Dear Subscriber,
Sweden took over the six month Presidency of the Council of the EU in January, amidst a raging war in Ukraine and an uncertain economic situation in Europe. These challenges will very much be the focus for the Swedish Presidency until June. In the Swedish Presidency Program we find, for example, continued active support for a united EU policy to counteract Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, enhanced cooperation and dialogue with strategic defense partners (NATO in particular), ensurance that the EU should continue to build open, strong and sustainable trade links with the rest of the world, with bilateral and regional free trade agreements as tools to make this happen, as well as continued support on important reforms to modernise the EU economy and its regulatory frameworks for funds and financial instrument markets.
SwedCham wishes the Swedish EU Presidency every success!
Please find below the latest news from our business community.
Your dedicated SwedCham team,
Lisa & Anna |
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| What's going on with the tech industry? |
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Dot.com crash 2000, Lehman collapse 2008, crypto wreck 2022, 2023 in the making. The tech industry has been in turmoil several times over the past twenty years - is there anything different this time around?
On 22 March, we will have some of our most seasoned Swedish Singapore-based tech investors and entrepreneurs in one room to give us their take on recent developments in the tech industry, what we can expect over the coming year and if betting big on AI-driven technologies now is the only way forward. Join us for a discussion with: - Andreas Ehn, angel investor; Spotify's first employee / CTO responsible for the product and platform architecture as the company took off
- Magnus Ekbom, Managing Director of Nordic Light, which advises institutional investors and governments on strategy, business management & policy and partners growth companies with global ambitions. Co-founder of Lazada
- Dušan Stojanović, EBAN Angel of the Year in 2013 after three successful exits in 10 days; an early successful investor in the Metaverse NFT gaming space whose focus right now is on AI
- Nellie Wartoft, Founder and CEO of Tigerhall, a social learning platform which last year had a record breaking year of 559% growth and now boasts 17% of the world's Fortune100 companies as clients.
Register for the event HERE. Thank you to SEB for letting us host this event at their offices. |
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Left to right: Magnus Ekbom, Andreas Ehn, Dušan Stojanović and Nellie Wartoft. |
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| Jesper Brodin to SwedCham APAC CEO Talks |
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"The future of retail is 100% circular and integrated". The words are Jesper Brodin's, CEO of Ingka Group, the Swedish holding company that owns the majority of IKEA stores worldwide. On 14 March, we welcome Mr Brodin as our next guest in our cross-chamber series SwedCham APAC CEO Talks. He will talk transformation and how IKEA is committed to leading the way towards a more sustainable business model for the retail industry.
Register for this event HERE.
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| Cross-chamber YP event with SGN |
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Together with Singapore Global Network (SGN), SwedCham's Young Professionals will host a cross-chamber event on 23 March. Apart from a great opportunity to expand everyone's professional and social network, the evening will also provide a space to discuss how it is to live in the Little Red Dot and how SGN can help build a stronger international community in Singapore.
Register for this event HERE. |
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| SME initiative kicked off with a bang |
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On Tuesday this week, SwedCham held its first-ever Meet & Pitch event for small- and medium-sized SwedCham Members. 13 companies joined us for a 1.5 hr fast-paced pitch session with a triple purpose: 1) to get to know each other; 2) to show case everyone's business proposition; and 3) to bring business challenges to the table, where a community of companies could potentially help finding solutions.
This event is part of a larger initiative, where we would like to put the spotlight on our SME members to support growth. Together with a group of SME representatives, we are currently developing a specific agenda for 2023, with the aim to bring our SME members closer together to find business- and collaboration opportunities both between each other but also vis-à-vis our larger MNC members. If you would like to know more, please contact SwedCham at info@swedcham.sg. The initiative is lead by Jonas Pinzke, Valiber Group, and Arun Jayakumar, Apocca.
SwedCham's member companies provide a plethora of products and services. For those companies currently looking for business partners, SwedCham is more than willing to help to first assess the Swedish business community in Singapore, before expanding the search. |
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Singapore is one of the greenest cities in the world. As part of the Singapore Green Plan 2030, Singapore would like to continue to intensify nature in gardens and parks and restore nature into the urban landscape. Important tools to make this happen are so called therapeutic gardens. These gardens are designed to provide various health benefits for young and old, relieving mental fatigue and improving emotional well-being. By 2030, 30 therapeutic gardens will be built across public parks in Singapore to offer both restorative and enabling spaces for people, including seniors, those with dementia, as well as children and young adults with special needs.
Hortherapeutics is Singapore’s first social enterprise specialising in therapeutic garden design and therapeutic horticulture. This local SME is one of SwedCham's key partners within the initiative the Green Innovation Centre. Apart from leading the creation of a therapeutic corner in the Cosy Garden in Bukit Batok, they will also coordinate the construction of an enlarged footpath which can cater for wheel chairs in the garden as well as the implementation of a water retention system, supplied by Hydro Dynamic, another local SME. SwedCham is delighted to have Hortherapeutics as a partner within the Green Innovation Centre and are looking forward to see the therapeutic corner develop in the garden in Bukit Batok. |
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| Hexagon - a team of skilled gardeners |
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As we are preparing to start some serious building work in the Cosy Garden in Bukit Batok, we called in a team of seven Hexagon champions to help clear the space. With Hexagon's President Boon Choon Lim in the lead, the team spent three hours of hardcore, hands-on garden clean-up - impressive, Hexagon! Thank you for your commitment to SwedCham's green innovation initiative and to the SG Green Plan.
Hexagon's garden team: Lim Boon Choon, Goh Kah Khoon, Felicia Edward, Woo Lay Pheng, Zhao Hanxue, Vanessa Vu, and Joceyline Leong. |
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The Green Innovation Centre in brief
Through this unique collaborative initiative, sponsored by 12 SwedCham companies, we have linked arms with a garden community in Bukit Batok as well as with South West CDC and the People's Association in Bukit Batok. Based on a collaborative bottom-up process, the project is aiming to support the community in exploring a sustainable urban lifestyle with knowledge, solutions and services around the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse & Recycle) and green living (gardening and connecting with nature). SwedCham's team is partnering with schools, sustainability-focused local SMEs and resident volunteers to create an agora at this garden, which has been lovingly built by local volunteers over the past decade, where people of all ages can meet and learn about sustainable urban living. The project includes, for example, to build a therapeutic corner in the garden for elderly and physically impaired and to create an activity area for knowledge development workshops for people of all ages. For SwedCham’s Sponsors, there are opportunities to get involved in 3R activity workshops (Reduce, Reuse & Recycle), staff volunteering, improving the garden concept with smart tech solutions, mentoring/engaging with local SMEs - or just sponsor a good cause.
We hope that this program will replicate and initiate more people and companies to engage in this important work in Singapore. Through partnership and collaboration between businesses and communities, we have no doubt that the SG Green Plan can be successful. The GIC will be launched in the beginning of June.
If you are a SwedCham Member interested in finding out more about this initiative, please do not hesitate to reach out to us on info@swedcham.sg. |
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Our emerging GIC partner network: |
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Jasico Express Services is first to acquire the Scania battery electric truck for Singapore’s logistics sector.
Jasico Express Services, a local transportation and freight-forwarding company, signed a sales agreement in February to acquire a Scania battery electric truck. The company would be the first to deploy the Scania battery electric truck in Singapore’s logistics sector.
“Jasico Express Services’ decision is sending a strong signal to the industry that operators can adopt sustainable transport solutions early, ahead of Singapore’s plan for all vehicles to run on cleaner energy by 2040,” says Heba El Tarifi, Managing Director of Scania Southeast Asia.
“Scania has been working very closely with fleet owners and operators to drive this shift towards reducing Scope 3 emissions, under the Science Based Targets initiative,” she adds, observing that the Scania battery electric truck has been gaining more market interest and acceptance among fleet owners and operators since its launch in 2022.
The new battery electric truck for Jasico Express Services can cover up to 180 km range on a single charge. When delivered in mid-2023, the new truck joins a fleet of more than 40 vans and trucks, including several battery electric vans. “Going electric is part of our strategy to better serve global logistics customers while differentiating ourselves from our local competition,” says Neo Leong Chok, Managing Director and Owner of Jasico Express Services. “We have already started to electrify our vans, but when choosing our first battery electric truck, we put our trust in Scania as an established and reliable brand.”
SwedCham congratulates Scania for being such a strong driver of sustainable mobility in Singapore and the region! |
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EMBASSY OF SWEDEN
(For Swedish citizens) Ambassadens svensklista finns till för att UD eller Ambassaden ska kunna nå ut till alla svenskar i Singapore om en konsulär krissituation skulle inträffa. Här kan du lämna uppgifter om var du befinner dig och hur du kan kontaktas under din utlandsvistelse. De sparas under den tidsperiod du själv anger, dock max ett år. Planerar du en längre vistelse än ett år, krävs en årlig förnyelse. Du kan avanmäla dig själv när du vill. Anmäl dig till Ambassadens svensklista HÄR.
SVENSKA KYRKAN
(For Swedish speakers) Svenska kyrkan är tillbaka i Asien! De som nu är anställda för detta uppdrag är Olof Olsson (präst) och Marie Olsson (assistent), och kommer vara baserade i Bangkok. I mars besöker Olof & Marie Singapore för första gången, och planerar då bland annat en svensk gudstjänst med kyrkkaffe söndagen den 12 mars kl 17 på Norska Sjömanskyrkan (300 Pasir Panjang Rd, Singapore 118640). Varmt välkomna!
EUROCHAM
Recently, the European business community in Singapore has been alarmed by the rapidly increasing prices of residential properties in Singapore. Expats face up to a 70% rise in housing rents as prices hit record highs.
EuroCham would like to understand if rental price hikes could have an effect on Singapore’s ability to attract foreign talent and if the Government is able to take steps to curb the current conditions. The organisation is therefore inviting its extended business community to fill out a 5-minute survey. More than one submission per company will be accepted, so please feel free to fill out the survey in your personal capacity.
Access the survey HERE. The survey will close on Tuesday 7 March 2023. |
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| A Swedish national team in town! |
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Table tennis fans, sports fans, Sweden fans: We need your help to paint the OCBC Arena yellow and blue in March!
The world's top players will be in town to compete in this prestigious event, organised by World Table Tennis (WTT). It will be consolidated into nine action-packed main draw days between 11 and 19 March 2023, featuring 64 of the world's top male and female players. A singles qualifying competition featuring a further 64 men and 64 women will be held from 7-9 March. For some inspiration, watch this video from last year's Singapore Smash.
Are you interested in helping us mobilise our Swedish forces in Singapore to create a serious fan base to cheer on our Swedish national team during Singapore Smash? Contact us at info@swedcham.sg and we will get the ball rolling. |
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Tuesday 18 April: Women's Cross-Chamber After Work. A networking event hosted by the Irish Chamber of Commerce and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Singapore.
Thursday 8 June: Inauguration of SwedCham's Green Innovation Centre. |
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 | | SwedCham AGM 2023 | | Keynote by Jacqueline Poh, MD, EDB | 
| Mar 8, 2023
(6:30 PM - 9:00 PM) (GMT+8) |
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| 1880 Members Club
Singapore |
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|  | | YP Padel Night | | Get your Padel game on! |
| Mar 15, 2023
(6:30 PM - 8:00 PM) (GMT+8) |
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| Marina Tennis Center
Singapore |
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