Posts Tagged ‘Singapore’

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U.S. Companies Can Grow Their Business in Southeast Asia Thanks to New Agreements with Singapore

December 7, 2018

Margaret Hanson-Muse is the Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs for Singapore and ASEAN.

The Commercial Service team in Singapore has developed several new agreements with Singapore leaders that will help U.S. companies grow their business in the Indo-Pacific, particularly in the region known as ASEAN—the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. With a combined population of 647 million people, a burgeoning middle class, and a young and growing population, the ASEAN region presents tremendous commercial opportunities for U.S. companies.

On September 13, Under Secretary for International Trade Gil Kaplan signed Statements of Intent on behalf of the International Trade Administration (ITA) with the Singapore Business Federation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Singapore Manufacturing Federation to forge closer ties between U.S. and Singaporean companies and to facilitate ASEAN regional outreach in key areas such as energy, smart cities, aerospace, fintech, and standards.

Meeting in Singapore

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Southeast Asia Executive Director John Goyer, Singapore Business Federation President Ho Meng Kit, and Under Secretary for International Trade Gil Kaplan celebrate the signing of an industry statement of intent on September 13 in Singapore.

On November 16, Vice President Pence and Singapore Prime Minister Lee met in Singapore and announced a two-year government-to-government (G2G) commercial collaboration framework led by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry. The G2G framework reinforces commitments made in September by U.S. and Singaporean industry leaders and encourages U.S. and Singaporean companies to explore cooperative opportunities in Southeast Asia and other relevant third-country markets. The framework prioritizes collaboration on infrastructure, energy, standards, smart cities, fintech, e-commerce, and deep technology.

A major goal of the framework is to foster links between U.S. and Singaporean companies, including in rapidly developing fields such as additive manufacturing (also known as 3D printing), blockchain, and driverless cars. The benefits of the framework are expected to extend beyond Singapore to include U.S. business partners and consumers in the broader ASEAN and Indo-Pacific regions, including through U.S. support for the newly established ASEAN Smart Cities Network.

Vice President Pence with Singapore Prime Minister Lee during his November 2018 visit to Singapore for the ASEAN and East Asia Summits where they jointly announced a commercial collaboration memorandum of understanding.

Vice President Pence with Singapore Prime Minister Lee during his November 2018 visit to Singapore for the ASEAN and East Asia Summits where they jointly announced a commercial collaboration memorandum of understanding.

Our team is busy implementing the new agreements with Singapore, including through support for these recent and upcoming activities:

  • A September 2018 best practices business roundtable on medical technology standards and certification processes led by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) and the Singapore Manufacturing Federation;
  • ASTM International’s October 2018 announcement that Singapore’s National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC) will join ASTM’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence as a strategic partner;
  • An October 2018 memorandum of understanding on additive manufacturing standards between NAMIC and the Ivaldi Group (San Leandro, California), building on previous Access Asia outreach in California;
  • A strategic partnership launched in October 2018 between ITA and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), a global codes, standards, and conformity assessment organization, which will support the development of smart city-related standards throughout Southeast Asia;
  • Participation by ITA Deputy Assistant Secretary for Services James Sullivan in the November 12-16 Singapore FinTech Festival, where he met with U.S. companies displaying their products and services at ITA’s U.S. Pavilion and spoke on a panel on Blockchain Opportunities and Threats;

    Deputy Assistant Secretary for Services James Sullivan (fourth from left) is joined by U.S. Commercial Service staff at the November 2018 FinTech Festival in Singapore.

    Deputy Assistant Secretary for Services James Sullivan (fourth from left) is joined by U.S. Commercial Service staff at the November 2018 FinTech Festival in Singapore.

  • A U.S. Country Showcase in Singapore featured November 12-15 at the ASEAN and East Asia Summit Meetings, highlighting innovative technology, service, and standards solutions from U.S. firms;
  • Plans to support 45 U.S. companies participating in the November 27-29 OSEA Show in Singapore, which is the largest and most significant buying event in Asia for the oil and gas sectors; and
  • Plans to develop a U.S.-ASEAN Smart Cities Network Partnership event in 2019 in close coordination with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the U.S. Department of State, and other interagency partners.

Please Share Your Feedback! Welcoming Industry and Stakeholder Ideas to Maximize the Value of the New Agreements

While these steps are a good start, I welcome your ideas on how to maximize the value of these new agreements with government and industry leaders—including through trade events, best practices workshops, business-to-business matchmaking, educational webinars, and other activities that help identify and advance commercial deals. I encourage you to contact me at Margaret.Hanson-Muse@trade.gov or (65) 6476-9037 to share your ideas and to continue the conversation.

Click here for details about the December 10-12, 2018 Discover Global Markets aerospace and defense show in Salt Lake City, Utah. Click here for details about the May 6-13, 2019 Indo-Pacific Trade Winds event in New Delhi, India with optional stops in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Participating companies can get country-specific business counseling from Asia-based commercial officers.

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Hundreds of U.S. Companies Find Opportunities during Trade Winds-Asia

June 5, 2012

Bill Burwell has been with the U.S. Department of Commerce for 14 years and currently serves as the Director of the U.S. Export Assistance Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

Southeast Asia hosted its first Trade Winds event during May, World Trade Month. Organized by the International Trade Administration’s Commercial Service, more than 100 American companies participated in the trade mission. The events were hosted in Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia May 14-22.

Now in it’s fifth year, Trade Winds is an eight-day trade and business development conference, held in Asia for the first time. Those who attend Trade Winds find opportunities for business connections in key geographic regions. It is like a giant trade mission helping buyers and sellers make connections and sales.

The Trade Winds program, organized by the Mid-Atlantic region of the Commercial Service domestic network, has thus far resulted in more than $100 million worth of exports for participating U.S. companies.

The morning of the first day saw U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Kristie Kenney officially commence the mission with a ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand where the U.S. Commercial Service had arranged more than 50 business-to-business appointments for the visiting companies.

Meanwhile, 20 additional U.S. companies spent two days exploring business development efforts in Vietnam, where the U.S. Commercial Service in Ho Chi Minh City had arranged well over 80 business to business appointments for the visiting U.S. companies.

As the mission progressed, U.S. Ambassador to Singapore David Adelman welcomed the entire Trade Winds delegation of more than 200 business representatives from 100 companies to Singapore.  These companies spent the next two days participating in a Southeast Asia regional business forum, a forum that included more than 540 one-on-one consultations with Commercial Service Senior Commercial Officers representing 14 markets across the Asia-Pacific region. An additional 216 business-to-business appointments were arranged by the Commercial Service in Singapore for the American business representatives.

By May 21 and 22, Trade Winds – Asia had turned its focus to Malaysia and Indonesia. In Jakarta, U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission, Ted Osius welcomed a delegation of 17 U.S. companies while U.S. Ambassador Paul Jones similarly welcomed 10 U.S. companies to Malaysia. As with previous delegations, the U.S. Commercial Service offices in Jakarta and Kuala Lampur arranged 89 and 67 business to business appointments respectively for the visiting U.S. companies.

During the entirety of the Trade Winds – Asia conference, the U.S. Commercial Service arranged more than 500 business-to-business meetings between U.S. companies and commercial representatives in Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia. In addition, Commercial Service Senior Commercial Officers engaged in over 540 one on one meetings with U.S. business representatives and provided business development counseling on 14 Asia – Pacific markets.

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Featured Trade Event: Trade Winds Asia

October 4, 2011

May 14–22, 2012
Trade Winds Asia
Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam

Three Buddha stone heads, Singapore. (© Hayden Bird/iStock)

Three Buddha stone heads, Singapore. (© Hayden Bird/iStock)

East Asia is one of the most lucrative regions in the world for U.S. exporters, with growing sales during the past several years. Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam together purchased more than $47.7 billion worth of U.S. merchandise in 2009 and more than $62.7 billion in 2010. Trade Winds Asia can help U.S. companies take advantage of those markets.

The central event of Trade Winds Asia will be a three-day business development conference on May 16–18, 2012, in Singapore. Before and after the conference, four separate trade missions will offer participating businesses the opportunity to visit Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, or Vietnam.

The conference location, Singapore, is home to a sophisticated and modern economy that offers excellent opportunities for U.S. firms interested in penetrating the Asian market. It offers free port status; a straightforward, English-speaking, U.S. style of doing business; strong intellectual property rights protection; and suffers from very little corruption. The country is a major trading hub. It imports and exports products from consumer goods to high-technology and industrial goods for reexport to third countries.

By participating in Trade Winds Asia, companies will benefit from a variety of events tailored to their needs, including prearranged consultations with up to 13 specialists of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service representing 14 countries, access to high-visibility business networking events with leading industry and government officials, and prearranged business meetings with representatives from firms throughout the region.

Previous Trade Winds that focused on Europe and the Americas have offered outstanding returns. One participant from last year’s Trade Winds event in Mexico said, “We had a chance to interact with local and global companies and shared experiences that cannot be learned in any other way [than] just by ‘doing it.’ The forum was a terrific channel to accelerate and enhance entering a region for us.”

The cost to participate in Trade Winds Asia ranges from $1,950 to $4,850 per company for one representative, depending on firm size and the number of mission stops. There is a $500 fee for each additional company participant in the Singapore event and $250 for each additional mission stop. Mission participants are responsible for travel, lodging, most meals, and incidentals. Applications must be received by March 30, 2012. For more information about the trade mission, visit its Web site or contact Shannon Christenbury of the USFCS, tel.: (704) 333-4886; e-mail: shannon.christenbury@trade.gov, or Judy Kornfeld of the USFCS, tel.: (703) 235-0331; e-mail: judy.kornfeld@trade.gov.

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