Honourable Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Patron of Business China;
Minister Gan Kim Yong, Board Adviser to Business China;
Cabinet ministers;
Honorable Ambassador Wei Wei, China’s ambassador to Singapore;
Mr David Conner, CEO of OCBC Bank,
Government officials;
Our Chinese Friends who have come from afar;
Board Directors of Business China,
Ladies & gentlemen,
Good Evening!
Tonight is a double celebration for Business China. We are here not only for the Inaugural Business China Award Gala Dinner, but also to celebrate Business China’s third anniversary. On behalf of our Board of Directors, I would like to thank the organisations and individuals that have donated generously toward our cause, and our partners for their enthusiasm and cooperation. Your support has helped Business China organise more than sixty spectacular activities to date, establishing a platform to facilitate Chinese language appreciation and application and enhancing our members’ knowledge of China’s current trends and development.
Last year, we launched the C-Quotient Campus Series, a programme targeted at motivating tertiary students to keep pace with the rapid progress of China. Six tertiary institutes are selected as programme partners. These on-campus talks feature speakers experienced in China affairs. Students are able to interact with speakers on topics such as politics and economics, young entrepreneurship, green technology, culture and arts. We believe that with improved China Quotient (or C-Quotient), young Singaporeans will be better equipped to venture and succeed in the Chinese market.
Last month, Hanban of China supported us in a winter trip, during which our youth chapter members underwent nine days of immersion in Beijing. We hope that this cultural immersion will fuel their passion to know China and provide a firsthand experience of the pulse of contemporary China. It also allows them to build network and friendship, paving the way for future cooperation.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Singapore’s diplomatic relations with China last year, we took bold steps to launch two symbolic events: FutureChina Global Forum and the Business China Awards. These two signature events are aimed to fulfill our mission to nurture bilingual and bicultural talents, it also acts as an effort to strengthen ties between the two countries.
In mid-July last year, our FutureChina Global Forum was attended by more than 300 speakers and delegates from around the world. We are very happy to have received commendations for this high level and visionary forum, and to have staged an extraordinary exchange of experiences and wisdom. The Forum will be held again this year, and you are welcome to join us for another round of insightful discourse.
On the other hand, the newly launched Business China Award is first of its kind to honour individuals and organisations for their outstanding contribution to Singapore-China relations. The award recipients are our role models. By honouring them, we hope to encourage more to come forward and build “bridges”––“bridges” that connect China and the rest of the world.
It took us more than one year to put this together––from the initial preparations to tonight’s award ceremony.
Led by board director Mr Alan and board director Mr Lim Chee Onn respectively, the organising committee and judging panel have put in their utmost effort for the awards. The organising committee has given their best in planning the event. The judging panel has also worked hard, having conducted several rounds of evaluation to ensure that the credit goes to the deserving recipients for the three award categories, i.e. Business China Excellence Award, Business China Young Achiever Award and Business China Enterprise Award.
These inaugural recipients are not only leaders in their fields, but pioneers and emissaries that have brought China and Singapore closer. The achievements and contributions of these role models are significant and far-reaching. They have paved the way and are worthy of emulation. Business China would also like express our deepest gratitude to OCBC Bank, the joint presenter for the Award, for its kind support in joining us to honour the recipients.
Finally, on behalf of the Board of Directors of Business China, I would like to thank our patron Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew for taking the time to attend tonight’s occasion and to present the award to the recipients. Also, I would like to congratulate the award recipients. May you scale new heights and bring greater good to the people of Singapore and China.
In this New Year, may I wish you good health, and may all your wishes come true!
Thank you!