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Dear Members, Clients and Colleagues, Another year has passed and once again, the DEinternational Team Singapore has had a very successful and productive year organising events and delegations, this time with new additions to the team. From event management to delegations to consultations, DEinternational has supported various industries from Germany including Food & Beverage, Energy Efficiency, Marine & Shipping and many others to gain a foothold in the Southeast Asian market. We are also pleased to see that more local Singaporean firms are looking for opportunities to venture out of Singapore into Europe, and this was proven with the overwhelming response we received for our German Investment Luncheon in November. Furthermore, DEinternational is proud to announce that we have successfully organised several business matchings in 2013. This Business Partner Search assists German companies to look for suitable partners in Singapore to support their business activities here as well as in the region. Learn more about our services in the journal! We are looking forward to see what 2014 will bring, and for a start the SGC will celebrate its 10th year Anniversary. Be sure to look out for the slate of exciting activities coming up in this year. With that, we would like to thank you once again for your support, cooperation and trust in us. We wish you a happy and successful 2014! Best regards, Your DEinternational Team Singapore Singaporean-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce 1
2 AHK-Geschäftsreise GERMAN FOOD & BEVERAGE The collaboration with DEinternational Singapore was superb. We were supported at all times both in the run up to the delegation trip as well as during the visit itself. The organized meetings were very good, our company and our objectives were understood very well, so that the partners for our meetings were successfully chosen. Most of all I would like to thank the Chamber sincerely for the very pleasant support and I recommend the delegation trip to all interested parties. Ilke Karacasulu, Erlenbacher Backwaren GmbH (Nestle) German Food has traditionally been associated mainly with the pork knuckle, Bratwurst, Schnitzel and of course not to forget, beer, in Singapore. Many however are not aware of other popular items produced in Germany such as wine, cookies and cakes. This year, DEinternational decided to bring other food manufacturers to Singapore, focusing in the wine and bakery sector. Eight German food manufacturers, namely Erlenbacher Backwaren, Mühlenbäckerei Clauß, Wikana Keks, Globex Food, Weingut Heitlinger und Burg Ravensburg, Johannes Deppisch, Schloss Johannisberg and Weingut Wittmann participated in the four-day long programme funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV). The programme consisted of a briefing for the participants about the business climate in Singapore as well as market opportunities in the F&B industry in Singapore, followed by individual business matchings for all 8 companies in the course of the next few days. In total DEinternational arranged successfully over 60 business meetings for all participants. On the third day of the delegation, DEinternational organised a Food and Wine tasting where participants were given the opportunity to showcase their products to more than 70 local trade representatives. The tasting event as well as the individual business matchings proved to be very fruitful and positive as they initiated many in-depth discussions amongst the industry players and also sparked keen interest to introduce more German food products to Singapore.v After this first experience with an AHK-delegation, I believe the concept and instrument of individual Business Matchings to be a very successful tool. The team s very dedicated and professional approach convinced me from the start and I enjoyed it throughout the entire process. A real support for German SMEs wishing to expand their export business. At all times I felt that the individual staff members of the SGC were very interested in making the trip successful for all participants. Fred Haferkamp, Globex Food 3
4 The event was very well organised by the team in Singapore. They supported the companies professionally from the start of the preparation of the delegation to the actual conference and meetings. The event has helped to understand more comprehensively the market forces in Singapore in the energy field and allowed me to assess the potential of doing business here. Gregor Weber, Managing Director of renervis-consulting MARINE AND SHIPPING Delegation Together with AHK Malaysia, DEinternational invited 10 German companies from the Marine and Shipping industry to participate in the five days programme we organised together for them, out of which one and a half days took place in Singapore. AHK-Geschäftsreise Energy Efficiency in the Industry For the first time since the launch of the Energy Efficiency Export Initiative by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, DEinternational organised an Energy Efficiency in the Industry delegation from 28th to 30th of October 2013. The three day intensive programme saw seven German companies meeting with local companies and multipliers to share about their technologies and services from Germany, and also gaining knowledge about the landscape in Singapore. A total of 38 individual meetings were organised for the delegates to look for potential business partners in Singapore. Meeting partners included government agencies, associations, production companies, and others. On 29th of October, DEinternational also organised a conference where the delegates were given the opportunity to present their companies to an audience of 120 participants. Apart from the delegates, German and local speakers from RENAC AG, Institute for Energy Efficiency, Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics, National Environment Agency and the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore, gave presentations about a specific topic. The delegates and participants could benefit from the networking sessions during the conference where many contacts were exchanged and fruitful discussions held. The positive response from the local industry players prove that there is much potential in the field of Energy Efficiency in Singapore, especially within the industry. DEinternational looks forward to organising more of such delegations and events in the future to bring together both German and Singaporean expertise in this area, which will continue to be one of the most important topics. v The purpose of the delegation was to allow participants to gain first insights to the industry in Southeast Asia and the business opportunities that lie ahead of them. As such, DEinternational organised a presentation event where experts from the Marine and Shipping industry were invited to share their experiences in doing business in this region. The event allowed the German participants to network with local business partners and obtain some valuable advice. Following this networking session DEinternational also organized site visits with companies like Sembcorp Marine and Keppel Singmarine. These visits were essential in giving real-life demonstration of the operations in Singapore run by local companies. v 5
6 GTaI Investor Conference and Luncheon In November 2013, Germany Trade & Invest (GTaI) and DEinternational invited interested Singaporean companies for an investor s conference and luncheon at Goodwood Park Hotel. German and Singaporean industry experts, including Germany Trade & Invest and Saxony Economic Development Corporation, provided insights into current and future investment opportunities in the German market. Local entrepreneurs who have successfully invested in Germany, particularly in Eastern Germany, were also present to share their own investment success stories. Namely Mr Justin Lee from Xmi Pte Ltd and Mr Casey Owyong from Singapore Airlines shared their insight in Europe s largest market, Germany, which offers excellent investment opportunities for Singaporean companies. Entrepreneurs were able to benefit from unique partnership opportunities with leading German manufacturers, project developers and research institutes. The event was a great success with more than 100 guests attending who also used the luncheon, the Q&A session as well as the networking buffet to interact with the regional business development agency from Saxony and with Singaporean executives whose companies have been successful in Germany. Singaporean interest in the region was also outlined by the media coverage of Channel News Asia, which included the event in their business news. DEinternational is looking forward to support every company interested in investing in the German market and works closely together with German partners such as GTaI. v ABOUT DEinternational SERVICES DEinternational serves to guide you step by step in your market entry to Singapore. Providing a range of services, we ensure among others that you find the right business partner, obtain the relevant facts and figures about the market and that your company set-up runs smoothly in Singapore. Some of the services you could tap on are address research, market analysis, company pools, event management, recruitment as well as mailing services. Each service is catered to a different demand and we are more than happy to guide you through and explain what exactly you need in order to maximise your benefits. With that, we customise our service according to each client and the profile of the company. No two projects are therefore the same. Our core service is the Business Partner Search, in which we offer to look for potential partners for companies that wish to do business in Singapore or even in Germany. We handle the entire search process and ensure that we find partners that are only suitable and reliable. With our service, companies have successfully gone to sign contracts with local companies and have been working on projects also in the region. In 2013, DEinternational conducted amongst numerous individual services six business partner searches in the field of IT & Security, Energy Efficiency, Manufacturing, Radio Communication system and many more during our delegations. Testimonials from our clients have proven time after time that our service goes a long way to providing a stepping stone for companies coming to Singapore. Feel free to contact us anytime to find out more about our individual services. Having worked before with other German chambers and also due to the AHK s good reputation, we decided to engage the SGC to look for a potential partner for us in Singapore this year. We wanted to find a partner with headquarters in Singapore which also has an extensive network in the region. Furthermore, Singapore has a strategic location within Southeast Asia and the level of education is very high. The political and economic situation is also very favourable for German companies like us. The SGC therefore arranged meetings for us and accompanied us for two days. They provided very professional service with a good success rate. It was very easy for us and also efficient to work with the chamber as they took care of the entire process. The quality of the meetings was very high and therefore we were successful in finding a suitable partner. Within half a year we already signed the contract and started working on a project with the partner in Singapore. We are very satisfied with the outcome of the partner search and will definitely recommend it to any company which wants to do business in Singapore and is looking for a reliable partner to work with. - Manuel Witzke, Primion AG We got a very professional support during our stay in Singapore, combined with a real time effective and customer oriented handling of meeting schedules. - Michael Wolf, Reflex Winkelmann GmbH 7
8 2013 has been a fantastic year for Fairs&More. There has been a positive increase in trade participation as well as trade visitors in the various exhibitions we organised in Germany. With the support of Singapore government agencies and close partners, we were able to achieve remarkable success in 2013! The growth in Asian markets has been encouraging; from consumer electronic products, importing and exporting to logistics, packaging of fresh produce business to toy fair exhibition, there has been an increase in local entrepreneurs engaging our services to venture into Germany, excited to showcase their innovative products. 2013 was an exciting year because it was the year of many firsts for us. For the first time, we organised the Singapore Pavilion at the world s largest consumer electronics show in Berlin IFA, which was a great success. We are set for a bigger Singapore Pavilion in 2014! 2014 looks set to be another exciting year for us. With our experience and capabilities in organising and managing Singapore pavilions in international shows, we look forward to more engagements this year. In 2014, we will be providing additional services to our current repertoire, including strategic stand location, travel services, market research, personalised services for standalone participation as well as business matchings for selected industries. Along with our strategic partners of associations, international trade fair organisers and government agencies such as International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore) and the Economic Development Board of Singapore (EDB), we strive to bring in more Singapore companies to exhibit their products at prominent trade shows a professional playground where key industry players meet potential business partners. IFA 2013 Singapore Pavillion For the first time we successfully acquired funding and organised the Singapore pavilion at IFA Berlin. The Singapore pavilion attracted six companies over an area of 80sqm. Participating companies showcased their latest award winning innovations to the European platform garnering over S$600,000 confirmed sales and more than S$3.7 million of sales under negotiation. It was also the first time we introduced Singaporean companies to Innotrans in Berlin. Their success has garnered great interest for other Singaporean companies to participate in 2014. We scored another first with the participation and support from the Singapore Public Utility Board, who provided their expertise by giving talks at the prestigious Wasser Berlin. We also continued with our ongoing event management for Aquarama in Singapore and Interzoo in Nuremberg. We look forward to have you with us as we gallop through the promising year of the horse. Fast and efficient team-very prompt in replying all emails & queries and provided very detailed planning and organising flow to make this a success Ms. Doris Chong Corporate Affairs, Big Box International Pte Ltd Well organised with detailed information and updates Mr. Sam Boey General Manager, Appcessory Pte Ltd Aquarama 2013 Singapore Pavilion Running consecutively for the third time, we successfully managed the Singapore Pavilion at Aquarama in Singapore. Fairs&More was tasked to do the financial planning, marketing of the event, sales acquisition, pre-event briefing, onsite support and end of show report. In total, Fairs&More acquired 16 companies over an area of 360sqm. 9
10 ABOUT FAIRS&MORE Fairs&More is the international trade fairs arm of the German Chamber network. We provide a comprehensive set of services whether in participation or visits to leading trade fairs internationally. Our specialised Fairs&More team is ready to provide support to our customers offering turnkey solutions as well as customised packages to suit different business needs. Asia Fruit Logistica 2013 Seven companies from Singapore participated at Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong. From importer, exporter of fresh produces to packaging, machinery, and logistic companies showcasing their products and specialised services to meet customer s needs. Over 370 exhibitors from 37 countries and more than 6,500 potential buyers from 64 countries were at Asia Fruit Logistica. In addition, Fairs&More was also involved with the acquisition of companies from Singapore to participate events in Analitica Latin America, Mexico Pet Expo, Powder & Bulk Solids India and International Powder and Bulk Solids China. Our strong connection with government agencies, trade fair partners and associations is an invaluable network source to assist your business into the international trade fairs arena successfully. Our services are: 1) Event management 2) Business matching 3) Market research 4) Organise national pavilions 5) Onsite support 6) Pavilion and stand conceptualisation 7) Marketing and sales management 8) Trade fairs representation 9) Government funding scheme application 10) Press conference 11) Product launches 12) Road shows 13) Freight and logistics management 14) Travel and accommodation Responsible, detailed and offer assistance anytime when needed Mr.Ken Siow VP of Sales, McCoy Holdings Pte Ltd Well organised and plan-excellent on site assistance Mr. Albert Wong Director, TravelPac Resources Pte Ltd Well informed representatives assisted in navigating foreign rules, regulations and guidelines Mr. Justin Lee Business Development Director, XMI Pte Ltd Fairs&More is the official representative of Messe Berlin, Messe Nuremberg and Spielwarenmesse. 11
Your DEinternational Team Singapore Katja Münzer Head DEinternational DID : +65-6433-5339 Email : katja.muenzer@deinternational.org.sg Naomin Tan Senior Consultant Trade Promotion DID : +65-6433-5341 Email : naomin.tan@deinternational.org.sg Jens Martin Senior Consultant Trade Promotion DID : +65 6433 5340 Email : jens.martin@deinternational.org.sg Sofhian Suratman Manager Fairs & More DID : +65-6433-5343 Email : sofhian.suratman@sgc.org.sg Singaporean-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce 25 International Business Park German Centre #03-105 Singapore 609916 Tel.: +65 6433 5330 Fax: +65 6433 5359 www.deinternational.de www.deinternational.org.sg DEinternational is the service unit of the Singaporean-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce