On 17th May 2019, the 8th Business China Advanced Leaders Programme (ALP) held its commencement ceremony and dinner in The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore. The event was graced by Senior Minister of State for Education and Trade and Industry Mr Chee Hong Tat, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Dr Koh Poh Koon, Business China Board Directors Mr Roland Ng, Mr Kho Choon Keng, Mr Wu Hsioh Kwang, and Business China CEO Ms Tin Pei Ling.
Speaking at the event, guest-of-honour Mr Chee Hong Tat said that Singapore must maintain our economic success and competitiveness and put in continuous effort to improve as a nation. With a robust and competitive economy, other countries would recognize the value in the mutually beneficial partnership with Singapore.
Elaborating on the importance of sustained economic growth, Mr Chee quoted former Deputy Prime Minister Dr Goh Keng Swee‘s speech in 1976, “Zero growth must result in an intensification of class antagonism, as is happening in Britain today. More money for the workers means lower profits and less income for management and professional people. This not only arouses their resentment, but it reduces the incentive to invest, thereby making matters worse for everybody.” Through his interactions with ALP participants, Mr Chee was heartened by their enthusiasm, dynamism and energy. He encouraged the participants to continue their efforts in contributing to the economy and society of Singapore.
To maintain our economic competitiveness with other countries, Mr Chee highlighted three areas which Singapore should work on: helping local businesses grow in China; strengthen Singapore-China’s people-to-people relations by fostering mutual understanding; continue playing a pivotal bridging role in the ties between ASEAN and China. He added that Business China was also constantly transforming and adapting to changes in the world, to offer a higher support value in developing a cultural and economic bridge linking the world and China.
Ms Tin Pei Ling, CEO of Business China, congratulated the participants on their completion of 2019 Advanced Leaders Programme (ALP), which enabled them to gain valuable insights on innovation and technology developments in the Guangdong-Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area. She said that Business China is a unique platform where widespread networks between Singapore-China-savvy talents in Singapore and China are built. She urged ALP participants to make use of the network built during ALP, continue to foster the useful network among each other, building synergy for future business collaborations in the region.
In his remarks, Professor Robert Kennedy, Dean of Nanyang Business School, said that ALP continues to provide Singapore entrepreneurs and government officials with a high-level platform to understand China, and provided a fresh outlook and perspective of the latest developments in the Chinese market.
At the dinner, Senior Ministers of State Mr Chee Hong Tat and Dr Koh Poh Koon presented graduation certificates to the ALP participants. They urged participants to make use of Business China as a platform to foster networks and strive to discover exciting business opportunities together.
At the end of the commencement dinner, Ms Tin Pei Ling presented letters of appointment to the new executive committee of Business China Advanced Leaders Club – the alumni network of ALP participants. She encouraged the new committee to bolster ALP alumni’s links with their capabilities and extensive network connections, and build a stronger foundation for future ALPs. The executive committee of Business China Advanced Leaders Club consists of 12 members, with duties effective from the year of 2019 to the year of 2021.