September 2009 - Association of Dutch Businessmen

September 2009 

MITA 373/03/2001

YCELEBRATING 100 

we are all going on a 

summer holiday 

no more working for a week or two... 

With so many people going through their 

own recessions this year, a summer holiday 

is more likely to be penciled into the diary 

with a question mark. 

But why break the bank going overseas 

when you can have a wonderful summer 

holiday right here in Singapore at the 

Hollandse Club? 

For just $700*, a family can spend every day 

of their ‘holiday’ lazing by the pool, running 

around the tennis courts or charging 

towards a bowling lane with our special 

summer membership. 

The summer promotion is available from the 

15th June to 15th August 2009. In the first 

week of August, there is also a three- and 

five-day summer programme that will keep 

the kids entertained from dawn to dusk. 

EARS 

Hollandse Club 

Singapore 1908 - 2008 

For more information, contact the 

membership department on 6461 1111 or 

6461 1104 

*monthly subscription fees of $114 (single) 

and $172 (family) apply, and each application 

requires a refundable deposit of $500. 

find out more on our website www.hollandseclub.org.sg

Prologue 

Dear ADB members, 

For most of us summer holidays are over and we are back to business in Singapore. I hope 

you all enjoyed your break and feel recharged for the last part of the year. From ADB’s 

perspective there certainly are some interesting events to look forward to! 

As this is the first time I am writing the prologue for the ADB Magazine, a short introduction 

might be appropriate. My name is Marie-Hélène Piederiet, 40 plus and happily living together 

with Pieter at Singapore’s East Coast. We arrived in Singapore 2,5 years ago after a nearly 5 

years stay in Mumbai, India where we both had our corporate careers. It was our passion for 

Indian colonial antique furniture that made us decide to start our own business and that’s 

why we landed here. 

Marie-Hélène Piederiet 

One of the flipsides of expat life, I find, is the fact that people come and go. No sooner have 

you broken the ice and slipped into a comfortable friendship, then they (or you) will be 

moving on again. It is that time of year again and the ADB has to say goodbye to two of its 

well known members. 

Outgoing Ambassador and ADB honorary member Chris Sanders has always strongly supported 

the ADB and together with his wife Marianne generously hosted many ADB events. The ADB 

board wishes to pay sincere gratitude and appreciation for their good work that benefitted 

the Dutch community here. 

We also bid farewell to Remco Muzerie who served the ADB board since April 2005, first as 

a board member and later as the vice-president. We certainly will miss his enthusiasm and 

stirring spirit and would like to thank him for his positive contribution to the success of the 

ADB over the last four years. 

The good news of the cyclical nature of expat life is that there are always new people to fill 

the gaps. We warmly welcome Hans Jansing, the new Dutch Ambassador to Singapore and 

Hans Loth who has joined the ADB Board. 

At the member’s front the numbers keep growing despite the inevitable leavers. Our net 

membership growth is excellent and currently the ADB counts a record of 435 people. 

Whether you are a newcomer or belong to the old crew, I believe we all greatly enjoyed the 

kick off to the new season with a phenomenal 18 th annual Dinner & Dance party. A big thank 

you to our fantastic sponsors, Hollandse Club, ING, KLM, Rabobank, and RBS and to our host, 

The Warren Golf & Country Club for making this event possible! 

Looking ahead, the next event jointly organised by ADB and DutchCham will be an interactive 

panel discussion. On Monday 29 th of September at Suntec Convention Center, a selection of 

Dutch entrepreneurs will share their experiences of starting up business in Singapore. 

For now I trust you will enjoy reading this new issue of our ADB Magazine and I look forward 

meeting you during one of our next events. 


‘ 

To share meaningful and business-related information amongst the Dutch 

business community in Singapore, whilst networking in a fun environment ’ 

Jan de Vegt 

Ard Huisman 

Richard van der 

Werf 

Frank Kuijsters 

Marleen 

Dieleman 

Rutger Oudejans 

Hans Loth 

 

Vol.19 • No. 7 • September 2009

A monthly publication of the 

Association of Dutch Businessmen 

ADB Board 

Jan de Vegt 


Ard Huisman 

Richard van der Werf 

Frank Kuijsters 

Marleen Dieleman 

Rutger Oudejans 

Hans Loth 

President 

Honorary Secretary 

Honorary Treasurer 

Member 

Member 

Member 

Member 

Member 

C o n t e n t s 

Prologue 1 

Editorial Committee 

Frank Kuijsters, Chief Editor 

Camiel Frijlink 

Gene Kwee 

Karin Gerbens 

Lineke van Nederpelt 

Richard Soemita 

Willem Anne Hoekstra 

Secretariat 

Lineke van Nederpelt 

Mailing Address: 

c/o 22 Camden Park, Singapore 299814 

Telephone: 9101 6201 

email: adb@pacific.net.sg 

Review 

Facts & Figures 18 th annual ADB D&D - 2009 3 

Business 

EMBRAER, Brazilian made planes are moving into Asia 6 

Interview 

Interview with retiring Netherlands Ambassador, 7 

Chris Sanders 

Bizz Agenda 9 

Website 

Email 

: www.adb.org.sg 

: 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. 

Singapore 

H1N1 10 

Singapore GP 2009: Pure fun! 12 

Know your tax 

Dutch tax reform on inter-group loans and 14 

holding shares of subsidiaries 

Designed by Jennifer Phua 

Printed by Khoo Sun Printing Pte Ltd 

MITA 373/03/2001 

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. 

Conference Calendar 16 

Column by... 


So How? 17 

Business News 18 

Event Agenda 20 

Embassy info 21 

association info 24 

 


Review 

Facts & Figures 18 th annual ADB D&D - 2009 

By Lineke van Nederpelt 

— 198 beautifully dressed people were present 

— Venue 2009: Warren Golf & Country Club 

— Sponsored by: Hollandse Club, ING Bank, 

Rabobank, RBS 

— Drinks and golf at breezy driving range 

— At poolside, 4-course dinner & wines 

— 2 wine packages from Wine Directions were 

won by Tineke Hiemstra and Floris Carlier 

— Lucas Goddijn won a voucher for 2 to play at 

Warren Golf & Country Club 

— 2 economy tickets SIN-AMS-SIN kindly offered 

by KLM were won by Willem Anne Hoekstra 

— For 3 rd part of evening moved to the clubhouse 

— Danced the night away with a stunning view 

till wee hours 

Thank you all for joining us! 

For more pictures, see www.adb.org.sg 

Willem Anne Hoekstra 

wins 2 KLM tickets! Edith 

Kraayeveld, Lineke van 

Nederpelt, Rutger Oudejans 

Nico Francken, Bert Abbas, José den Toom 

Andrew and Leonie Baartscheer 

Frank Kuijsters, Lineke van Nederpelt, 

Marie-Helene Piederiet, Rutger Oudejans 

Pim en Reineke Kraan, Jan de Vegt, 

Tineke Hiemstra 

Mona Zoet, Jan Wout 

Lagerweij 

 


Review 

Floris Carlier, Olaf Kwakman, Paul Kroonenberg, Han van der 

Broek, Boudewijn Pesch, Sander Scheepens, Marcel Aggenbach, 

Pieter van Houten, Camiel Frijling, Floris Messing 

fltr: Hans Loth, Pascal and Gabby van den Nieuwendijk, Jaelah and 

Stephan Jansma, Karin Kupzok and Jos Diederen, Siske and Lukas 

van der Hoef, Annemarie Loth 

Lisa and Wilfred Nagel, Syl en Rob van Zadelhoff 

Hendrik ten Hoeve, Hein Jan Smit, Pieter van Houten, Helen ten Hoeve 

Stephan Jansma, Ard Huisman, Gijs Busser, Lucas Goddijn 

Jan Kant, Simone Bouman, Angelique van Drenth, Luc Hollman, 

Magalie Hofman, Ineke Hollman 

Rutger van Thiel, Rob van Zadelhoff Pascal and Michelle Koolmoes Mirjam Bout, Mari Ikeda, Gene Kwee 

Sponsors: 

 


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Phone: +65 6264 8433 | Fax: +65 6264 1933

Business 

EMBRAER, Brazilian made planes 

are moving into Asia By André op ‘t Hof 

Facts & figures: 

In 1969, EMBRAER (Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica 

S.A.) was created by the Brazilian Government with 

the mission of transforming science and technology 

in engineering and industrial capacity. The company 

officially started operations in January 1970 with 

around 150 employees. In the late eighties the 

regional aviation market, dominated by turboprops, 

started desiring to operate jet-propelled airplanes. 

Faster airplanes permit increased daily utilization; 

jet airplanes provide passengers with more comfort 

due to reduced vibration and noise in the cabin. 

Complying with the market demand, EMBRAER 

started the development of a regional jet for 50 

passengers in 1989. The first ERJ145 prototype 

took-off for the first time in August 1995 and the 

first unit was delivered to Continental Express in 

December 1996. Several models were developed to 

suit customers’ needs and more than 1000 units are 

delivered today. Besides the commercial passenger 

versions of the ERJ 145, other models were developed 

for the defense and the executive market. The 

military versions are equipped with advanced radars 

detecting targets in the air and on the ground. It is 

this P-99 aircraft that was extensively used during 

the search for the missing Air France A330 - flight 

AF447 and was the plane that successfully located 

the debris in the Atlantic ocean. 

It was February 1999 when EMBRAER announced 

a new regional jet family (dubbed E-jets) in the 

range of 70-120 passengers. This family incorporated 

lots of innovations, such as ‘fly-by-wire’ flight 

controls and a double-bubble fuselage. The first 

delivery was in March 2004, namely an EMBRAER170 

• 3 rd biggest aircraft manufacturer in the world. 

• Employs 17284 people (due to current crisis reduced from 23509 in 2008). 

• Presence in Brazil, USA, France, Portugal, China and Singapore. 

• Listed on NYSE (ERJ) and Sao Paulo BOVESPA. 

• 2008 Revenue 6,3 Billion USD (US GAAP) 

• Order backlog 19,7 Billion USD 

• Customers in Asia: JAL (Japan), Fuji Dream Airlines (Japan), Paramount 

Airways (India), Virgin Blue (Australia), Air North (Australia), Mandarin 

Airlines (Taiwan). 

to LOT Polish Airlines. NYC-US based JetBlue was 

the first customer to operate the EMBRAER190, the 

first unit being delivered in September 2005. Today, 

EMBRAER delivered 6 EMBRAER190 aircrafts to KLM 

Cityhopper who are replacing their Fokker fleet 

with this modern aircraft. 

After the implementation of the Legacy program 

with the Legacy 600 model (14 occupants), EMBRAER 

decided to grow its business jet family and the second 

member to join it was the Phenom. The model was 

launched in 2005, with two model options, namely 

Phenom 100 (6-8 occupants) and Phenom 300 (8-10 

occupants). The interior was designed in partnership 

with BMW Group Designworks USA. Belonging to 

the extra-large category, the Lineage 1000 was 

launched in 2006. It is capable of carrying up to 19 

VIP passengers over 8100 Km. The official launch of 

the new Legacy 450 (7-9 occupants) and Legacy 500 

jets (8-12 occupants) occurred in April 2008. Their 

interior was designed in a partnership with BMW 

Group Designworks USA as well. 

EMBRAER opened a representative office in 2001 

and established EMBRAER Asia Pacific Pte Ltd (EAP) 

in 2007. The regional head-office is located in Ngee 

Ann City Tower B. The EAP organization is tasked 

with marketing and sales of aircrafts, as well as with 

providing support to customers in the Asia Pacific 

region (from Pakistan to New Zealand and from 

South Korea to Australia). They created a training 

center in Changi North, which equipped with a Full 

Flight Simulator. 

Andre op’t Hof - Manager, Material Support: 

“Via groundschool we are instructing and certifying 

airline pilots on the E-JET types. We also established 

a parts distribution center in the airport Free- 

Trade-Zone (FTZ) near Changi Airport. This location 

is stocked with over 62 Million SGD worth of spare 

parts. After having worked in Singapore for several 

years (at Fokker Services Asia in Seletar Airport), 

I was hired by EMBRAER’s European support 

organization based near Paris - Charles de Gaulle 

Airport. In 2006, the company requested me to 

return to Singapore, where I am now responsible 

for the regions Material Support and Services 

activities.” 

 


Interview 

Interview with retiring Netherlands 

Ambassador, Chris Sanders By Richard Soemita 

Chris Sanders has reached the final stage 

of his career as the representative for the 

Dutch Queen. The posting of Netherlands’ 

Ambassador to Singapore and Brunei is his last. 

The assignment was completed in August 2009. 

I had the opportunity to speak to Chris Sanders 

and reflect on his experiences as diplomat and 

ambassador for the Netherlands in the countries 

he was posted. 

Born on 25 June 1946 in Voorburg he soon joined 

the Government and his star rose when he became 

the Netherlands permanent representative to 

the UN Conference on Disarmament. Beginning of 

2001, he also served as coordinator on explosives 

remnants of war (ERW) at the Conventional 

Weapons (CCW) and chaired the negotiations 

leading to the 2003 adoption of the new CCW 

protocol on ERW. Chris was the only one who 

managed to negotiate a treaty in a 3 year time 

span. The treaty deals with who is responsible for 

the clearance of ammunition and states that all 

the participating countries are required to give 

assistance. A consensus was made with more than 

100 countries. Needless to say that Chris admitted 

that this was his best moment of his career. 

Mr Sanders, give a brief overview of your 

past 4 years in Singapore. 

Very positive! The last 4 years we have broadened 

and deepened the relationship with Singapore 

not only economically but also on non-economic 

issues. The mission of the Embassy is to focus on 

economic issues, but I believe that non-economic 

issues are as important. There are regular bilateral 

exchanges between both countries in the areas 

of economic relations as well as educational and 

cultural cooperation. 

We had several important visits from Holland 

in order to exchange knowledge and diplomatic 

meetings with the Singapore government. Tineke 

Huizinga (Deputy Minister of Transport, Public 

Works and Water management) came to Singapore 

in 2006 to study the EZ-link system, the port 

and ERP. In 2008 we were honoured with a 2 day 

visit from Minister for the Interior and Kingdom 

Relations Guusje Ter Horst, to discuss civil 

defence, intelligence and security issues. A visit 

in 2008 by the Minister of Defence, Eimert van 

Middelkoop, to discuss our 1,200 man strong Dutch 

contingent in the southern Afghan province of 

Uruzgan and the fruitful cooperation there with 

the Singapore Armed Forces (Medical Corps). Also 

in 2008, a visit by Frank Heemskerk (Minister for 

Foreign Trade). In 2009 a visit by Ab Klink (Minister 

of Health) to study Singapore’s health structure 

and a visit of HRH Princes Laurentien to honour 

the WWF Panda Ball Asia. And of course the recent 

visit from Prince Willem-Alexander during the 

Singapore International Water Week in his capacity 

as chairman of the UN Secretary- General’s 

Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation. 

How would you compare your Ambassadors 

role with the one in Oman, after all these 

are 2 entire different cultures? 

We had a great time in Oman and the Omani’s 

are very open minded people. Basically there is 

not much difference between countries when it 

comes down to diplomatic activities. Of course it 

is very easy to do business in Singapore. But the 

one difference with Oman is that the smaller firms 

needed some help from me in order to introduce 

them to the right contacts in the Government, 

especially when it concerned licensing activities. 

It is very easy to set up business in Singapore, 

but what would you like to see changing or 

improve from the Singapore side? 

The economic relationship between Holland 

and Singapore are by all means excellent. The 

 


Interview 

Netherlands is an important economic partner 

of Singapore. We share many similarities in our 

outward orientation and pragmatism to overcome 

our small domestic markets. Our horizons are 

global and we believe in free trade and sustainable 

growth. 

Diplomatically the Dutch have been represented 

in Singapore from 1856 onwards. Nautical maps of 

Singapore, produced by the Dutch East Indies 

Company the VOC, however date back as far as 

the early 17 th century, indicating the historical 

importance of this region for Dutch trade. 

The first international bank in Singapore 

was the “Algemeene Handelmaatschappij,” a 

precursor of ABN AMRO, since 1830. Royal Dutch 

Shell established itself on Pulau Bukom in the 

beginning of the 20 th century. Heineken started 

operations in 1930 under the name “Malayan 

Breweries.” Many merchant shipping companies, 

like the KPM, Royal Inter Ocean Lines and NedLloyd 

operated in Singapore. 

The presence of Dutch companies in Singapore 

increased significantly only after 1961, when the 

late Albert Winsemius accepted Lee Kuan Yew’s 

offer to become his personal advisor on economic 

an social affairs. He personally went around in the 

Netherlands to persuade companies to invest in 

Singapore and he was successful. The Netherlands 

is Singapore’s 4 th largest trading partner in the 

EU in 2007, with trade between both countries 

amounting to S$13.1 billion. The Netherlands 

is also the second largest European investor in 

Singapore and the fourth largest overall investor 

after the United Kingdom, the United States and 

Japan. Finally I also want to mention the great 

work by the Agency for International Business 

and Cooperation (EVD). 

There is a free economic treaty between 

ASEAN and the EU. However, Singapore has a 

separate economic treaty with the EU. The 

Singaporeans are very cautious when it comes 

down to international treaties, especially 

when they do not see any direct advantage for 

themselves. One example is that they have not 

signed the treaty against landmines and have no 

solidarity and sympathy for this topic. Basically I 

would want to see Singapore to be more involved 

in international topics even though this may not 

directly benefit them. 

You have reached a lot of achievements 

during your Singapore time, however 

mention the best. 

The best one was of course the visit from 

Prince Willem Alexander during the Singapore 

International Water Week in June. At that occasion 

CLEANER WATER: Prof Shih Choon Fong, NUS 

President; H.E. Mr Chris Sanders, Ambassador, 

The Kingdom of the Netherlands; and Dr Yaacob 

Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water 

Resources, at the launch. 

Dutch scientist Professor Gatze Lettinga received 

the prestigious Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize award 

for 2009. Professor Lettinga emerged as the winner 

for his breakthrough–environmentally sustainable 

solutions for the treatment of used water using 

anaerobic technology. 

What would you pass on to your 

successor? 

Unlike some of my colleagues my style is to 

represent the Dutch community. I would therefore 

recommend paying much attention to the Dutch 

in Singapore and Brunei, the Dutch school and of 

course the Hollandse Club. After all it is my duty 

to represent what is best for the Dutch. Singapore 

has the largest Dutch community in Asia and 

Brunei around 300, most of them based in the 

Shell compound. 

What are your plans when arriving in 

Holland? 

First of all we are awaiting our 4 th grandchild that 

is due in September, enjoy family life and meet all 

our friends. We have recently bought property in 

The Hague and both my wife, Marianne, and I are 

looking forward to go and life in The Hague. I still 

have 1.5 years to go before I reach my retirement 

age and hopefully there will be a ‘small project’ 

waiting for me when I return to The Hague. 

I will no longer be involved in Singapore 

matters although there were a few interesting 

projects that remain unsolved, such as the Karel 

van Kleeff case. Born in 1854 in Batavia he made 

a fortune as a business man and settled himself 

in Singapore. In 1924 he moved to Haarlem and 

decided in his will to leave his entire fortune to 

Singapore. As a result a huge sea aquarium was 

built in Singapore which has been demolished in 

the meantime. The Singapore government is still 

 


Interview 

tracing what actually happened to Van Kleeff 

and has plans to build a statue of him. 

What will you miss most of Singapore? 

The tropical atmosphere, the great residency (we 

had numerous visitors who came to stay with us 

over the past 4 years) and the ‘easy Singapore 

lifestyle’. Finally I want to thank the ADB for their 

continues support to the Dutch society. You have 

done very useful and meaningful activities and one 

day I dearly hope that the ADB and DutchCham 

will become one organisation. After all it does 

not make much sense to have two separate 

groups that have more or less the same goals 

and objectives. 

On behalf of the entire Dutch community in 

both Singapore and Brunei I want to thank Mr 

Sanders for serving us for these past 4 years and 

wish him and Marianne all the best and good luck 

with their new lives in The Hague. We will very 

much miss you as a great host for the many events 

at the residence, but most of all as a dedicated 

and people’s Ambassador. 

1999– 2005 

Ambassador Sanders’ personal 

efforts to get the CD back 

to work have been referred 

to until long after he had 

left Geneva. His tenure as 

Permanent Representative saw 

the rise of human security 

issues in disarmament and arms 

control, in which he played an 

active role. He was one of the most outspoken 

propagators of the Mine Ban Treaty, and served as 

Co-Chair of its Standing Committee on the General 

Status and Operation of the Convention (2004) . In 

the context of the Treaty on Excessively Injurious 

Conventional Weapons (CCW), he presided over 

the negotiations of a new Protocol (V) on Explosive 

Remnants of War (ERW), which remains the only 

global legally binding instrument on arms control/ 

disarmament agreed in the last decade. 

Overview of postings and positions held by Chris C. Sanders 

2005 – 2009 Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, 

Singapore and Brunei Darussalam 

1999 – 2005 Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the 

Netherlands to the Conference on Disarmament, 

Geneva, Switzerland. 

1997 – 1999 Director International Security Policy, MFA, The Hague 

1995 – 1997 Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, 

Hong Kong. 

1991 – 1995 Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, 

Muscat, Oman 

1986 – 1991 Defence Counsellor, Netherlands Permanent 

Representation to NATO, Brussels 

1974 – 1986 Various positions in the International Security Policy 

Department, MFA, the Hague. 

1967 – 1973 Political Science, Free University of Amsterdam. 

1966 - 1967 Military Service, Reserve Officer Artillery 

Bizz Agenda 

Food Paradise @ Expo 

10 September - 13 September 

Singapore Expo 

www.singaporeexpo.com.sg 

Comex 2009 

(IT and Consumer Electronics) 


Suntec 

www.comexshow.com.sg 

The 4 th Asian Congress on 

Autoimmunity 


Suntec 

www.kenes.com/aca 

GCA Games Convention Asia 


Suntec 

www.gc-asia.sg 

World Food Fair 2009 


Suntec 

www.worldfoodfair.com.sg/ 

Safety & Security Asia 2009 

30 September – 2 October 

Suntec 

www.safetysecurityasia.com.sg 

 


Singapore 

Tamiflu can have some 

positive effect 

H1N1 By Willem Anne Hoekstra 

Is your company prepared for the 

effects of a pandemic disease? 

For many years now, the World Health Organization 

has warned the world for the threats of the Avian 

Flu. Most governments prepared an emergency 

plan to deal with the various anticipated stages 

of development and spread of this H5N1 virus 

throughout the global human population. The plans 

included e.g. temperature scans at the borders, 

quarantining of infected people or those suspected 

thereof. A special ambulance service ph.993 would 

manage transport of contagious patients. There was 

national stockpiling of Tamiflu, the only virus killer 

that is expected to have some (limited) preventive 

and treatment effect on the virus, which would 

allow swift and wide-scale distribution. Since it 

is impossible to provide medicine to the entire 

population, critical industries like medical, food, 

transportation and public security were identified 

and put on a special list, and these would be 

given priority if an outbreak would take place. 

The WHO warnings were sometimes received 

with skepticism. Haven’t we all had flu before, 

so why be concerned this time? The issue with 

flu viruses is their ability to mutate. In its initial 

stage, H5N1 was only affecting birds, but soon it 

had changed itself so that bird-to-human infection 

was possible. Epidemiologists expected that it 

would only be a matter of time for the virus to 

‘learn’ how to transfer from human to human, 

after which a global pandemic outbreak would be 

very, very likely. The difference with the normal 

seasonal flu, which all of us have suffered before, 

is that this mutation virus would be entirely new 

to the human immune system, making it impossible 

to predict how severe the illness will be. There is 

an infamous historical example in the Spanish flu, 

back early 20 th century, when millions of people 

were infected around the world. The mortality rate 

at that time was extremely high, and not just the 

old and weak were affected, but specifically the 

strong and fit. 

Many companies would follow suit, building 

their own preparation plans. Specifically the 

critical industries and financial sector invested 

in pandemic flu plans. The Monetary Authority 

of Singapore and other central banks like DNB 

issued policies and standards of how banks should 

prepare themselves. The plans would typically 

include measures to prevent the spread of the 

virus by having staff work from home, temperature 

scanning at building entrances, splitting the most 

essential operations teams into two different 

Spanish Flu 

locations, increased hygiene, etc. Once an 

outbreak would cause large-scale absence of staff, 

the operations would be scaled down to the most 

essential and critical activities, giving priority to 

financial transactions and payments, rather than, 

say, selling new mortgages or credit cards. 

It is common for banks to have a Crisis 

Management Team, or Incident Response Team (the 

jury is still out on the terminology). Such team is 

called together whenever the company is facing 

a calamity, like a fire or a large-scale computer 

failure. The subject of an Avian flu outbreak would 

lend itself perfectly for a scenario training of these 

teams. There are even specialized firms that would 

produce mock-up news programs that can be used 

during such training. ChannelNewsAsia and BBC 

World would have breaking news of a wide-spread 

outbreak of the Avian flu and the CMT is asked to 

respond to it. 

This is no test 

Two months ago, history took an unexpected turn. 

Suddenly it was all for real. ChannelNewsAsia and 

BBC World had real breaking news. A new virus 

was spreading fast, however, it was not the Avian 

flu, but the new Swine flu, (which, for commercial 

reasons, we are now supposed to call Mexican flu 

or H1N1: there is no risk in eating pork.). On 26 of 

April this year, there were still only 38 cases known 

globally, all in Mexico and US, but the virus started 

spreading very fast. 

All Avian flu plans and measures were swiftly 

invoked. Most of the measures made obvious 

sense, in an attempt to identify and isolate 

infected people. The practical purpose of other 

measures were not so clear, like at the airport 

filling out yet another form with all personal data, 

sometimes in addition to the same information 

10 


Singapore 

One of the first cases of Mexican Flu in Singapore involved a prominent ADB member, 

who has now fully recovered. He describes the disease as “Absolute terrible. 

Everything hurt and I was not able to move or think”. 

on the immigration form, departure form and 

customs declaration form. (Why three different 

forms with the similar information? Surely, all that 

information is already registered with the airline 

company.) And when asking for the purpose, the 

officer might reply ‘we do this because we have 

been instructed to do so’. 

Sadly, the efforts to contain the virus have 

proven unsuccessful, but fortunately the flu is less 

aggressive than feared. In the Netherlands, over 

1000 cases have been reported so far. In Singapore, 

at this moment there are 88 people in hospital 

for H1N1, of which 11 in intensive care. Eleven 

people have died in Singapore related to the virus. 

Around the world, so far 1799 people have died, 

the vast majority in the Americas. With more than 

180.000 cases globally, the WHO recently declares 

it an official pandemic, and stopped counting new 

infections. The spread pattern and severity is not 

worse than a normal flu wave, which causes around 

5mio infections and kills around 250.000-500.000 

annually. 

In Singapore this means that most measures, 

like the border temperature check and the special 

ambulance service 993 will be discontinued. New 

cases should be treated in the normal policlinics. 

Back in the Netherlands it was considered to 

postpone school opening after 

the summer holidays, however 

the RIVM now decided to reopen 

as normal. Dutch doctors will no 

longer prescribe Tamiflu other 

than to the most vulnerable 

people. All others will simply 

have to live-it-through. 

Termperature scan, here at Malaysian 

airport, can cause inconvenience. 

Can society deal with high absenteeism, when 

50% of the population is either sick or needs to look 

after that are sick? Will there be enough bus, taxi 

and lorry drivers, or enough check-out girls in the 

Cold Storage? Will ATMs be replenished? Does your 

company have knowledgeable successors readily 

available to replace the most critical staff? Do you 

know which activities are the most essential to 

the survival of your company? Specialized Business 

Continuity Management firms can help with this 

preparation. 

If you have not had the H1N1 flu yet, there is 

an 1 in 3 chance you will still get it in the year to 

come. I wish you all well. 

The face mask prevents spread, 

if properly used. 

Next time, will the 

virus bring the global 

society to a squeaking 

standstill? 

The experience with this H1N1 

virus does leave us to think 

what might have happened 

when a real nasty virus mutates. 

Containment failed this time, 

so why would it succeed a next 

time? And what if the next virus 

is not as ‘mild’ as this virus, but 

with a much higher mortality 

rate? What if it is even more 

contagious than the normal flu? 

11 


Singapore 

Singapore GP 2009: Pure fun! 

By Camiel Frijlink 

Last year, the 

inaugural event 

of Singapore’s F1 

was praised as 

one of the best 

in the series, 

with the lighting 

not only meeting 

but exceeding 

expectations, 

creating an 

electrifying 

and exciting 

atmosphere. 

Considered one of the most dramatic and exiting 

races on the F1 calendar – and the only one 

worldwide to be held at night – the 2009 Formula 

1 will heat up the Singapore’s streets again on 

27 September. Streets that normally see traffic 

at a snail speed of 45km/h will be transformed 

by roaring F1 machines travelling at speeds 

approaching 300km/h. 

Pushing its way through the commercial heart 

of Singapore the 5.067km circuit is even more 

physically demanding for drivers than the Monaco 

circuit. The circuit is also technically challenging, 

as it is pegged as one of the most difficult of the 

F1 season, testing the capabilities of even the 

most experienced drivers. 

The inaugural Singapore F1 Grand Prix in 

2008 was won by Fernando Alonso of ING Renault 

F1 Team racing on supersoft rubber. The event 

generated plenty of heat, and not all of it from 

engines. The race proved a disaster for Ferrari 

when Kimi Raikkonen crashed with four laps to 

go after recording the fastest lap time. Felipe 

Massa, his Ferrari teammate, who started from 

pole position, exited from his first pit-stop with 

the fuel hose still attached and received a penalty 

that consigned him to 13 th place. 

For the 2009 race, the circuit has been 

reprofiled to assist overtaking on some corners 

and to modify the kerb on the chicane at turn 10, 

which made Italy’s Giancarlo Fisichella rocket into 

the air in his Force India car, providing one of the 

most spectacular images of the 2008 grand prix 

season. In addition, the triple-apex turn has been 

renamed the Singapore Sling. 

To cater to worldwide television audiences, 

the Singapore’s GP has shifted the frontier of 

grand prix racing: the race begins at 8 pm, staged 

with the assistance of an Italian-built system using 

1500 projectors to create optimal visibility without 

glare, a concept that got the thumbs-up from 

drivers after the 2008 race. 

Last year, the inaugural event of Singapore’s 

F1 was praised as one of the best in the series, 

with the lighting not only meeting but exceeding 

expectations, creating an electrifying and exciting 

atmosphere. The unique night-time staging and the 

success of the 2008 event coupled with Singapore’s 

renowned energy and experience in hosting major 

Force India Formula One driver Giancarlo Fisichella of Italy flies through the air on bend 10 during a practice session at the Marina Bay 

Singapore F1 Grand Prix circuit September 27, 2008. 

12 


Singapore 

Renault Formula One driver Fernando Alonso of 

Spain cycles along the floodlit street circuit at 

night in Singapore September 25, 2008. 

Some of the pit crew are knocked down after they failed to get fueling hose off 

the Ferrari of Felipe Massa of Brazil as he speeds away after a pit stop during the 

Singapore Formula One Grand Prix on the Marina Bay City Circuit in Singapore, 

Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008 

events, mean this year’s race will attract not just 

motoring enthusiasts, but also loads of travelling 

tourists and executives who want join the festive 

ambience as well. 

The positive vibe that Singapore’s GP generates 

and the glitz and glamour of the Formula One 

world show a sharp contrast with the financial 

current situation in the Formula 1, affected by 

the global economic crisis. After this season, 

for example, the current sponsor for Renault F1 

team, ING, will pull the plug on their $100 million 

sponsorship. The company announced this at the 

beginning of 2009 as part of their cost-cutting 

measures. The sponsorship, which was agreed 

upon in 2007, is considered as one of the biggest 

sports-sponsorships of a Dutch company ever, 

being compared with the contracts with American 

cigarette producer Marlboro in the seventies. The 

Renault F1 team will also have to make do with 

a 40 per cent cut on F1 spending for their last 

sponsorship season with ING. 

The 2009 season is also marked by the exit of 

the Honda F1 Racing Team, a huge loss that again 

highlights the effect of the current downturn on 

the F1. However, despite disbanding the team, the 

Honda Team was instead bought over by formula 

Ferrari genious Ross Brawn who eventually changed 

the team name to Brawn GP, keeping the two 

drivers that were with Honda, the experienced 

Rubens Barrichello and Britain’s star Jenson 

Button. 

Extremely pleased with the success of the 2008 

event, Singapore promises that this year’s edition 

of the Formula 1 promises will be even better, 

as outdoor party atmosphere and activities from 

trackside and throughout the glittering Marina Bay 

waterfront are extended. 

As a side dish to the main event, Singapore is 

serving up some world class entertainment within 

the circuit park, with a concert line-up including 

alternative Scottish rock band Travis – awarded 

Best British Album and Best British Group at the 

annual BRIT Awards; American queen of R&B Chaka 

Khan – her album Funk This winning the best R&B 

album for 2008; American Soul and Gospel legend 

Mavis Staples; and the return of award winning boy 

band the Backstreet Boys. To keep the party going, 

club Zouk is hosting a series of not to be missed 

nights out at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre (26 

and 27 September) where the godfather of UK 

techno Carl Cox and king of progressive tech-house 

John Digweed will make the beats booming and 

the dancing continue into the early hours of the 

morning. 

13 


Know Your Tax 

Dutch tax reform on inter-group loans 

By Loyens & Loeff Singapore, Pieter de Ridder and Nicolien Luijsterburg 

Introduction 

The Netherlands is an important country for 

overseas investors as they often choose to use 

the Netherlands as their gateway into Europe. 

Also, the use of Dutch holding companies to hold 

investments in companies outside Europe are often 

seen in practice, due to the excellent Dutch tax 

treaty network, which reduces overseas dividend 

withholding taxes as well as often avoids overseas 

capital gains tax on disposal of the investments. 

Indeed, Asian investors have historically found 

their way to the Netherlands for this purpose and 

continue to show considerable interest in using the 

Netherlands as their overseas investment holding 

base. We believe this will likely increase further, 

due to a very interesting development, which is 

briefly summarized below. 

On June 15 th the Dutch Ministry of Finance 

published a consultation paper to amend the 

corporate tax provisions dealing with intergroup 

financing income and expenses as well as the Dutch 

participation exemption regime (“Consultation”). 

The Ministry of Finance invites the public to 

provide comments and observations before 1 

August 2009. Parliamentary approval of the bill is 

envisaged before this year’s end, with an expected 

entry into force possibly in 2010. 

The Consultation proposes the following 

changes to the current Dutch corporate tax 

system: 

1. a reduced effective corporate tax rate with 

respect to group financing income and expense 

and proceeds derived from a ‘war chest’, 

2. a partial disallowance of group and third 

party financing charges. In this regard, 

the Consultation proposes two alternative 

regimes, and 

3. a simplification of the participation exemption 

requirements. 

Partial corporate tax exemption 

group financing income and expenses 

The Consultation proposes to make the interest 

box compulsory for taxpayers which have qualifying 

items of income or expenses. Pursuant to the 

interest box, the balance of group interest income 

and interest expenses will for approx. 80% be 

excluded from the taxable basis. This translates in 

an effective tax rate of 5%. Items to be included 

in the interest box are group financing income and 

expenses, associated charges, fluctuations in value 

of the underlying financing instruments, expenses 

and benefits derived from financial instruments 

which purport to hedge fluctuations in value of 

said financing instruments and the benefits derived 

from short-term portfolio investments which are 

held as a ‘war chest’. In addition, the proposal 

is to tax income from hybrid loans qualifying as 

equity for Dutch tax purposes in the interest box, 

whereas currently the income from hybrid loans is 

exempt under the participation exemption if certain 

conditions are met. ‘Group’ has been defined as 

the group of companies who are affiliated through 

common control. Control is to be interpreted 

in accordance with commercial accounting 

consolidation rules (IAS 27). Group debt will be 

treated as external debt in case the group creditor 

has funded the group loan with external debt. 

Partial disallowance of group and 

external financing expenses 

Current tax law in principle allows deduction of 

financing charges incurred by the taxpayer even 

though the debt financing has been applied to make 

an investment in a Dutch or foreign participation. 

Therefore, the effect is that the related financing 

charges can be set off against taxable profits of 

the taxpayer derived from other investments and 

activities (possibly through application of the 

fiscal unity regime). The Consultation seeks the 

public’s comments on two alternatives, both of 

which purport to partially disallow the deduction 

of (group and external) financing expenses: 

1. provisions which specifically target financing 

expenses if certain conditions are met, or 

2. a general ‘earnings stripping’ provision. 

Alternative 1 - specific, targeted measures 

One of the alternative proposals put forward 

is that financing expenses exceeding € 250,000 

will not be deductible to the extent that they 

are assumed to relate to equity investments 

in subsidiary companies which qualify for the 

participation exemption and group receivables 

which qualify for the interest box. The taxpayer 

will be facing disallowance of financing expenses 

to the extent the average tax book value of all 

qualifying participations and group receivables 

taken together during the year exceeds the 

average amount of the taxpayer’s net equity during 

14 


Know Your Tax 

and holding shares of subsidiaries 

the year. Group receivables will for the purposes 

of this test be taken into account for approx. 80%. 

In addition, the amount of equity will be increased 

with (i) approx. 80% of group loans payable and 

(ii) the amount of tax loss carry forwards of the 

taxpayer (excluding prior liquidation losses). 

Ancillary provisions are proposed if the 

taxpayer and the subsidiary company are included 

in the same tax consolidation (fiscal unity) or 

in case of a (de)merger. Under the proposals, 

financing expenses insofar they exceed € 250,000 

would only be deductible up to the amount of the 

taxable profits of the taxpayer on a standalone 

basis (‘ringfencing’), unless the taxpayer is 

able to demonstrate that it meets a 3:1 debtto-equity 

ratio (whereby for purposes of this 

ratio the amount of equity is reduced by the 

average book value of qualifying participations). 

In this alternative the current thin capitalisation 

provision will be abolished. 

Alternative 2 – ‘earnings stripping’ 

This provision would entail certain amendments 

to the current thin capitalisation provision. The 

earnings stripping provision would generally 

be triggered if the taxpayer belongs to a group 

for commercial accounting purposes and if the 

taxpayer is more thinly capitalised in comparison 

to the consolidated capitalisation ratio of the 

(worldwide) group to which the taxpayer belongs 

(whereby for purposes of this ratio the equity is 

reduced by the average book value of participations 

qualifying for the participation exemption). The 

proposed alternative restricts the deduction of 

the balance of financing expenses to 30% of the 

taxpayer’s profits, insofar as this balance exceeds 

€ 250,000. The rule would apply to group and 

third party loans. Excess expenses can be carried 

forward for a maximum of nine years. In general 

terms, the 30% must be measured against the 

taxpayer’s EBITDA determined pursuant to Dutch 

tax accounting principles. 

Changes to the participation 

exemption regime 

The participation exemption applies to a share 

interest of at least 5% in a (domestic or foreign) 

subsidiary if either (i) less than 50% of its direct 

and indirect (through lower-tier subsidiaries) 

assets are of a passive nature (“Asset Test”), or 

(ii) if the effective tax burden of the subsidiary 

computed according to Dutch tax principles is at 

least 10% (“Tax Burden Test”). 

B a s e d o n t h e C o n s u l t a t i o n p a p e r, 

the participation exemption will apply to a 

participation of at least 5% in a (domestic or 

foreign) subsidiary if the subsidiary is not held 

as ‘portfolio investment’. This was a test which 

existed in the previous tax law for participation 

exemption treatment. Both the Asset Test and the 

Tax Burden Test will be simplified and relaxed. 

Concluding remarks 

The proposed new tax provisions aim to simplify 

certain practical aspects of the current tax law 

relating to Dutch companies holding shares of 

foreign subsidiaries, and they will, if adopted in 

the current form, make the Netherlands, given 

the combined effect of the low 5% Dutch income 

tax rate and the excellent Dutch tax treaty 

network reducing overseas withholding taxes on 

financing transactions, a very interesting place to 

locate group financing activities and for treasury 

operations within a group. We are monitoring this 

important development closely and shall keep you 

informed. 

15 


Conference Calendar 

A selection of upcoming conferences in the region in October 

Middle East Nuclear Energy Summit 2009 

4-7 October, Dubai 

Mobility World Congress 

13-14 October, Hong Kong 

Enhancing Customer Experience in 

Financial Services 


Hedge Funds World Asia 2009 

5-8 October, Hong Kong 

SCM Logistics World 2009 

5-8 October, Singapore 

Employee Engagement and Leadership 

6 October, Singapore 

The HR Summit 

7-8 October, Brisbane 

2 nd Annual Capital Raising Summit 

14–16 October, Sydney 

Capital Markets 2009 


Facilities & Asset Management 

19-21 October, Sydney 

5 th Asia Refining 


Alternative Investment Summit Australia 

2009 

20-21 October, Sydney 

AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum in 

Southeast Asia 


Strategic Cross Border Transactions 

Conference 


SuperReturn Middle East 


MENA Renewable Energy 2009 

26-28 October, Abu Dhabi 

World Islamic Retail Banking Conference 


Aviation Outlook Asia 2009 

27-29 October, Beijing 

Log on to www.conferencebay.com for more information on these and many other events. 

And remember, you can make a bid and decide the price you’re willing to pay for any 

conference you wish to attend, not just the ones listed on Conference Bay! Just contact us 

on +65 67357445. 

16 


Column By… 


So How? 

I’m getting really tired now of this singlish stuff! I’ve been 

here for nearly 3 years and still struggle to understand 

the average local when they talk. The worst of all is that 

sales people who call you, still put on this accent. These 

people should realize that Angmohs like me will have no 

clue what they say let alone what they want to sell to you. 

Besides, it sounds terrible and this is not the way to conduct 

business talking like that in public. Could you imagine if this 

person would be a news reader? At least 1 million people 

on the island would have no clue what is going on in case 

of some serious broadcasting. Picture this warning that a 

huge tsunami is on its way and I see all my neighbors fleeing 

to Bukit Timah Hill and the Angmohs all thinking that some 

freebie is up for grabs over there. 

Apart from the accent the whole grammar is totally 

bizarre. Last time when I was at this hawker centre my 

daughter had to interpret every single line uncle spoke to 

me and vise versa. I first started to ask for extra vegetables. 

Then he asked if I wanted to have curry sauce and chilli. 

Things got worse when the drinks aunty came over and I 

asked for a Heineken beer. She replied with: can!? So I said 

‘can what?’ not realizing that she meant that this didn’t 

come in bottles. Then both of us looked at each other 

wondering who came from which planet. She then looked 

at my daughter who is half Caucasian and wondered if I was 

a total Asian retard. My daughter just answered back with 

‘can – can can Aunty’ rather than saying ‘that’s fine, my 

Dad will have a can’. My daughter is at the international 

school and has no local friends but apparently they pick up 

the lingo from the aunties who work at the school canteen, 

which worries me how much time she spends buying food 

rather than being in class! 

Then there are these amazing phrases which blow my mind 

since I have no clue whether to reply or if I should comment 

it at all. I come out of the lift in my condo and the security 

guard looks at me and says: Richard … how? The first time I 

replied back with: how what? Then he looked at me in total 

astonishment, thinking: what do I say now? You started it first, 

Mate! Apparently he wants to say: how are you …. It becomes 

even more confusing when you discuss an issue (preferably a 

problem case) with a local. You go to the telephone shop where 

you buy a new handphone to ask the guy how a particular 

function works. After a while he does not manage to solve the 

problem, looks at you and then says: so how? If I didn’t have 

the problem in the first place I would not go to see him and 

now he’s asking me how to solve the problem! 

Recently the cab driver took the wrong road after I clearly 

(with my proper English accent) told him where to go. I was 

running really late now for my appointment and getting all 

nervous and upset with him. I raised my voice and indicated 

with my arms in which direction to go. He started to smile 

(probably being embarrassed) and then said: never mind! By 

this stage I exploded and told him to stop the cab right away. 

Apparently he was meant to say: I’m sorry, I hope you don’t 

mind my stupidity! 

Then we have the odd local who cannot pronounce the R’s. 

This could cause very embarrassing moments. When I bought 

a box of fresh fruit the girl behind the counter shouted at me: 

you wonna fok!? Both me and my friend had visions that she 

was offering massage services as well. Then we came past this 

car park when a guy asked: how I get in ca-pak? I once even 

saw this spelled this way. 

Then there are these irritating acronyms that start as soon 

as you arrive at Changi airport: MRT, PIE, ECP, TPE, T1… and of 

course SPG. Why not just calling it Metro, A1, E22, Terminal 1 

or ….? In Singapore, however, acronym-ese is another language 

altogether. If you can’t converse like a dyslexic rapper, you’ll 

soon get left behind. For example, last weekend, I called a 

friend on his HP, whilst on MC, who took me in his VW to the 

MoM to get my EP to take to the HDB close to JB, via the MRT, 

along the BKE for a cheap DVD. How?? 

The schools here need to seriously focus more on the 

grammar and speech skills of the students. If Singapore wants 

to become an English language nation, it had better teach 

its children proper English and pronounce the words in the 

way they should be spoken. After all there is South Afrikaans 

and Dutch or German. Having said that, have you ever heard 

some Dutch speaking German this way: Dutch with a German 

accent. I would not even be worried if they throw a ‘lah’ or 

‘ah!’ in there every now and then. A few weeks ago I attended 

a presentation at the IRAS and the tax expert basically did 

it in Singlish to a large audience, good job I could read the 

slides! 

17 


Business news 

Sources: Het Financieele Dagblad and Reuters 

Swine flu to cost government €780m 

The health ministry’s swine flu vaccination programme will cost the government over 

€700m this year and another €80m in 2010. This additional financial burden came 

to light during ministers’ budget discussions for the coming year. Health minister Ab 

Klink ordered 34 million vaccines, enough for two injections for the total population, 

on the advice of the public health advisory council. But according to confidential 

budget calculations, the cost of the swine flu programme can be reduced by €250m 

if vaccinations are only given to patients in high risk categories. 

Vaccinations may be scaled down 

Klink is expected to make a decision later this month to scale down the vaccination 

programme after new advice from the public heath advisory council and the public 

health institute RIVM. In the coming weeks the cabinet will continue its talks on 

next year’s budget. All departments are expected to balance their own books which 

means that extra spending this year must be compensated for by cuts in 2010. As 

well as the health ministry, the social affairs and justice departments also face 

shortfalls. 

More budget shortfalls 

Benefit payments are expected to cost the social affairs ministry over €100m next 

year, while the justice department will see its revenues fall by €80m because the 

income from fines has gone down. The education ministry too faces a possible 

setback of €130m as a result of high childcare costs. 

Health insurance to go 

up in 2010 

Healthcare insurance premiums will be 

considerably more expensive next year, 

partly as a result of swine flu. Health 

insurer CZ says that it expects costs to 

rise by as much as €10 a month in 2010. As 

well as swine flu, premiums will be higher 

because of the increasing number of older 

people, higher salaries in the healthcare 

sector and more cases of diabetes and 

other diseases. They also point out that 

the health ministry used reserves to keep 

health costs for consumers down this 

year. This measure meant premiums in 

2009 were €5 cheaper than they would 

have been otherwise. 

It is unclear whether a similar 

compensation is being considered for 

next year. The health service authority 

NZa said it has no comment on a possible 

increase in premiums. ‘It is a free 

market. If an insurer wants to ask for 

a higher premium, it can,’ Judith van 

de Velde, spokeswoman for the NZa, 

is quoted as saying. CZ’s premium for 

a basic insurance package was €90.75 

in 2009. 

Summer holiday 

bookings down 

The recession has led to a sharp decline in 

the number of summer holiday bookings 

this year, the travel industry umbrella 

group ANVR said. While bookings to the 

end of July were down 9% overall, longhaul 

holidays were hardest hit with a 

24% decline in reservations. Plane-based 

holidays in Europe saw a 14% decline. 

The number of people booking car-based 

holidays was down 3%. 

Aegon raises €1bn via 

share issue 

Insurance concern Aegon raised €1bn in 

24 hours after offering new shares to 

institutional investors. Ageon announced 

that it intended to pay back one-third 

of the €3bn capital injection it received 

from the Dutch government last year via 

a share issue. Aegon’s share price fell to 

€5.18 on the Amsterdam stock exchange 

following the news. The new shares were 

placed for €5.25 each. 

British watchdog probes 

ABN Amro takeover 

Britain’s Financial Services Authority has 

begun an investigation into Royal Bank 

of Scotland’s ‘disastrous’ takeover of 

ABN Amro in 2007. The financial services 

sector watchdog investigation will also 

focus on RBS’s £12bn rights issue following 

the acquisition. The inquiry was revealed 

in a footnote in RBS’s interim results 

earlier this month and the British bank 

said it is cooperating fully. RBS, Fortis and 

Santander took over ABN Amro for some 

€70bn, just prior to the start of the credit 

crunch. RBS has since had a £20bn cash 

injection from the British government and 

the Dutch-Belgian financial services group 

Fortis has been broken up and largely 

nationalised. 

ING pulls plug on 

infrastructure fund 

Financial services group ING has pulled the 

plug on its €1bn European infrastructure 

fund because it failed to attract investors. 

The fund was launched last year with a 

29% stake in British motorway services 

firm Welcome Break and a 24.9% share in 

a Dutch wind farm project. A spokesman 

said: ‘Due to a combination of market 

conditions, concerns over achievable 

critical mass and our strategy for taking 

the business forward, we have, sadly, 

decided to discontinue with the marketing 

of the ING EIF.’ 

‘The Dutch are not 

good with money’ 

Most Dutch people are too optimistic 

about their personal finances and are 

not aware of the serious effects the 

financial crisis can have on them, 

according to finance ministry research. 

Some 6 out of 10 have no idea what it 

costs to be overdrawn at the bank and 

50% do not know what interest rate 

they are paying on personal loans, the 

research showed. The research, carried 

out by ministry-backed Platform 

Centiq, is based on interviews with 

1,400 adults. 

18 


Business news 

Sources: Het Financieele Dagblad and Reuters 

Prince demands 

€25,000 fine against 

US press agency 

Crown prince Willem-Alexander took 

legal action to demand that the US 

press agency AP pays a fine of €25,000 

every time it publishes an unauthorised 

photo of his family on vacation, report 

various media. According to the prince, 

the AP has broken the Dutch media 

code which states that photos of the 

royal family can only be taken at 

official photo opportunity sessions. 

Participating in these sessions implies 

a media organisation will abide by 

these rules. In his statement read to 

the court, Willem-Alexander said that 

taking pictures of the royal family on 

holiday puts ‘unacceptable pressure’ on 

his children. The prince wants the court 

to fine AP a maximum of €250,000 if it 

continues to break the media code. The 

court’s ruling is expected soon. 

Iceland appeals for leniency on loan 

Thousands of people have taken part in a demonstration in Iceland to protest against 

a law to compensate the Netherlands and Britain for losses resulting from the collapse 

of the Icelandic bank Icesave. Under a deal agreed by Iceland and the Netherlands, 

the Icelandic government borrowed €1.3bn from the Dutch government at the end 

of last year to compensate the 120,000 Dutch clients who lost money when Icesave 

went bankrupt. But the deal requires formal approval from the Icelandic parliament 

and the public demonstration in Reykjavik is expected to give the government enough 

ammunition to renegotiate the conditions of the loan. The prime minister of Iceland 

Johanna Sigurdardottir asked both the Netherlands and Britain (which has a similar 

agreement) for understanding. ‘It is in the interests of all those involved that Iceland 

is given time to pay back its loans’, the prime minister is quoted as saying. In October 

2008 Iceland agreed to pay the first €20,887 to Dutch Icesave customers, while the 

Netherlands will guarantee the rest, up to a maximum of €100,000. 

SNS Reaal books €30m loss in H1 

Financial services group SNS Reaal booked 

a loss of €30m in the first six months of 

this year, largely due to write-offs on its 

property portfolio. Analysts had expected 

a slight profit. The bank. which booked a 

€730m loss in the second half of last year, 

has had a €750m capital injection from 

the government to bail it out of trouble. 

SNS could not say when it would begin 

repayments. ING and Aegon, which have 

also had government cash, have already 

begun moves to pay back the cash. 

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Event Agenda 

A Story Of The Image 

Curator’s Tour (English): 

Re-discovering The Image 

DATE : 4-18 Sept 2009; Fri, 7pm 

VENUE : National Museum Entrance of Exhibition Gallery 1 & 2 

SYNOPSIS 

Rediscovering the Image by Szan Tan, Curator (Exhibitions) Part of A STORY OF THE 

IMAGE: OLD & NEW MASTERS FROM ANTWERP exhibition 

We are surrounded by a multitude of images in our daily lives - advertisements, 

photographs, images and video streaming on the internet and on television, as well 

as images formed in our minds through imagination and recalled from memory. Has 

the bombardment of images made us immune to it? What does the image mean to 

you and how is it to be read? What are the relationships between image and time, 

image and memory; and image and power? Using the works from the exhibition 

A Story of the Image: Old & New Masters From Antwerp, National Museum’s curator 

Szan Tan will reacquaint you with what has been taken for granted - the image, its 

history in the context of Antwerp, its significance and meanings. A graduate from 

the School of Oriental and African Studies in the University of London, Szan Tan has 

been a curator since 1997. Her graduate thesis was on the paintings of Singapore’s 

pioneer artist, Cheong Soo Pieng. She has curated paintings section and published 

a catalogue for the Xiang Xue Zhuang collection of the late Dr Tan Tsze Chor. Szan 

counts painting as her first love as she grew up surrounded by them. 

TICKET PRICE (exclude booking fee): Standard - S$15 

DURATION: Approx 90 mns 

F1 Rocks Singapore 

DATE : 24-26 Sept 2009; Thur - Sat, 5pm 

VENUE : Fort Canning Park 

SYNOPSIS 

F1 ROCKS Singapore with LG is bringing some 

of the biggest names in music to the island city 

state for the only officially F1 endorsed concerts 

during the Grand Prix week. 

Thursday 24 SEPTEMBER 

Opening this run of exclusive shows will be a headline performance from multimillion 

selling Chinese pop legend JACKY CHEUNG, who for the very first time will 

be performing on the same bill as Taiwanese pop diva, A-MEI. Also appearing will be 

SODAGREEN and DA MOUTH. 

Friday 25 SEPTEMBER 

The legends of rock roll into town on Friday night with a headline show from ZZ TOP, 

whose 40-year career has influenced every facet American rock music. Also appearing 

are platinum selling Scottish stadium rockers SIMPLE MINDS and contemporary urban 

production wizards N*E*R*D. 

Saturday 26 SEPTEMBER 

Having produced some of the sexiest soul music of the past decade, BEYONCÉ will 

be playing her first ever solo show in the city. Also taking to the Fort Canning Park 

stage will be THE BLACK EYED PEAS, whose dominance over the charts has seen the 

LA four-piece become one of the planet’s biggest selling acts. 

TICKET PRICE (exclude booking fee): Early Bird (5 Aug 09 to 31 Aug 09) 

24 Sept 09 - S$150, 25 Sept 09 - S$150 

Standard (20 Aug 09 to 1 day before event): 26 Sept 09 - S$200 

Standard (1 Sep 09 to 1 day before event): 24 Sept 09 - S$175, 25 Sept 09 - S$185 

Event Day: 24 Sept 09 - S$185, 25 Sept 09 - S$195, 26 Sept 09 - S$210 

Dance Festival 2009 

Footwork Workshop 

DATE : 23 Aug - 11 Oct 2009 

23 Aug 2009 

11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm & 7pm 

12 & 19 Sept 2009 

11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm & 7pm 

13 & 20 Sept 2009 

3pm, 5pm & 7 pm 

10 Oct 2009 

11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm & 7pm 

11 Oct 2009 

3pm, 5pm & 7pm 

VENUE : Esplanade Rehearsal Studio 

Meeting point is at Theatre 

Studio Level 4 entrance 

30 minutes before workshop 

begins. 

SYNOPSIS 

Learning to Dance is Fun and So Much More! 

Five-six-seven-eight! Step-cross, steptap… 

Can’t wait to learn those slick dance 

moves you have always loved? From 

bachata’s sexy hip-swaying to the highvoltage 

spins of b-boying, let Footwork 

show you how to get it right. Whatever 

your age, style and mood, whether you’re 

an executive in need of stress-relief, a 

teen with retro tastes, a nimble senior 

raring to party or even a doting parent with 

toddler in tow, there’s a dance workshop 

for you. You might want to pick up some 

nifty steps, sharpen your budding skills or 

get an exhilarating workout. But above 

everything, just do it simply for the sheer 

enjoyment and pleasure of dancing. In 

addition to popular favourites, new dances 

in this year’s programme include Bollywood 

dance, Charleston and West Coast swing. 

All of Footwork’s workshops are conducted 

by professional instructors. The next time 

the music beckons, you know you’ll be the 

first one on the dance floor! 

TICKET PRICE (exclude booking fee): 

Standard - S$12 

DURATION: Approx 90 mns per session 

20 


Embassy Info 

Dutch Technology 

Foundation and 

Hyflux Sign 

Memorandum of 

Understanding for 

Joint Membrane 

Research Programme 

Singapore, June 23, 2009 – Dutch Technology Foundation (STW) and Hyflux Limited 

(Hyflux), one of the world’s leading providers of integrated environmental solutions, 

signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly carry out and fund a STW 

partnership research programme on advanced membrane separation technologies. 

Witnessed by Ms Olivia Lum, Hyflux Group CEO, and Mr Khoo Teng Chye Chief Executive 

of PUB, Singapore’s national water agency; the MOU was signed between Hyflux Deputy 

CEO and CFO, Mr Sam Ong and the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency’s (NFIA’s) 

Area Director, Ms Linnie Mackenzie on behalf of the STW. 

The research programme, an initiative of the STW, aims to stimulate more effective 

cooperation between the academia and industry. Under this programme, the industry 

is invited to propose the theme. Universities will then be invited to propose PhD and 

post-doctorate proposals in an open tender. The STW will provide oversight and utilize 

its network of the best academic researchers in the Netherlands for the programme. 

The work will be carried out in a university laboratory, an industrial laboratory and a 

practical environment under the guidance of university professors as well as industry 

staff. Hyflux is STW’s first industry partner. 

The programme focus is on creating technological breakthroughs in inorganic 

membrane separation technologies in enabling applications at extreme pH range, 

temperatures and pressures. 

“There is an immediate need and huge market potential for membrane separation 

technologies in replacing costly and high energy-consuming distillation processes in 

petrochemical industries,” said Dr. Eppo Bruins, Director of STW. In this respect, Hyflux 

is a natural fit as a partner as its proprietary inorganic hollow fibre membrane concept 

is based on delivering cost-effectiveness while maintaining the typical compactness of 

polymeric hollow fibre membranes, he went on to say. 

“This first partnership with Hyflux will further enhance the image of the Netherlands as 

a country with high quality research and knowledge on ceramic and hybrid membranes,” 

remarked Ms Linnie Mackenzie, Area Director of the NFIA. 

Hyflux Group CEO and Managing Director Ms Olivia Lum said, “Hyflux has always been a 

technology-driven company. We are interested in research and development of technically 

and commercially viable systems comprising of inorganic and hybrid membranes for 

innovative separations. Our partnership with STW will enable us to advance our membrane 

R&D and commercialise these technologies on a global scale.” 

Both STW and Hyflux will jointly fund the programme estimated at 3,000,000 Euros 

with an expected duration of two to fours years. 

CONTACT: Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) 

Ms Linnie Mackenzie, Area Director 

Tel: +65 6739 1135 or Email: mackenzie@nfia-singapore.com 

Ms Adeline Tan, Project Manager 

Tel: +65 6739 1137 or Email: tan@nfia-singapore.com 

Public Holiday 

The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands will be closed on Monday 

21 September 2009 

21 


Embassy Info 

Nieuw reisdocument nodig? 

Vanaf 21 september 2009 

Heeft u een nieuw paspoort of Nederlandse 

identiteitskaart nodig? Lees dan deze folder. Hierin 

staat informatie die voor u van belang is. 

Inleiding 

Sinds 26 augustus 2006 hebben het paspoort en 

de Nederlandse identificatiekaart een chip met 

daarin: 

• uw foto; 

• naam en voornamen; 

• geboortedatum; 

• geslacht; 

• documentnummer; 

• burgerservicenummer; 

• datum einde geldigheid document. 

Vanaf 21 september 2009 worden ook uw 

vingerafdrukken in de chip van het reisdocument 

opgenomen. 

Europese Unie 

H e t o p n e m e n v a n v i n g e r a f d r u k k e n i n 

reisdocumenten van onderdanen van lidstaten 

van de Europese Unie (EU) wordt ingevoerd op 

basis van een verordening van de EU uit 2004. 

Het doel hiervan is misbruik van paspoorten en 

reisdocumenten zoveel mogelijk tegen te gaan. 

Dit is ook voor u van belang. 

Aanvraag reisdocument in het 

buitenland 

Het opnemen van vingerafdrukken is verplicht. Op 

grond van de Europese regelgeving is alleen een 

uitzondering mogelijk voor kinderen jonger dan 12 

jaar en voor personen die lichamelijk niet in staat 

zijn om vingerafdrukken te laten opnemen. 

De vingerafdrukken worden elektronisch 

opgenomen met een vingerafdruklezer die is 

geplaatst aan de balie van de Nederlandse 

vertegenwoordiging in het buitenland. 

Er zijn in het buitenland ongeveer 180 

plaatsen waar u een paspoort en Nederlandse 

identiteitskaart kunt aanvragen. De lijst van 

deze ambassades, consulaten-generaal en 

honoraire consulaten staat op www.minbuza. 

nl/nl/reizenlanden. 

Op deze vertegenwoordigingen wordt u 

ingelicht hoe het afnemen van vingerafdrukken in 

zijn werk gaat. Een filmpje over het afnemen van 

de afdrukken van uw beide wijsvingers en duimen 

is op bovengenoemde website te raadplegen. 

Voordat met de verwerking van uw aanvraag 

begonnen wordt, zal de medewerker aan de balie 

nagaan of er vingerafdrukken kunnen worden 

opgenomen. 

Het is van belang dat de van u op te nemen 

vingerafdrukken de best mogelijke kwaliteit 

hebben. Let u er daarom s.v.p op dat, als u 

het reisdocument gaat aanvragen waarvoor 

vingerafdrukken in de chip worden opgenomen, 

oneffenheden (bijvoorbeeld verfresten) aan uw 

vingers zijn verwijderd. 

• Indien één of enkele van uw vingerafdrukken 

niet opgenomen kunnen worden, bijvoorbeeld 

omdat uw vingers in het verband zitten, dan 

worden vingerafdrukken van de vingers die wel 

beschikbaar zijn opgenomen. 

Voordeligste tarieven vanaf € 22,- per dag 

all-in 

Snelste Schiphol service • 24 uur per dag • Geen extra verzekeringen bij aankomst • Laagste eigen risico 

www.bblcarrental.nl 

bb&l_2009_ad_194x61.indd 2 

12/17/08 10:31:11 AM 

22 


Embassy Info 

• In het geval bij u vanwege een tijdelijke 

beperking geen enkele vingerafdruk opgenomen 

kan worden, kan er geen reisdocument 

met een geldigheidsduur van 5 jaar worden 

verstrekt. Ook dit vloeit voort uit de Europese 

regelgeving. 

• Doet zich zo’n situatie bij u voor, dan heeft 

u een keuze. Of u komt op een later moment 

terug als er wel vingerafdrukken kunnen worden 

opgenomen, of u krijgt een reisdocument 

met een geldigheidsduur van maximaal 12 

maanden. Niet alle landen aanvaarden echter 

zo’n nooddocument. 

Afhalen reisdocument 

Bij het door u persoonlijk ophalen van uw nieuwe 

reisdocument wordt de chip uitgelezen. In dat geval 

zal worden gecontroleerd of uw vingerafdrukken 

overeenkomen met de vingerafdrukken die in de 

chip van het reisdocument zijn opgeslagen. 

Het is mogelijk dat de controle van de 

vingerafdrukken mislukt. In dat geval zal het 

document niet aan u worden uitgereikt. De 

vertegenwoordiging waar u het reisdocument 

heeft aangevraagd zal eerst een nader onderzoek 

doen om uw identiteit vast te stellen. Het is in 

uw belang, dat deze controle plaats vindt. Bij 

wijze van uitzondering kan in bepaalde gevallen 

worden afgezien van de verschijningsplicht bij 

de uitreiking van het paspoort. De betrokken 

vertegenwoordiging kan u hierover inlichten. 

U ontvangt dan wel een reisdocument waarop 

bij uitreiking geen controle van de chip heeft 

plaatsgevonden. 

Eventueel oponthoud bij internationale 

grensovergangen kan het risico zijn dat u dan loopt. 

Bent u woonachtig in het buitenland maar 

verblijft u tijdelijk in Nederland, bijvoorbeeld in 

verband met vakantie? 

Dan kunt u, in het geval de geldigheid van uw 

paspoort binnenkort verloopt, in Nederland een 

nieuw paspoort aanvragen. Voor in het buitenland 

woonachtige Nederlanders bestaat namelijk de 

mogelijkheid een paspoort aan te vragen bij de 

Afdeling Landelijke Taken van de gemeente Den 

Haag (Stadsdeelkantoor Centrum). 

In het buitenland kan het lastiger zijn 

om pasfoto’s voor uw paspoortaanvraag te 

laten maken die aan de juiste wettelijke eisen 

voldoen (Fotomatrix Model 2007, zie www. 

paspoortinformatie.nl). Een ondeugdelijke pasfoto 

kan de afgifte van het nieuwe reisdocument 

vertragen. Als u van plan bent een nieuw paspoort 

aan te vragen is het raadzaam om in Nederland 

alvast pasfoto’s te laten maken die aan de huidige 

foto-eisen voldoen. De overgelegde pasfoto dient 

bovendien een goedgelijkend beeld van u te 

geven. 

Tenslotte komt er op grond van EU- regelgeving 

ook een einde aan de mogelijkheid een minderjarig 

kind in het paspoort van de ouder(s) te laten 

bijschrijven. De EU heeft onlangs ingestemd met 

de invoering van het beginsel van één persoon 

per paspoort per medio 2012. Dit betekent dat 

bestaande kindbijschrijvingen vanaf medio 2012 

niet meer geldig zullen zijn. 

Meer informatie 

Voor meer informatie kunt u terecht op de 

volgende websites: 

www.minbuza.nl/nl/reizenlanden. En op 

www.paspoortinformatie.nl, een website van 

het ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en 

Koninkrijksrelaties. 

Dit is een uitgave van het ministerie van Buitenlandse 

Zaken, juli 2009 

SALVAGE ASIA PTE LTD 

12A Jln Samulun • Singapore 629131 • Tel : +65 6591 5288 • Fax : +65 6591 5289 • www.ttbisso.com • info@ttbisso.com 

23 


Association Info 

September EVENT 

For ADB and DutchCham members only 

Panel Discussion: “Starting a Business in Singapore” 

The ADB and DutchCham proudly invite you to a joint event on “Starting 

a Business in Singapore.” Pioneering new ventures is perhaps part of 

Dutch culture, but those who have started them know that the process 

is always challenging and risky, despite the Singapore government making 

it relatively easy to start a business here. 

Several Dutch pioneers will share their experiences, challenges, 

successes, and lessons with the audience. Panel members range from 

self-starter entrepreneurs to “intrapreneurs” working for large 

corporations. They represent ventures in various stages of maturity 

and in various industries, from fish farming to financial services. 

Event Details 

Date : Tuesday September 29, 2009 

Time : 19.30-20.00 pm drinks and food 

20.00- 21.30 pm panel discussion 

Venue : Suntec Convention Centre 

Open to : Members of ADB and DutchCham 

RSVP : By September 22, 2009 

DutchCham members: info@DutchCham.sg 

ADB members: adb@pacific.net.sg 

Panel Members 

Facilitator : Wilfred Nagel (ING) 

Members : Tjibbe Bouma (Applus) 

Joep Kleine Staarman (Barramundi Asia) 

Adrienne Kouwenhoven (RGL) 

Simon Kramer (Hertel) 

Maaike van Rij (Kranji Solutions) 

New Members 

Arnaud Schmutzer 

Arthur Klatte, Arete Financial Partners 

Bas Wiebe, Svitzer Salvage 

Ellen Greveling 

Erik Houbolt, Philips 

Gjalt Jan Feersma Hoekstra, 

I.M. Freight International 

Gwen Roelofs, KLM Cargo 

Jan Sikkers, International Flavors & 

Fragrances 

Jan Wolter Oosterhuis, Dockwise Shipping 

Jankees Polderman, Svitzer Salvage 

Jean Moonen, Philips 

Jurn Terpstra, Volvo 

Karen Boodt, Holland Shipbuilding 

Lukas van der Hoef, Deutsche Bank 

Maarten van Beek, Unilever 

Marcel Kappe, Cargotec CHS 

Mari Ikeda 

Mark Hofman, Océ 

Mattijs Sibbing, TMF 

Monique van Donzel, NTU 

Peter Kok, UBS 

Richard Denissen, Hertel 

Rintse Zijlstra, ABN AMRO Bank 

Robbert Gelissen, Gelissen Computers 

Saskia Sprengers, ABN AMRO Bank 

Leaving Members 

Frank Jansen, Ernst & Young 

Frenk Withoos, ABB 

Mark Holleman 

Pim Pilon, CEVA Logistics 

Stefan Leijdekkers, Citigroup 

Tim Klappe, Heidelberg Asia 

REQUEST 

Please inform adb@pacific.net.sg 

if you have moved within Singapore, 

will leave Singapore (or meanwhile 

have left already), changed 

employer or any other contact 

details that might be useful, in 

order to keep our database up-todate. 

Thank you! 

24 


How do you improve on 

perfectly pure water? 

Turn it into Heineken.

Connected 

Heart-to-heart 

Reserved 

Finally, a dimmable energy saver – 

because no two moments are the same. 

Whatever light level you desire, the Philips Tornado 

Dimmable delivers. Dimming smoothly down to 5% 

brightness, it also saves energy by up to 80%. 

Experiment with the possibilities, and bring out the 

best in any moment. www.philips.com

September 2009 - Association of Dutch Businessmen

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