January 2004 - Association of Dutch Businessmen

January 2004 

MITA 373/03/2001 

COMPANY PROFILE: 

JTC Corporation 

Happy New Year to all 

ADB members!

PROLOGUE 

First and foremost let me wish you and your family a prosperous 2004 

in good health. 

Secondly I would like to share with you our Best Wishes for Prince Willem-Alexander and 

Princess Maxima with their newborn Princess Catharina-Amalia. On behalf of the ADB 

I have added our congratulations onto the website of the Royal Family. 

Tom de Jong 

After an exciting year with major events like the Iraq war and , closer to home, the SARS 

outbreak, 2004 will hopefully be a year of more stability and sustained economic growth, 

although Shell’s scenario type thinking has learned us that straight line thinking is not 

always appropriate. 

The last event in 2003 was a visit to the VOPAK installations on Jurong and Sebarok together 

with an overview of the regional activities by John Paul Broeders, the reginal Director. 

It was particularly good to see that a Dutch company in Bulk Storage and Logistic Services 

has manged to secure top spot in the world in this field. 

During the following dinner I mentioned that two boardmembers, Lieke Rijken and Rob Nijst, 

will be leaving us and return to Holland for new assignments with their respective companies. 

I would like to thank both of them for their long standing contributions to the ADB board. 

They made significant contributions over a long period of time as Secretary and Financial 

controller to the board of the ADB. I wish them succes in their new jobs in the Netherlands. 

At the same time I would like to welcome Wim Samlal from VOPAK as the new controller to 

the board. To fill a vacancy as well as replacing Lieke we have found Charlotte Ruegg and 

Frans van de Bospoort willing to take a role in the board. Charlotte works at the National 

University Hospital and Frans represents NIB Capital Bank in Singapore. 

It is good to note that in such an agile environment like Singapore we have again been able 

to find people willing to take on additional roles on top of their often busy work commitments. 

ADB remains committed to provide an intersting programme of activities , which give our 

member an opportunity to network outside their normal work environment. 

Hope to see many of you at the forthcoming ADB events, starting with the new year’s 

borrel on January 5th, 2004. 

Tom de Jong 

President 

Jeroen Keunen Lieke Rijken Rob Nijst Nick van Holstein Ruud Lantinga 

1 

Vol.14 • No. 1 • January 2004

A monthly publication of the 

Association of Dutch Businessmen 

ADB BOARD 

Tom de Jong 

President 

Nick van Holstein Vice-President 

Charlotte Ruegg Honorary Secretary 

Wim Samlal 

Honorary Treasurer 

Jeroen Keunen 

Member 

Ruud Lantinga 

Member 

Frans van de Bospoort 

Member 

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE 

Sascha Roosen 

Olaf Botermans 

Dorien Knaap 

Francine Smissaert 

Carolien Timmermans 

Michael van Ommeren 

Walter Moone 

Mark Tilstra 

SECRETARIAT 

Carolien Timmermans 

Mailing Address: 

22 Camden Park, Singapore 299814 

Telephone: 9030 9145 Fax: 6738 9962 

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 newsbrief are partly based on information 

received from third parties. The 

Committee does not take responsibility 

for the correctness of the articles. 

Subscription/member fee: 100 S$ yearly. 

Registration at the ADB Secretariat. 

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Produced by MCN Creative Associates Pte Ltd 

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MITA 373/03/2001 

Contents 

PROLOGUE 1 

REVIEW 

‘The linking pin for the petrochemical industry’ 3 

COMPANY PROFILE 

JTC Corporation – 35 years of creating and 

shaping 5 

DOING BUSINESS IN… 

How personal perseverance and humble 

beginnings can lead to big business 10 

10 QUESTIONS TO... 

2 x 5 = 10 questions to…Rob Nijst and 

Lieke Rijken 12 

HEIR, THRONE & KINGDOM 

Princess Amalia has arrived 14 

COMPANY NEWS 15 

KNOW YOUR TAX 

Bosal case 16 

FINANCIAL INSIGHT 

China: Threat or engine of growth? 18 

DUTCH DESK 21 

WHEELS 

Love and Carriage 22 

EMBASSY INFO 24 

ASSOCIATION INFO 24 

2 


REVIEW 

‘The linking pin for the 

petrochemical industry’ 

A visit to Vopak Terminals Singapore By Walter Moone 

▲ Vopak Company Visit 

Crossing Singapore 

‘Is Jurong Island in 

Malaysia?’ one of the 

attendants of this month’s 

excursion to Vopak Terminals 

Singapore laughs when he is 

asked to leave the bus and 

proceed to the security 

checkpoint. It is not a strange 

thought as the S$ 30 million checkpoint at the 

entrance of Jurong Island looks like a border 

crossing, with heavily armed security guards, metal 

detectors and all visitors required to carry their 

passports. Vopak, which operates its Sakra tank 

terminal on Jurong Island, gave the ADB members 

a unique opportunity to visit this normally difficult 

accessible industrial island. Next to a tour on 

Jurong Island the excursion visited Vopak’s 

industrial terminal on Sakra and the oil distribution 

terminal on Sebarok. 

Chemical hub on Jurong Island 

As the ADB delegation entered the causeway to 

Jurong Island Robert Dompeling, general manager 

of Vopak Terminals Singapore, highlighted the 

history and set up of this highly successful 

industrial concept. Jurong Island originally 

consisted of a flurry of tiny islands. The industrial 

development started in the early 70’s when the 

Vopak Terminal Sakra, the Industrial 

Terminal on Jurong Island 

three pioneers of the Singapore petroleum 

industry opened their facilities on three of these 

islands; Esso in Pulau Ayer Chawan, Singapore 

Refinery Company in Pulau Merlimau and Mobil 

Oil in Pulau Pesek. With these refineries the 

fundament was created for the development of 

related downstream industries that further 

process the materials produced by these refineries 

and crackers. In the 1990’s Jurong Island 

Corporation reclaimed more land and provided the 

required infrastructure to further develop the 

chemical hub, including a causeway to the 

mainland. Today, Jurong Island is home to leading 

petrochemical companies, like ExxonMobil, 

Celanese, Dupont, Mitsui Chemicals, 

Chevron Oronite, Shell and 

Sumitomo Chemical, their 

total investment exceeding 

S$ 21 billion. 

Vopak as linking pin 

on Sakra 

Most of the companies on 

Sakra deliver feedstock and 

final products to each other. 

In the middle of this chemical 

cluster the Vopak terminal in 

Sakra acts as the spider in the web delivering 

feedstock to plants and receiving their end-products, 

which in turn are delivered to other chemical 

producers or are exported to their end users. 

At the Sakra terminal the ADB delegation visited 

the central control room and the jetty, where at 

the time of the visit a large chemical ship of 45,000 

deadweight ton - the maximum the Vopak terminal 

in Sakra can handle – started discharging Methanol 

to the feedstock shore tanks of one of the 

customers. Terminal manager Teo Seow Ling and 

operations manager Ku Chong Chang highlighted 

the characteristics of an industrial terminal. 

All infrastructure on the terminal – e.g. tanks, 

pipelines, pumps, etc - is dedicated to the 

customers. As Vopak is feeding the raw material, 

usually hazardous chemicals, directly in the 

customers’ production process tight control of 

the process and stock and enhanced awareness 

of safety issues is key. 

3 


REVIEW 

The 

competitive 

advantage 

Vopak seeks is 

in providing 

high quality 

services, while 

maintaining 

equally high 

safety 

standards that 

local players 

cannot offer on 

several 

locations. 

Facilitating the Oil Trade on Sebarok 

After the Sakra visit the ADB members boarded 

the ferry that was kindly provided by Shell to travel 

to the Sebarok terminal. Sebarok is a small island 

located behind Sentosa. The main inhabitant of 

Sebarok is Vopak with over a million cubic meter 

of storage capacity for petroleum products. The 

Sebarok terminal was Vopak’s first terminal in Asia 

and was established in 1983. Terminal manager 

Randy Cheong demonstrated during a tour of the 

island that an oil terminal is completely different 

from a chemical terminal like Sakra. Tanks are 

substantially bigger and the jetties can handle ships 

up to 210,000 ton deadweight and a draft of 16 

meter. Traders in gasoline, fuel oil and jet fuel 

occupy the tanks. 

Regional network 

After the merger of Van Ommeren and Pakhoed in 

1999 Vopak became the biggest independent tank 

storage provider in the world, operating 

20 million cubic meter of storage 

capacity in 71 countries. Thirty 

percent of the worldwide sales 

is created in Asia. On the 

Sebarok island John Paul 

Broeders, president of 

Vopak Asia, presented 

Vopak’s strategy for its 15 

terminals in 8 countries in 

the region. Main components 

of the strategy comprise 

creating a regional network, 

targeting the same key 

customers, aiming one common 

brand image with standardized quality of 

services and developing long-term relationships 

with customers. Vopak Asia puts this strategy 

into operation by offering regional account 

management, implementing common standards 

on safety, health, environment and quality and 

Leaving Honorary Secretary Lieke Rijken 

and Tom de Jong 

Leaving Honorary Treasurer 

Rob Nijst receives his farewell gift 

from President Tom de Jong 

offering tailored supply chain solutions, using 

partnerships for land based logistics (trucks, 

drumming, etc). 

One of the attendants raised the question why 

not more people embark on the tank terminal 

business, as the concept looks very profitable and 

is simple at the same time. John Paul Broeders 

acknowledged that indeed Vopak has to compete 

with local players in every port they operate. 

However, the competitive advantage Vopak seeks is 

in providing high quality services, while maintaining 

equally high safety standards that local players 

cannot offer on several locations.’ Hence the reason 

Vopak targets mainly the multi-national companies 

that require a high quality service level. At the same 

time this poses a challenge in the Asian region as 

Vopak primarily operates in joint ventures. ‘The 

advantage of having a joint venture with local 

partners is that we have easy access to government 

and port authorities if it concerns licenses and 

regulation’, explained Broeders, ‘The 

downside is that it takes a lot of 

effort to convince these local 

partners of the importance of 

operating as a regional 

network and to invest in the 

quality and safety that 

comes with this’. Another 

question from the audience 

was if Vopak also invested 

in ERP software to help 

accomplish a standard service 

level across the various operating 

companies. Broeders explained 

that a corporate ERP system was 

now in operation in the major hub locations of 

Vopak in Houston, Rotterdam and Singapore. In the 

Asian region rollouts are in progress or scheduled 

in Malaysia, Thailand and Caojing. The ERP system 

has to serve as a basis to establish tighter 

relationships with customers through web- and 

ERP-to-ERP applications. 

The Shell ferry brought the attendants back 

to the mainland where the successful excursions 

was concluded with a drink and buffet at Villa 

Frangipani. It was in these lush Balinese 

surroundings that ADB president Tom de Jong took 

the opportunity to thank Robert Dompeling and 

John Paul Broeders for organising and hosting the 

excursion. Tom de Jong also bid farewell to two 

long sitting board members who will continue their 

careers outside Singapore, Lieke Rijken and Rob 

Nijst. The president thanked both for their 

outstanding contribution to the ADB and wished 

them all the best in the new challenges ahead of 

them. As a last note of the evening Tom de Jong 

introduced Wim Samlal, director finance of Vopak 

Asia, as the new treasurer in the ADB board. 

4 



JTC Corporation – 

35 years of creating and shaping 

Singapore’s industrial landscape 

Standard low rise factory 

Introduction 

JTC Corporation is Singapore’s leading planner, 

promoter and developer of high quality industrial 

facilities and business parks. Since 1968, it has been 

a key architect in shaping Singapore’s industrial 

landscape and in supporting the growth of 

industries and manufacturing in Singapore. It has 

a track record of developing close to 7,000 hectares 

of industrial land and over 4.5 million square 

metres of ready built space. 

Wide Array of Industrial and 

Business Facilities 

JTC offers a wide range of facilities for all types 

of industries and activities. From 

small office spaces for startup 

companies to large land plots for 

heavy manufacturing, companies 

can invest with confidence in a JTC 

facility. Currently, JTC manages 38 

industrial and specialised parks, 

including three wafer fab parks, a 

chemicals hub at Jurong Island, 

a biomedical manufacturing hub, 

a biomedical research and 

development facility (Biopolis), 

two business parks as well as start up facilities. 

Together, they house some 7,000 local and foreign 

companies. JTC is also the master developer for 

one-north at Buona Vista– a 200-hectare new 

economy hub incorporating research laboratories, 

offices, homes, parks and educational institutions 

for entrepreneurs, scientists and researchers. 

Indeed, JTC has played a pivotal role in 

accelerating Singapore’s industrialisation drive 

and is poised to take on new challenges even as it 

celebrates its 35th anniversary in 2003. The future 

looks to become even more exciting as JTC gears 

up to transform the industrial landscape of 

Singapore into a hip and happening place to worklive-play 

and learn. Older industrial estates in 

Singapore which were built up in the early years 

will be rejuvenated, taking on the vibrancy and 

dynamism that characterises new economy hubs. 

JTC will also continue to focus strongly on its 

customers, develop pro-business policies, create 

innovative products and provide best in class 

customer service to help companies doing 

businesses in Singapore become more competitive 

Adopting a customer-focused mindset has 

always been part of JTC’s winning formula. Living 

by this creed, development of its industrial parks 

revolve around the concept of creating synergy for 

customers. Clustering of companies that are similar 

in nature or complementary to one another has 

resulted in substantial savings for JTC customers. 

Jurong Island is a shining example to showcase the 

success of the cluster concept. Typically, output 

from one plant becomes feedstock for another, 

allowing them to feed off each other symbiotically. 

One organisation who has recognised the 

benefits of clustering on Jurong Island is Vopak 

Terminals Singapore Pte Ltd, owned by Royal Vopak. 

This Dutch company plays an integral role in Jurong 

Island’s chemical value chain, providing essential 

chemical logistics services to companies through 

its Industrial Terminal. This allows companies to 

better focus on their core business operations, 

while reducing capital outlay in jetty and tankage 

construction. 

5 



operate in a pro-business environment to retain the 

competitive edge against other global players. Cutting 

out red tape is an essential part of the process to 

create a pro-business environment. JTC had kickstarted 

the process early last year through a rule 

buster exercise to review and remove archaic rules 

that are redundant and impede business operations. 

Moving on, we will continue to regulate with a lighter 

touch and revise our policies so that customers have 

even more latitude in their business dealings.” 

▲ High rise factory 

This strategy is similarly being replicated in 

JTC’s Tuas Biomedical Park and Airport Logistics 

Park (ALPS), where pharmaceutical and third party 

logistic companies enjoy cost savings from the 

use of shared facilities such as utilities and waste 

treatment plants. 

While firm foundations have already been laid 

by JTC for its hard infrastructure and facilities, it 

is also building up its “software” and looking into 

ways and means to work in even closer partnership 

with its customers. 

Pro Business Policies in a Changing 

Environment 

Mr Chong Lit Cheong, Chief Executive Officer of JTC 

elaborates, “The industrialists of today need to 

Exceeding Customer Expectations 

While creating a pro-business environment is 

important, customer service is also taken very 

seriously at JTC. It is evident that the Corporation 

is keeping its ears close to the ground, through its 

formation of a Customer Panel last year. Out of 

the 55 recommendations, submitted by its 

Customer Panel, JTC has shown its firm 

commitment to its customers’ needs by accepting 

41 of them. In addition, it is also e-enabling its 

services and strengthening its IT infrastructure to 

help customers save time and costs. Process time 

for some of the e-services found on its customer 

portal Krypton have been slashed from the previous 

five days to five minutes, bringing greater 

convenience to its customers. 

Future Plans 

Changes in the new economy have also propelled 

the Corporation to look beyond its traditional roles 

of a landlord to embrace new roles and functions 

aimed at creating a pro-business environment for 

industrialists. 

A tale of courage and determination – The Jurong Island Story 

Situated off the western coast of Singapore is Jurong Island, home to some of the world’s 

leading petrochemical companies like BASF, ExxonMobil and DuPont. With 72 lessees on the 

island, it is one of the largest ethylene production centre and third largest oil refinery centre in 

the world. The 72 companies have invested close to $22 billion in Jurong Island. 

Jurong Island had its humble beginnings in the 1960s, when chemical companies such as 

Esso Singapore, Singapore Refining Company and Mobil Oil Singapore began their operations 

in some of the small and scarcely populated islands located just south of Singapore. 

In the 1980s, the chemicals industry was identified as one of the pillars, which had 

potential to contribute significantly to economic growth in Singapore. This gave rise to the 

idea of amalgamating the seven southern offshore islands to form one colossal island through 

reclamation. The process of joining seven separate islands into a site for a world-class 

chemicals hub began in 1991. When fully completed in 2005, Jurong Island will span a total 

of 3,200 hectares. 

6 



Work communities of the 

future @ one-north 

one-north is Singapore’s icon of the knowledge 

economy that would provide an intellectually 

stimulating and creative physical environment 

for entrepreneurs, scientists and researchers 

to congregate, interact and exchange ideas. 

With a focus on knowledge-intensive activities 

in critical growth sectors – biomedical, 

infocomms and media industries – it is slated 

to be a vibrant hotspot for innovation and test 

bedding. 

Covering almost 200 hectares, it will be 

developed in three phases over the next 15 – 

20 years and will integrate residential units, 

commercial hubs, tertiary and research 

institutes, sports facilities as well as green 

lungs. It is strategically located in the Buona 

Vista area (southern part of Singapore) near 

the National University of Singapore and 

Singapore Science Park and aims to be a focal 

point for research and development and 

technopreneurial activities. 

The name, one-north, capitalises on 

Singapore’s unique geographical location – one 

degree north of the equator, in the globe and 

its aspirations to be connected to the region, 

the world, and be innovative. one-north has 

very positive associations – new, first, winning 

and leading. The Chinese name “Wei Yi” is a 

direct and expressive interpretation of the 

English name one-north. Its meaning may 

also be translated as “the only one”. 

“In the early years, our pioneers had taken 

bold strides in developing the Jurong Industrial 

Estate. Following in their footsteps to challenge 

norms and traditional conventions, JTC continues 

to think out-of-the-box in coming up with 

revolutionary ways to benefit industrialists. To 

ensure that JTC continues to support Singapore’s 

growth for the next 35 years and beyond, we have 

drawn up an industrial blueprint for the future,” 

says Mr Chong. 

One of the highlights in JTC’s industrial 

blueprint for the future is a more vibrant industrial 

property market. To achieve this, JTC is adopting 

a ‘private sector first’ approach to encourage 

greater private sector participation. Signs of this 

new approach have already surfaced through its 

latest development projects such as one-north, 

where up to 80% of the project will be developed 

by private sector developers over the next 15-20 

years. 

JTC’s continual advancement has mirrored 

Singapore’s own rapid economic development. As 

Singapore steps forward into the future, JTC’s 

journey ahead will surely be as exciting as her 

past. 

JTC’s 

continual 

advancement 

has mirrored 

Singapore’s own 

rapid economic 

development. As 

Singapore steps 

forward into the 

future, JTC’s 

journey ahead will 

surely be as 

exciting as her 

past. 

Stack-Up factory — Woodlands Spectrum 

9 



Aeilco Janz. Zijlker 

In the 1860s, a young man left the Netherlands, 

disappointed in love. His destination was 

Batavia, at that time capital of the Dutch East 

Indies, to start a new life. His name was Aeilco 

Janz. Zijlker, descendant of a distinguished farmers 

family from Nieuw Beerta, in the province 

of Groningen. Through the years, Zijlker 

worked his way up to be manager of the 

East Sumatra Tobacco Company. In 1880, 

when he was working on a plantation in 

the north of the island of Sumatra, he 

was overtaken by a by a tropical storm. 

Sheltering in a tobacco shed, he witnessed 

a watchman light a bamboo torch from wet, 

sticky twigs. At first he thought the torch 

was made of a wood containing resin. He 

asked the watchman about the substance 

and the next day he was shown a big pool 

with black liquid. He recognised the smell 

of lamp oil, which was at that time, 

imported to the Indies. The watchman told him 

the liquid had been around for centuries and was 

used for all kinds of purposes by the locals. Zijlker 

took some samples of the liquid and send it to 

But Aeilco Zijlker was determined to make 

his venture a success. He first tried to secure the 

spot where he had found the petroleum. He visited 

the landowner, the emir of Langkat, to ask for a 

concession. This would be granted, if Zijlker would 

be able to raise enough money for exploration. 

After that, Zijlker needed official permission from 

the Dutch government to explore. This was not 

easy, but Zijlker managed to raise money through 

a consortium of banker’s and trading houses in 

Batavia, to finance his prospect for the petroleum 

in his concession area. In 1883 he travelled to the 

Netherlands. Through his brother, Derk Zijlker, at 

that time a Member of Parliament, he met the 

Minister of Colonies, who gave him a recommendation 

for the governor-general in Batavia. This helped 

him to receive the permission of the Dutch-Indies 

government. Zijlker returned to Sumatra to secure 

the concession from the emir of Lankat. The 

concession was granted to Zijlker, but only after 

paying a large amount of money for royalties. 

The consortium in Batavia was turned into a 

company, the Provisional Sumatra Petroleum 

Company. The consortium raised 25.000 guilders 

How personal perseverance and humble 

Batavia to have it examined. After a while he 

received the information that the liquid was 

petroleum and was very usable as lamp oil. 

Zijlker realised he had a big opportunity at his 

hands. But Zijlker would not be the first Dutchman 

to find petroleum in the Dutch-Indies. Already in 

1596, Jan Huygen van Linschoten had discovered 

‘fountain of flowing balm’ in Sumatra. Later the 

VOC would trade the balm as a medication for stiff 

legs. Large exploitation of petroleum had only 

become interesting after chemists discovered how 

to distil kerosene, paraffin and naphtha from the 

oil. The first petroleum well was exploited in 

Pennsylvania in the US in 1859. This was the start 

of what would become one of largest and successful 

industries of that country. In the Dutch Indies, the 

government legalised the exploration of oil wells 

by a special decree, in 1866. This meant that a 

well could only be exploited if there was proof 

that it would be profitable. After the issue of the 

decree, several individuals and companies had 

started exploration all over the Dutch-Indies, but 

without much success. The government was very 

strict and it turned out to be very hard to raise 

capital for undertakings like this. 

to start the exploration. Zijlker himself tipped in 

another 50.000 guilders. The drilling had to be 

tendered to miners of the government. In 1884, 

drilling started at Telaga Tiga. After a month they 

had reached a depth of 51 metres. Weeks later, at 

a depth of 96 metres petroleum was found. For a 

short time the well produced 200 litres a day, which 

was one fifth of an average oil well in the United 

States. But after four months, when the drillers 

had reached 116 metres, the well started producing 

water. It was decided to start drilling at another 

place, called Telaga Toenggal. Here, almost 

immediately petroleum was found, but the 

production was not enough to act as proof to 

receive permission for exploitation. Zijlker, who 

by now had put in a lot of effort and spent most 

of his money, was very disappointed in the cooperation 

of the Dutch-Indies government. Another 

four years were spent to search for usable wells, 

but without much success. One day, the drillers 

went back to Telaga Toenggal. It turned out the 

well had started producing again. This time, the 

production turned out to be enough proof 

Zijlker travelled to the Netherlands to find 

investors to exploit the well. He was lucky, he 

10 



travelled on the same ship as the retired director 

of the Bank of Java, N.P. van den Berg. During the 

trip, Zijlker convinced Van den Berg of the 

prospects of his petroleum venture in Sumatra. In 

the Netherlands, Van den Berg introduced Zijlker 

to bankers Gerard Dunlop and Edouard Boissevain. 

They were prepared to invest each for more than 

400.000 guilders. Zijlker and his brother also took 

part, so that in the end a total of 1,3 million 

guilders were raised. On June 16 1890 a new 

company was founded, the Royal Dutch Company 

for Exploitation of Oil Resources in the Netherlands 

Indies. Zijlker brought in his concession for which 

he received 171.000 guilders and shares. Zijlker 

travelled back to Sumatra to find other areas in 

Sumatra for exploration. 

It took another two years before the well in 

Talaga Toenggal officially started producing. But 

getting production started had not been easy. 

Workers at the spot had to improvise with little 

means and were troubled by tropical storms, 

mosquitoes and disease. Production started slowly 

because the lack of capital. The petroleum was 

refined at the spot in a new built refinery. The 

In February 1907, the Royal Dutch, 

which by that time exploited several 

oil fields and refineries, merged with Shell, 

a British company which had tankers and also the 

ability to market the oil, into a new company 

called the Royal Dutch Shell. 

Drilling at Telaga Said 1893 At the drilling floor 

beginnings can lead to big business 

most important product of the company during the 

first ten years was Crown Oil, which was sold all 

over Asia, but especially to Singapore and Penang. 

Only after raising new capital by selling more 

shares, production could be increased and activities 

broadened. This first well would later be known as 

Telaga Said I, and was the first production site of 

the Royal Dutch. It would produce oil for more than 

half a century. During the 1890s a sales department 

was erected, and the company started to build its 

own tanker fleet to transport the oil. In 1894 the 

first profit was made of half a million guilders. A 

new oilfield was opened in Perlak in North-Sumatra 

in 1896. By then the company had really started 

expanding as a result of increasing demand of fuel 

from Europe. To meet this demand a refinery was 

build in Rotterdam in 1902. 

In February 1907, the Royal Dutch, which by that 

time exploited several oil fields and refineries, 

merged with Shell, a British company which had 

tankers and also the ability to market the oil, into a 

new company called the Royal Dutch Shell. The two 

companies merged their interests on a 60:40 basis 

while keeping their separate identities. Throughout 

the early twentieth century, the Group expanded 

with acquisitions in Europe, Africa and the Americas. 

These were exciting times for the oil industry, as 

the mass production of cars had opened up a vast 

new market. The 1920s and 1930s were expansion 

years, with Shell businesses in new regions and new 

industry sectors; Shell’s first foray into chemicals 

began in 1929. Today, Royal Dutch and Shell 

Transport owns investments in numerous companies 

in which are collectively referred to as the Royal 

Dutch/Shell Group of Companies. Shell operates in 

more than 145 countries and territories around the 

world and employs more than 115,000 people. 

Aeilco Zijlker would not live to see the success 

of the Royal Dutch. In December 1890, not long 

after the founding of the company, Zijlker suddenly 

died in Singapore, while travelling from Sumatra 

to Batavia. Singapore would be the last restingplace 

of this pioneer in the modern petroleum 

industry in Southeast Asia. 

By Dorien Knaap 

First brands of the Royal 

Dutch 

Sources: 

H. Gabriëls, Koninklijke Olie: de eerste honderd jaar (1890-1990) (‘s Gravenhage 1990) 

W. Wennekes, De aartsvaders. Grondleggers van het Nederlandse bedrijfsleven 

(Amsterdam 1997). 

www.shell.com 

11 


10 QUESTIONS 

2 x 5 =10Questions To 

…Rob Nijst and Lieke Rijken 

By Walter Moone 

In January two highly appreciated board member, Lieke Rijken 

(Honorary Secretary) and Rob Nijst (Honorary Treasurer), will leave 

Singapore and the ADB. In this months’ 10 Questions To’ we take the 

opportunity to look back at their stay in Singapore and their work 

for the ADB and look forward to the new challenges ahead of them 

and the future of the ADB. 

5 Questions to Lieke Rijken 

Can you give us a short insight of 

1 your time in Singapore? 

I find it an enormous opportunity, both 

in a professional and a personal way that I had the 

possibility to stay for a while in Asia. To live and 

work in a totally different culture, with different 

people, really opens your mind. You learn that 

things can be done differently, that people think 

and act differently but also that a lot of things 

are the same where ever you go. But also Laksa, 

Chicken Rice, Hang Boa, cheap taxi’s, expensive 

wines, the queues for the 10% discount at the petrol 

stations, SARS, efficient Changi and no chewing 

gum (very difficult for a person formally responsible 

for Sportlife!). 

What are your plans now you leave 

2 Singapore? 

First we go for a long holiday to Australia 

and New Zealand, then we will head to the 

Netherlands to continue our careers over there. 

What achievements as a board 

4 member of the ADB make you proud 

and are there things you wanted 

but failed to achieve? 

I am proud of the very interesting program of the 

last year with outstanding events. What I wanted 

but failed to realise (especially for me as a female 

board member!) is that we did not get the 

name changed. 

What tips do you have 

5 for the future of the 

ADB? 

The board is revising its strategy, 

which has some very interesting 

elements in it. Watch 

these developments 

closely! 

What will be your fondest 

3 memories of living in 

Singapore? 

We will miss our Black and White 

house, the waving palms in our 

garden, and having breakfast every 

morning on the veranda. 

12 


10 QUESTIONS 

5 Questions to Rob Nijst 

Can you give us a short insight of 

1 your time in Singapore? 

I started as a regional financial controller 

for Van Ommeren in January 1998. During the 1999 

merger between Van Ommeren and Pakhoed I took 

part in the integration team for Asia. In 2000 I made 

the move to business development and regional 

commercial activities. 

My involvement in the ADB board started about 

three years ago. In reaction to a rumour that the 

ADB board intended to split up the ADB in a group 

for older and a group for younger members I 

wrote an article in ‘Who the Pen fits’ claiming 

that the ADB was becoming an ‘éminence grise’. 

The article created a bit of commotion and shortly 

after this I was asked to join the board as 

treasurer. 

What are your fondest memories of 

2 living in Singapore? 

For one the possibility to travel, both 

for work and leisure, but also the outdoor living 

and everything that comes with that – al 

fresco dining, the ideal location for 

sports like tennis and golf and never 

having to dress your children in warm 

winter clothes. Which brings me to 

one of the best memories, the 

fact that two of my children were 

born here. Live with my family in 

Singapore has been great. We were 

also blessed with a maid 

that made the Dutch 

apple tart better 

than the Dutch 

themselves. 

In your prologue of ADB Newsbrief 

3 

last month you mentioned your new 

challenge in the Netherlands. Can 

you tell us something about this challenge? 

For 6 years I worked in the growing markets in 

Asia. Especially in my capacity as director business 

development, this meant an ongoing effort to 

identify opportunities and to manage growth. In 

the Netherlands I will work in a mature market, 

where the emphasis will be much more on 

organisational development and optimisation of 

the service level. The additional big difference 

will be the difference between the Dutch and the 

Asian labour relations. 

What achievements as a board 

4 member of the ADB make you proud 

and are there things you wanted 

but failed to achieve? 

As a treasurer I regard the added transparency 

in the financial administration as a good 

accomplishment. When I started as a treasurer I 

came across a simple administration that had grown 

very complex over the years. More in general, 

I am proud of the fact that we were able to form 

a high quality board and improved the quality 

of the monthly meetings. The visit to Vopak last 

month was a good example of this (smile). 

What I had hoped but where we have not been 

successful, was a growth of the number of 

members. In itself explainable given the exodus 

of expatriates from Singapore, but on the other 

hand surprising as I still regard the ADB to be one 

of the best networking platforms for the Dutch 

business community. 

How do you see the future of the 

5 ADB? 

In line with the vision of the current 

board I see the ADB as a networking organisation 

with a solid number of members that meet 

frequently to attend high quality events. These 

events can be presentations by excellent speakers, 

interesting company visits, but also business 

lunches. Not the number of meetings, but the 

quality of the events is important. 

However, one of the most important things for 

the future of the ADB is the continuing feedback 

from the members to the ADB board and editorial 

committee. Only with a high level of involvement 

and commitment from the members the ADB will 

prove to be sustainable. 

13 


HEIR, THRONE & KINGDOM 

Princess Amalia has arrived 

by Brigitte Velema 

Sunday, the 7th of 

December the first 

child of crown prince 

Willem-Alexander and 

his wife princess 

Maxima was born. The 

arrival of the little 

princess ended the 

speculations about 

princess Maxima being 

pregnant of a twin. 

These speculations 

came in to life as the 

mother was ordered 

bed rest for several months and after the sudden 

announcement that the delivery would probably 

take place more than a month before the initial 

given delivery date. From hindsight the original 

announced birth date in January was probably a 

month after the real expected date. This was most 

likely done to prevent too much media pressure 

on the couple in the last weeks of the pregnancy, 

as the Belgium crown prince and his wife practiced 

the same tactic. 

There was no twin, but a little baby girl 

weighing 3310 grams with a length 

of 52 cm. Both mother and child are 

doing very well and crown prince 

Willem-Alexander added that the 

mother was intensely happy with her 

daughter. Queen Beatrix announced 

the birth in the Staats Courant, just 

as the birth of her sons were 

announced in the same paper by her 

mother, at that time Queen Juliana. 

The little princess is named 

Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen 

Victoria, princess of the Netherlands, 

princess of Oranje Nassau. Prince Willem-Alexander 

explained that it was difficult to decide on the 

names as they did not know the gender of the baby 

in advance, and by the time the baby was there it 

turned out that a lot of historical royal names had 

already been claimed for websites. In daily life 

the little princess will go by the name of Amalia. 

Amalia is a familiar name in the royal family’s 

history. Amalia van Solms-Braunfels was the wife 

of Prince Frederik Hendrik and the mother of 

Willem II. She used her influence to improve the 

position of the House of Orange. She introduced 

court etiquette, had 3 palaces build (including 

Huis ten Bosch) and took care of the finances. Her 

major triumph was the arranged marriage of her 

eldest son to English king’s daughter Mary Stuart, 

who later gave birth to Willem III. 

The newborn will get her own coins of 10 Euro, 

special silver and gold coins and stamps with her 

image. Several towns have declared that they will 

name a square or a street after 

the princess. The baby already 

has a coat of arms, designed by 

the “Hoge Raad van de Adel’. It 

contains two blue fields with the 

Dutch Lion and two gold colored 

fields with a hunting horn. Both 

symbols originate from the van Oranje Nassau 

family. In the middle there is a small coat of arms 

of the Zorreguieta family with a fortress, two 

cypress trees and two wolves. 

About an hour after the princess was born, 

101 salutes were fired in Den Haag, Den Helder, 

Willemstad (Curaçao) en Oranjestad (Aruba). This 

is Dutch tradition to celebrate the 

birth of a new future heir to the 

throne. The Dutch responded in 

generally very enthusiastic to the 

news of the birth. A lot of people 

raised the Dutch flag and within 

hours after the birth more than 

10.000 people congratulated the 

royal family with the birth on the 

website of the royal house and more 

than 500.000 people visited the site. 

On search engines on the Internet 

the name Catharina-Amalia quickly 

rose to the most searched subject. A lot of 

people phoned each other after the official 

announcement of the birth of the baby, as the 

number of phone calls made increased with 

50% according to KPN. SMS messages increased 

with 100%. 

It is still possible to congratulate the royal 

family with the birth of the princess on the website 

of the royal house: www.koninklijkhuis.nl. 

14 


COMPANY NEWS 

2003, Dutch Media/Newspapers 

Smit salvage to rescue Greek 

Tasman Spirit Tanker 

Smit Salvage, a subsidiary of Dutch maritime services provider Smit Internationale NV, 

has signed a contract for the rescue of Greek tanker Tasman Spirit. 

Tasman Spirit sank five months ago near Karachi, southern Pakistan. The rescue 

operations will begin immediately and are expected to be completed in several months. 

No financial details were disclosed. According to Smit Salvage public relations manager 

L. Walder, the sum depends on the rescue operations. Smit Salvage will also remove the 

rest of the oil from the ship before the operation. 

Smit Internationale was founded in 1842 in Rotterdam. The company is divided into 

four divisions providing harbour towage and additional port services, terminal management, 

terminal operations, rescue and wreck removal, environment care and consultancy, civil 

construction, ocean and coastal towage services. 

Anglo-Dutch Shell, trade 

unions do not agree on CAO 

Shell Nederland Raffinaderij and Shell 

Nederland Chemie, Dutch units of Anglo- 

Dutch oil company Royal Dutch/Shell Group, 

did not reach an agreement with the Dutch 

trade unions FNV and CNV over the new 

collective labour agreement (CAO) for a total 

2,300 workers at the plants in Pernis and 

Moerdijk, southern Netherlands, Shell said. 

Shell wanted to stick to the terms of the 

2004 CAO between the Dutch Cabinet, trade 

unions and employers, which envisaged a 

freeze of salary increases in 2004. FNV 

demanded a structural wage increase of 650 

euro in 2004 and a one-off 650 euro ($791.96) 

result-related payment, while Shell offered 

two one-off result-related payments of 1.0 

pct in April 2004 and December 2004. Shell’s 

offer concerns the period between October 

1, 2003 and April 1, 2005. Both trade unions 

will present Shell’s offer to their members 

in the week ending December 19, 2003. A 

total of 3,000 are currently employed at the 

Pernis and Moerdijk plants, 2,300 of whom 

are subjects to the CAO. 

KLM and Air France 

merger still on track 

KLM and Air France expect to present US and 

European Union regulators with their merger 

filing “within four to five weeks”, the Dutch 

flag carrier said yesterday, but added that 

the timetable remained on track. 

Regulators in Brussels and Washington are 

expected to take six to eight weeks to weigh 

the application to form what would be the 

world’s largest airline by turnover and the 

third biggest by traffic volumes, KLM said. 

The companies are taking their time to 

ensure the filing is thorough enough to satisfy 

regulators who will look closely at pricing 

and route overlap, and have twice already 

pushed back the expected date by which 

documents will be submitted. 

“The regulators want very detailed 

information, for instance on (ticket) pricing 

and routes,” KLM said. “We are happy with 

the progress we are making.” The merger, 

announced on September 30, would then be 

put to shareholders for approval. The 

carriers expect to launch a share exchange 

offer in March 2004. Ian Bickerton 

KLM cancels test with on-board undercover 

security officers 

Royal Airlines KLM provisionally cancelled 

a test with undercover security officers 

aboard its aircraft, chairman of the pilot’s 

trade union, H. de Vries, said. 

KLM cancelled the test as the security 

officers were supposed to be armed and 

the company and the pilots feared that 

these arms may be used against the 

security officers and the crew, De Vries 

said. 

The airline company and the Dutch 

Justice Ministry negotiated for months on 

the improvement of security on board of 

the aircraft. The security officers have to 

prevent terrorist acts like the attacks in the 

USA on September 11, 2001. Several airline 

companies have on-board security officers 

on some flights. 

The Dutch security officers have passed 

special training in Germany and in Israel 

since end-2002. The so-called air-marshals 

were to carry weapons under their civilian 

clothes and to travel undercover. The 

presence of undercover officers also has to 

discourage terrorists to operate on board of 

aircaft. 

Ahold’s offering 

succeeds, assures firm 

of 3 billion euros 

Ahold NV said its shareholders had subscribed 

to more than 90% of an offering of 3 billion 

euros in new shares. Ahold, the world’s 

third-largest supermarket operator in 

terms of sales after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of 

the U.S. and Carrefour SA of France, was 

hit by a major accounting scandal in 

February involving improprieties at several 

subsidiaries around the world. 

Ahold hopes the rights issue coupled with 

asset sales, which aims to raise 2.5 billion 

euros, will end the company's financial 

worries and will help meeting its debt 

obligation during the next couple of years. 

The Dutch retailer said shareholders 

had exercised their rights to 94.6% of the 

new shares by the close of the offering 

Wednesday. Ahold’s banks placed the 

remaining shares in a private placement 

to a group of institutional investors. 

Shareholders subscribed to 587.3 million 

new Ahold shares, leaving 33.7 million shares 

outstanding. Shareholders also subscribed 

to 109.9 million depositary receipts as part 

of the overall offering. 

The new shares have started trading 

in December 2003. The rights issue is fully 

underwritten by the banks, meaning that 

Ahold is assured of receiving the 3 billion 

euros it wants to restructure the company 

and bring down its debt of 11 billion euros. 

When Ahold announced the offering 

recently, it offered shareholders the right 

to buy two new shares for every three they 

own. The offer price of 4.83 euros was a 

42% discount to the previous day’s closing 

price of 8.27 euros. The remaining shares 

in the rump placement were priced at 

5.78 euros, Wednesday’s closing price. 

Duinrell not to launch 

smoke-free areas 

Amusement park Duinrell in Wassenaar, 

western Netherlands, is not obliged to make 

its buildings smoke-free, a court in the Hague 

said. Earlier Dutch non-smokers’ association 

Clean Air Now (CAN) had asked for a smoking 

ban in Duinrell. CAN mainly protested 

smoking in the restaurants and cafeterias of 

Duinrell, which affect employees’ health. 

Employers in the Netherlands will be 

obliged to provide a smoke-free working 

place for their employees as of January 1, 

2004, according to a new anti-smoking 

regulation. Dutch Health Minister Hans 

Hoogervorst proposed public catering 

companies to develop their own strategy for 

setting up smoke-free areas. 

15 


KNOW YOUR TAX 

In order to level the open market playing field, the 

EU has been trying to harmonise the Member States 

tax systems for years. As far as indirect taxes are 

concerned, the effort has been rather successful 

with all EU countries adopting similar VAT systems. 

In respect of direct taxes (i.e. income taxes), the 

harmonisation has been less successful. This is caused by 

the fact that Member States do not like to give up their 

sovereign powers when it comes to direct taxation. 

Direct taxation is by many States considered to be an 

important policy instrument (e.g. fiets van de zaak etc.). 

Furthermore, any proposal relating to the harmonisation 

of direct taxation requires unanimous approval. This 

delays matters further. 

There has however been a strong proponent in 

furthering the harmonisation of the Member States’ tax 

systems and that is the European Court of Justice (ECJ). 

Taxpayers in the Member States can invoke the EU 

legislation directly and if a Member State’s tax system is 

considered not to be in 

line with EU legislation, 

Bosal case 

the Member State is 

required to amend its 

domestic legislation. 

The ECJ has recently 

used this ‘power to 

By Olaf Botermans destruct’ with respect to the Dutch tax system. The Court 

& Pieter de Ridder 

decided that one of the oldest features of the Dutch 

Loyens & Loeff 

corporate income tax system caused an infringement to 

Singapore 

the EU treaty. The non-deductibility of costs relating to 

qualifying subsidiaries with foreign activities was held 

incompatible with the ‘freedom of establishment’ as 

codified in the EU Treaty. 

Income from qualifying 

subsidiaries is exempt in the 

Netherlands. Expenses relating to 

such a subsidiary are non deductible, 

unless the subsidiary generates profits 

which are taxable in the Netherlands 

(‘13 (1) expenses’). The ECJ’s line of 

reasoning was that it should not make 

a difference whether the subsidiary 

generates taxable income in the 

Netherlands or any other EU State. 

Following ECJ’s decision, the 

Dutch government submitted a 

proposal of law to the Dutch 

parliament on October 13, 2003. 

The proposal, which intends to limit 

the budgetary consequences of the 

Court’s decision contains thin 

capitalisation rules and a measure aimed at ring fencing 

prior and future year losses claimed by Dutch holding 

companies. These tax losses (not to be confused with 

commercial losses!) are the result of the fact that the 

income from the qualifying subsidiary will be exempt in 

the hands of the holding company, while on the basis of 

Income from qualifying 

subsidiaries is exempt in 

the Netherlands. Expenses 

relating to such subsidiary 

are not deductible, unless 

the subsidiary generates 

profits which are taxable 

in the Netherlands (‘13 (1) 

expenses’). 

the Bosal case, the interest will be deductible. The 

proposal furthermore deletes the provision dealing 

with the non-deductibility of expenses relating to 

qualifying subsidiaries. 

Instead, the thin capitalisation rules disallow 

interest deductions on excessive debt financing. 

Interest on loans from related parties is in principle 

considered excessive to the extent that the debt-toequity 

ratio of the taxpayer exceeds 3:1. For purposes 

of calculating the debt-to-equity ratio, all loans and 

receivables must be netted against each other at the 

beginning and the end of the year. Then, the average 

of the two net debt positions is taken into account 

for purposes of calculating the ratio. Equity is defined 

as the average fiscal equity at the beginning and the 

end of the year. If the average (net) debt-to-equity 

ratio exceeds 3:1, the interest relating to excessive 

debt-financing is not deductible for corporate income 

tax purposes. In addition to determining the holding 

company’s debt to equity ration on a stand-alone basis, 

the debt to equity ratio of the group to which the 

holding company may belong may also be applied. 

It is important to note that these thin 

capitalisation rules only apply to qualifying holding 

companies. For this purpose, a holding company is a 

company which is for 90 percent or more engaged in 

holding participations and financing related entities. 

A company is not a holding company if it has at least 

25 full time employees engaged in non-holding 

activities. 

Under the loss ring fencing rules, losses incurred 

by a holding company may only be utilised against 

income in a year in which the 

taxpayer also qualifies as a 

holding company. In addition, in 

the year in which the loss is 

utilised, the positive difference 

between the book value of the 

receivables on related parties 

and the book value of the 

payables to related parties may 

not have increased when 

compared to the year in which 

the loss was incurred, unless the 

taxpayer establishes that such 

increase was not incurred with 

a view to utilising the loss. 

It is important to note that 

before the Bosal case, 13 (1) 

expenses were not deductible. 

As such, no tax loss would arise. 

Under the thin capitalisation rules, tax losses may arise 

as a result of the deduction of expenses falling within 

the prescribed debt-to-equity ratio. The resulting tax 

losses may provide an interesting tax shelter for 

income which would otherwise have been taxable 

in the Netherlands. 

The above intends to provide you with a general understanding of tax developments in the Netherlands. The 

above should not be regarded as a substitute for appropriate detailed advice. 

16 



China: Threat or engine of growth? 

Jan Lambregts 

Economist / Strategist 

Rabobank 

A number of threats are supposed to originate from China. Flying accusations include the 

export of deflation, responsibility for manufacturing employment losses in the rest of 

the world and manipulation of its currency for unfair trade advantages, much to the 

detriment of the US trade balance. Should the world be worried? 

China’s export of deflation just one of many deflationary forces in play 

China’s labor cost advantage over most other countries in the world is substantial. In an attempt to retain 

high levels of profitability, many Western and Japanese companies have tried to winter the economic downturn 

by aggressively cutting costs through a shift of (part of) their production facilities into China. The resulting 

downwards pressure on global prices compounded to the weak price environment of the economic downturn, 

which was in turn largely the result of the investment boom that preceded it. The spectre of a liquidity trap 

surfaced, but appears to have passed. While it is true that the China factor added to the risk of a liquidity 

trap at an unfortunate time, its cost deflation would normally be considered benign to consumers and 

overall was a relatively limited factor compared to other deflationary forces in play. 

Chart 1: Export deflation accusation may turn into export 

inflation 1 

Chart 2: What about China’s employment losses after Asian 

Crisis? 

Source: CEIC, Rabobank Research 


1 

Official Chinese data series 

regularly draw heavy criticism 

for their unreliability. Since 

these are often the only data 

sources available on China, it 

is hard to escape using them. 

In particular the charts on 

export deflation/inflation and 

employment losses above 

should be interpreted with 

caution. The charts on trade 

are more reliable, while the 

charts on export/GDP and 

Hong Kong visitor arrivals draw 

their data from other sources. 

China will not absorb all manufacturing activity 

It cannot be denied that the reallocation of production facilities to China has hurt (employment in) certain 

industries and forces many countries to rethink their economic development strategies. The notion that 

China is about to absorb most of the world’s manufacturing activity, however, is too simplistic. First, China’s 

newfound capitalism is built on fragile fundamentals. The country still faces enormous challenges that will 

likely limit its potential to endlessly absorb manufacturing activity. Second, standard economic trade theory 

teaches us that allocation decisions are about comparative rather than absolute advantages. So while China 

may be the cheapest place to produce just about anything, it can be expected to specialize in those industries 

in which it is relatively speaking the most efficient, leaving plenty of other areas for other countries to 

specialize in. True, some industries and countries will face painful decisions; yet rather than investing 

energy in fighting these outcomes, countries ultimately stand to gain more from focussing on how best to 

position and benefit from the emerging Chinese economy. 

China not primarily to blame for large US trade deficit 

Various studies have shown the Chinese renminbi, which has de facto been pegged to the US dollar since 1994, 

to be undervalued by a range of 15-40% (REER basis). This has prompted the US to blame China for its growing 

trade deficit, claiming Chinese policymakers are using the peg to gain unfair trade advantages. A casual 

examination of the large bilateral trade deficit of the US with China would seem to confirm this, yet that road 

is too simplistic. The large US trade deficit with the world is the combined result of the US consumer living it 

large while the rest of the world has proven both willing to supply the products and plug the resulting financing 

18 



gap. One has to give the American consumer credit for at least picking one of the cheapest manufacturers 

(China) to supply their products. To subsequently claim that the resulting large bilateral trade deficit with 

China is the sole result of currency manipulation is however a statement for US domestic political consumption 

rather than an expression of economic rationale. We think the undervaluation of the renminbi is likely to be 

close to 15%. Even then one can wonder if that really calls for a correction given China’s fragile fundamentals 

and enormous challenges ahead. 

Chart 3: China continues to run a large bilateral trade 

surplus with US 

Chart 4: EU countries running a trade surplus recently 

though 



A potential engine of growth to the world… 

If threats have been exaggerated, could China then be a boon to the world instead, i.e. a new engine of 

growth? We think the potential is surely there. China’s 1.3 billion citizens present an enormous market to 

the rest of the world as the country’s economy and purchasing power continues to expand rapidly. China’s 

policymakers have clearly committed themselves to an ambitious growth program and seem determined to 

continue economic reforms to further free market thinking and mechanisms. Moreover, unlike the successful 

“Asian Tigers”, China is not overtly focussed on exports. This leaves more room for the development of 

vibrant domestic demand, which in turn offers export opportunities to the rest of the world. China’s ascension 

to the WTO at the end of 2001 initially saw a boost to Chinese exports and a rising trade surplus with the rest 

of the world, but ultimately also acts to open up Chinese markets to foreign exporters. Japan and Euroland 

are already enjoying a trade surplus with China, suggesting the US may be the exception rather than the rule. 

…especially to the Asian region 

For the Asian region (including Japan) in particular China could be an engine of growth. Geographical 

proximity guarantees many Asian countries of an advantage over the rest of the world when it comes to 

blending into new supply chains with China at the center. This also leaves Asian countries well positioned to 

meet growing Chinese demand for products. A wealthier China should also produce a steady stream of 

tourists to the rest of Asia. 

But enormous economic and political challenges on the road limit our enthusiasm 

The above illustrates the potential of China as an engine of growth to the rest of the world. Unfortunately 

it cannot be denied that there are serious obstacles on the road. The country’s financial system is 

underdeveloped by modern economies’ standards and features a particularly weak banking sector. Institutions 

and legal systems in general require large overhauls to gear up China as a sustainable engine of growth. 

Bureaucracy and corruption are widespread problems that need to be addressed. While Chinese policymakers 

are strongly focussed on economic progress and probably have both the willingness and resolve to see 

through significant reforms to face challenges in the years ahead, that is not to say there won’t be any 

serious setbacks. The risk of such setbacks is far from academic and dampens our enthusiasm over China’s 

potential as a growth locomotive in the coming years substantially. The transformation of the Chinese 

economy is a monster project in all of its dimensions, of which the sociological one cannot be ignored. New 

freedoms could change the very fabric of society and present additional challenges to political leaders and 

sources of risk to the country’s stability. 

19 



Chart 5: China’s export/GDP ratio in line with OECD average 

Chart 6: Chinese tourists promising boost for Asian region 

Source: Worldbank Development Indicators 2003, Rabobank Research 


The real threat to the world is for China to disappoint, rather than excel 

The variety of threats that is said to originate from China are more often accusations from countries that 

refuse to solve their own structural shortcomings that lie at the heart of the suggested problems. The real 

threat the world should pay more attention to is a serious setback in the economic development of China 

somewhere in the upcoming years, which could be triggered by economic and/or political factors. Not 

only would this hurt many countries’ economies through their increasingly close economic ties with China, 

but it would also do serious damage to the long-term potential engine of growth China could be for the 

rest of the world. 

20 


DUTCH DESK 

2003, Dutch Media/Newspapers 

Tilburg Reeshof Train 

Station Collapses 

The new train station in the Dutch town of 

Tilburg Reeshof, in Noord-Brabant province, 

was closed when part of the platform 

collapsed a day after the station was opened. 

According to Dutch state-owned railways 

authority ProRail, a large quantity of sand 

used for the station’s construction spilled 

and the pile collapsed after heavy rainfall. 

An unnamed building company will repair 

the collapsed platform. 

The trains will not stop at the Tilburg 

Reeshof station until the repair is completed. 

Passengers will use buses. The reconstruction 

of the station is expected to be completed 

within a day. The trains will stop at the train 

station on Sunday because they travel with 

less passenger carriages and could avoid 

the damaged station sections. 

1,100 sea containers to 

provide accommodation 

to Amsterdam students 

The Amsterdam executive municipal body 

College of Mayor and Aldermen voted in 

favour of converting 1,100 sea containers 

into students’ lodgings. The move is aimed 

at dealing with the current room shortage 

for Amsterdam students. Students will pay 

250 euro ($308) a month for these lodgings. 

The containers will be located on the 

H.J.E. Wenckebachweg street for a period of 

five years and will then be moved to another 

location. Dutch Keetwonen foundation will 

be responsible for the construction of the 

rooms and Amsterdam housing corporation 

Intermezzo will maintain them. 

Construction works will start in the 

spring of 2004. The first students are 

expected to move in the containers at the 

beginning of the 2004/2005 academic year. 

Smoking ban to be 

introduced in 

Dutch Crematoria 

The National Association of Crematoria 

(LVC) in the Netherlands will introduce 

a smoking ban in its crematoria as of 

January 1, 2004, LVC reported. 

The smoking ban will be enforced on 

the entire premises, and apply both to 

employees and visitors. Employers in 

the Netherlands will be obliged to 

provide a smoke-free working place 

for their employees as of January 1, 

2004, according to a new anti-smoking 

regulation. 

Crematoria employees will have to 

inform visitors about the ban on smoking 

in advance, LVC said. All the crematoria 

in the Netherlands, about 60, are 

associated with LVC. 

Three northern provinces to 

report shortage in employees 

The three northern provinces will report a shortage in teachers, medical employees, 

police officers and employees in the agriculture sector in 2004, a survey carried out by 

the Groningen University showed. 

The shortage is mainly a result of the ageing of employees in these sectors, the 

survey showed. An increasing unemployment rate was registered in the three provinces 

Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe. 

The Groningen University expects a shortage of employees in more sectors if the 

economical situation will improve. The northern provinces are more affected by the 

ageing of employees compared to the other Dutch provinces. The working population 

in the three provinces will decrease by more than 22,000 people until 2010, mainly in 

the educational and agricultural sectors. 

Zuid Holland proposes two regional 

broadcasters to go bankrupt 

The majority of the council of the western 

Dutch province of Zuid Holland proposed the 

troubled regional TV and radio broadcasters 

RTV Rijnmond and RTV West to go bankrupt. 

After the bankruptcy the broadcasters 

have to resume operations after a 

restructuring programme has been launched, 

the provincial council said. A resumption of 

the operations will cost the province 

between 4.0 mln euro ($4.9 mln) and 5.0 

mln euro ($6.1 mln) per broadcaster, while 

a restructuring programme without a 

bankruptcy will be less expensive. RTV West 

will probably need 3.0 mln euro ($3.7 mln) 

to start a restructuring programme, RTV 

West director Binnendijk said. 

RTV Rijnmond and RTV West face 

financial difficulties mainly due to excessive 

spending, big number of employees and 

decreased advertising revenue, according to 

a survey, which was carried out by the 

province and published in November 2003. 

RTV West has to cut 35 of its 146 jobs, and 

RTV Rijnmond needs to cut 37 of the 147 

jobs to keep operational, the survey showed. 

The council of Zuid Holland will decide 

later whether to allocate subsidies to the 

regional broadcasters. 

Rijksmuseum 

moves Rembrandt’s 

Night Watch 

The Dutch Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam 

moved Rembrandt’s painting Night Watch 

to the Philips Wing of the museum. 

The Night Watch was moved for the first 

time since 1945. All the 17th century 

masterpieces of the museum, including Night 

Watch, will be exhibited at the Philips Wing 

until 2008, as the Rijksmuseum started a 

272 mln euro ($332 mln) renovation project. 

The transfer of the painting, which was 

not announced due to security reasons, 

started at 0630 local time. Conservators, 

art-transport specialists and technical 

employees placed the paining in a wooden 

frame, which was specially made for the 

operation. The frame was protected by a 

cover, which was equipped with sensors 

which had to control the temperature, the 

vibrations and the humidity during the 

transfer. Around 1200 local time, the Night 

Watch was transported outside the museum 

and brought to the Philips Wing. A large area 

around the museum was closed by the police 

forces during the move across the street. 

The Philips Wing will open later in 

December 2003. Rijksmuseum has lent part 

of its collection to five museums in the 

Netherlands during the renovation works 

and several exhibitions will travel to Europe, 

the United States and Japan. 

21 


WHEELS 

Love and CarriageBy Olaf Botermans 

▲ 

Quinny not adept 

at cornering 

Singapore is a fertile place. Many people arrive in 

Singapore childless, only to enter the phase of early 

parenthood after a couple of years. This change 

has a fascinating impact on the social lives of the 

would—be parents. Not only do they now carry the 

responsibility for raising a child, they also develop 

a whole new circle of friends with whom they can 

share their new and all encompassing interest. 

Topics which were not considered interesting a 

few months before become the main issue of 

conversation. 

And within this newfound palette of 

conversation, the child’s first means of 

transportation becomes one of the most fiercely 

debated topics. The main advantage of carriages 

over other aspects of baby life such as baby 

clothing, is that a carriage has wheels. This feature 

makes it OK for fathers to discuss this topic with 

an attention for detail that rivals the purchase of 

a new computer or a new car. 

Carriages are compared, debated, criticised 

and defended. Practical aspects such as weight 

and durability becomes a point of concern where 

previously average cornering speeds, low centre 

of gravity and tyre pressures would have been the 

first point of attention. It has been said that parents 

are raised by their children and the purchase of 

a carriage indeed seems to indicate a mature 

tendency to place more emphasis on practicality 

and function than before. 

However, fashion and trends have not entirely 

been eradicated from the minds of caring parents. 

In the past ten years, carriages have become, 

like almost any other product, a vital ‘life style’ 

accessory which demonstrates how active and hip 

the parents actually are. It all started with the 

three wheel carriages from Venice beach which 

allowed babies and toddlers to participate in their 

parents active lifestyles of jogging and rollerblading 

along beaches and forest trails. The number 

of life style carriages mushroomed and the days of 

the old-fashioned carriage seemed truly gone. 

One of the more recent additions to this long 

line of parent tailored carriages is from Dutch origin 

and has the non-Dutch name ‘Bugaboo’. What have 

Catherina Zeta Jones, Zinedine Zidane, Paul de 

Leeuw, Princess Maxima, Julianne Moore, Marco 

Borsato, Frans Bauer, and Miranda (Sex in the City) 

in common? They all carry their offspring in the 

Bugaboo. 

The Bugaboo Frog was designed by Max 

Barenbrug, an industrial designer, and further 

developed in collaboration with a medical doctor 

Eduard Zanen in an attempt to create the ideal 

baby stroller. 

In 1994, at the Design Academy in Eindhoven, 

Max Barenbrug developed a multi-functional 

stroller for his graduation project. His stroller was 

designed to function with a bike and convert to a 

back-pack. The product awarded Barenbrug to 

graduate Cum Laude in two graduation directions 

‘Mobility and Leisure’ – with a stroller and a bike. 

In particular, the design for his stroller was awarded 

22 


▲ 

Break ascent not a luxury when traversing 

rough Singapore jungle 

▲ 

High speed ability of Quinny impresses 

the ‘Best Design of the Year’. Eduard Zanen, Max’s 

brother-in-law, runs a medical advice and CPR/ 

reanimation company and has been involved with 

the development from the beginning. 

The first designs of the Bugaboo turned out to 

be not that sturdy, the push bar was not strong 

enough and would break every now and then. There 

were other weak points as well. According to Max 

Barenbrug, the original manufacturer mixed old 

plastics with new plastics in order to reduce costs. 

In order to be able to maintain strict quality 

control, Bugaboo set up their own manufacturing 

plant in Taiwan. 

The real success for the Bugaboo came when 

Barenbrug and Zanen arranged for a product 

placement with the comedy series ‘Sex in the City’. 

One of the series’ characters walks around New 

York City transporting her baby (Brady) in a brand 

new Bugaboo. After that, the Bugaboo became a 

phenomenon in the US with press attention from 

unlikely sources. The article ‘Stroller Status Wars 

Heat Up With Fancy Foreign Models’ appeared in 

the Wall Street Journal on November 1, 2002. 

Buyers of the exotic foreign models claim that these 

are better made than their American counterparts, 

with more-solid materials and well-thought-out 

design. “They’re not plasticky or rickety”. And the 

US would not be the US if it did not have parents 

worrying about whether their stroller would fit 

in nicely with the interior 

design of their home. 

People Magazine (US 

equivalent of Privé) 

called the Bugaboo the 

‘hottest stroller’ in its 

November 17 issue. 

In Singapore context, 

and then as far as 

the Dutch community 

is concerned the only 

real competition to the 

Bugaboo (some 9 red 

Bugaboos were counted 

Bugaboo comes with caravan option 

at the last ZOAT tournament) seems to come from 

the Quinny. The Quinny is a three wheel design 

and that sums up its biggest forte. The three wheel 

design looks good and the Quinny has an ingenious 

folding mechanism which allows for easy storage. 

However, due to the three wheel set-up, the Quinny 

is not particular fond of cornering. The designers 

of the Quinny, (the Quinny company recently 

became Dutch owned) have attempted to solve this 

problem by introducing a front wheel which carves 

its way into the desired direction. However, even 

with this modification the Quinny still has a turning 

circle with the size of Denmark. In favour of the 

Quinny, through the success of the Bugaboo it was 

dealt a card which may become its biggest trump 

yet; a Quinny is not a Bugaboo. With the Bugaboo 

becoming more and more popular, hip parents are 

turning away from the Bugaboo and looking into 

the sleek design of Quinny. 

So, where does that leave the fashionable yet 

responsible parent?. Both strollers performed well 

in our test, but the Bugaboo is more agile, lighter, 

and does not require wide open spaces to make a 

U turn. And as far as fashion is concerned, trends 

come and go. As a reaction to the spiffy life style 

strollers, some über-trendy parents have been 

spotted taking the little ones in a old-fashioned 

stroller as used by your parents. For the time 

being, the Bugaboo seems the stroller of choice, 

but tell your mother not 

to throw out your first 

means of transportation 

as yet. 

Stretch Strollers 

A number of manufacturers 

offers a stretched 

version of their strollers. 

Quinny offers the twoseater 

Fashion Tandem. 

Bugaboo does not offer 

a limousine model. 

23 


EMBASSY INFO 

Elections European 

Parliament / National 

consulting referendum 

The elections for the European Parliament will take place in the Netherlands on 10 June 

2004. Dutch citizens living abroad can participate if they are 18 years old on the day of 

election and not registered in any municipality in the Netherlands (bevolkingsadministratie). 

How to vote? 

In order to be able to vote you have to register before 28 April 2004. You have to send in 

an election-registration form to be registered at the municipality of The Hague. 

• Dutch citizens in Singapore who have participated in the last European Parliament 

Elections, should receive the election-registration forms at the last address known to 

the municipality of The Hague; 

• From 10 December 2003, you will be able to download the election-registration form 

from the following websites: www.minbuza.nl/verkiezingen and www.ukomttochook.nl. 

• In January 2004, the election-registration forms will be mailed to all Dutch citizens who 

have registered themselves at the Embassy at the last known address. 

If you are not registered at the Embassy, or have moved without notifying the Embassy, 

you may collect the forms at the Embassy during opening hours or send in a request by fax: 

6737 1940 or e-mail: sin@minbuza.nl . Please clearly state your full mailing address. 

The forms with the relevant documents (copy of your Dutch passport) have to be send to: 

Royal Netherlands Embassy (o.v.v. Verkiezingen), Tanglin P.O. Box 447, Singapore 912415 

For more information: 

✒ www.minbuza.nl/verkiezingen 

✒ www.nethemb.org.sg 

✒ www.ukomttochook.nl 

National Consulting referendum: 

On 10 June 2004 or at a later date, a national consulting referendum will be held with 

regards to the European Constitution. If your request for registering as a voter is approved, 

you will be registered for the referendum as well. 

ASSOCIATION INFO 

New Members 

Mr. Jouke Tuinhof 

Schering-Plough 

Mr. Eduard Holtz 

Mees Pierson 

Leaving Members 

Ms. Lieke Rijken 

Leaff 

Ms. Sabrina Rubin 

Portelet Asia 

Mr. Marc Jan Giesselink 

Sigma Coatings 

Mr. Rob Nijst 

Vopak 

This Months event 

The Board of the ADB invites you and your partner to the 

ADB New Year’s Borrel 

January 2004 

Monday 5 January 2004 

1900 hour 

Venue: Residence Chairman ADB Tom de Jong 

69 King’s Close, Singapore. 

Directions: Driving on Holland Road, turn into Farrer Road. At the 

first traffic light turn left into Empress Road, at the end turn left again, 

now take the second street on your right which is King’s Close. 

Note: Parking is very limited. It is advisable to take a taxi. 

Mr. Kees Vissers 

Vopak 

24

January 2004 - Association of Dutch Businessmen

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