(English translation, for reference only)
Honourable Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) & Second Minister for Defence, Mr Ong Ye Kung,
Government officials, Heads of Diplomatic Missions, fellow Parliamentary colleagues,
President of SCCCI Mr Roland Ng,
Board of Business China and Council members of SCCCI,
Leaders and representatives of associations,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Happy Lunar New Year!
1. On behalf of Business China, I would like to add my warmest welcome to our Guest-of-Honour, Board Adviser of Business China, Minister Ong Ye Kung, and all our distinguished guests for gracing today’s Lunar New Year Gathering.
2. Today is the first day of Lunar New Year. I am delighted to be able to join SCCCI in co-organising today’s gathering. It is a great delight to celebrate Chinese New year together with you.
3. Since its establishment in 2007, Business China has been a close partner with SCCCI. Firstly, Business China was founded by SCCCI. Secondly, SCCCI has been actively involved in the operations of Business China. Amongst the current 17 board members of Business China, SCCCI nominated 6 of them, including its President and Vice-presidents. Therefore, it is exceptionally meaningful for Business China to co-organise this year’s Lunar New Year Gathering with SCCCI.
4. In 2017, Business China celebrated its 10th anniversary, and developed three key strategies to better shape our focus moving forward:
a) Anchor Singapore in the flow of global trade and ideas via platforms linking China and the World;
b) Create value for Business China members and the business community;
c) Facilitate the development of China-ready and China-savvy young Singaporeans.
5. Keeping in mind the ever-changing regional and global environment, Business China has always strived to keep up with times by constantly enhancing and refreshing our programmes to benefit Singaporeans.
6. First of all, I would like to report on two of Business China’s flagship programmes. The first programme is the FutureChina Global Forum. Come August, we will, for the first time, co-organise the Forum with Singapore Business Federation. This special edition of FCGF will focus on the regional collaboration amongst ‘Singapore, ASEAN and China’. It will also be complemented by discussions on innovation and Belt and Road initiatives.
7. The second programme is the Future China Advanced Leaders Programme. Launched in 2012, the executive programme has since nurtured 130 C-suites executives. The programme seeks to help executives understand the factors fuelling China’s rapid rise and develop a good grasp of China’s future trends. The registration for FC-ALP 2018 is now open. This year, with the development of China’s ‘Southern Transport Corridor’, executives will also visit China’s Chongqing, Guizhou and Guangxi to gain first-hand knowledge on how the two silk roads will be linked.
8. Besides improving existing flagship programmes, Business China is also introducing two new programmes. Firstly, the ‘Business China Dialogue Series’. Under the Monthly Dialogue Series, and for Business China members only, we invite ministers, senior officials and industry leaders to share their perspectives on current issues and China’s development.
9. Secondly, we are setting up an ‘Internship Programme’ to support 500 Singaporean executives to intern at various industries in China for 3 to 6 months. We believe this is the most effective way to help young executives gain actual working experience in China, raise their standard of spoken and written mandarin, and their ‘China Quotient’. We welcome institutions and companies to partner us in this initiative.
10. As we usher in a brand new year of 2018, we look forward to your continued support and partnership. Thank you for sharing our vision.
11. Last but not least, I would like to thank Minister Ong Ye Kung once again, for celebrating this joyous occasion with us. To all our distinguished guests, we thank you for your presence too. Wishing all of you happiness, prosperity and good health in the Year of the Dog. Thank you.