August 2005 - Association of Dutch Businessmen

Jul/Aug 2005 

MITA 373/03/2001

PROLOGUE 

I would like to take this opportunity to say farewell, on behalf of the ADB, to our honorary 

member His Excellency Mr Hendrik van Pesch, ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands 

to Singapore. Mr van Pesch has been working closely with the ADB during his 5 years stay in 

Singapore and I would like to thank him for the many activities he has undertaken to 

strengthen the cooperation with Dutch business people here in Singapore. Just to mention 

a few: network meetings between ADB and both ASME (Association of Small and Medium 

Enterprises) and SMa (Singapore Manufacturers' Federation), the hosting of the ADB new 

year "borrel" at his residence and last but not least: attending many ADB events including 

the yearly Annual General Meeting of the ADB(!). 

Bram Steenks 

I wish Mr van Pesch many successful retirement years, most importantly in good health and 

welcome his successor, Mr Chris Sanders, as the new, and hopefully equally active, honorary 

member of the ADB, as per the end of August. 

The ADB board was confronted with some changes too: Nick van Holstein and Ruud Lantinga 

left Singapore. We had announced Nick’s departure already earlier, but I would like to take 

this opportunity to thank Ruud for all the time and energy he has spent in “ADB service” 

during the last 2 years. 

One of the vacancies was filled by Remco Muzerie and after careful consideration, the 

board has decided that it would like to bring in two additional board members to improve 

its robustness and be a little less vulnerable when members leave. We invited all ADB 

members to apply for board membership and I am very happy that we could select two 

new enthusiastic members to the team: Matthieu Quere and Freddy Meindertsma. 

The first half of 2005 has passed by “as a breeze”, at least for me and also for the ADB. We 

had an active ADB event program so far this year and (perhaps as a result of this) we could 

welcome a record number of 54 new members. Welcome to all of you! 

Also in the second half of 2005 we will have an active program for you. This will start with 

the annual black tie dinner at the Hollandse Club on 27 August. A good opportunity to 

reconnect and start a new season, back from holiday and home leave commitments. 

Our next events will be a presentation at the Hollandse Club on 12 September and a 

company visit on 10 October. Please mark your calendars! Further details will be provided 

in the usual way via e-mail and the ADB Magazine. 

I hope to see you all, old and new members, during one of the upcoming events! 

Best regards, 

Bram Steenks 

Frans van de Bospoort Charlotte Ruegg Wim Samlal Jeroen Keunen Remco Muzerie Matthieu Quere Freddy Meindertsma 

1 

Vol.15 • No. 6 • July/August 2005

A monthly publication of the 

Association of Dutch Businessmen 

ADB BOARD 

Bram Steenks 

Frans van de Bospoort 

Charlotte Ruegg 

Wim Samlal 

Jeroen Keunen 

Remco Muzerie 

Matthieu Quere 

Freddy Meindertsma 

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE 

Wieteke Dijkxhoorn 

Jeroen de Koning 

Debby Reemers 

Brigitte Velema 

Lineke van Nederpelt 

Michael van Ommeren 

Barry Doesburg 

Wil Kolen 

President 

Vice-President 

Honorary Secretary 

Honorary Treasurer 

Member 

Member 

Member 

Member 

Contents 

PROLOGUE 1 

REVIEW 

ADB networking beach BBQ @ Coastes Sentosa 3 

Myths and facts about medicine 4 

Networking for business success 6 

BUSINESS 

Bill Gates in Singapore 9 

SECRETARIAT 

Lineke van Nederpelt 

Mailing Address: 

c/o 22 Camden Park, Singapore 299814 

Telephone: 9101 6201 

email: adb@pacific.net.sg 

Website : www.adb.org.sg 

Email : webmaster@adb.org.sg 

Editorial contributions for the next issue may 

be sent or handed over to the ADB Secretariat, 

before or on the day of the monthly ADB 

meeting. The contents of this magazine are partly 

based on information received from third parties. 

The Committee does not take responsibility 

for the correctness of the articles. 

The top twelve e-mail mistakes that can 10 

sabotage your career 

SINGAPORE 

The New Downtown, Singapore in the 12 

21st Century 

INTERVIEW 

10 questions to Anne Jonkhans, 14 

leaving Managing Director of PURAC Asia Pacific 

Interview with retiring Netherlands 16 

Ambassador, Mr. Hendrik J. van Pesch 

Produced by Jennifer Phua 

Printed by Khoo Sun Printing Pte Ltd 

MITA 373/03/2001 

POP & DROP A QUESTION 

Bring intelligence into the boardroom 18 

Membership fee is S$ 100 per calendar year. 

For registration, please see the website 

www.adb.org.sg/en_member_signup.htm. 

Membership is renewed automatically effective the 

first month of the new calendar year. 

Make your cheque payable to “Assocation of Dutch 

Businessmen” and send to ADB, c/o 22 Camden Park, 

Singapore 299814. 

Termination of membership must be received by 

ADB Secretariat in writing before 1 January, otherwise 

you will be charged for the full amount for the following 

calendar year. 

Please notify the ADB secretariat of any changes in 

employer, (email) addresses or any other personal 

particulars that might be of interest to the ADB 

administration. 

BOOK REVIEW 

Singapore CityScoops 20 

BIZZ AGENDA 23 

DUTCH NEWS 24 

EMBASSY INFO 26 

ASSOCIATION INFO 27 

2 


REVIEW 

ADB networking beach BBQ 

@ Coastes Sentosa 

By Barry Doesburg 

This very successful event was held on Thursday evening June 2nd 2005. In the perfect setting of a trendy 

beach bar at Siloso beach over 50 people enjoyed the food, drinks, talks and a nice evening breeze. 

Menno Douwes Dekker, Marius de Beer, 

Lineke van Nederpelt, Gita de Beer, 

Claudette Douwes Dekker-Dumoulin 

Paul Schreuders, Marjorie Schreuders, 

Marleen Keunen, Edith Van der Horst, 

Charlotte Ruegg 

Walter Leijen, Paul Hoogwaerts, 

Remco Muzerie 

Jeroen de Koning and 

Michael van Ommeren 

Annabelle Deken, Marga Kroon, 

Marijke den Ouden, Sascha Roosen 

Gilbert Ruegg, Robert Andriessen, 

Raymond van der Horst 

Arjenne Plaizier, Raymond van der Horst, Ruud 

Lantinga, Jeroen Keunen, Mieke Doesburg 

Arjen Hendrikse, Freddy Meindertsma, 

Evelein Boeren, Laurence Feijt 

Mieke Doesburg, Hans Peter Borgh 

trying the buffet 

Arjenne Plaizier, Mariken Berns, 

Anouk Kooymans 

Mirjam Bout, Gene Kwee, Michiel Boeren, Evelein Boeren, 

Mieke Doesburg, Laurence Feijt 

3 


REVIEW 

Myths and facts about medicine 

Review of presentation of Taco van Tiel at the Hollandse Club at 17 May 2005 

By Debby Reemers 

Why would an increased risk in getting breast 

cancer by 30% for a certain medicine not be a 

reason to stop producing it? The questions from 

the audience for Taco van Tiel are not at all the 

easiest to answer. By nature the pharmaceutical 

industry has always been surrounded by 

controversy. A company making its profit on 

supplying expensive medicine to sick people: the 

topic will always remain a highly intricate and 

tricky one. Still though, Taco van Tiel regional 

marketing and sales manager at Organon, not only 

managed to show us an in-depth view from the 

industry point of view he also presented a lot of 

interesting research results and other related issues 

on the pharmaceutical industry to an interested 

and critical audience at the Hollandse Club. 

Van Tiel concentrated on three main subjects 

to address the broad topic of ‘Myths and Facts 

about Medicine’ 

- The perception versus reality of doing business 

in the pharmaceutical industry; 

- How does Singapore (Asia) differ from Western 

Europe and the USA; 

- Building brands in the pharmaceutical arena. 

This article will highlight the first and second 

topic as these were more elaborately discussed. 

Perception versus reality 

Pharma companies will market drugs despite the 

fact they know they are potentially harmful. Most 

drugs are dangerous, you can read it in the papers 

every day! According to Van Tiel, this is the most 

common misunderstanding that people have on how 

companies like Organon operate. He explains about 

the extensive research procedure a drug has to go 

through before it even gets to the FDA for final 

approval. From an independent study in 2003 by 

Drug Discovery Today (December 2003) on several 

leading pharma companies it was concluded that 

on average only 1.2 out of 57 projects that result 

from a ‘discovery’ would make it through the drug 

registration phase by the drug regulating authority, 

after which only 1 project on average actually 

gets launched. In fact, during the internal clinical 

trials 90% of all research projects are already 

stopped during the first (out of the total of 4) 

clinical development phase. The quality of research 

projects in the U.S.A., the most important market 

for Organon, is continuously monitored by the 

independent U.S. Data and Safety Monitoring 

Board. If a project does not adhere to their 

standards, the research project is stopped. Van Tiel 

adds, that Organon is one of the few pharmaceutical 

companies that continues testing its products after 

the launch, unlike its main competitors. 

The controversy of certain medicine and the 

way media reports on them is illustrated by a drug 

used in Hormone replacement therapies (HRT) with 

the name of Tibolone. This HRT drug helps women 

to soften the symptoms of the menopause which 

includes hot flushes and night sweats. The drug 

also helps to strengthen the bones. Media reported 

headlines such as ‘600,000 women warned to stop 

taking combined HRT medicines’, therewith 

inciting what Van Tiel calls a ‘hormonophobia’. 

These headlines were based on a global study called 

‘Million Women Study’ (MWS), as published by the 

British medical journal ‘The Lancet’ in March 2005. 

The MWS claimed a 30% increase in the risk for 

breast cancer when using HRT. Van Tiel explains 

why the results from this study are not fully valid. 

The study is a so called observational study, as 

opposed to a clinical trial. Observational studies 

do not make use of placebos (i.e. sugar pills with 

no active ingredients) which means they lack 

control groups. As a result you will not know how 

many of participants would have gotten cancer 

while using a placebo in stead of the tested drug. 

The lack of a controlled environment also causes 

other research problems. In the case of the MWS, 

several women stopped using the drug during the 

trial, took the drug on an irregular basis, or even 

switched drugs. In addition, the MWS test group 

was already seeing the General Practitioner (GP) 

for particular hormone related symptoms. Possibly 

this group of women is anyhow running a higher 

risk on developing breast cancer than a randomized 

group of women. Therefore such group cannot 

be considered representative for the general 

population of the UK. Several national authorities 

have publicly questioned the results of the MWS 

based on the above mentioned limitations. Still 

though, the media seem to take these studies out 

of their contexts and turn these into unsubstantiated 

headlines. A possible negative effect resulting 

from this could be that potential beneficiaries 

from medicine will not make use of HRT and 

other ‘demonized’ medicines. There are also other 

4 


REVIEW 

possibly less desirable side-effects. “The pill”-scare 

in the UK during the 70’s, for instance, was 

accompanied by a significant increase in abortions. 

With regard to the role of the media Van Tiel 

quickly points out that the Singaporean media have 

always been very professional by checking their 

information with Organon first before publishing 

any article. 

Another controversial subject touched upon 

were the “doctor visitors”, the sales representatives 

from pharmaceutical companies that give incentive 

trips and expensive gifts to GPs thereby encouraging 

them to buy medicine produced by their employers. 

According to Van Tiel it is no longer common 

practice to give GPs incentives to prescribe 

Organon products these days. The main focus for 

these sales representatives is to inform the GPs 

on the existence of new medicines and on new 

research results for existing medicines. Van Tiel 

explains that doctors do not have sufficient 

time to keep up with the latest developments 

and introduction of new medicine. GPs have the 

tendency to prescribe ‘older’ drugs they are more 

familiar with, whereas newer and improved drugs 

might have been registered over the years. Van 

Tiel adds that his sales people of course can only 

give advice on Organon products, and on currently 

patented drugs, as opposed to generic drugs. 

However, Van Tiel stresses that this in his opinion 

does not interfere with the informative role of sales 

persons play. 

The pharmaceutical arena in the West 

and in Asia: the main differences 

In a global perspective, the Asian market for 

Pharmaceuticals is still relatively small. Over 80 

percent of all its pharmaceutical sales (in total 

400 bln USD in 2002) come from Europe and the 

USA. Less than 1 percent is sold in the ‘developing 

world’ countries of Asia, including Singapore, 

with the exception of Japan (14%). 

A/A/A 

1% 

Europe 

31% 

Japan 

14% 

L-America 

2% 

N-America 

52% 

The Singaporean market, Van Tiel explains, is 

not very [sexually, ed.] ‘active’. Singapore appears 

at the bottom of the sexual activity list of the 

Global Sex Survey 2002, together with Hong Kong 

(79 times sex per year). Only Japan shows a lower 

‘activity rate’ of 46 times a year. Reading the 

newspapers it may not come as a surprise that the 

fertility rate is relatively low compared to the 

rest of the world and, according to government 

statistics, is decreasing still (over the period of 

1991-2001). Added to that, the contraceptive use 

is different from Western Europe and the U.S.A. A 

much lower percentage of the women use ‘the pill’ 

as their means of contraception. As Organon’s best 

selling product remains “the contraception pill” 

one can imagine that this has direct impact on the 

importance of the Asian market for Organon. 

Conclusion 

Van Tiel explained that the media in the past have 

not always painted a very positive picture of 

pharmaceutical companies. Not only have some of 

the headlines been based on unsubstantial 

research, but the important role pharma companies 

play in informing both the medical world (e.g. GPs 

and pharmacists) and the general public has often 

been ignored. 

Pharmaceutical companies have a high 

ethical standard, and try to serve the public by 

manufacturing elaborately researched products 

and by subsequently informing the public with 

publications and presentations based on the most 

up-to-date research findings available. 

With regard to the Asian market as compared 

to the rest of the world, Van Tiel highlighted the 

challenges Organon faces in the currently small 

Asian and relatively inactive Singaporean market. 

But with the Chinese market growing by the day, 

one can imagine there is an even bigger challenge 

awaiting Organon. 

Historie Akzo Nobel 

Organon - with shared head offices in Roseland, NJ, USA, and Oss, 

The Netherlands - creates and markets prescription medicines that 

improve the health and quality of human life. 

Through a combination of independent growth and business 

partnerships, Organon strives to become or remain one of the leading 

pharmaceutical companies in each of its core therapeutic fields: 

reproductive medicine, psychiatry and anesthesia. 

Organon products are sold in over 100 countries, of which more 

than 60 have an Organon subsidiary. Organon is the human health 

care business unit of Akzo Nobel. 

Organon is founded in 1923 by Dr. Saal van Zwanenberg, president 

of Zwanenberg’s Slachterijen en Fabrieken, Professor Ernst Laqueur 

of the University of Amsterdam, and Dr. Jacques van Oss, a 

consultant. The company, known as Zwanenberg-Organon, is housed 

at Zwanenberg’s affiliate premises in Oss , the Netherlands , and a 

laboratory is established in Amsterdam. 

More information: 

- http://www.organon.com/clinical_trials [Information on clinical 

trials sponsored by Organon] 

- http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ [Service by U.S. National Institutes 

of Health on clinical trials] 

- http://www.fda.gov [Website of the American Federal Drug 

Authority] 

- http://www.cbg-meb.nl/ [Website of the Dutch Medicines 

Evaluation Board] 

- http://www.fdanews.com [American news bulletin on FDA news] 

- http://medicijn.pagina.nl [Dutch portal for websites on medicines] 

- http://www.drugdiscoverytoday.com [Independent international 

drug discovery information website] 

- http://www.thelancet.com [UK medical journal] 

5 


REVIEW 

Networking for business success 

(by Liz Ng, Trade Section, Royal Netherlands Embassy) 

On the evening of 16 June, the 

networking event of the Association 

of Small and Medium Enterprises in 

Singapore (ASME) and the Association 

of Dutch Businessmen (ADB) returned 

for a fifth successful run. 

Hosted by Ambassador van Pesch 

at his Residence, smartly attired 

businessmen streamed in punctually 

just before 6.30pm. By 7pm the 

Ambassador’s Terrace was abuzz with 

“executive connectivity”. 

It was a night where 120 members 

of the ASME and the ADB converged 

together to explore greater business, 

From left to right: Mr. Bram Steenks, 

technological, innovation and market 

Albert Teo (ASME) and Ambassador 

H.J. van Pesch 

opportunities. 

In his welcome address, Ambassador 

van Pesch noted with pride and gratitude that it 

is through such events that both Singapore and 

Netherlands continued to enjoy improving trade 

relations year after year. In 2004, the two-way 

trade stood at an impressive S$12 billion with an 

increase of 30% over 2003. 

Mr. Bram Steenks, President of the ADB, 

acknowledged the night’s success : “the event 

provided an excellent opportunity for networking 

between ASME members who represent over 

100,000 small and medium companies in Singapore 

and the members of the ADB. Although the 

ADB does not represent any Dutch national or 

multinational companies or private businesses 

started in Singapore, but merely individuals. It was 

clear from the many animated discussions, as well 

as from the time the last members left the event, 

that there is a real need for this type of contacts. 

I am personally confident that a few business 

opportunities have been born that night. I would 

like to thank the Ambassador and the Embassy 

staff for organising this high quality event and 

hope that there will be many more to come.” 

The ASME shared the same sentiments when 

they thanked the Embassy for initiating such an 

exclusive networking event. It remained fervent 

in continuing its pro-entrepreneurial movement 

here in Singapore with the Dutch business 

community and industry. 

This event offered a rich source of industry 

contacts with partcipants that range from service 

providers (bankers, legal, logistics), graphic/ 

product designers, real estate developers, 

hoteliers, exhibition stand builders, maritime 

salvagers, manufacturers such as plastic packaging 

companies, electronics manufacturing, food/ 

beverage producers, ICT companies, construction 

companies to healthcare management companies. 

Majority of the business executives felt that it 

was a great way to network under the stars with 

a sumptuous food spread, wine and like-minded 

company. For those who have yet to participate in 

this yearly event, do get ready 

to be inspired and look out 

for it again in 2006! 

6 


BUSINESS 

Bill Gates in Singapore 

Annoek 

van den Wijngaart 

www.twanetwerk.nl 

On 1 July, Bill Gates gave a presentation on the 

future of computing in Suntec City Convention 

Centre as part of his annual Asia Tour. It was Gates’ 

third visit to the city-state. 

The other stages of his 2005 “Tour d’Asie” took 

him to Japan and Thailand. 

The presentation in Singapore was held for an 

audience of seven thousand (!) IT professionals, 

industry representatives, students and me…….. 

I was looking forward to hearing what one of 

the world’s wealthiest persons had to say about 

the current state of the world, life in general and 

the future. Did I expect too much? Of course the 

most influential IT personality focussed more on 

software and the role it will have in the workplace 

and on lifestyle. The event was, after all, organised 

by Microsoft. 

Gates described the future workplace and 

lifestyle as one where wireless networks connect 

everyone to each other. Information will be 

available always and everywhere. Connection will 

be through a variety of appliances, with cellphones 

being the key devices. Through 3G networks, more 

and more users will be able to access the Internet 

for information through their phones. 

“With more cellphones in the market, 

applications will get richer. It will be possible to 

access digital maps everywhere. There will be 

e-wallets that users can use to pay bills through 

their cellphones. They can also use their cellphone 

cameras to take a picture of a receipt and 

immediately file that away as part of an expense 

report, “ he said. 

The technology to make all this happen is 

available. It’s just a matter of developing the 

right software. Mr Gates expected “software 

developments in the next 10 years to be far more 

interesting then in the last 30 years. 

Mr Gates congratulated Singapore with its 

development of the Infocomm sector. He cited the 

high penetration of computers in homes, offices and 

schools here, the broadband infrastructure and the 

quality of people providing e-government services 

as the reasons for positive views on Singapore. 

Such strong basics in IT are fundamental to the 

role that Singapore plays according to Gates. He 

further applauded Singapore’s “Intelligent Nation 

2015 (iN2015) Master Plan” (www.in2015.sg). 

iN2015 outlines the steps to be taken to identify 

and map out technology areas that could best 

benefit Singapore’s industries, economy and society. 

He further advised Singapore to pick key trends 

and invest in them. One of the things he gave as 

an example was TV over the Internet. 

Picking up such trends would allow Singapore 

to learn how to provide, implement and invest 

money in these technologies. 

Another step would be to see that the new 

services and solutions that emerge create business 

opportunities for local developers involved in these 

projects. 

Towards the end of the session Gates answered 

some of the 8,000 questions that the audience 

submitted online. 

When asked what the biggest technological 

challenge was. His answer was security. Mr Gates 

said: “The thing we are investing the most in is 

our work on security and when I say security, I mean 

very broadly, I mean the issues of privacy control, 

issues around spam and identity theft. It would be 

a shame if all the empowerment of the Internet 

was held back because bad actors were out there 

trying to take advantage of the environment.” 

Another question focussed on Microsoft’s stand 

towards OpenSource. Gates’ brief answer was that 

he believes that paid is better than free. 

On the question about when computers will 

understand human speech, he answered that he 

expects voice communication with PCs to become 

the norm in three to four years’ time. However, 

he mentioned that computer keyboards will not 

disappear but only be integrated with speech. 

As for the next big thing in IT, Gates said it is 

pushing the functions of the Internet to a higher 

level such as making online searches faster and 

easier. “The internet is so popular today that we 

need to just keep evolving. The way we navigate 

information, we need to make it far easier to find. 

People are very impressed about searches today 

but it’s really quite poor compared to what it 

should be,” he added. 

Sources: 

- Bill Gates Grades S’Pore’s IT Level A-/B+. 

Straits Times, 2 July 2005. 

- Changing the way we work: Wireless Networks. 

The Straits Times, 5 July 2005. Digital Life. 

- www.channelnewsasia.com 

Mr Gates 

expected 

software 

developments 

in the next 

10 years 

to be far 

more 

interesting 

then in 

the last 

30 years. 

9 


BUSINESS 

The top twelve e-mail mistakes 

Caution! Your e-mail messages are as much a part of your 

professional image as the clothes you wear! 

You return to your office from an afternoon meeting and decide to check e-mail. 

You wonder where your day went after spending hours downloading messages, reading some, 

deleting others, crafting replies and filing those that you want to work on later. Your e-mail box 

was full when you arrived at work this morning and tomorrow promises to be no different. 

What is this e-mail explosion? Was there a point in time when the entire world decided to use 

the Internet as their business communication tool of choice? Are there rules for managing these 

messages and being a professional and polite user of electronic mail? 

There are, but not everyone has gotten the word. 

Your e-mail is as much a part of your professional image as the clothes you wear, the postal 

letters you write (assuming you still do), the greeting on your voice mail and the handshake you 

offer. If you want to impress on every front and build positive business relationships, pay attention 

to your e-mail and steer clear of these top twelve e-mail mistakes: 

3. Failing to change the header to 

correspond with the subject 

1. Omitting 

the subject line 

We are way past the time when we 

didn’t realize the significance of the 

subject line. It makes no sense to send a 

message that reads “no subject” and seems 

to be about nothing. 

Given the huge volume of e-mail that 

each person receives, the subject header 

is essential if you want your message 

read any time soon. The subject 

line has become the hook. 

For example, if you are writing your web publisher, your 

first header may be “Web site content.” However, as your 

site develops and you send more information, label each 

message for what it is, “contact info,” “graphics,” or 

“home page.” 

Don’t just hit “reply” every time. Adding more details to 

the header will allow the recipient to find a specific 

document in his/her message folder without having to 

search every one you sent. Start a new message if you 

change the subject all together. 

2. Not making 

your subject line 

meaningful 

Your header should be pertinent to 

your message, not just “Hi” or “Hello.” 

The recipient is going to decide the 

order in which he reads e-mail based 

on who sent it and what it is about. 

Your e-mail will have lots 

of competition. 

4. Not personalizing 

your message to 

the recipient 

E-mail is informal but it still needs 

a greeting. Begin with “Dear Mr. 

Broome,” “Dear Jim,” “Hello Jim,” 

or just “Jim.” Failure to put in 

the person’s name can make 

you and your e-mail 

seem cold. 

5. Not accounting for tone 

When you communicate with another person face to face, 93% of 

the message is non-verbal. E-mail has no body language. The reader 

cannot see your face or hear your tone of voice so choose your 

words carefully and thoughtfully. Put yourself in the other person’s 

place and think how your words may come across in Cyberspace. 

10 


BUSINESS 

that can sabotage your career 

6. Forgetting to check for spelling and grammar 

In the early days of e-mail, someone created the notion that this form of 

communication did not have to be letter perfect. Wrong. It does. It is a 

representation of you. If you don’t check to be sure e-mail is correct, 

people will question the caliber of other work you do. 

Use proper capitalization and punctuation, and always check your spelling. 

Remember that your spellchecker will catch misspelled words, but not 

misused ones. It cannot tell whether you meant to say “from” or “form,” 

“for” or “fro”, “he” or “the.” 

7. Writing the 

great American novel 

E-mail is meant to be brief. Keep your 

message short. Use only a few paragraphs 

and a few sentences per paragraph. 

People skim their e-mail so a long missive 

is wasted. If you find yourself writing 

an overly long message, pick up 

the phone or call a meeting. 

8. Forwarding e-mail without 

permission 

Most everyone is guilty of this one, but think about it! 

If the message was sent to you and only you, why would 

you take responsibility for passing it on? 

Too often confidential information has gone global 

because of someone’s lack of judgment. Unless you 

are asked or request permission, do not forward 

anything that was sent just to you. 

9. Thinking that 

no one else will ever 

see your e-mail 

Once it has left your mailbox, you have no idea 

where your e-mail will end up. Don’t use the 

Internet to send anything that you couldn’t stand 

to see on a billboard on your way to work the 

next day. Use other means to communicate 

personal or sensitive information. 

10. Leaving off 

your signature 

Always close with your name, even 

though it is included at the top of the 

e-mail, and add contact information such 

as your phone, fax and street address. The 

recipient may want to call to talk further 

or send you documents that cannot be 

e-mailed. Creating a formal signature 

block with all that data is the 

most professional 

approach. 

11. Expecting an 

instant response 

Not everyone is sitting in front 

of the computer with e-mail 

turned on. The beauty of 

Internet communication is 

that it is convenient. It is not 

an interruption. People can 

check their messages when it 

suits them, not you. If your 

communication is so important 

that you need to hear back 

right away, use the phone. 

12. Completing the “To” line first 

The name or address of the person to whom 

you are writing is actually the last piece of 

information you should enter. 

Check everything else over carefully first. Proof 

for grammar, punctuation, spelling and clarity. 

Did you say what needed to be said? How was 

your “tone of voice”? If you were the least bit 

emotional when you wrote the e-mail, did you 

let it sit for a period of time? Did you include the 

attachment you wanted to send? 

If you enter the recipient’s name first, a mere 

slip of the finger can send a message before its’ 

time. You can never take it back. 

E-mail makes everything easier and faster including making a powerful business impression 

and establishing positive professional relationships. The businessperson who uses the 

technology effectively and appropriately will see the results of that effort reflected in 

the bottom line. 

© 2005, Lydia Ramsey. 

Lydia Ramsey is a business etiquette expert, professional speaker, corporate trainer and author of Manners That Sell - Adding the Polish That Brings 

Profits. She has been quoted or featured in The New York Times, Investors’ Business Daily, Entrepreneur, Inc., Real Simple and Woman’s Day. 

11 


SINGAPORE 

The New Downtown, 

Over the next decennia, a new Downtown will take shape around 

Marina Bay. It is poised to usher in a whole new experience of living 

and working in the city and by the water. The New Downtown is 

planned as a ‘City-in-a-garden’ offering a distinctive location for 

business, living, working and leisure, around-the-clock. Providing a 

total integrated work-live-play environment, the area will be a 

flourishing community, anchored around an international business 

and financial hub that expands seamlessly from the existing Central 

Business District. 

The initial planning for the 

area dates back to the 1985 

master plan and has through 

various intermittent planning 

stages, resulted in three 

Planning Areas - Downtown 

Core (Central and Bay front 

sub zones), Straits View and 

Marina South - which are 

collectively referred to as 

the new Downtown. In all, 

some 313ha of land had earlier been reclaimed 

and is now made available for developers to shape 

the development of Singapore’s new downtown. 

For the first time, a large area of land covering 

some 50ha will be zoned “White” at the Central 

and Bay front sub zones. This new zoning offers 

developers the opportunity and challenge to 

transform this vacant piece of land into a new city. 

White sites zone is a new land use zoning which 

has been introduced to give more flexibility to 

the developers over the future use of land. The 

remaining 144ha of land in Straits View and Marina 

South has been safeguarded for future long-term 

development and is marked as reserve sites until 

specific uses are finalised. 

The first white site in the New Downtown, 

located at the corner of Pickering Street Extension 

and Raffles Quay has been completed by now 

with amongst others a new building for NTUC. Also 

part of the New Downtown is the Business and 

Financial Centre (BFC). The BFC site was sold on 

7th July and is a key initiative aimed at enhancing 

Singapore’s position as a global business and 

financial hub. An important consideration is to 

frame Marina Bay with developments that will help 

Singapore’s economic development in the future. 

The casino development or Integrated Resort (IR) 

as it is commonly known is an example of this. 

Singapore will offer a 12-hectare site along the 

bay for the IR that would include a casino, a 

convention centre, a hotel, restaurants and shops. 

The property is scheduled to be sold by the end of 

the year. 

Unlike the existing CBD, the New Downtown 

will not be a place for business only. When night 

falls, the place will take on a new look with the 

skyline adorned with glittering lights. Activities 

will continue after office 

hours. This is made possible 

because the new downtown 

will offer living in the city. 

The area will offer a variety 

of housing with magnificent 

views out across the 

waterfront and parks and all 

the city’s attractions and 

convenience close at hand. 

It will be a place for people 

to return home and to 

unwind after work. To meet this aim, some land 

parcels totalling about 9.6ha fronting both Marina 

City Park and the Maxwell Road Extension have 

been earmarked for future residential development. 

The high-density, high-rise commercial and 

residential developments will be complimented by 

a series of low-density, low-rise developments for 

food and beverage, recreation and lifestyle-related 

uses to build up a critical mass of development 

early and create a unique set of amenities for 

visitors and people working and living within the 

area. 

The new Downtown will be a place of 

convenience with state-of-the-art infrastructure. 

Additional rail transit lines and stations will 

complement the existing Marina Bay MRT Station 

to improve accessibility. Living in the city means 

that the office is just a short walk from home or 

a few stops away on the transit system. The New 

Downtown will be linked to the existing CBD via 

the extension of the existing Pickering Street 

and Cross Street. This pair of one-way boulevards 

will form the gateway into the new Downtown, 

extending through Marina South and Straits View 

as a major spine that links the existing CBD to the 

sea. Hub car park stations, integrated within 

developments or formed by connecting car parks 

12 


SINGAPORE 

Singapore in the 21st Century 

By Michael van Ommeren & 

Jeroen de Koning 

within adjacent buildings, will provide for more 

convenient car parking. With the construction of 

the new coastal expressway, the existing East Coast 

Parkway (ECP) which divides the new Downtown 

area into two irregular areas will be straightened 

and converted to a major arterial road, allowing 

for better parcels of land to be created. 

Modern infrastructure will be implemented to 

improve the reliability of services supplies and 

allow easy maintenance and new installations. An 

underground Common Services Tunnel (CST), will 

be located below the roads to house and distribute 

utility service lines, including water pipes, power 

cables and communications facilities. 22kV power 

will be supplied directly to individual developments 

from the 230kV network via a Central Electrical 

Substation using a new and reliable distribution 

method. The CST will also house chilled water pipes 

from the District Cooling System to carry chilled 

water directly to buildings. The CST is also planned 

to house a Pneumatic Refuse Conveyance System 

to provide centralised refuse collection for the 

area in future. 

In the new Downtown, pedestrians will take 

priority. A comprehensive pedestrian system will 

ensure all-weather protected routes and seamless 

connectivity between buildings, open spaces and 

transport networks, whether at street level, above 

or below ground. Pedestrians can also take a stroll 

along the tree-lined boulevards and the open 

spaces which would be lined with activities, thus 

providing a pleasant relief to the dense urban 

setting. Buildings will be lined with retail frontages, 

cafes, restaurants, outdoor refreshment areas and 

kiosks, creating vibrant and active streets. Major 

public open spaces will be complemented by pocket 

parks, plazas, sky terraces and roof gardens within 

individual developments to create a lush tropical 

landscape and unique sense of place, reinforcing 

Singapore’s garden city image. 

Marina Bay and the waterfront area around it 

are an important asset for Singapore and will be 

a key urban space within the city. The planning 

intention is to develop it into a lively, vibrant and 

exciting premier waterfront location. The 1.5-km 

promenade at the Central and Bayfront areas and 

the new 280-m bridge between Bayfront and Marina 

Centre will complete the continuous, 3.35-km 

walking “loop” around the Bay, fully linking Marina 

Business and Financial 

Centre Site 

Possible Future 

RTS Station 

Centre, Collyer Quay and Marina City Park. The 

good news is that the public will not have to wait 

for the whole Downtown to be built up many years 

down the road before they can enjoy the entire 

waterfront. For the new stretch of the promenade 

and the new bridge will be ready in three years. 

That is not all. The public will also be able to enjoy 

recreational and lifestyle-related activities in the 

shorter-term developments fronting the Bay. In 

addition, with the completion of the Marina Barrage 

in 2007/8, Marina Bay will have a stabilised water 

level with no tidal fluctuations making it suitable 

for staging water-based events and performances 

and international water-sport competitions as well 

as recreational activities. 

Sources: http://www.ura.gov.sg 

Centre 

Promontory 

Site 

Site Sold 

in 2002 

One 

Raffles Quay 

One Marina 

Boulevard 

MARINA BAY 

RAFFLE 

PLACE 

The New Downtown will not be a place for business only. 

When night falls, the place will take on a new look with the 

skyline adorned with glittering lights. Activities will continue 

after office hours. This is made possible because the new 

downtown will offer living in the city. The area will offer a 

variety of housing with magnificent views out across the 

waterfront and parks and all the city’s attractions and 

convenience close at hand. It will be a place for people to 

return home and to unwind after work. 

13 


INTERVIEW 

Questions to Anne Jonkhans, 

Managing Director of PURAC Asia Pacific 

10leaving 

By Barry Doesburg 

Can you tell us shortly about 

1 yourself? 

Let me introduce myself: Anne Jonkhans 

- a name which keeps especially the English 

speaking population speculating if I am male/ 

female, until I show up. This has lead more than 

once in very disappointed male business partners! 

I have lived in Singapore now for over 12 years, 

got married and was very much getting settled in 

this part of the world. That was until I was asked 

to transfer and take up a position for PURAC in 

the USA. Although I am looking forward to my 

stay in the USA (everything is bigger) we are 

rather sad to leave Asia, as it has been part of 

our lives for such a long period. 

What kind of company is PURAC? 

2 PURAC is part of CSM, a multi-national 

company engaged in bakery supplies 

and food ingredients, predominantly operating in 

business-to-business markets. Also operating 

under the name CSM Biochemicals, PURAC is one 

of four divisions next to CSM Sugar, CSM Bakery 

Supplies Northern Europe (including Bakemark, 

Unipro & Waldkorn) and Bakery Supplies North 

America (including Caravan, Brill & American 

Ingredients Company). The European Confectionery 

Division has been sold earlier this year to focus 

on core businesses. 

PURAC is a very interesting global company. 

It has proven to be innovative, propelling it over 

the years into a market leader (with a market 

share exceeding 50 %) into formerly considered 

‘niche’ markets. Its products - natural lactic 

and gluconic acid and its derivatives - are 

manufactured in 6 different sites and sold to a 

variety of applications e.g. pharmaceutical, food, 

personal care, micro-electronic, coating and 

cleaning amongst others. This makes it a very 

interesting marketing job and never seems to 

bore anyone. PURAC has a very open culture, 

where people with a no-nonsense, “can-do” and 

entrepreneurial attitude prosper very well. 

You are leaving Singapore. What 

3 is next? 

Yes, I am leaving Singapore for Chicago. 

I will be heading the sales and marketing 

organization in the USA next, considered being 

the biggest market within PURAC. This will be an 

interesting experience and quite a challenge. Its 

business environment and culture may need some 

adjustments from my side. However, having been 

married with an American has prepared me 

somewhat. No “shock and ohh” experience I think. 

Lactic acid (‘melkzuur’) is 

4 present in many fermented foods 

like beer, bread, cheese, yoghurt 

and pickles. Many people will not be 

familiar with it as an ingredient. Can you 

explain us what it is all about? 

It is applied, as explained earlier, in very diverse 

fields and we find almost daily new application 

14 


INTERVIEW 

possibilities. To name a few: as preservative in 

meat, salads & dressings and feed applications, 

as pH regulator and/or flavourant in sour dough, 

candies and personal care products, as moisturizer 

in cakes and cosmetics, as cleaner ingredient 

and/or solvent in house-hold cleaners and the 

production of micro-chips and CD-ROMS, and 

many more. 

How has the market evolved over 

5 the last years for a biochemical 

supplier like PURAC? And how 

does the future look like? 

The market for our type of product has expanded 

tremendously. Most of the growth was driven 

by PURAC’s market approach through an 

enthousiastic group of people. Since the early 

80-ies we were able to record double-digit growth 

percentages, resulting in us becoming the most 

dominant player in this field. Since the end of 

the 80-ies when we set up an office in Asia, we 

also were able to become the most dominant 

player in this part of the world. At times we 

enjoyed years of more than 25% growth. The worst 

recorded performance, during the ‘IMF crisis’ as 

the Koreans put it, was a meager 5% growth. Last 

year PURAC was able to generate globally a 19 % 

growth in sales volume. We hope to repeat this… 

You have lived in Singapore for 

6 12 consecutive years. That is 

longer than most of us and you 

must have enjoyed it. What makes 

Singapore enjoyable? 

12 years is quite some time, but it felt like it was 

only a couple of years. Asia by itself has always 

attracted me and I loved doing business in this 

part of the world where relationships count. 

Singapore as a place to stay made it even more 

enjoyable, although I could have done without 

the heat and humidity. Singapore’s live-style is 

quite relaxed, everything seems to function, 

hardly any traffic jams, a convenient airport close 

by, a good cultural & art scene and having an 

‘amah’ has made it all very convenient. That will 

be something to adjust to in the USA. 

cold and of course a nice meal of fried kwai theow. 

As far as it concerns business, I will miss the 

typical way of building relationships over the years 

and the friendship that goes with it. Quite a 

number of business friends turned into personal 

friends as well. 

Particularly, what has changed 

8 over the last 12 years in Asia? 

Like everybody noticed there is a lot 

more prosperity in Asia nowadays, as a result of 

tremendous economic growth in the last 10 years. 

These changes offer great opportunities when 

one is willing to invest in Asia for the long run. 

Unfortunately the tremendous growth has not 

touched everybody yet. The in-equality seemed 

to have grown as well. 

Any advise for newcomers how 

9 to run a business in Asia? 

Practice common sense and be sensitive 

of the tremendous culture differences and act 

upon it. Terrible mistake are easily made and 

take a long time to ‘undo’ them. ‘Do as the 

Romans do’ and take the time to develop your 

relationships. Don’t rush into them. 

What are you appreciating and 

7 will you miss most of living and 

doing business in Asia Pacific? 

What has made the biggest impression 

on you so far? 

As far as living in Asia; being able to step into the 

pool every day of the year and not feeling the 

Can you give us a nice metaphor 

10 for doing business in Asia? 

Doing business in Asia is like…a marathon 

runner. It takes discipline, time, hard work and 

pain to prepare, but you feel great when you 

succeed in your quest. In the process you get 

addicted and want to do it again. 

15 


INTERVIEW 

Interview with retiring Netherlands Ambassador, Mr. 

By Wil Kolen & Brigitte Velema 

Mr. van Pesch has reached the final stage of his 

now 36 year long career as representative for 

the Dutch queen. The position of Netherlands 

Ambassador in Singapore is the last one he will 

be completing this month. 

We had the opportunity to speak with Mr. van 

Pesch and reflect on his experiences as diplomat 

and ambassador for the Netherlands in the 

various countries he was posted. 

Born in Bandung, Java, 1942. 

His family moved to Holland when he was four 

years old. At the age of 16 he decided he wanted 

to become a diplomat and studied in Leiden 

before moving to Paris to take on Political Science 

and Arabic language. His first position was at the 

Foreign Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 

in The Hague. This was the start of a great career 

during which he was posted in several Middle 

Eastern and Asian countries. 

Mr. van Pesch is married to Mrs. Viviane Sioufi 

(born Libanese) and together they have two sons. 

After living abroad for so many years, do 

you still feel ‘Dutch’? 

Yes of course. Although I haven’t spent that much 

time in Holland, by working for a Dutch institution 

like the Embassy I need to stay in touch with 

Holland on a daily basis. 

I have studied law in Leiden for a while, but 

decided to give that up and go and study in Paris 

instead. 

Why did you choose to study Political 

science in combination with Arabic 

language? 

Since my 16th year I decided I wanted to become 

a diplomat. This idea got stuck in my head and I 

worked towards it to make this come true. My 

studies in Leiden did not work out and I decided to 

make a definite move towards reaching my goal. 

During the first year at the university in Paris I 

had to write an essay about the Middle East conflict. 

In my enthusiasm over this research, I thought it 

would be a good idea to learn both Hebrew and 

the Arabic language as well. With hindside that 

was actually a bit naïve and idealistic step. 

Which country has given you the best 

memories and which country the worst? 

I’m an optimist and try to look at situations in a 

positive manner. From that perspective, every 

posting was interesting in its own right although 

some were easier than others of course. For 

instance Libya, where I spent some time, was a 

difficult spot. In those days the political climate 

wasn’t that good under Khadafi. 

I had the position of Chargé d’Affaires and did 

not have any superiors and therefore carried sole 

responsibility. Once I had visitors over from the 

Union bicycle factory to try and set up a business 

in Lybia. On their off-day, these guys went out sight 

seeing in Tripoli but were then accused of spying 

and immediately arrested. This was of course 

ridiculous, but it became a difficult situation and 

I helped them by getting rid of the ‘evidence’. 

After which they still had to spend some time in 

jail for interrogation. 

The most interesting country was China. I 

remember when we arrived there in 1980. It wasn’t 

very developed then and there weren’t many lights. 

We had some trouble to get into the country 

because our newborn baby wasn’t included in the 

visa application. 

While driving into Beijing, the road was 

completely dark and I was thinking, where have 

we arrived? 

During my stay there I experienced the 

Taiwanese submarine crisis, which was a very 

sensitive case that stirred up some dust and is not 

easily forgotten by the Chinese government. 

In wintertime, there wasn’t much available 

although we received some supplies from Hong 

Kong. 

I could not speak or read the language and 

often depended on translators. 

Sometimes we had to deal with translators 

who had studied the Dutch language in Surinam, 

which was tough at times as we weren’t sure how 

our words would be interpreted. 

But I always wanted to look at the bright side 

of things. You learn to deal with these situations 

and look at things in a more relative manner. 

While living there and discussing the situation, 

I received some advise from one of my diplomat 

colleagues; In the life of a diplomat there are two 

most important aspects to take care of: Your kids 

and your teeth; you never know how your kids can 

be affected by living in foreign countries and 

through constantly changing environment. The 

dentists never agree with each other, so you may 

end up with dental renovations all the time. 

What is your favorite Singaporean food? 

I love spicy food, Indian and Indonesian style. 

Indonesian curry based dishes are my favorite. 

16 


INTERVIEW 

Hendrik J. van Pesch 

What makes Singapore 

different from other 

locations where you 

have lived? 

I have great respect for the 

way Singapore has developed 

over the years. Everything is 

available here and Singapore 

has worked hard to get 

where they are now. I’ve 

lived in Africa for five years 

and compare the situation 

of Singapore in 1965, which 

was that in Tanzania then. 

So they’ve come a long way 

and both countries became 

even more apart in their development. Singapore 

is a very safe place and very pleasant to live. 

What is your expectation for Singapore 

in near future? 

Singapore is looking ahead and working hard 

to build links with China and India. Especially 

India might follow a similar development which 

Singapore went through. Therefore Singapore can 

play an important role in its economical growth. 

Why do Dutch people have to apply for 

a visa to get into Indonesia? 

For years it has been the case that Indonesians 

have to apply for a visa to get into Holland. 

And historically Holland hasn’t always been 

appreciated for its actions. With the introduction 

of new Airbus planes that will carry 550 people, 

you will get long queues at the airport for visa 

applications there. Therefore it’s an advantage 

to have a visa arranged before you travel. Of 

course it’s less convenient for traveling to Batam. 

But I don’t foresee any changes in their policy in 

near future. 

What did you always miss from Holland 

regardless where you lived? 

I never missed the chocolate sprinkles (hagelslag) 

or liquorish, but more the social contact and the 

Dutch ‘gezelligheid’ and the ‘normal’ life. 

What has been your favorite location for 

posting and would you want to live there? 

Singapore is very convenient of course, but with 

my career ending, things will change for me here 

as well and living abroad will become different in 

any location. We have chosen to go and live in 

Brussels because it is a city with an international 

character and feels more familiar to me due to its 

international political role; by just reading the 

papers I will see familiar faces and names and 

through that I will stay connected. 

What will your activities be now you are 

going to retire? 

Well, I’m not sure yet as most of my hobbies are 

work related. Over the years I remained a member 

of several clubs and will be more active in that 

area. Going back to Europe also brings me closer 

to our friends in Brussels and Holland, so I can spend 

more time with them. 

Overview of postings and positions held by Mr. Van Pesch 

1969 : Foreign Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 

The Hague 

1970 : Nominated Third Secretary for Cultural Affairs at the 

Netherlands Embassy in Cairo (Egypt) followed by postings 

at the Embassies in Kinshasa (Congo) and Ankara (Turkey) 

1977 : Nominated as Chargé d’Affaires in Tripoli (Libya) 

1980 – 1983 : Counsellor at the Embassy in Beijing 

1983 – 1986 : Consul-General at Montréal 

1986 : Appointed as Minister Plenipotentiary at the Embassy 

in Brussels 

1990 : Consul-General in Hong Kong 

1995 : Appointed Director for Asia and Oceania at the Ministry 

of Foreign Affairs in The Hague 

1996 : Ambassador to Morocco 

Nov. 2000- 

Aug. 2005 : Ambassador to Singapore and Brunei Darussalam. 

17 


POP AND DROP A QUESTION 

Bring intelligence into the 

Business 

Intelligence is all 

about converting 

the endless 

stream of data 

produced by doing 

business into 

information that 

can be used to 

make better 

business 

decisions. 

This conversion 

process consists of 

gathering, 

transforming, 

storing and 

analysing that 

data and last but 

not least 

providing access 

to the outcome 

allowing factbased 

decision 

making. 

Question to Jeroen 

Dijkxhoorn, Manager 

Technology strategy 

group Asia Pacific at 

SAS institute. 

What is Business Intelligence? 

And what is the status of BI in 

Asia Pacific? 

Answer 

There is a deceptive nature 

to the definition of Business 

Intelligence, especially for the 

Dutch. This is caused by the 

word ‘Intelligence’. Intelligence 

in this case is not referring to human cognitive 

capabilities, as the Dutch word ‘Intelligentie’ is, 

but to information and the process of gathering 

information. 

Therefore Business Intelligence is all about 

converting the endless stream of data produced 

by doing business into information that can be used 

to make better business decisions. This conversion 

process consists of gathering, transforming, storing 

and analysing that data and last but not least 

providing access to the outcome allowing factbased 

decision making. 

Nevertheless, the ambiguity in the term 

‘Intelligence’ is always nice to use, when talking 

to executives, claiming that ‘It is time to bring 

intelligence into the boardroom!’ 

Over the years BI has also 

become synonym for the 

information technology systems 

and applications providing 

these capabilities. And as for 

all definitions in the Information 

Technology space is prone 

to slight changes depending 

on whoever (or better: what 

company) is using the term. 

Typical applications of BI 

deal with three main categories 

of Business: Suppliers, Internal 

Organisation and Customers. The 

customer intelligence category 

is the biggest as the information 

derived is directly influencing 

the competitiveness, ability to increase revenue 

and improve profitability of an organisation. 

Understanding the customer demographics, 

analysing customer behaviour, predicting customer 

demand and segmenting customers based on 

profitability, likelihood to accept offers and 

likelihood to move to the competition are some 

examples of BI objectives in this area. 

The supplier side, although small in market 

size, is able to generate huge cost savings for 

companies. Imagine the number of suppliers 

of a globally operating company and the total 

spend across all those suppliers. Having a 

clear understanding of the total spend and the 

inter-relationships of those suppliers, allows 

for consolidation of purchasing contracts and 

negotiating better rates. On the qualitative side 

and the strive for business continuity it also 

allows better management of supplier efficiency 

and assessing credit worthiness. 

The internal organisation category is the 

most diverse of all. Applications range from 

consolidation, budgeting and planning in the 

financial area to resource optimization in the 

internal IT organisation. Besides generic across 

industry applications, this category contains a 

lot of industry specific applications as well. 

In the Banking industry, for instance, Risk 

Management is a very important area due to direct 

relationship to the cost structure of the bank, 

competitiveness in credit markets and the evergrowing 

regulatory pressures. Revenue assurance 

is another example, in this case specific for 

the Telecommunications industry. The average 

18 


BOOK REVIEW 

Singapore CityScoops 

Singapore’s 1 st independent and hip guide to authentic 

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Singapore CityScoops is the first 

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captures its heart and soul. It 

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Singapore CityScoops features no advertisements 

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Spanning the island, Singapore CityScoops 

zooms in on cosmopolitan hot spots, beloved local 

finds, cool and hidden spaces, as well as remarkable 

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on, off and beyond the beaten track to find eats, 

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With its vibrant design and striking photographs, 

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about time Singapore had its own hip and alternative 

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The CityScoopers scoured the entire island to 

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Visits were made to each location and interviews 

were conducted with owners and managers to gain 

insight to the how and why behind their business. 

All the reviewed outlets in the guide share 

two common factors: they are run by people 

who are passionate about what they do and they 

exude a certain ‘wow’ factor. Explains Marijke, 

“We’re not just about the latest hot spot or trend. 

Sometimes it’s about an innovative concept, 

a charming setting or a cool product or 

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the inside scoop on cool finds and must-have 

experiences that are not only quintessential, 

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companion. In addition to the 90 full-page reviews, 

there’s also a SuperScoops section – a quick-list of 

trendy picks, cool ideas and useful finds. 

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Singapore CityScoops is conceptualised, 

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As Singapore is a cosmopolitan, multi-cultural 

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Singapore CityScoops Fact Sheet 

Content: 

- 90 full page reviews, accompanied with 

contact information and photos 

- Subjects: 26% food, 14% clubs & chills, 

12% body & soul, 7% fashion, 11% other shops, 

6% thrills & skills, 6% services, 5% escapes, 

5% home & living, 4% kids, and 3% the arts. 

- 97 additional ‘SuperScoops’ listings featured 

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- 220 vibrant photos 

- 7 comprehensive area maps 

- Index by alphabet and by subject 

Retail price : S$25.00 (including GST) 

Available at : all major bookshops and selected 

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Website : www.cityscoops.com 

20 


BIZZ AGENDA 

Health & You Seminar & Exhibition 

Public Health and Wellness Seminar & Exhibition 

13-14 August 

Suntec, Hall 404 

 

9th Infocomm 

Preparing Today's Enterprise for Tomorrow's Technology 

18 August 

Suntec, Theatre Level (Level 3) 

www.english.sccci.org.sg 

 

Promoting Accreditation, Competence 

& Employability (PACE) 2005 

A 2-day event with IT training, certification and employment 

showcase 


Suntec, Level 3 

www.nicc.org.sg/pace2005 

 

SA Tours Mega Travel Sale 

21 August 

Suntec 

www.satours.com 

 

Golf Expo 2005 

Trade and consumer golf show 


Singapore Expo, Hall 4 

www.golfexpo.com.sg 

 

International Healthcare Facilities 

Exhibition & Conference 

IHFEC 2005 is established to advocate, advance and support 

the delivery of quality healthcare facilities in Asia and Middle 

Eastern countries 

31 August-2 September 

Singapore Expo, Hall 2B 

info@infec.com 

NATAS Holidays 2005 

Consumer travel fair 

9-11 September 

Suntec, Hall 601/603 

www.natas.org.sg 

 

Tyrexpo Asia 2005 



www.eci-international.com 

 

Baucon 2005 

Building materials, building technology & services and 

construction machinery 



www.bauconasia.com 

 

Wire & Tube Asia 2005 


Singapore Expo, Hall 3 & 4A 

www.wire-singapore.com 

www.tube-singapore.com 

 

Global Franchising & Licensing 2005 

The 7th international event for business opportunities and 

intellectual property rights 



www.gfranchising.com 

 

Retail Industry Trade Event 2005 

The 4th international supermarket product, retail 

equipment, display, storage and technology exhibition and 

conference, incorporating FMCG2005, ShopFit2005 and 

Retail IT2005. 



www.rite-exhibition.com 

23 


DUTCH NEWS 

2005, Dutch Media/Newspapers 

KNMI to study 

superstorms 

The Royal Meteorological Institute (KNMI) 

in De Bilt, will carry out a comprehensive 

research in the coming years on the 

chance of occurring superstorms in the 

Netherlands. 

Superstorms are storms with a wind 

force of 12 on the Beaufort Wind Scale. 

A recent research has shown that 

superstorms can occur as a result of very 

exceptional conditions, including the 

merging of two storm depressions into 

a single depression. The phenomenon 

superstorm is characterised with an 

extreme wind speed and very heavy 

rainfall. Superstorms have never been 

registered in the Netherlands so far. 

Current climate models indicate that 

very fierce storms can principally occur 

over the northern Atlantic Ocean. Due to 

the greenhouse effect though, the area 

where such storms can occur, might move 

towards Europe, KNMI said. 

Lonnie van 

Brummelen 

wins 2005 Prix de 

Rome Award 

Artist Lonnie van Brummelen, 36, 

won the 2005 Prix de Rome Award 

in the category Impressive Art. 

Van Brummelen was born in 

Soest, central Netherlands, and 

graduated in philosophy from the 

University of Amsterdam (UvA) in 

1995. 

The second 2005 Prix de Rome 

Impressive Art award was given to the 

Israeli-born Dutch-based artist Yael 

Bartana, 35. The prize money of this 

award is 20,000 euro ($24,200). 

The two basic awards were given 

to the Esther Tielemans, 29, and the 

Chinese Kan Xuan, 33. 

Prix de Rome is the oldest and 

most prestigious Dutch prize for 

artists and architects, aged under 

35. The award was established in 

1817 and is given in a total of 10 

categories since 1985. 

Rotterdam sets up Art, Culture Council 

The municipality of Rotterdam, western Netherlands, established a Council 

for Arts and Culture. 

The setting up of the institution is one of the last steps in the ongoing 

restructuring of the art sector in Rotterdam. 

The Council for Arts and Culture will replace the former Rotterdam Art 

Council (RKS), and will be responsible for the development and implementation 

of the quality control in the Rotterdam art sector. The first chairman of the 

Council for Arts and Culture is the former Rotterdam municipality council 

member, Mickey Teenstra. 

The Rotterdam mayor and aldermen appointed the members of the Council 

for Arts and Culture, including the politician Nebahat Albayrak, lecturer Arjo 

Klamer, architect Monica van Steen, the management board chairman of the 

university Hogeschool Rotterdam, Jasper Tuytel, and Tom Gosselaar, an assistant 

in musical projects. 

Tilburg to introduce 

children university 

Dutch University of Tilburg (UvT), will 

introduce a university for children in 

October 2005. 

The lecture rooms will be open for 

children aged between 10 and 12. During 

the lectures, professors will tell the 

children about the tricks in advertisement 

industry and the new dialect that chatters 

use on the chatting programme Microsoft 

Network (MSN) Messenger. 

Children, who have followed four out 

of the total six lecture programmes at the 

children’s university, will get a diploma 

from the Rector Magnificus of the UvT. 

Parents will not be welcome during the 

lectures. 

Three of four 

celebrated Father’s Day 

Three out of four Dutch have celebrated 

Father’s Day, last June 19, 2005. 

The majority of the Dutch bought a 

present. A total 92 pct of those, who 

bought a present, gave it to their father. 

Some 24 pct of the surveyed said they’ve 

bought a present for their father-in-law 

and 11 pct for their partner. Perfumes and 

cosmetic products were ranked among 

the most popular presents for Father’s 

Day. The Dutch spent an average 37 euro 

($44.7) on a present. According to the 

survey, 80 pct of the Dutch celebrate 

Mother’s Day. 

The survey was carried out among 700 

Dutch citizens. 

329,000 on unemployment benefits Q1 2005 

The number of people in the Netherlands receiving unemployment benefits stood at 

329,000 in the first quarter of 2005 compared to 325,000 at end-2004, the Dutch 

Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) said. 

The seasonally adjusted number of Dutch receiving unemployment benefits 

increased by over 1,000 per month in the first three months of 2005. The increase 

stood at a bit less than 1,000 per month in the second half of 2004. 

The increase of the unemployment benefits is fully attributed to women. 

The increase stood at 1,000 per month over the last half year. The number of 

men with unemployment benefits has remained almost unchanged for three 

consecutive quarters. 

The number of Dutch receiving social security benefits stood at 327,000 at 

end-March 2005, an increase of 11,000 compared to end-December 2004. The average 

monthly increase was between 3,000 and 4,000. 

The number of disabled people with benefits decreasd by 11,000 to 950,000 at 

end-March 2005 compared to end-December 2004. 

24 


DUTCH NEWS 

2005, Dutch Media/Newspapers 

Rolf Wouters makes 

come-back on Talpa TV 

Television production company Talpa TV, 

owned by television producer and media 

tycoon John de Mol, has signed a contract 

with the popular presenter Rolf Wouters, 

to present a number of programmes on 

the new TV channel Talpa TV. 

Wouters, who became popular in the 

past as a presenter of the programmes 

‘Wedden Dat’ and ‘Now or Never’, will 

make his come-back on the television with 

the programme ‘Sponsor Loterij Superbal’ 

on Talpa TV. 

Talpa TV has attracted another 

popular TV face from the past, the 

presenter Maarten Spanjer, who will 

make, together with Wilfred Genee, the 

Aruba Beach Footvolley 2005 programme 

on the new channel. 

The former presenter on the AVRO 

public channel Angela Groothuizen will 

make a daily personality magazine called 

‘Thuis’ together with Froukje de Both, 

Gordon en Winston Gerschtanowitz on 

Talpa TV. 

Talpa TV presented its full programme 

later this summer. The new TV station 

will start broadcasting on August 12, 

2005. Talpa TV will broadcast in the 

evening hours from 1800 local time on 

the frequencies of children’s broadcaster 

Nickelodeon. 

ANWB introduces SMS 

warning service 

Tourist and Automobile Association 

(ANWB) has introduced on June 22, 2005 

a short messages (SMS) warning service 

for its members. 

With the service, ANWB will warn its 

3.5 million members about calamities, 

extreme traffic jams with a length of over 

50 km, and national strikes in the country 

of their holiday destination or en route 

to their final destination. 

ANWB members can apply for the SMS 

service via the website of the association, 

www.anwb.nl . They will be charged 0.25 

euro ($0.30) per received SMS message. 

The SMS system of ANWB covers 

most western European countries. 

ANWB members can also select the 

regions within those countries upon 

application. 

Nibud makes 

online financial 

test for teenagers 

National Budget Information Institute 

(Nibud) has developed an Internet test 

for teenagers and their parents, giving 

information about the prevention of 

financial difficulties. 

According to Nibud, an everincreasing 

number of young people in 

the Netherlands currently do not take 

money spending seriously enough, as 

a result of which they face financial 

problems more often. 

Moreover, an increasing number 

of parents approach the institute for 

advice, as their children are asking for 

too much money from them. 

The so-called financial education 

test features a list of questions, to 

be answered by both children and 

parents. The test contains questions 

about daily allowance and money for 

clothing, amongst others. At the end 

of the test, both teenagers and parents 

are given financial advice from Nibud. 

The Nibud test is designed for 

children aged between 10 and 16 

years, and for their parents. The test 

is to be found on the Nibud website, 

www.nibud.nl. 

SER chairman to leave 

The Social and Economic Council of the 

Netherlands (SER) chairman Herman 

Wijffels, 63, will resign in April 2006, a 

spokesman of SER said. 

Wijffels has recently informed Dutch 

Employment and Social Affairs Minister, 

Aart Jan de Geus, and the management 

of SER that he will not be available for 

an extension of his chairmanship. 

Wijffels has been chairman of SER since 

1999. Previously, he was chairman of the 

Executive Board of Dutch financial services 

group Rabobank Group for 13 years. 

Holidaymakers use 

navigation system 

Some 45 pct of Dutch holidaymakers 

use a navigation system during their 

holiday trip, a survey of the edition of 

the computer magazine Winmag showed. 

Another 9.0 pct considered starting to 

use a navigation system. About 35 pct of 

the surveyed said they used a paper map 

or did not need map at all, 11 pct of the 

surveyed said they were not going on 

holiday. 

In the survey, TomTom Mobile 5 was 

ranked best navigation system for mobile 

phones. Alturion GPS Professional 6.0 

was the preferred system for PDA and 

laptops and Mio 268 was ranked best 

all-in-one system. 

Parkpop festival attracts 

350,000 visitors 2005 

The jubilee 25th edition of the free music festival Parkpop in the 

Hague, registered 350,000 visitors on June 26, 2005, unchanged from the 

2004 edition. 

Parkpop is the largest free-access pop festival in the Netherlands and 

Europe. It is held each year in the park Zuiderpark in the Hague. 

The 2005 edition of the festival featured performances of Elvis Costello 

and The Imposters, De Dijk, Gabriel Rios, Ali B. and Within Temptation. 

According to the police, the Parkpop festival went without incidents 

in 2005. 

The Foundation against Senseless Violence and the Novib organisation 

gathered 5,840 digital signatures against violence and weapon possession 

among the visitors of the festival. 

The Parkpop festival was established in 1981. 

25 


EMBASSY INFO 

Public 

Holidays 

Dutch Beats 

The Royal Netherlands Embassy will be closed on the following days in August 2005: 

Tuesday 9 August (National Day) 

Friday 12 August (Embassy Day) 

Dutch Beats - 60 minutes of solo percussion from Holland 

by the Dutch solo percussionist Arnold Marinissen 

(part of the ExxonMobil Campus Concerts ) 

Tuesday 30 August 2005 

7.30 - 8.30 p.m. 

University Cultural Centre (UCC) 

at the National Universtity of Singapore (NUS) 

Entry : free of charge 

Photographer: Bill Nichol 

Job Vacancy 

Arnold Marinissen studied percussion at the Royal Conservatorium in The Hague. In 1991 

he graduated with distinction, and received the Prize for the Best Exam of the Year. 

Since then, he has been active in the fields of solo, chamber and symphonic music. 

Between 2003 and 2005 a series of three solo CD’s appeared with BVHaast: Traces 

of Cultures, Layered Rhythms and recently Percussionist Songs. They received great 

critical acclaim. 

He played solo repertoire throughout the Netherlands, all over 

Europe, in Australia and New Zealand. 

Marinissen teaches percussion at the Fontys Conservatorium, 

Tilburg, the Netherlands, and has given lessons and workshops in 

Amsterdam, Detmold, in Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland, Wellington and 

Dunedin. He has also been member of the jury in various exams and 

competitions. In September 2001 he was jury member for the ARD 

International Music Competition in Munich, Germany. 

Marinissen will be in Singapore to give workshops at the Nanyang 

Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) and to perfrom during the ExxonMobil 

Campus Concerts at the NUS. 

For more information; please visit www.arnoldmarinissen.com, 

www.nus.edu.sg/cfa or www.nethemb.org.sg > events. 

The Embassy of Belgium has a vacancy for the post of BI-LINGUAL SECRETARY 

Applicants must have following qualifications : 

Fluent in Dutch/English compulsory 

Experienced with PC 

Singaporeans/Permanent Residents/Green Card Holders 

Pleasant and friendly disposition 

Knowledge of French an advantage 

Terms and conditions : 

Working days, Mondays to Fridays, 8.30am to 4.00pm 

Starting salary S$2,863 (non negotiable) 

Interested applicants, please send resume to the Embassy for the attention of 

Mme. Claire Van De Ginste, Consul and Head of Chancery. 

Tel : (65) 6220 7677 Fax : (65) 6222 6976 

E-mail : singapore@diplobel.org 

Royal Embassy of Belgium 

#14-01 Temasek Tower 

8 Shenton Way Singapore 068811 

26 


EMBASSY INFO 

Matchmaking 

Event - Energy and 

Technologies for 

Coastal Areas 

An event for Singapore, Indonesia 

and Malaysia and the Netherlands 

Following the visit of Mr Brinkhorst, the Dutch Minister for Economic Affairs, to 

Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore in February 2005, SenterNovem intends to 

organise matchmaking events in each of those countries. The events will take 

place from 26 - 30 September 2005. 

A matchmaking event offers companies and research institutes the opportunity 

to meet potential partners for market-oriented R&D co-operation in a specific 

technology area. Such an event is organised to establish new contacts leading to 

R&D projects and, at a later stage, joint commercial exploitation of the results. From 

the SenterNovem perspective, the main target group are companies. 

Topic for the events 

The focus of the events will be on the following application areas: 

• Energy 

• Local energy production 

• Sustainable energy sources 

• Bio-mass and its applications 

• Bio-fuels and their applications 

• Energy conservation 

• Technologies for Coastal areas 

• Dredging and maritime infrastructure 

• Fishery and fish breeding, processing of maritime products 

• Water production and water treatment 

• Monitoring and modelling of coastal zones 

More information can be found at the following website: 

http://www.senternovem.nl/Opkomendemarkten/Matchmaking/SIM_matchmaking/index.asp 

For more information please do not hesitate to contact: 

Annoek van den Wijngaart 

Office for Science & Technology 

Royal Netherlands Embassy 

541 Orchard Road, #13-01 Liat Towers 

Singapore 238881 

Tel: (+65) 6 7391111 

Fax: (+65) 6 7372431 

E-mail: singapore@twanetwerk.nl 

Website:www.twanetwerk.nl 

ASSOCIATION INFO 

Membership fee is S$ 100 per calendar year. 

For registration, please see the website www.adb.org.sg/en_member_signup.htm. 

Membership is renewed automatically effective the first month of the new calendar year. 

Make your cheque payable to “Assocation of Dutch Businessmen” and send to 

ADB, c/o 22 Camden Park, Singapore 299814. 

Termination of membership must be received by ADB Secretariat in writing before 

1 January, otherwise you will be charged for the full amount for the following calendar year. 

Please notify the ADB secretariat of any changes in employer, (email) addresses or any other personal particulars 

that might be of interest to the ADB administration. 

27 


ASSOCIATION INFO 

AUGUST EVENT 

14th Annual 

black tie dinner 

to be held at the Hollandse Club 

on Saturday 27 August 2005 

Guest of Honour: His Excellency Mr Chris C. Sanders 

Ambassador-designate of the Kingdom of the 

Netherlands to Singapore 

Dress: Black Tie 

KINDLY SPONSORED BY UNILEVER ASIA PTE LTD 

New Members 

Hans Jacobs, Fearngas (Singapore) 

Martin Riswick, National Starch & Chemical 

Mark Woudstra, Brunel International South East Asia 

Menno Douwes Dekker, Hoyer Global 

Claudette Douwes Dekker-Dumoulin 

Ivo Blokker, Spring/G3 GlobalMail 

Theo Ocks, Novotel Clarke Quay 

Guido Pans, Shell Eastern Petroleum 

Erik de Boer, Reuters 

Gerbrand Schalkwijk, Xantic Singapore 

Henk Jan Jonge Poerink, Philips ETG 

Thijs ten Hag, Philips 

Sandra Pondaag, G3 Worldwide 

Wim van Elten, Océ (Singapore) 

Mirjam Bout 

Johan Kooistra, Philips 

Jan-Willem Smulders, AQ Services International 

Frans Leenaars, KLM 

Raymond Timmerman, KLM 

Arjan van de Bovenkamp, KLM 

Edith Kraayeveld, KLM 

Anand Dhawtal, Lucent Technologies 

Debby Sunderman-Reemers, Reemers Consulting 

Sandor Bakalis, Hutchinson-Priceline 

Leaving Members 

Jan Harmen Witzenburg, ING Bank 

Walter Moone, Vopak 

Raymond van der Horst, Exxon Mobil 

Annemarijke van Etten 

Ruud Lantinga, Akzo Nobel 

Joop Sassen, Van Leeuwen Pipe and Tube 

Paul Schreuders, Avebe 

Internship & Job Seekers 

My name is Wijnand Mulder and I am studying International Business and Languages 

at Windesheim in Zwolle. Currently I am in the third year of this course and I am 

doing my first internship at a tour operator. During this internship I also had to 

search out some things in Asia and during this process my curiosity and interest 

kept on growing. By doing this internship I also found out that the tour operating 

business most probably will not be the business line I would like to be active in 

during my career. The economic/trade sector attracts me much more. From 

September 2004 until February 2005 I studied in Malaga, Spain, and this is mainly 

the cause of the fact that my urge to go abroad is higher than ever. Next year 

February I will do my graduation internship. I would like to do this somewhere in 

the South-East-Asian region, as I think the world economy will draft more and 

more towards this region. Preferably I would do the internship in Singapore, but 

one of the neighbouring countries would also be excellent. I think it will most 

certainly bring along a lot of advantages if I have half a year of internship in this 

region on my resume. I also hope to get to know the business culture over there, 

because I expect to find quite a large number of differences between our own 

“Western” business culture and the Asian business culture. For more information 

and my resume, please feel free to contact me any time via telephone number 

0031-652652211 or via my e-mail address wijnandm@hotmail.com. 

Hereby I would like to apply for a commercial function with an international 

organisation in Singapore. My name is John van der Linde, a 25 year old ambitious 

young man from the Netherlands, who would like to make a step forward in his 

career. Two years ago I received my bachelor’s degree in commercial business 

studies. During my studies I went to the National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan, 

and studied international marketing there for six months. My English is fluent and 

at the moment I’m studying to learn Chinese. At the moment I have two years of 

work experience in The Netherlands. This includes working as a business economist, 

where I was responsible for budgets, analyses and various reports to the 

management. In addition to that, I was a sales representative for an international 

pharmaceutical company. But, as I said before, I am ready now to make my dream 

come true: Working in Singapore. The ideal job for me would be a commercial 

traineeship, for which I am directly available. I hope your interest has been raised 

by my enthusiasm. Please contact me via email: jb_vander_linde@hotmail.com. 

A quick response would be appreciated. 

28

August 2005 - Association of Dutch Businessmen

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