Top business groups to sign pact on scheme to ease entry to 'last frontier'
By Andrea Ong, The Straits Times, 4 Apr 2013
YANGON - The top business chambers of Singapore and Myanmar will sign an agreement today to develop a programme for executives from Singapore to learn more about the intricacies of doing business here.
The programme, announced by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) yesterday, will involve a week-long immersion stint in Yangon, where participants will get to build contacts and learn first-hand about a market which has been described as the last investment frontier of Asia.
SBF chairman Tony Chew said in a statement that he is happy about working with the Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry on this scheme, which is co-funded and supported by International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and falls under its International Business Fellowship, IE Singapore's overseas training programme.
The programme to help Singapore businesses venture into Myanmar was made public on the day President Tony Tan Keng Yam met about 200 Singaporeans who have already made the leap.
The programme to help Singapore businesses venture into Myanmar was made public on the day President Tony Tan Keng Yam met about 200 Singaporeans who have already made the leap.
Dr Tan is in the country on a five-day state visit.
Speaking at a dinner reception in Yangon hosted by Singapore's ambassador to Myanmar, Mr Robert Chua, Dr Tan noted that Myanmar remains a challenging environment although its prospects as a "frontier economy" have attracted much excitement and visitors.
Before the guests tucked into Singapore fare like laksa and chicken rice, Dr Tan applauded the Singaporean community in Myanmar for "venturing out of their comfort zone to work and live here" while bringing the Singapore spirit of gotong-royong (Malay for community help) with them.
But Dr Tan also urged the community to stay connected to home.
Speaking at a dinner reception in Yangon hosted by Singapore's ambassador to Myanmar, Mr Robert Chua, Dr Tan noted that Myanmar remains a challenging environment although its prospects as a "frontier economy" have attracted much excitement and visitors.
Before the guests tucked into Singapore fare like laksa and chicken rice, Dr Tan applauded the Singaporean community in Myanmar for "venturing out of their comfort zone to work and live here" while bringing the Singapore spirit of gotong-royong (Malay for community help) with them.
But Dr Tan also urged the community to stay connected to home.
He said: "All of you are integral to Singapore. All of you are important to Singapore. I encourage you to remain connected to home while you're here and to keep up to date with the latest developments in Singapore."
The SBF scheme comes in the wake of a surge of interest by Singapore companies in investing in Myanmar after its government introduced major political and economic reforms from 2011. Last year, SBF held three business missions to Myanmar involving 260 participants from 178 companies.
Yesterday, Mr Chew led a delegation of 32 chief executives from companies interested in venturing into Myanmar who arrived in Yangon on SBF's highest-level mission to the country thus far.
Straits Trading CEO and SBF delegate Sheikh Babu Nooruddin, 49, said the new training scheme by the two countries' business federations is a good way of getting Singaporean executives in touch with the realities of doing business in Myanmar.
Having lived in Myanmar for 24 years, he said he was fortunate as his Myanmarese wife could explain the red tape and complexities of the local market to him.
On his first day in Yangon, Dr Tan also laid a wreath and paid his respects at the Martyrs' Mausoleum, which was built as a tribute to Myanmar's founding fathers, who were assassinated in 1947.
On his first day in Yangon, Dr Tan also laid a wreath and paid his respects at the Martyrs' Mausoleum, which was built as a tribute to Myanmar's founding fathers, who were assassinated in 1947.
Look to new frontier markets, President Tan urges Singaporeans
By Andrea Ong In Yangon, The Straits Times, 5 Apr 2013
PRESIDENT Tony Tan Keng Yam yesterday encouraged Singapore firms to look beyond traditional markets like Europe and America to new frontier markets like Myanmar, as they "may offer more challenges but also more opportunities".
Speaking after he officiated at the opening of International Enterprise Singapore's (IE) overseas centre in Yangon, Dr Tan said he was heartened that the agency was paving the way for Singapore companies in non-traditional markets by opening offices in cities like Istanbul and Johannesburg.
With the addition of the Yangon centre, IE now has 37 global offices.
"This, I think, is recognition of the economic potential in Myanmar and how IE intends to help companies to make contacts here," said Dr Tan, adding that the office could also link up Myanmar companies interested in Singapore.
Dr Tan said IE's expansion into new markets reflects the long way it has come since he set up its predecessor, the Trade and Development Board, 30 years ago. He was then Minister for Trade and Industry.
However, he said the objective he had in mind then - to help Singapore companies "extend beyond our shores in order to create a second wing for the Singapore economy" - remains unchanged today.
"If you want to remain competitive, if you want to grow our companies, they have to expand beyond Singapore," he said, as this will create good jobs for Singaporeans both overseas and in Singapore.
And while the Government has been facilitating good relations between Myanmar and Singapore, Dr Tan said it is ultimately up to the private sector to assess the conditions here and decide whether to invest.
He praised the initiative by the top business chambers of both countries in working with IE to hold the first Singapore-Myanmar Business Forum in Yangon yesterday. It was attended by over 200 members of the Singapore and Myanmar business communities.
National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan was one of the speakers at the forum and he said that Singapore can act as a model for Myanmar in sustainable urban and economic development.
When Singapore industrialised in the 1970s, it also had to equip workers rapidly with skills and create infrastructure, legal and financial frameworks for investors, he said. Singapore also had to create a liveable, unpolluted city environment.
Mr Khaw reminded Singapore businesses entering Myanmar to do so responsibly and with the Myanmar people's long-term benefit in mind while upholding the Singapore brand of honesty, integrity and social responsibility.
"Along the way, let's help the Myanmar people achieve sustained economic development and growth and contribute to a good living environment for the people," he said.
Mr Khaw reminded Singapore businesses entering Myanmar to do so responsibly and with the Myanmar people's long-term benefit in mind while upholding the Singapore brand of honesty, integrity and social responsibility.
"Along the way, let's help the Myanmar people achieve sustained economic development and growth and contribute to a good living environment for the people," he said.
He cited the five partnerships signed yesterday between Singapore and Myanmar companies as examples of meaningful partnerships which will bring in critical infrastructure investments, knowledge transfer and jobs.
These include SingTel distributing satellite phones and broadband networks, Amara Hospitality Capital developing a hotel in Yangon, Ya Kun International being the first foreign coffee chain to enter Myanmar, and lighting company Krislite supplying lighting for the 2014 Asean Summit in Myanmar.
Ya Kun will work with Myanma Food for Thought to draw its staff from local culinary schools, while Amara intends to send its Myanmar staff to Singapore for training, said the firms' chief executives yesterday.
Last night, Dr Tan met Yangon's Chief Minister U Myint Swe and visited the Shwedagon Pagoda.
Last night, Dr Tan met Yangon's Chief Minister U Myint Swe and visited the Shwedagon Pagoda.
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