and Singapore.

Over at Tanglin, the A level students more than doubled the average A* results in England, with 42% of all grades achieving the grade. In total, 86% of all grades were in the A* to B range.

Announcing our latest Annual Partner

Visit our new Diversity & Inclusion Information Hub

We are delighted to announce the addition of Globalization Partners - which makes it fast and easy for companies to hire anyone, anywhere, within minutes via its SaaS global Employer of Record (EOR) platform - as our latest annual partner supporting the Chamber’s activities.

Continuing our rollout of Information Hubs to complement major themes at the Chamber, this month we launched our Diversity & Inclusion Information Hub (diversity.britcham.org.sg). The online portal is packed with information on the business case for diversity, organisations for outreach, useful links and plenty of content. Diversity has been a long-running theme of the Chamber since 2014, delivered through our Diversity & Inclusion and Women in Business committees with the support of our Official Partner in this area, Barclays.

The sub-topics our activities cover within diversity have expanded over recent years to include timely discussions around mental health, a subject highlighted in the parallel release of our annual Progress in Equality & Inclusion report.

As part of the agreement, Globalization Partners will become the Official Future of Work Partner for the Chamber, working closely in collaboration to encourage debate, discussion and best practice sharing on all topics relating to the workforce and workplace of the future.

Commenting on the partnership, Charles Ferguson, General Manager, Globalization Partners, Asia Pacific said:

“A wealth of opportunities await companies who embrace innovation and are bold enough to reimagine success and we are humbled to be part of their journey.”

We will be featuring the latest news and reports as they are published in all relevant topics, so if your organisation has something to share for the benefit of your peers, reach out to marcoms@britcham.org.sg.

The partnership, which is the first ASEAN has agreed in 25 years, will lead to closer cooperation between the UK and the region on a range of issues such as trade, investment, climate change, the environment, science and technology, and education. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab joined a virtual ceremony with ASEAN Foreign Ministers where they welcomed the UK as an ASEAN ‘Dialogue Partner’.

Since the UK submitted its application to become a Dialogue Partner in June 2020, the Foreign Secretary has attended two UK-ASEAN Ministerial Meetings and hosted the ASEAN Chair at the G7 Foreign & Development Ministers meeting in May. ASEAN is an influential group of ten member countries in the Indo-Pacific. The other ASEAN Dialogue Partners are Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the United States of America. By becoming a Dialogue Partner the UK will formalise its relations with the group - including through attending annual Foreign and Economic Ministers meetings along with other Ministerial engagements.

Dialogue Partner status puts the UK at the heart of the Indo-Pacific. The UK will work with ASEAN and its members on key shared challenges such as maritime security and transnational crime, boost our economies through trade, and strengthen our cooperation on issues such COVID-19 and climate change.

British High Commissioner to Singapore, Kara Owen, said:

"Being a Dialogue Partner is really important for the UK and ASEAN, and we have much we can accomplish together. So today is momentous.

Our partnership with Singapore and the issues we work on together are integral to how we are strengthening our ties with the region, from trade and investment, to tackling the economic and health challenges of Covid-19, fighting climate change, and protecting Southeast Asia’s rich biodiversity.

I thank Singapore, its Ministers and officials, for their strong support of our engagement with ASEAN, especially as we progressed our Dialogue Partnership application."

UK Board of Trade release Green Trade report

The UK's new Green Trade report outlines the role free trade and free-market can play in accelerating the global transition to a low-carbon economy, challenging green protectionism.

It recommends the UK leverages its trade agenda to speed up the global green transition by: •

The report, the second released by the Board of Trade, shows how free markets are critical to tackling climate change, enabling the free flow of information and proliferation of green technology, challenging the narrative that free trade is a threat to the environment. It also addresses green protectionism, whereby environmental aims are used as a cover to enact damaging protectionist policies.

The Board demonstrates how green trade presents a major economic opportunity for Britain that will drive high-value jobs and sustainable growth into every part of the country.

The report encourages the UK to champion free trade and bring together the trade and climate agendas on the global stage.

•

•

promoting the UK’s green exports and technology overseas using the UK’s independent trade policy to reduce barriers to green trade and tackle environmentally damaging market distortions – such as industrial subsidies attracting foreign investment to build the UK’s green industrial base

Experts predict the UK’s low-carbon economy could grow by 11% per year between 2015 and 2030 – four times faster than the rest of the economy – delivering between £60 billion and £170 billion of export sales in goods and services by 2030.

By 2050, there could be more than 1.2 million full time workers directly employed in England’s low carbon industries.

NEWS

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NEWS

Message from the Board

Singapore's Multi-Ministry Taskforce announce new travel tier system and reduced safe distancing measures for vaccinated residents

Supporting members through Covid

With the majority of the resident population now vaccinated, the Multi-Ministry Taskforce announced this month that countries/regions will be classified in one of four categories, each with differentiated border measures, based on a traveller’s 21-day travel history prior to their entry into Singapore. If the traveller visits or transits through countries/ regions in different categories, the most stringent set of requirements among those countries/ regions will apply. Read more about the tiers in the MTI infographic on the right, or visit http://safetravel.ica.gov. sg.

I’d like to take a moment to recognise our shared experiences over the past 18 months or so. The impacts on our daily lives, our health and our loved ones, our freedom to move around the globe, our businesses, and our livelihoods have been intense and destabilising. As Singapore approaches a landmark in vaccinations and we watch developments closely around the region for further signs of recovery, my fellow Board members and I would like to thank you for your patience, your incredible support of each other, and above all, your continued support of the Chamber.

We have witnessed a strong sense of community throughout this period among our network, as people face similar issues and challenges in their businesses and industries.

We look forward to bringing you together in person when circumstances allow, strengthening these relationships further.

Beyond the tier framework, a new Vaccinated Travel Lane will facilitate fully vaccinated persons to travel into Singapore under reduced border measures. Put simply, the VTL pilot provides for a limited number of non-stop designated flights of vaccinated individuals travelling for any purpose, who will not have to serve a SHN, but will have to undergo extensive testing. Singaporean Citizens and permanent residents will not need to apply for a pass to use a VTL (but are subject to all other conditions), whereas pass holders will need to apply for a Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP) between 7 and 30 days before their intended date of entry into Singapore. The pilot will begin with Brunei and Germany (both Tier 2 countries) from 1 September, at which time applications will open for any necessary passes.

From 21 August, ICA will issue a tamper-proof vaccination sticker to be affixed onto the passport of newly arrived travellers who were fully vaccinated overseas with a WHOEmergency Use Listing (EUL) vaccine, and who can furnish a valid, English-language vaccination certificate. These travellers will be eligible for vaccination-differentiated safe management measures if they produce their passport with the valid tamper-proof sticker affixed. To obtain this sticker, travellers should produce their English-language vaccination certificates to ICA officers at the Singapore immigration checkpoints upon arrival. By September, the IT systems will also be enhanced so that travellers, upon verification of their eligible vaccination status at entry, will also be recognised by the SafeEntry Business app through their TraceTogether Apps/Tokens to be eligible for vaccination-differentiated safe management measures.

As you will have seen, much of our Covid support is visible to all, such as media articles, survey releases, news updates, maintenance of restriction information, and events.

Behind the scenes, conversations regularly occur with representatives from MTI, MOM, Enterprise Singapore and EDB; using the direct feedback from our sentiment surveys we provide concrete data on how our members are coping through the pandemic. Relevant and timely data of this nature has been appreciated and recognised as helping the Government to make informed decisions.

Conversations are held at three different levels – operationally, where we work to ensure access to Government officials in our activities and answers to your questions; senior operations, where we flag critical issues and provide urgent support, and at a Ministerial level where I represent the voice of our community as the Chamber President in numerous dialogues.

I look forward to the upcoming next milestone in Singapore’s recovery and a return to the days when we can once again make plans for the future, visit our families and meet in person.

In the meantime, I encourage members to reach out to the Chamber and Board if you need any support and be assured that we stand ready to help.

Regards, Richard Warburton, on behalf of the Board President, British Chamber of Commerce Singapore

For guidance on local safe distancing measures visit our Covid Information Hub at covid.britcham. org.sg

NEWS

WELCOMING NEW MEMBERS

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CORPORATE MEMBERS

OVERSEAS CORPORATE MEMBERS

SANNAN S4

MLA COLLEGE

Established in 2008, Sannam S4 works with globally-ambitious education institutions, companies, non-profit organisations, trade bodies and government agencies. Operating in 20+ countries, Sannam S4 enables clients to explore, enter, and expand in dynamic markets by providing market research, finance & accounting, tax & compliance, recruitment and HR advisory. In the education sector, Sannam S4 delivers services to drive international student recruitment and enrolment, foster transnational education partnerships, and inform and implement strategy, serving the world's top 20 universities, K12 schools, EdTech companies and government bodies. Visit https://sannams4.com for more information.

MLA College is an established distance-learning provider that delivers degrees validated by the University of Plymouth, supporting the careers and personal development of individuals around the globe. The programmes are delivered via distance learning using the latest developments in technology. This allows you to maximise your educational experience whilst studying in the place of your choosing, at times which are most convenient to you. MLA College’s award-winning Total Learning Package gives you easy access to all your learning and teaching materials, assessments, documents and information that will support your learning. Find out more at www.mla-uk.com.

Representative Member: Michael Bartlett, Global Managing Director, Education

Representative Member: John Chudley, Professor/Rector

CORPORATE SME MEMBERS

MEMBERSHIP OF THE BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SINGAPORE

HEAVENS PORTFOLIO

The Chamber offers membership types to suit companies at all stages of your business growth journey.

For over 16 years, Heavens Portfolio has been at the forefront of the global luxury travel scene. A dedicated one-stop-shop for luxury travel companies looking to reach Asia’s most affluent travellers, Heavens Portfolio provides a range of customisable services, ranging from sales support and marketing to public relations, traditional media and social media engagement. From boutique urban hotels and seductive beachfront resorts to remote experience-driven camps and wellness enclaves, our clients are as varied as the experiences they offer, but what draws them to us is a shared dedication to excellence, and a passion for luxury travel and unforgettable encounters. Visit www.heavensportfolio.com for more information.

For those looking to investigate the market opportunities and retain connections with the British business community in Singapore while based overseas, we offer an Overseas Corporate membership and additional support options from our Trade Services team.

Representative Member: Franscisca Soelaiman, Regional Director of Business Development

We'd love to hear your business story, your goals and your plans for growth, and we're certain we can help to play a part.

Reach out to us via the enquiry form on our website at www.britcham.org.sg/how-can-the-chamber-help-me.

Small businesses benefit from our Corporate SME membership option, as you look to build brand awareness and a network of connections.

Larger companies may opt for a Corporate, Corporate Plus or Sterling membership type depending on the level of engagement and number of employees you intend to embed within the Chamber. Sterling members also receive exclusive benefits and brand awareness not available to other membership types.

JERSEY FINANCE Jersey Finance, which is run as a not-for-profit organisation, was formed in 2001 to represent and promote Jersey as an international financial centre (IFC) of excellence. Thanks to its forward-thinking approach, Jersey’s IFC has 60 years of experience at the forefront of global finance, focusing on wealth management, funds, capital markets and banking, plus the specialist areas of Islamic finance, fintech and sustainable finance. Our global representatives seek to build networks with intermediaries, such as asset managers, bankers, lawyers and fiduciary service providers, to provide information and industry updates on financial services offered in Jersey, as well as providing introductions to our Member firms for intermediaries looking to build networks and/or seek advice on potential transactions. Visit www.jerseyfinance.je for more information.

Representative Member: Maria McDermott, Business Development Consultant, Asia

WELCOMING NEW MEMBERS

RECENT WEBINARS

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Recent Webinars

Discover more webinars at britcham.org.sg/webinars

Recent Webinars

Discover more webinars at britcham.org.sg/webinars

17 June 2021: Future Cities: Food Resilience through Climate Change

1 July 2021: A UK Outlook : Essential Tax Planning for UK Inheritance Tax and Domicile

In this session, our Sustainability, Built Environment & Transport, Logistics and Supply Chain Committees hosted a discussion on how COVID-19 threatens global food security and supply chain.

Hear from Martin Rimmer, Head of Tax for Select Investors as he shares a refresher on how inheritance tax works and how your exposure can be minimised.

22 June 2021: 5th Annual Celebrating Diversity Photography Competition: The Winners' Virtual Presentation Her Excellency Kara Owen, British High Commissioner, unveils the winning entries of our annual community diversity outreach competition.

24 June 2021: Scaling Up Investments in Southeast Asia's Sustainable Infrastructure In this session, our Energy & Utilities committee, supported by our Sustainability committee, host an excellent panel of speakers at the leading edge in the transition to sustainable infrastructure. Summary also available as a podcast.

Official D&I Partner:

Prize Partner:

7 July 2021: Healthcare & HealthTech Trade Webinar

Series Partner:

Supporting Partners

Designed for the UK market, this webinar is part of a series led by our Trade Services team. Many companies have launched innovative and game-changing health products to meet today's megatrends, and Singapore and ASEAN are no exception.

8 July 2021: Virtual Quiz & Music Evening

Entertainment Partner:

Our partners at Song Division hosted a lively virtual rock and roll game show to entertain our members and guests.

29 June 2021: Updates on the Singapore Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA)

13 July 2021: Green Bonds, Carbon Offsetting & the Challenges with Data & Transparency

Learn how to benefit from the enhanced PDPA in terms of the broadened permitted use of personal data. Be aware of the pitfalls and new requirements such as the data breach notification obligation.

From our Financial & FinTech and Sustainability committees, hear the latest developments from industry experts on the ESG drive towards Net Zero & COP26.

RECENT WEBINARS

UPCOMING WEBINARS

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Upcoming Webinars

Upcoming in-person Events

Bookmark our Upcoming Events page at www.britcham.org.sg/ events to register for the latest live webinars.

We are delighted for the return of in-person events, with safe distancing measures in place. Visit our Upcoming Events page at www.britcham.org.sg/events for details.

DATE

NAME

TIME

09 Sep 2021

Stress Busting Tips to Boost Mental Resilience

4:30 PM 5:30 PM

14 Sep 2021

Planning For a Smooth and Tax Efficient Move to the UK

4:00 PM 5:00 PM

21 Sep 2021

Team Building : Arctic Survival Expedition

5:00 PM 6:30 PM

23 Sep 2021

Battery Storage for Asia

4:00 PM 5:30 PM

28 Sep 2021

The Future of Green Data Centres

4:00 PM 5:30 PM

04 Oct 2021

22nd Annual Business Awards Ceremony

6:00 PM 8:00 PM

THEME

EVENT PARTNERS

DATE

NAME

TIME

VENUE

8 Sep 2021

Leaders in Business Lunch ft. Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment

11:30 AM 1:30 PM

ShangriLa Hotel

22 Sep 2021

The Singapore Green 8:30 AM Plan 2030: A Dialogue with MPs Louis Ng & Poh 10:30 AM Li San

THEME

EVENT PARTNERS

Conrad Centennial Hotel

UPCOMING IN-PERSON EVENTS

LATEST FROM THE BRITCHAM SINGAPORE PODCAST

Latest from the BritCham Singapore Podcast

25

SPECIAL FEATURE

The Future of Trade A closer look at trade from different perspectives, including UK Government priorities for our region, supporting new market entrants, and regional expansion.

SPECIAL FEATURE: THE FUTURE OF TRADE HOW THE UK GOVERNMENT IS CHAMPIONING FREE TRADE

How the UK Government is Championing Free Trade

All of us at the High Commission are conscious of what a difficult time it has been for the British community in Singapore over the last 18 months. And we are impressed by the enormous resilience you have shown.

I know that most of you will have planned for family reunions and holidays first over Christmas, and then again during the summer.

Many of you will have had to revise your plans yet again, and we don’t know at this point when travel restrictions will finally be lifted.

Both the High Commissioner and I continue to engage with the Singapore Government to explore options for the return of safe travel.

The recent easing of some restrictions here is giving me more optimism than I have had for some time that we will return to something that feels more normal but it is still a difficult situation.

While hurdles remain, my job as Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific is to ensure that the UK Government continues to open doors to opportunity for UK businesses in this exciting, fast-growing and competitive region.

We continue to see UK business partnerships in this part of the world go from strength to strength. Last year alone, UK trade with Asia Pacific reached £92.9 billion, and we are not content to stop there.

From trade agreements, such as the recent UK-Singapore FTA, to targeted support for individual companies alongside partners such as the British Chamber of Commerce, the UK Government is working hard across the region to support UK business where our support can make most difference.

Our geostrategic tilt The Indo-Pacific region is the world’s growth engine: home to half the world’s people; 40% of global GDP; some of the fastest-growing economies; at the forefront of new global trade arrangements; leading and adopting digital and technological innovation and standards; investing strongly in renewables and green tech; and vital to our goals for investment and resilient supply chains. It already accounts for 17.5% of UK global trade and 10% of inward Foreign Direct Investment, and we are working to build this further, including through new trade agreements, dialogues and deeper partnerships in science, technology and data.

We know the pandemic has depressed trade flows around the world, but the UK’s two-way trade with South East Asia increased by 50% between 2009 and 2019 to over £40 billion, which represents a strong foundation for future growth. And while there is still a lot more to do, we are excited to now be a Dialogue Partner of ASEAN, and will use this to advance our economic cooperation at a regional as well as bilateral level.

Our progress doesn’t stop there. In June, the UK formally launched accession negotiations with Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) nations, pivoting Britain towards some of the world’s biggest economies of the present and future.

As one of the largest free trade areas in the world, it’s worth £9 trillion in GDP in 2019. By 2030, our exports to this region are forecast to be at £37 billion and growing.

Membership will also give us a new and powerful means of en-

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SPECIAL FEATURE: THE FUTURE OF TRADE SINGAPORE CONTINUES TO DRAW BRITISH COMPANIES LOOKING FOR A REGIONAL HUB

BritCham in the Press Singapore continues to draw British companies looking for a regional hub

By Mindy Tan, The Business Times Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reprinted with permission

According to David Kelly, Executive Director at the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore (BritCham), the Chamber's Trade Services team, which supports small and medium-sized British companies looking to export products and services to Singapore, has helped around 90 companies since the UK-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (UKSFTA) was signed in December 2020.

"Singapore is a country of 1's and 2's - the most competitive economy, number one in the Asia-Pacific for talent competitiveness, number one in the Asia-Pacific for digital competitiveness and the second most connected country in the world - it is attractive for companies to base their regional hubs here, create jobs and utilise Singapore's connectivity with the rest of the ASEAN region," says Mr Kelly.

Indeed, a poll conducted by the Chamber earlier this year showed that members continue to be interested in the ASEAN region, even despite resurgent waves of Covid-19 . The BritCham, which is 3,500 members strong from 320 member organisations, among other things offers a suite of services to British businesses considering expansion into Singapore.

This covers the entire life cycle from early-stage interest to welcoming new entrants in-market.

"It is common for our conversations with interested exporters to span beyond Singapore into South-east Asia, where our network of Britain in Southeast Asia (BiSEA) Chambers is ready to support exporting businesses," notes Mr Kelly,

adding that Singapore continues to be perceived as the primary entry point for the region and a gateway to Asia. "It's not only about exports - Singapore plays an important role as a regional hub, and we help to connect businesses via the Britain in Southeast Asia (BiSEA) network.

Programmes such as Singapore's SEA Manufacturing Alliance, launched by the Ministry for Trade and Industry - the agreement between EDB, Enterprise Singapore and private sector partners to promote a network of industrial parks to manufacturers who are interested to invest in both Singapore and the region, and we hope to help support programmes such as this," he notes.

A strategic base Notably, the wider swath of European companies are also actively looking to expand in the region. Among the European corporates keen to tap Singapore for expansion opportunities, 77 per cent said they expect to leverage the city-state as a regional headquarters for their sales and marketing and corporate functions as they look to expand across ASEAN according to a survey commissioned by Standard Chartered.

This is unsurprising given that within ASEAN, Singapore tops the exports destination list, receiving over a third of European exported goods (US$41.8 billion in 2020), noted Standard Chartered in its report, Borderless Business: Europe-ASEAN corridor.

Singapore was also notably the first

ASEAN nation to have an FTA with the European Union (EU) when the EUSFTA was signed in 2018. Since being enforced in November 2019, goods exported from Singapore to the EU jumped 12 per cent in the first half of 2020, despite Covid-19 disruptions.

Indeed, almost nine in 10 European companies (88 per cent) focusing on ASEAN said they expect business growth in the region over the next 12 months. These companies view Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand as markets that will present the most expansion opportunities in the region. For British companies specifically, the recent raft of agreements signed between the two countries has been a boon.

On June 30, the two countries announced they have agreed on a partnership for financial services which will allow for greater cooperation such as in enhanced information sharing and regulatory deference.

"Singapore is a country of 1's and 2's the most competitive economy, number one in the Asia-Pacific for talent competitiveness, number one in the Asia-Pacific for digital competitiveness and the second most connected country in the world."

David Kelly, BritCham Executive Director

Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who is also chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, signed a memorandum of understanding with Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak. An additional memorandum of understanding on cybersecurity was also signed, providing a formal basis for cooperation between the UK and Singapore on the finance sector's cybersecurity, in order to improve the resilience of both nation's financial systems. This is in addition to the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement (UKSDEA) - which will be the first such agreement between an Asian and a European country - which the two countries launched negotiations on on June 28.

Indeed, the UK has been actively working to establish formal bilateral trade relations since leaving the eurozone.

The UKSFTA for instance, which kicked into effect from January this year, was designed to allow the UK to enjoy the same benefits it did under the EUSFTA. It is expected to be an additional platform for driving British exports into Singapore and allowing British companies to leverage the city's growing regional connectivity to solidify their presence in ASEAN. Notably, some sectors that are receiving more attention than most include technology and Internet-enabled businesses, financial services, and pharmaceutical and medical, points out Charles Ferguson, General Manager, Asia-Pacific at Globalization Partners.

"Singapore is the UK's largest trade and

investment partner in South-east Asia. I think it rightfully deserves its hub status in the region for UK businesses. Given Singapore's strategic geographical location and vital role as a financial and trading hub, the city-state gives the UK access to immense opportunities in this fast-growing region," he says. "We see this truth in our engagements with UK companies who are tapping our global expansion platform and employment solutions to get the best talent on board as they increase commercial ventures in territories like Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. We see brisk expansion activities in sectors like technology and Internet-enabled businesses, financial services, and pharmaceutical and medical, among others," he said.

There has also been a notable uptick in FinTech activity, says Mike Rourke, head of digital onboarding, digital channels and data analytics, commercial, corporate and institutional banking at Standard Chartered, and Chair of the BritCham Financial & FinTech Committee.

"The UK and Singapore are incubators for some of the leading and fastest-growing FinTechs globally. Members are seeing not only an increase in innovative FinTechs but also are driving up their active partnerships and collaboration with them to support their business strategy," he says.

One example of this is Tech Nation, a growth platform for tech companies focused on accelerating the growth of digital businesses in the UK. Max Pourrat, head of Asia-Pacific at Tech Nation, says:

"South-east Asia's digital economy hit US$100 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow to US$300 billion by 2025 - and Singapore is at the heart of it. With a rapidly evolving tech ecosystem, Singapore is an attractive hub for UK scale-ups to access the huge opportunity in South-east Asia and the wider region, which is why Tech Nation has also recently set up our Asia-Pacific headquarters here."

Tech Nation has already led the first cohort of International Growth Programmes in Singapore, alongside Australia, Japan and South Korea, with 30 UK scale-ups joining the programme. Due to high demand, an additional 45 companies are also receiving support on their goto-market strategies and international fundraising tactics to ensure their international readiness.

This article first appeared on The Business Times Global Enterprise. Global Enterprise is a collaboration between The Business Times and Standard Chartered. The series of articles aims to inform and update Singapore businesses keen to expand overseas, and vice versa. The topics covered include but are not limited to investment and business conditions in various relevant markets, issues like global taxes, labour talent and property news. For more Global Enterprise articles go to bt.sg/global.

SPECIAL FEATURE: THE FUTURE OF TRADE SINGAPORE CONTINUES TO DRAW BRITISH COMPANIES LOOKING FOR A REGIONAL HUB

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SPECIAL FEATURE: THE FUTURE OF TRADE IN FOCUS INTERVIEW

Vistra provides a full complement of corporate services for businesses in the region. Let’s start with some advice for British businesses considering entering the market. What three pieces of advice would you offer as they start their journey?

Every market is unique, particularly Southeast Asia, from the ease of doing business in Singapore to higher difficulty in Indonesia, and varying levels in between, such as Malaysia. So our advice would be firstly - do your due diligence. If you’re considering expanding internationally for the first time, or if you already have a presence abroad and are considering operating in a new country, it’s critical to understand that virtually every expansion is unique.

Many factors will dictate your compliance obligations, risks, and budget.

These include home- and host-country laws, the nature of your activities, and your goals and risk tolerances.

In Focus Caroline Baker, Managing Director, Southeast Asia, Vistra

For our Special Feature on the Future of Trade our Editor reached out to Annual Partners Vistra, who support new market entrants in various jurisdictions including Singapore and Southeast Asia.

In this interview with Managing Director for the region Caroline Baker, we share takeaways for companies considering entering the market, which sectors are showing signs of growth in 2021, and whether the proposed minimum corporate tax rate will have any direct impacts to businesses here on the ground.

Secondly, set realistic timelines. In planning, identify the target country (based on market demand, ease of operations in-country, and/or other factors), an appropriate local entity type that will minimize costs and risks, the staff required for the first few years, operational costs (including but not limited to rent and taxes), and a reasonable estimate for revenue and return. Establishing a legal entity overseas generally takes between two weeks and six months, depending on the country, the type of legal entity selected, and other factors such as requirements to have a physical office space or a local bank account. The more requirements, the longer the setup time.

With an entity in place, your company will be legally compliant, meaning you’ll be prepared to accept business, employ staff, and pay taxes. There is an option to consider an Employer of Record to hire staff if you do not have a local entity in place. In addition, you’ll also need to factor in time to integrate your corporate operations with HQ, and consider how the financial management accounts, revenue model, and corporate tax position of the new host-country operation will fit into the home country’s financial and fiscal arrangements.

Lastly, when in doubt, consult an expert and don’t assume anything.

Keep in mind that you’ll almost certainly have to hire experts, from outside law firms to local payroll providers. And those experts and providers should be thoroughly vetted to ensure you’re receiving timely, authoritative advice and locally compliant services.

There’s no way around it: You’ll have to spend a lot of time and effort if you choose one of these routes and still want to remain compliant in your target countries.

Singapore has been an attractive regional hub for international businesses, with a corporate income tax rate at 17% and is ranked 2nd globally by the World Bank as one of the easiest places to do business. On the other hand, it’s also one of the most expensive cities for expatriates according to Mercer’s 2020 Cost of Living Survey. Therefore, as you start your expansion journey, especially considering the current pandemic situation, it is imperative to plan ahead and work with the right partners.

Focusing on Singapore, which sectors and industries are showing signs of growth and increasing interest for new market entrants this year, particularly considering the developments in trade agreements?

Under the UKSFTA signed in December 2020, companies will be able to enjoy the same EUSFTA benefits when trading between the UK and Singapore as previously. The benefits include tariff elimination for goods trade, increased access to services and government procurement markets, and a reduction of non-tariff barriers. The UK has also recently been confirmed as a Dialogue Partner for ASEAN, further cementing its status in the region.

According to the ACRA formation of business entities by sector for the first half of this year (see figure 1), the top 5 sector types, not specifically for UK businesses, are: • • • • •

Administrative & Support Service Activities Retail trade Wholesale trade Financial & Insurance Activities Information & Communications

This mirrors the interest we are seeing in terms of new market entrants, plus an increase in interest from the asset management sector.

For businesses looking to expand, with the recent restrictions, what is your advice for companies looking to use Singapore as a business hub for Southeast Asia?

Our main piece of advice would be to work with the right partner on the ground. It is likely that lockdowns and travel restrictions continue to exist for some time as countries grapple with the COVID-19 situation, making it challenging for any business travel (e.g. to conduct due diligence and market research) as well as for company directors and boards to fulfill their fiduciary duties.

Remote work arrangement has become the new normal for many international companies. Employing remote workers has advantages, from reducing office-lease costs to expanding talent pools, yet it also comes with some risks, especially if you employ and pay workers across borders. Salary payment in different jurisdictions can trigger compliance obligations related to tax, social security, work permits, insurance, data transfers and more.

Companies can consider working with the right partner on the ground to outsource the administrative functions of their business such as incorporation, business bank account opening and immigration requirements, so they could focus on their core business activities without the stress of navigating compliance when expanding their business internationally.

What should businesses know about the proposed minimum corporate tax rate?

Finance Ministers of 20 of the world’s largest economies have recently agreed to set an effective global minimum tax of 15% on multinationals with more than $890 million in revenue, expect- ed to take effect in 2023. While broad alignment on a comprehensive, standardised international tax architecture has remained elusive, agreement on the core principles may now be within reach.

SPECIAL FEATURE: THE FUTURE OF TRADE IN FOCUS INTERVIEW

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IN FOCUS INTERVIEW

Singapore and Scotland’s Food and Drink Figure 1 Source: www.acra.gov.sg/training-and-resources/facts-and-figures/business-registry-statistics

Purpose is clear - Major economies want to discourage multinationals from shifting profits - and tax revenues - to low-tax countries regardless of where their sales are made. For example, this means that the U.S. will get less in taxes from Google and Apple but will start getting taxes from the money Samsung and Volkswagen make from sales to Americans. Will there be an impact to MNCs here in Singapore? This depends on the final agreed revenue limit, and it isn’t clear now, but certain sectors or entities may be excluded from the minimum tax. Most companies benefiting from existing tax incentives in Singapore are likely to fall under the revenue threshold and therefore won’t be affected by the deal.

a standardised tax architecture, it’s likely that we have a long way to go before businesses are affected by any new regulations. For now, multinational organisations should be looking at their current tax positions as well as what services they are providing and where. This will put them in a good position to review the impact of, and effectively adapt to, any new proposed global tax changes if and when they are implemented. The G20 will convene again in October to finalise an accord.

Further reading: • www.vistra.com/insights/proposed-minimum-corporate- taxrate-what-businesses-need- know

Although the recent IF agreement is certainly a marker of progress towards

How does your partnership with the Chamber help to bolster trade between Singapore and the UK? Our ongoing partnership with the British Chamber makes it easier, and quicker, for companies looking to expand into Singapore. Vistra has a global presence in 46 jurisdictions including the UK and Singapore, and we’re able to provide expert advisory and administrative support for companies looking to expand internationally.

Our on the ground presence helps companies to navigate the compliance nuances so that they can focus on their core business, and we also help companies to employ faster through Employer of Record services. Together with the Chamber’s network, we function as a one-stop ecosystem for businesses.

By Tony Gunnis Food and Drink Specialist, South East Asia Scottish Development International Scotland is a land of abundant and premium quality food and drink and its produce can be found in all major global markets, including Singapore.

ABOUT THE COMPANY With a laser focus on minimising risk and enhancing efficiencies, Vistra provides expert advisory and administrative support to Fund, Corporate, Capital Market and Private Wealth clients; helping capital flow, protecting investors and safeguarding assets across multiple industries. Vistra is present in 46 jurisdictions and employs over 4,700 professionals. Find out more at www.vistra.com.

SPECIAL FEATURE: THE FUTURE OF TRADE SINGAPORE AND SCOTLAND'S FOOD AND DRINK

SPECIAL FEATURE: THE FUTURE OF TRADE

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SINGAPORE AND SCOTLAND'S FOOD AND DRINK

Updates from the Trade Services Team

Click on the image to the right to watch a video from the Scottish Distillers Assocation

Although Singapore is a small market relative to those surrounding it in South East Asia, it remains an important strategic export destination for Scotland’s food and drink producers.

Singapore is Scotland’s third largest export market for Scotch whisky in value terms after the US and France.

In 2020 the volume equivalent of around 30 million bottles was exported directly to Singapore, noting that most of that product is re-exported to other markets with Singapore acting as a regional distribution hub for the larger suppliers.

Apart from Scotch whisky, Singapore is a market that Scottish exporters from all food and drink sectors target as an initial development market in the South East Asia region. The total value of food and drink exports to Singapore from Scotland in 2020 was close to £10 million net of the re-exports of Scotch whisky. Those exports are derived from the following sectors: whisky, fish and seafood, premium grocery including bakery, red meat, dairy, small batch spirits and craft beer.

Next to whisky, fish and seafood is the most important sector for Scottish exports. Scottish fishermen and producers work along 12,000 kilometres of pristine coastline to land over 65 species of the world’s best seafood. Scotland’s west coast is renowned for some of the highest

quality, delicious seafood in the world.

The crystal-clear waters are home to many species, including mussels, crab, langoustine, and haddock to name a few. Scottish fishermen are proud to invest in sustainable and responsible fishing practices to ensure the sea continues to provide a living for future generations. In addition to the marine fisheries, Scotland is a global leader in sustainable aquaculture around Atlantic salmon and trout. Scotland’s salmon was the first to be awarded the highly coveted Label Rouge quality endorsement by the French Ministry of Agriculture.

Scotland’s clean and green environment lends itself to the highest quality of dairy and red meat production.

There are some 35 small producers manufacturing globally renowned artisanal cheeses, and Scotch beef, lamb and pork are frequently rated the highest quality by master chefs across Europe and Asia.

With over 100 small batch distilleries and the same number of craft breweries operating across Scotland, product innovation and sustainability are in constant focus and many of the brands are leading the way in both areas on the global stage.

In foodservice channels in Singapore, including award winning restaurants and premium hotels, you can readily find examples of Scotland’s world renowned Scotch beef, chilled salmon or trout and live seafood species such as brown crab, king scallops and razor clams. In supermarkets, Scottish brands of artisanal cheese, smoked salmon, shortbread, water biscuits, jams and honey are on show. Finally, in the licensed on-trade and in addition to the mega brands that belong to global spirits houses, examples of some of Scotland’s finest small batch distillers and craft brewers are served in many of Singapore’s most iconic bars and brewpubs.

Although Singapore is a small market relative to those surrounding it in South East Asia, it remains an important strategic export destination for Scotland’s food and drink producers.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Tony Gunnis is Scottish Development International’s food and drink trade specialist for South East Asia based in Singapore. Prior to joining SDI, Tony’s career in the private sector covered senior roles with ANZ and European food and drink companies, focused on export development in the Asia region. Contact Tony on LinkedIn.

ABOUT THE ORGANISATION Scottish Development International is the investment and trade development arm of the Scottish government with over 50 offices globally. The organisation’s office in Singapore acts as a hub for the surrounding markets in South East Asia where the focus is on supporting trade from Scotland across the energy, science and technology and food and drink sectors, as well as working with international companies to support their investment in Scotland. Find out more at www.sdi.co.uk.

Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) announced last month that Singapore GDP had grown by 14.3% in Q2. A welcome sign that many sectors are heading in a positive direction as our collective efforts navigate back into recovery.

This was timely news as the Trade Services team delivered another Trade Webinar to a UK audience, focusing on the FMCG sector under the umbrella of the UK Government ‘Levelling Up’ initiative. This initiative aims to enable localised UK economic growth through development in infrastructure, in this case starting from the ground up by showcasing opportunities for producers to expand their exporting portfolio and in turn build out their business.

The FMCG Trade Webinar welcomed the expertise of members Euromonitor, Vistra, VF and guest speaker Lazada (RedMart).

Valuable insights on consumer trends provided by Euromonitor unearthed some interesting findings - this can be downloaded for further reading here. Sterling members VF, parent company to some of the most well-known apparel brands including The North Face, Dickies and Timberland, also shared their fascinating story of growth and relocation from Hong Kong to Singapore.

Looking forward, the Trade Services team continue to work strategically in strengthening opportunities and supporting growth for UK companies in Singapore. Having supported 379 UK SME’s in 2020 which generated $47+ million in exports, 2021 is looking no less vibrant. Our Education and Learning Hub, launched in February, along with our Future of Trade Information Hub enables ease of access to key information – and as we hope to enjoy an easing of restrictions, the team look to creative means to connect Singapore and UK businesses such as competitions and taste trials. This is in addition to our business-matching projects where UK companies such as Polyseam, Manilife and Yuzu juice producers Gerald McDonald & Co seek to develop relationships with those in market. We continue our work with partners the British Council to launch the ‘Knowledge is GREAT Careers Talks’, supporting UK Universities showcasing specific courses to Singapore school students who are considering their Higher Education options. Our first session will showcase Biomedical Sciences and Medicine, where we will welcome speakers from UK institutions as well as recent graduates and alumni from UK Universities now working in impactful and diverse industry positions.

Contact the Trade Services team if you would like their support at trade@britcham.org.sg. More resources are available at www. britcham.org.sg/trade-servicessupport

Catch a replay of our recent Trade Webinars:

Maritime

Healthcare & HealthTech

Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)

SPECIAL FEATURE: THE FUTURE OF TRADE UPDATES FROM THE TRADE SERVICES TEAM

GREAT BRITISH SUNDAY ROAST COMPETITION

37

Scaling Up Investments in Southeast Asia's Sustainable Infrastructure Building a sustainable infrastructure — how can it be scaled up to be Building a sustainable infrastructure — how can it be scaled commercially viable?

up to be commercially viable?

Contributed By: • Tim Rockell, Chair, BritCham Energy & Utilities Committee •TheMark Florance, Co-Chair, Energy and Utilities Committee; and Investment with Committee, BritCham EnergyBritCham & Utilities Business Committee partnered the Climate Investor One Fund, Climate Investor Two Fund Committee their panel discussion in our Road to NetPte Ltd •Sustainability Allard Nooy, Co-Chair, BritCham for Energy and latest Utilities Committee; and CEO, InfraCo Asia Development •Zero William Hudson, Head of Southeast Asia, The Carbon Trust, and campaign.

• Tom Moody, Regional Director SE Asia, Climate and Energy of UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office

The Great British Sunday roast has been served up on dinner tables in Singapore this month as part of an AHDB competition.

Consumers and individuals were challenged to try their hand at the famous national dish and sample the flavour, versatility, and quality of beef from Britain. Those who took part were asked to cook a roast dinner, take a photo and upload onto social media.

AHDB teamed up with the British Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, to launch this contest in a bid to showcase the high quality of beef from Britain to this all-important export market.

Four winners were chosen based on their supreme skills in creating eye-catching dishes and they will now receive a prime cut of British beef.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE LUCKY WINNERS Shirley Wardle Brian Kennett Frank Butler Colin Ip

For more information on the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) visit www.ahdb.org.uk

The move to a more sustainable world is gaining momentum.

The to a more gaining momentum.

Two move key elements tosustainable acceleratingworld that is transition are technolTwo key elements accelerating that transitionparticularly are technology and financing.toSustainable infrastructure, ogy andto financing. infrastructure, particularly related energy, isSustainable the backbone of this transition. related to energy, is theinfrastructure backbone of this Ultimately, sustainable willtransition. only be successUltimately, sustainable infrastructure will this onlyat bethe successful if it is commercially viable. To achieve scale ful if it is to commercially To energy achievetransition this at therequires scale required produce an viable. effective required to produce effective energy transition requires projects that can be an scaled up and remain financially atprojects scaled up and remaingreater financially attractive. that Thiscan willbe require a drive towards innovation tractive.

This willthinking, require afinancing drive towards greater innovation around systems models and investment around systems thinking, financing models and investment decisions. decisions.

Collaboration is a key watchword as we advance towards Collaboration is a keyThe watchword as we advance towards COP26 in November.

E&U committee has been building COP26 in November.

E&U and committee been building its connectivity in theThe region broughthas together policy its connectivity the region andprivate brought together policy makers, thoughtinleaders, NGO’s, sector developers makers, thoughtleading leaders, privateconversation sector developers and financiers, toNGO’s, an insightful moderand leading to an insightful conversation moderatedfinanciers, by committee Co-Chairman Mark Florance.

A 16-minute ated by committee Co-Chairman Mark A 16-minute summary of the session is available onFlorance. the BritCham Singasummary of the session available on the BritCham Singapore podcast and the fullissession is available on-demand. pore podcast and the full session is available on-demand.

The session provided insights from the British High ComThe session provided insights from British HighNGO Com-and mission, Singapore government, thethe private sector, mission, Singapore government, the private sector, NGO and finance communities. finance communities.

Governments in Asia have understandably prioritised naGovernments in Asia have understandably tional efforts and budgets to the pandemicprioritised response. naAs the tional efforts and to the pandemic response.

As the region starts to bebudgets more able to think beyond the immediate region response, starts to be to think beyond the immediate health wemore needable to ensure that sustainable infrahealth response, weremain need to ensure sustainable infrastructure does not down the that priority list, and risk destructure does not remain down the priority list, and needed risk delaying development and deployment of mechanisms laying development and and deployment of mechanisms for innovative financing attract private capital toneeded close for innovative financing and gap. attract capital to close the infrastructure financing Theprivate panel sought identhe infrastructure financing gap.resilience The paneland sought to identify what can be done to ensure sustainability tify what can be done to ensure resilience and sustainability when meeting the energy and infrastructure demand that is when meeting energy infrastructure demand that critical to keepthe up with andand drive continued GDP growth in is critical to keep up with continued GDPwas growth in Asia.

It recognised that and this drive type of investment shown Asia.

It recognised that this of investment was shown to have more economic and type job growth response than brown to have more economic and jobso growth brown (carbon intensive) investment, maderesponse economicthan sense. (carbon intensive) investment, made sense.

This region is at a very differentso place toeconomic the West with This region is at ayet very different placeWe to the West with energy capacity to meet demand. examined whether energy could capacity yetinitiatives to meet demand. examined whether ASEAN adapt at scaleWe from the UK and India ASEAN adapt initiatives at scale from UK and India and thecould key priorities the UK government is the driving at COP26 thethe keyregion. priorities the UK government is driving at COP26 and in and in the region.

Top left to bottom right: •

“The quality of entries was fantastic and our judges were very impressed with the selection of dishes that did a great job of showcasing the quality of British beef. We really hope that our four lucky winners will enjoy their prize and continue to cook with our beef more frequently in the future.” AHDB Export Manager, Susan Stewart

• • • • • • • •

Tom Moody, Regional Director SE Asia, Climate and Energy of UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office Tim Rockell, Chair, BritCham Energy & Utilities Committee Mark Florance, Co-Chair, BritCham Energy and Utilities Committee; and Investment Committee, Climate Investor One Fund, Climate Investor Two Fund (Session Moderator) William Hudson, Head of Southeast Asia, The Carbon Trust Ted Low, Chief Operating Officer, Clifford Capital Pte. Ltd Wu Lawrence, Co-Founder, Sunseap Group Nitin Prasad, Chairman, Shell Companies in India Kow Juan Tiang, Deputy Executive Director, Infrastructure Asia Sabeena Nayyar, British Chamber of Commerce

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SCALING UP INVESTMENTS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA'S SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE

The panel identified three key takeaways: The need for greater electrification and smarter energy systems Technological implementation must increase in leaps and bounds. There are needs for smarter and more efficient electrical systems with greater cross-border infrastructure development to shift electrons and molecules.

ASEAN will need to build energy systems with flexibility, including introducing storage solutions, including hydrogen, that adapt supply to meet the demand side response.

In India 80 percent of future emissions are from the mobility and industrial sectors, this includes creating 100 new cities. The challenges in the developing ASEAN region have parallels across its congested mega-cities and latently developing secondary cities and rural regions.

Scalable solutions including hydro, solar and wind energy are needed, but so is energy efficiency. This technology is already available and in the case of lighting and air-conditioning management the use of small and connected IOT devices has been understood for years. The challenge is in deployment.

Energy efficiency does not attract as much finance as renewable energy, although returns can be achieved faster than investments in generation.

New scalable finance and business models are required There are three new C’s to overcome to address the barriers in building-out sustainable infrastructure. 1. Complexity in project documentation means that Project Finance still takes a while to close. 2. Constraints in investment needs, for example upgrading the electricity grid to cope with the intermittency of renewables. 3. Capacity for funding and knowledge is limited which constricts the ability of governments to invest in new and upgrade old infrastructure.

The public sector has a clear role in de-risking, but will not have capacity to fund infrastructure alone. More private sector finance needs to come into the system in Asia. This gap was identified at a previous E&U session with Infrastructure Asia. This organisation is engaging regional governments and fi-

nance houses, including the multilaterals, and debt and equity providers. The Carbon Trust and Asia Development Bank have collaborated on new Energy Transition Mechanism. This will better enable measurement and reporting of the impacts of sustainable infrastructure and financial returns. There is a need to Standardise and Streamline how projects contracts are developed and Support, through the procurement practices of multilaterals and government, the crowd-in of the private sector. Technical, legal, and financial advisory services will be needed, and Singapore has these in abundance.

One innovative concept to accelerate the region’s move to sustainable infrastructure is the Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM) (see Figure 1). The ETM was initially developed by Don Kanak (Chairman, Prudential Insurance Growth Markets, Prudential) and is now being explored by the Asia Development Bank (ADB). The Carbon Trust are working with the ADB to carry out a pre-feasibility study of the ETM in Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, to identify which coal-fired power plants could be prioritised for acquisition and early retirement through this mechanism. Kanak explained that the ETM is important for two reasons. By phasing out coal quicker, renewables can play a much bigger role earlier instead of just being on the margins. Additionally, as a national-level initiative, financed at scale, the scale of the ETM could enable a host country to radically change the pace of energy transition, reduce emissions and provide citizens access to clean, affordable power.

More policy development for sustainable infrastructure build-out We need to recognise that Climate Change is an overarching macro issue, significantly larger than immediate macro issue of tackling the impacts of Covid. We are seeing more policy decisions by government at national, and local level, shifting to greater efforts in renewable energy in Asia, including in Singapore, Japan, and India. For example, India’s NDC could stimulate investment in 400GW of renewable power by 2030. There is a very live debate going on in the country. More cross-border, multilateral policy, and regulatory development such as interconnectivity and carbon market developments are required. It is possible for India to be Net-Zero by 2050 even though the

country will need a tripling of energy capacity. Any new fossil fuel put in the system today will last at least ten years and set back goals for Net-Zero by 2050.

Singapore is a small country but has developed a track record in building infrastructure and can contribute to the buildout of sustainable infrastructure in Asia. It is a knowledge hub with home grown talent matched alongside the capabilities of international companies based here. Policy is being driven along the cross-governmental Green Plan 2030, that includes transportation, the built environment and industry. As a finance hub Singapore is tackling standardisation issues for project financing. Documents have been standardised and are available on a website, even translated into Chinese, Vietnamese and coming next, Bahasa. Events bring together actors, these include the Asia Infrastructure Forum held the same week as this event, and the Singapore International Energy Week, which BritCham E&U is again partnering and running a ThinkTank Roundtable on October 28 2021 .

Green growth has been placed at the top of the UK Government’s agenda with Net-Zero attainment by 2050 in the statute book. The G7 meeting held in Cornwall agreed that 2021 would see the end of international coal finance by the World’s most advanced economies.

The UK believes that carbon capture utilisation and storage technology is needed and is supporting testbed projects in CCS and Hydrogen. Previous BritCham E&U events have focussed on these in more detail including the Net Zero Teesside industrial cluster.

To support the Asian region’s CCUS developments the UK Government has set up a new £70 million development assistance programme – part of the £11.6bn UK International Climate Finance contribution to developing countries. The build-out of carbon market opportunities are supported by both the Singapore and UK governments with Singapore eager to become the region’s carbon services hub. The UK’s High-Level Champion for business (and other non-state actors), Nigel Topping, passionately talks about an S-curve pace of change and the historical evidence that investing early in technological revolutions like this one is essential to reap the exponential growth and avoid being left behind.

The UK is ready to support countries

that act quickly, through vehicles like its COP26 Energy Transition Council.

In summary, there is no silver bullet.

There could be first mover disadvantages. But who will go first, who will be the chicken and who will be the egg?

Solutions will require support of governments, who are challenged by Covid and with too much on their plate, to get a sequence of actors together to work in lockstep and adopt a systems-based approach. Green growth and finance are top of UK government’s agenda.

With boldness, Singapore can set the example for the region and support ASEAN’s sustainable development.

“Ultimately, sustainable infrastructure will only be successful if it is commercially viable. To achieve this at the scale required to produce an effective energy transition requires projects that can be scaled up and remain financially attractive. This will require a drive towards greater innovation around systems thinking, financing models and investment decisions. ”

Figure 1: Illustration of Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM)

Author: Don Kanak, Chairman, Prudential Insurance Growth Markets.

Source: www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/01/how-to-accelerate-the-energy-transition-in-developing-economies/

Ciick on the image below to watch the video replay of the webinar

The authors are from the BritCham Energy & Utilities Committee and the British High Commission Singapore.

Please reach out to them and access their profiles, past and upcoming activities here. Visit the Road to Net Zero Information Hub here.

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ICT AND THE CITY - HOW DIGITAL IS UPSCALING FOR CITIZENS AND A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

ICT and the City

How Digital is Upscaling for Citizens and a Sustainable Future Contributed by the BritCham ICT Committee

In Singapore we are fortunate to experience first-hand the benefits from the most forward-thinking city planning and digital government service delivery, all enabled by Information Communication Technologies (ICT).

Our Lion City is a leader in global indexes covering "Smart" and "AI ready" cities, an indication of the advances that are continually made. We can take pride in commentary from such indexes on Singapore's "outstanding vision" and the upfront approach taken to addressing ethics in the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI), including an evolving AI governance framework. These sit alongside an advanced digital legal framework which enables digital innovation and novel marketplaces for our businesses, all founded on a digital skill-enabled population (where citizens are provided with opportunities to continually advance those skills to meet future demand).

Each day in Singapore we experience how ICT and the City are enabling "Smart" in places for living, working and playing. For example, we suffer little inconvenience using public transport to get around town I've not purchased a ticket to travel around Singapore in years thanks to the integration of ticketing and contactless payments, and I can access government services on the move through a one-stop mobile app to providing things like identity, skills and tax.

The city has been citizen-centric in designing a user-experience for our "moments of life", now called LifeSG, connecting departments behind the scenes without a need for us to navigate them. And these examples are really just the start in how ICT will further contribute to a resilient and sustainable future city, one in which ICT will help us understand more about the impact from natural resources we consume, across energy, food and water.

Singapore's ICT and digitalisation success results from decades of planning and investment. How can other cities in the region learn from this and upscale to be sustainable and smart using ICT? The starting point for cities to operate in a smart way is to rethink how they are organised and to recognise that data and ICT really only exist to serve the city’s needs. It’s not the other way around. A transformation is happening globally, in how the removal of internal barriers between city departments enables valuable information sharing, with focused ICT investment to prioritise city operations and direct limited resources.

This, in turn, provides citizens with one-touch digital access to multiple city services which boost productivity. Targeted investment in new telecommunications infrastructure, including 5G, is also essential – both for citizens and the assets that the city is made of, as novel use cases in autonomous vehicles, drones and largescale automation become reality.

Of course, a “top-down” approach to transforming cities can be perceived as theoretical unless real problems are addressed through “bottom-up” initiatives that demonstrate benefits in tangible ways that help the city advance.

City ICT innovation challenges and pilot projects, working with communities, private sector and academia can yield the best results and Singapore offers many such opportunities. But there’s no simple solution and each city needs to tailor its approach – this might relate to how a city looks at inclusive education, public health, or the impact of weather events and related performance of its infrastructure.

From an ICT perspective, cities must build their own digital literacy. City departments need capabilities in data stewardship and data science – subjects that businesses and academia can work with cities to implement, and citizens themselves can benefit from, particularly in the context of safe and secure use of data and digital services. Using ICT to create inventories of city assets, designed with purpose and open data principles, sets a foundation for implementation, reducing data access costs and promoting open innovation for digitally literate cities to improve citizen’s lives and city economies.

To be sustainable and smart, cities can adopt an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) approach. Originally

developed by UK cities working with academia and the private sector, and now available as ISO 37106, this approach enables cities to deploy a framework of cross-cutting processes which covers everything from city vision to empowering communities through data and the deployment of ICT services. Collectively, the processes target city benefits realisation, including well-being, preservation and improvement of the environment, and city resilience.

Finally, a growing ICT opportunity for cities and businesses operating in them, is the emergence of digital twins for city infrastructure. The UK has led the way in national digital twins through the Centre for Digital Built Britain. Digital twins comprise of computer models connected bi-directionally to physical infrastructure

through multiple data sources and sensors.

The connection between physical and digital enables better understanding of sustainability, performance and simulation for real-time decision making when the cities need it most. The use of digital twins can optimise city services, such as multi-modal transport networks, and integrate city services to enable rapid service restoration following disruption.

As an exciting and vital opportunity, they will enable cities to better plan, mitigate and adapt for major longer-term change to ensure ongoing health and success of our communities and the natural environment we share.

• • • • • •

readiness/global-cities-ai-readinessindex-2019.html www.imda.gov.sg/infocomm-medialandscape/SGDigital/tech-pillars/ Artificial-Intelligence www.clc.gov.sg/research-publications/ publications/urban-systems-studies/ view/technology-and-the-city www.life.gov.sg www.openinnovation.sg/about www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/smartcities/iso-37106-guide/ www.cdbb.cam.ac.uk/what-we-do/ national-digital-twin-programme

Further reading: • www.imd.org/smart-city-observatory/ smart-city-index/ • www.oliverwymanforum.com/city-

ABOUT THE AUTHORS Derek Murray, Digital Advisory Lead, Mott MacDonald; Chair, BritCham ICT Committee

Penny Murphy, Head of Digital Transformation, Arcadis; Co-Chair, BritCham ICT Committee

By partnering with clients and engaging with communities, Arcadis and Mott MacDonald achieve transformative results in creating liveable cities and making a positive impact on quality of life. Find out more about the BritCham ICT Committee here.

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STARTING YOUR OWN COMPANY how will this be financed, and if you need staff to help you with this. It might also be worth contacting an accountant and solicitor to understand taxes and company responsibilities and rules. And it’s certainly worth talking to your local Chamber which has a readily available network for help.

in this crazily busy world of ours, nobody will care about my product or service. Friends will be naturally supportive, prospects may tell you they like the idea, but there is a huge amount of effort needed to get people to buy something that is new.

To be on the safe side, try starting your company while moonlighting so that you can build up enough revenue to support you and any staff and services to get going. It may seem a little mercenary and it will mean a huge amount of work but, as we will mention again later, sales and thus cash don’t suddenly appear.

Inexperience of managing a business—or an unwillingness to delegate—can negatively impact small businesses and coupled with a poorly visualised business plan (which we talked about earlier), can lead to ongoing problems once the firm has started.

And naturally, remember cash is king.

Yes, it really is king. When companies go out of business (and about half do in their first 3 years) it’s nearly always because they have run out of cash. That’s why having a tool in Excel or an accounts application to manage cashflow is very useful. There will always be times when cash is tight and knowing exactly where you stand allows you to take the emotion out of decision making. Also, it will really help if you get a separate bank account and split your personal and company finances into separate groups.

What’s the biggest mistake you see when someone starts their own company?

There are a few but the biggest one for me is not doing enough market research and assuming that business will suddenly start pouring in immediately. In my experience sales are a gradual process. For example, a very long time ago I helped set up a business that made short videos to take the jargon out of IT. I was in IT and my business partner was in filming. We took the view ‘if you build it, they will come’ and had the hubris that we could rival Hollywood with our production. Our mistake, not testing the market by doing a pilot and finding out how and where we would get advertising or other revenue before committing further.

Starting Your Own Company James Price, member of the BritCham Startup, Entrepreneur and Small Business Committee talks to our Business Services Director, Nicole Wharfe So James, what are the considerations for someone wanting to start their own company?

So passion is a good place to start. What other factors are needed? I’m assuming there must be lots.

To start off, you need to make it a reality. Everyone has a good idea. For example, I’ve loved the idea of running a bar.

I’ve gone into some detail how it would work. Could it happen? Possibly. Will it happen? No. I’m not that passionate.

And to have your own company you need to be very passionate as there will be lots and lots of hurdles in the way to make it survive.

Oh yes. Running out of money is a small business’s biggest risk. Owners often know what funds are needed day to day but are unclear as to how much revenue is being generated, and the disconnect can be disastrous. But to get started, it’s best to start off by creating a business plan. This will give you some focus. What are you going to sell, how are you going to sell it, in which markets, at what price, and who is the competition. List down what is unique about the thing or the service you are going to sell. What marketing you need to do,

Now, If I’m trying something new, I always take the view that

Remember to constantly strive to make sure what you’re selling is better than your competitors. It might be by the slimmest of margins (and in a lot of occasions this might be all it is) but remember in sales you get nothing by coming second.

And finally, set goals and milestones and celebrate these when you hit them however small.

Any final thoughts?

James: When you start a company you need to remember that it’s not for everyone. And for the first time it feels like jumping into a void, even though the reality is that void is less that half an inch deep. It will be a rollercoaster ride with massive highs and lows. And it does helps if your family are on side to share some of these experiences or to understand what you are going through.

Don’t forget, if it’s your business it’s really hard work! I’ve always said running a business is a 24/7 commitment.

Are you the sort of person who’ll be thinking about it for 168 hours a week? Can you switch off? Who will you go to decompress? Not everyone will share your passion. But ignore them. When it works there’s no better feeling of accomplishment.

Plan properly and then, just go for it!

Find out more about our Startup, Entrepreneur and Small Business Committee here.

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