BCCI hosted a business seminar entitled "How to do business in Singapore and Southeast Asia" with speakers from the European Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, Singapore Business Federation and the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism of the Republic of Bulgaria. Singapore ranks first in the category facilitation for doing business in the world according to a report by the World Bank. The seminar was opened by the President of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Tsvetan Simeonov. He emphasized the support that the European Chamber of Commerce in Singapore had been rendering to the European companies in the city-state stressing that Bulgaria should strive for the results and the conditions for doing business in Singapore.
“The cooperation between the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and our partners in Singapore dates back to 1984”, BCCI President reminded. BCCI will maintain constant liaison with the European Chamber of Commerce in Singapore to boost the number of successful transactions.
Mr. Matteo Vezzosi, Executive Director of the European Chamber of Commerce in Singapore informed that they represented 1800 European companies in Singapore that successfully develop their business. There are multinational companies and SMEs among the members of the European Chamber of Commerce in Singapore.
Mr. Iliya Dekov, chief expert at the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism underlined that there were a number of preconditions and interest on the part of both Bulgarian companies and companies from Southeast Asia to deepen the bilateral cooperation. “ASEAN countries are important partners of the EU and of Bulgaria in particular”, he noted. “Singapore is a priority trade and economic partner of Bulgaria in the South East Asia”, Mr. Dekov reminded. In 2011 ASEAN is the third largest trading partner of EU. Last year the bilateral trade in goods and services between the two organizations exceeded 206 billion Euros. Despite the global financial crisis, the economies of ASEAN countries have achieved significant growth in recent years. Singapore is a leader in this respect as in 2010 GDP grew by nearly 14.5%. Bulgaria could play a role of a gateway for the companies from ASEAN countries that want to enter the markets of neighboring countries of Bulgaria on the Balkan Peninsula as well as in other EU countries. “On the other hand, the 600-million market in ASEAN countries provides a good opportunity for export-oriented Bulgarian companies”, the representative of the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism said.
Mr. Knut Unger briefed the participants in the business seminar about the opening of a representative office in Singapore and pointed to the leading positions the country occupies in terms of competitiveness and facilitation of doing business therein.
The presentation of Mr. Martin Yoon, a representative of Singapore Business Federation was interesting. The Federation represents 18400 companies and acts as a bridge between government and business. Electronics, bio-medical and petrochemical industries are among the important economic sectors in Singapore.
Since 1996 BCCI has entered into a contractual relationship with the Federation of Singapore manufacturers, a partner of the European Chamber of Commerce in Singapore.
During the first week of October BCCI will organize a business delegation to Singapore with the support of the European Chamber of Commerce in Singapore and the Singapore Business Federation, an invitation for which was duly extended at the seminar.
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