February 2012 - Association of Dutch Businessmen

Association of Dutch Businesspeople in Singapore
www.adb.org.sg
EVENT
ADB 2012 New Year ‘borrel’
Feb 2012
MITA 373/03/2001
ADB NEWS
Annual report 2011
BUSINESS
Interview with Richard van
Schie of cargo-partner

PROLOGUE
Board Members
Jan De Vegt
President
VP Asia Air France Cargo/KLM Cargo
Welcome to the year
of the Dragon…
Raymond Hofstede
Honorary Secretary
Attorney-at-Law Loyens Loeff
Ard Huisman
Honorary Treasurer
Director Finance Vopak Asia
Frank Kuijsters
Member / Chief Editor
Director Digne Consult Asia Pacific
Marleen Dieleman
Member
Visiting fellow NUS Business School
Hans Loth
Member
Managing Director
Asia De Lage Landen
Martijn Kuipers
Member
Commercial Director Mammoet
Willem van Donge
Member
Business Manager, Brunel
Secretariat
Lineke van Nederpelt
Executive Assistant
IMCD Asia
Gong Xi Fa Cai, Happy Chinese New Year.
According to the Chinese the year of the Dragon is a special
year. Special because the dragon is the only animal in
the Chinese zodiac that is magical and does not exist in
real life. Hence 2012 is going to be a great year. At least
according to Chinese traditional belief.
Most economists try very hard to persuade us that 2012
will be bleak and best to get through as soon as possible. I
tend to agree with Chinese traditional belief and feel quite
positive about 2012. Partially because having a gloomy
outlook does not improve quality of life and partially
because economists just cannot be trusted. I remember
them predicting in the late 90s that there would never
be a recession again. They called it ‘New Economics’.
Basically the story was that through interconnectivity and
information being easily available recessions could be
avoided. Right.. I guess we know better by now. Anyway
as you probably can tell my knowledge of the dynamics
of the economy is limited, I do not even work for a bank. I
work for a global staffing company and healthy economic
outlook is always better than a gloomy one in our case. So
it might be a bit of wishful thinking from my side. By this
time next year we will know more…
I recently joined the ADB Board and I must say I feel
honored to be asked to come on board to, hopefully, add
value to an institute in Singapore. Every Dutch person
who is in Singapore or who is coming to Singapore knows
the ADB. The ADB has been around since 1990 and has a
strong focus on promoting interaction among the Dutch
community ever since. We are currently discussing the
program for 2012 and I can tell you that we have some
very interesting events coming up. This year will be a mix
of old and new, business and fun.
Of course we are always open to suggestions. If you have
great ideas or just general feedback don’t hesitate to
approach us at one of the events or alternatively you can
just send an email to adb@adb.org.sg.
Well, here is to a great year of the Dragon. May it bring
prosperity and abundance to all of us.
“The ADB provides opportunities for Dutch business
people to meet, interact and share knowledge by
means of company visits, lectures, networking events
and membership communications.”
Willem van Donge

Contents
Vol. 22 / No. 1 / Feb 2012
Prologue 1 By Willem van Donge, one of the board members
Events 3 ADB’s New Year ‘borrel’
aDB News 5 Association of Dutch Businesspeople
Annual Report 2011
Business 8 Interview Richard van Schie of cargo-partner
10 eBuddy: a successful Dutch internet start-up with
big plans in Asia
DutchCham News 12 Latest news by DutchCham
Column 13 Dutch losing the plot
Bizz News 14 Dutch business news
singapore 16 The other Singapore: Poverty and the inevitable
celebration of CNY
17 NCA supporting local charities, The Breadline Group
not to miss 18 Things to do in Singapore
Embassy News 19 New Year’s message of the Embassy of the Kingdom
of the Netherlands
aDB News 22 Announcements, member info and more
Photographer for cover: Peter Kloprogge
P3
Enjoy the pictures of the
ADB 2012 New Year ‘borrel’
at the residence of Hans and
Barbara Jansing.
P5
Preceding the ADB’s annual
general meeting in March, the
ADB is pleased to present its
Annual Report 2011.
P8
Richard van Schie is back in
Singapore after 2.5 years in Cairo
to become the Managing Director
of cargo-partner. Read more about
his job and cargo-partner in this
interview.

Events
ADB’s New Year ‘borrel’
Text and Photos Lineke van nederpelt
On 11 th of January the ADB members were warmly welcomed by Hans and Barbara Jansing at their residence. The pictures
show it was a good start of the New Year. Our President was unfortunately not able to join us at one of his last events, and our
ambassador kindly asked everyone to give a big applause for his Presidency. We thank Vopak for traditionally sponsoring this
event and Wine Directions for offering the ambassador’s couple a bottle of wine.
Wouter de Koning, Arthurt Post
Uiterweer, Wouter van Marle
Edwin Blomsma, Natasja van Osterom,
Reg Rombout, Cindy van Eijk
Wietske Helle, Jana Kadlecova,
Robert Sunderman, Eelke Oosterhuis
Mark Leenders, Barbara Jansing,
Josefien Leenders
Liang Tan, Richard Soemita, Ard Huisman,
Ian ter Haar
Rosmarijn Fens, Mar van Sluijs, Angelique
Schippers, Lineke van Nederpelt
Julie Adams, Raymond
Hofstede, Qiumei Yee
Hans de Back, Steven Mulder,
Nelleke Deelen-Geuze
Wilhard and Elly Kreykes,
Leon and Marian Janmaat
Jeroen de Koning,
Jorn Wisselink

Events
Michiel Stange,
Pascal Koolmoes
Wouter Moormann, Andrew Baartscheer,
Peter Kloprogge, Nico Francken, Frederik Feddes
Marie Hélène Piederiet, Anita Jansen, Arjen Blom,
Leonie Baartscheer, Marleen Dieleman
Marcel Duiveman, Jacinta de Vogel,
Patricia Snel
Ronald Dalderup, Pauline Eizema,
Nico Francken
Paul Verwijmeren, Arthur van Dijk,
Sander Mutsaers
Roelf Dijkhuizen,
Nicolaas Klaver
Lorraine The, Edwin Nijhof, Kuan Yoe The,
Sunita Nijhof
Jos and Patou Dijsselhof,
Linnie Mackenzie
THIS EVENT WAS PROUDLY
SPONSERED BY
No NY ‘borrel’ without ‘oliebollen’!

ADB News
ASSOCIATION OF DUTCH BUSINESSPEOPLE
ANNUAL REPORT 2011
TEXT RAYMOND HOFSTEDE, HONORARY SECRETARY ADB
In anticipation of the ADB Annual General Meeting 2012, to
be held on 19 March 2012 at the Hollandse Club, the ADB
Board is happy to present to you its Annual Report for 2011.
Overall the ADB can look back at 2011 as a very
successful year. Despite the economic downturn which
was expected to translate into a decrease in membership,
a net membership growth of 5% was realized. The various
events were well attended and networking opportunities
were much appreciated. The ADB Magazine and website
provided interesting reading and they appeared to
be important means of communication amongst our
members.
Financially, the ADB is a healthy organization which,
in combination with the generous support of different
sponsors, allowed for the offering of events at minimal or
no costs.
The ADB Board is thankful for the active input and
involvement of many members and the patronage of
sponsors and advertisers without whom the Association
could never have been as lively and vibrant as it is today.
COMPOSITION OF THE ADB BOARD AS PER
31 DECEMBER 2011
Jan de Vegt
Marie-Hélène Piederiet
Raymond Hofstede
Ard Huisman
Frank Kuijsters
Marleen Dieleman
Hans Loth
Martijn Kuipers
Willem van Donge
President
Vice-President
Honorary Secretary
Honorary Treasurer
Member - Chief Editor
ADB Magazine
Member
Member
Member
Member
A special mentioning deserves Ms. Lineke van
Nederpelt, who already for the seventh year successfully
managed ADB´s secretariat with great involvement.
In April, Rutger Oudejans, who served the ADB Board
since January 2009 as a board member, stepped down
from the ADB Board. The ADB Board thanks him for his
positive contribution to the success of the ADB over the
last two and a half years.
In October, Richard van der Werf, who served the ADB
Board since June 2007 as a board member, stepped down
from the ADB Board. The ADB Board thanks him for his
positive contribution to the success of the ADB over the
last four years.
In December, Marie-Hélène Piederiet, who served the
ADB Board since January 2009 first as a board member
and later as the Honorary Secretary and as Vice-President,
announced that she will step down from the ADB Board as
per January 2012. The ADB Board thanks Marie-Hélène for
her positive contribution to the success of the ADB over
the last three years.
In 2011 the ADB Board welcomed a total of three new
board members. In April, the ADB Board welcomed Martijn
Kuipers as new board member. In May, the ADB Board
welcomed Raymond Hofstede as Honorary Secretary. And
in December, the ADB Board welcomed Willem van Donge
as new board member.
REVIEW OF MEMBERSHIP NUMBERS
Despite the fact that it is a come and go of people, inherent
to an expat community, the ADB has seen an increase in
membership from 462 members in 2010 to 486 members
in 2011. In total 145 new members and 8 student members
joined the Association in 2011 and 121 members left.
The membership composition changed from 78% male
members and 22% female in 2010 to 75% male members
and 25% female in 2011.
REVIEW OF ADB ACTIVITIES
The ADB activity calendar consisted of monthly events
that catered to the various interests of the members. The
events were well attended; the absolute highlights were
the Dinner & Dance and the networking ‘borrels’.
January – New Year´s borrel at the Ambassador´s
residence
The year 2011 had a great kick-off with 158 members
attending the New Year´s borrel on the 12 th of January
which was kindly hosted by ADB honorary member,
Ambassador Johannes Jansing at his residence. The event
was generously sponsored by Vopak and the Embassy of
the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
February – Presentation on competitive advantages in
airline business
On the 14 th of February around 60 members gathered
at the Hollandse Club to listen to the presentation of
Paul Rombeek, General Manager Singapore, Indonesia,
Australia, New Zealand at AIRFRANCE KLM. During his
presentation, Paul answered questions about profit
margins, prices of tickets, alliances and cabin crew, and
talked about the airline business in general and AIRFRANCE
KLM in particular.

ADB News
March – Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting was held on 14 March at the
Hollandse Club. A total of 35 members attended the AGM.
The “zuurkool-met-worst-borrel” afterwards was well
appreciated.
April – Interview session with Prof. Balkenende
The April event was actually held on Wednesday 30 March
at the Hollandse Club, when the ADB (together with the
Netherlands Embassy and DutchCham) organized an
interview session with Professor Jan-Peter Balkenende. As
expected, there was full attendance and the atmosphere was
pleasant and informal. After the session, members had the
pleasure of having a personal chat with the Former Prime
Minister. Around 150 members of the Dutch community
attended this event, of which around 80 ADB members.
May – Cheng Ho boat tour
A nice networking evening was organized on 26 May
taking about 90 passengers on a tour around the harbor of
Singapore on the famous Cheng Ho boat.
June – Company visit Damen Shipyards Singapore
On June 8, around 45 members were personally welcomed
on a Damen Fast Ferry by Mr. Pieter Kalis†, Pieter van
Beurden and Jan Golverdingen at Tuas for a presentation
about Damen Shipyards and in particular on the Singapore
operations. Only a few months later, on 17 October the sad
news reached us that Pieter Kalis, Managing Director of
Damen Shipyards, passed away. The way Pieter welcomed
us, showed his sincere kindness.
August – Welcome back barbeque
Another successful and well attended event was the annual
networking barbeque, which was held this year at the
residence of the President of the ADB, Jan the Vegt, on
August 25. A total of 95 members and spouses attended
this social event. The event was generously sponsored by
ANZ Bank and Heineken.
September – Dutch pioneer panel discussion
More than 75 members gathered at the Hollandse Club
on September 12 for the Dutch pioneer panel discussion.
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ADB News
sector, Sandra van Hellemond, Barbara Voskamp, Willem
van Donge and Peter Kloprogge, shared their experience
on starting new businesses in Singapore. The discussion
was professionally moderated by board member and Chief
Editor of the ADB Magazine, Frank Kuijsters.
October – Company visit: Asia Pacific Breweries
As expected, it was a good turn up for the Tiger Beer tour
on 24 October. A total of 50 members were lead through
the factory to see the entire process on how the beer is
brewed. After the tour, the members had the opportunity
to enjoy a cold beer and some food at the in-house bar.
November – Presentation at ANZ Bank´s new
headquarters
On 30 November, 62 members had the privilege to be
the first group of people to visit the new head quarters
of ANZ Bank in Singapore. After an introduction by Hans-
Peter Borgh, Head Affluent Banking Asia-Pacific, ANZ Chief
Economist Asia-Pacific Paul Gruenwald treated the audience
to a highly informative presentation on the economic and
financial outlook for the regions U.S., Europe and Asia, after
which Michiel Remers, Head of the Trading Floor, gave us a
snapshot of the daily activities in his division.
December – 20 th Black Tie Dinner and Dance Party
The 20 th annual black tie dinner and dance party took place
at Sentosa Resort & Spa on 10 December. It was a fantastic
evening with a lovely 5 course Christmas dinner, a groovy
band, a lucky draw and a great atmosphere. The sponsors
who greatly helped making this into a successful event
were Amicorp, ING and Rabobank. The lucky draw donors
were KLM Air France, Hollandse Club, The Sentosa Resort &
Spa, The Body Firm and Wine Directions.
ADB MAGAZINE AND WEBSITE
The ADB Magazine remains the most important means
of communication amongst our members. This year, the
Editorial Committee under the management of Chief
Editor, Frank Kuijsters, produced ten (10) publications of
the magazine with interesting reading. The Board thanks
all members of the Editorial Committee for their time and
effort put into it.
The ADB Website (www.adb.org.sg) is another
important channel for our members as well as for
any other interested people. The Board is grateful to
webmaster Edwin Nijhof for managing the website
excellently and for keeping it up to date.
Last, but certainly not least, the ADB Board expresses
its sincere gratitude to the advertisers BB&L Car Rental, De
Lage Landen, Digne Consult, Dutch Chamber of Commerce,
Gelissen Computers, Going Dutch, H. Verbeek, Heineken
Asia Pacific, Hollandse Club, IHC Merwede, International
SOS, Maasmond Maritime, Mammoet, Personalizzata,
Philips, T.J. Custom Tailors, T&T Bisso, and Voskamp
Lawyers.

Business
Interview Richard van Schie
of cargo-partner
Text Frank Kuijsters Photos Cargo-partner
Please introduce yourself; since when do you live in
Singapore, and what made you move here?
I’m Richard van Schie, 40 years young. Married with Ann-
Katrin and I have two kids, Jesper 5 years and Luka 3 years.
We moved end of July 2011 from Cairo, Egypt to Singapore
as I got the opportunity to become the Managing Director
for cargo-partner in Singapore. Prior to our 2,5 years stay in
Cairo we were living in Singapore for 5 years.
Could you provide us with a brief introduction to cargopartner
Logistics and its activities in the region and
specifically Singapore.
cargo-partner is a dynamically growing, mid sized
specialist for transportation and integrated logistics with
particular strength in oversea’s solutions. Being a family
owned company (headquarters in Fischamend/Austria),
our business model is based on personalized and global
partnership with and for our clients.
Besides a very strong network in West & Central
Eastern Europe (CEE) the company is well established
in Asia with locations in China, Hong Kong, India, Korea,
Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and the Middle East.
The activities are mainly in Air and Sea Cargo services
but also logistics activities as Warehousing and Value
Added Logistics are part of the portfolio. As Singapore
is a main location in Asia Pacific with a lot of Regional
Distribution we play a significant role as a LCL hub for our
cargo to/from Asia and CEE. In addition, Singapore plays
as a role in the model-shift of Sea Cargo to Air Cargo from
Asia Pacific to Europe and for Air to Sea Cargo from Europe
into the Asia Pacific region. The last product is especially
interesting for cargo to remote destinations in Asia where
the cargo capacity in airfreight is not existing or limited.
In addition, it gives clients also an option to have lower
transportation cost than pure airfreight but with a little
longer transit time.
In addition to regular Air and Sea Cargo cargo-partner
performs Project Logistics; “out of gauge” cargo with
“strange” dimensions and weight, like pipes, excavators,
mining trucks or small drilling rigs.
When and why did you join cargo-partner Logistics, and
what is your position?
I joined cargo-partner as Managing Director in August last
year. After working with a friendly competitor for 12 years
in several positions, the opportunity came along to run the
cargo-partner office in Singapore. Whilst in Egypt during
the revolution I got infected with the “revolution” virus as
well so I decided to have a small revolution on my own to
leave my company, change role and position and take the
challenge. Although we were living in Singapore before and
thought that the Singapore chapter was closed, we moved
back... Never Say Never....
How important is Asia to cargo-partner Logistics?
Asia is very important to cargo-partner. The main
economies like China and India are in Asia. With the
economy slowing down Intra-Asia traffics are very
important. The Intra-Asia market was not as badly affected
as the Global Economy in total. At the moment about 25%
of our total number of employees are located in Asia and
this will increase over the next years by natural growth
of our current set-up and by developments in “new”
countries.

Business
How does cargo-partner Logistics distinguish itself from
its competitors?
From experience I can say that being a midsized, family
owned company, this brings lots of advantage such as
hands on, entrepreneurial, personal involvement and
having a quicker decision making process than most
corporate, listed companies.
In terms of our network we are the “first movers”
on the Eastern European market. In addition we have
successful offices in a/o Netherlands (Amsterdam/Schiphol,
Rotterdam, Tilburg ) and Belgium, (Brussel, Antwerp).
Being Dutch, and understanding the logistics situations
in Singapore and Asia as well as in the Benelux this gives
us competitive advantages. With our experienced and
motivated staff in Singapore, together with our long
history, network, quality focus and IT tools we are able to
provide competitive solutions. Our corporate values are
very important to us in doing business:
Any advise for newcomers to Singapore?
Try to explore the city by foot. China Town, Little India,
Arab Street and Fort Canning. Enjoy the convenience of the
city and what it has to offer in terms of entertainment and
leisure; we are busy enough during the week, so enjoy the
weekend.
Be patient and take things with a smile; you will not
(and we shouldn’t) change the mentality and culture of
people when things do not work out the way you expect
to work out or how they would work out in Europe. That
is sometimes a challenge but isn’t that one of the reasons
that we moved overseas?
‘the passion for excellence’ - be passionate
Passion for solving problems, delight in efficient results and
with the success achieved together with our customer.
‘we take it personally‘ - be partner
We view cooperation as lived partnership which implies
reliability and search for “win/win” situation on both sides.
‘better than others’ - be better
Our employees challenge themselves in order to be one
step ahead of our competitors at all times
What have you found the main challenges while doing
business in Singapore, and how are you dealing with
them?
Honestly I haven’t experienced any major challenges. Be
honest and be open to other cultures. A little patience
comes in handy sometimes as own initiatives might be
lacking or the outcome of a request might be different than
expected even if you went through it together already
2 times. Then again, I have been here before already for
5 years and knew what I’m getting into.
How has Singapore been treating you so far, what are
your experiences?
So far Singapore has been good to us and we have great
experiences. I started to live together with my girlfriend,
now my wife, in Singapore. We got married here and our
children are both born in Singapore. Looking on our shared
experiences as a family, Singapore is home.
In addition Singapore has a lot to offer in terms of Arts,
Musicals, Concerts and a mix of different cultures and
traditions. Good transportation and healthcare system.
Great “hub” for intra-ASPAC travels and a good stop-over
for friends visiting the region.
How important will Singapore be to cargo-partner
Logistics in the future?
Very important. We will continue to grow our LCL hub
function and Air-to-Ocean/Ocean-to-Air products. With
Singapore being a big hub for Oil & Gas as well as Marine
Parts we will see further developments in those areas as
well as in the Pharma/Healthcare industry.

Business
: a successful
Dutch internet start-up
with big plans in Asia
Text Richard Soemita
What do you get when you combine MSN, Google Talk,
Yahoo Messenger, Facebook chat, AIM, ICQ, MySpaceIM
into one service? You get one of world’s largest
independent messaging aggregator: eBuddy
eBuddy is the latest addition of Dutch companies that has
started an operation in Singapore last year. Read more
about our ADB member:
The Product
eBuddy combines the above mentioned internet instant
messaging services into one, meaning that you don’t need
to use 7 different instant messaging services to chat with
your friends, or buddies as they are called by the users
of the service, but only 1 service. So, only 1 contact list,
where all buddies from all 7 different instant messaging
services are displayed. The service is available on web as
well as mobile phones. Currently, eBuddy counts more
than 250 million users who have ever used the service! You
might ask yourself now: “OK that’s sounds like a lot of users
but I have never heard of eBuddy”, well that is because
eBuddy has been mainly targeting the youth between 13
and 25 years old. Ask your children if they have ever used
eBuddy or if they recognize the eBuddy Robot logo, and it’s
likely they say “yes!”
The Company
eBuddy is a Dutch internet company headquartered at
the Keizersgracht in Amsterdam. With more than 100
employees and offices in London, San Francisco, Singapore
and Minsk, it actually has grown past the phase of “start
up” but the company culture remains young, informal
and very “start-up” like. eBuddy was founded in 2003 and
actually started as a bet. Paolo Taylor came with the idea
of using MSN on his phone. He betted that he could get
MSN working on his old Nokia phone. He succeeded and
made the service available to the public from his home
server. Soon, the users asked him to create a web based
version that could be used on the PC. Paolo did, and to
his surprise he saw that this web based service became
very popular to a stage that his home server could not
cope with the user numbers. He then asked Onno Bakker
and Jan-Joost Rueb who previously worked in start ups
in the Netherlands and US, to join him. eBuddy soon
included other instant messaging communities in its
service and the service started to spur. Students worldwide
soon found out that they couldn’t use MSN or Yahoo
Messenger on the university computers as the system
administrators had locked down the computers in order to
avoid the installation of these instant messaging software
applications. But with eBuddy the students could just go
to www.ebuddy.com and log into their favorite instant
messaging service and still chat with all their buddies. This
differentiator made the service very viral and user numbers
grew exponentially without spending a dime in marketing.
From the start eBuddy has been making money via
advertisements on its web site and later also on mobile,
but the founders soon saw that they needed more
investments in order to grow faster. Two investment
rounds where closed with Low Land Capital Partners and
Prime Technology Ventures. With this multi million euro
investment, eBuddy could leave its small “zolderkamertje”
office and move into its current office on the Keizersgracht.
It rapidly expanded the number of employees (there are
now more than 25 nationalities working in Amsterdam)
and opened offices abroad.
10

Business
In 2007 eBuddy saw the growth and potential of
mobile and decided to make the web based service also
available for mobile phones. Or, better said, make it again
available on mobile phones, as it was mobile where it all
started. Where the web service became rapidly popular
in the developed countries like Western Europe and the
US, the mobile service saw and still sees its biggest growth
in the emerging markets. Nowadays the biggest markets
are India, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico and Egypt. And the
usage and brand awareness of eBuddy in the other APAC
countries issubstantial as well.
New Product: XMS
August last year, eBuddy launched a
new messaging service: XMS. XMS
is a mobile messaging service completely separate from
eBuddy instant messaging. It’s mobile centric, meaning
that it focuses more on mobile than web, and allows you
to send messages, emoticons, pictures, videos and to
“group chat”. In order to use it you need to install the XMS
application, “app”, on your phone. The app then scans your
phone’s address book and your Facebook contact list to
look for contacts that also have XMS installed. It will then
compile a list of all your contacts who are using XMS and
with those contacts you can send free messages (as long
as you have an internet connection). The application is
free to use and is available for iPhone, Android, Blackberry,
Windows Phone 7 and most Nokia phones. You can
download it from the different app stores or by pointing
your mobile browser to: http://www.ebuddyxms.com. XMS
competes with apps like WhatsApp and the Blackberry
Messenger. eBuddy has put all its focus on this new
service. The instant messaging service is currently eBuddy’s
cash cow and has the biggest user base. But the company
sees that this product is in its maturity phase and foresees
that XMS like services will eventually overtake instant
messaging. WhatsApp is already extremely popular in the
Netherlands, UK and Singapore for mobile messaging.
These users are using it more than they use MSN, Yahoo
Messenger or Google Talk, and they even use it more than
they use SMS. eBuddy expects that this trend will also
happen in the emerging markets, APAC and Latin America
and with XMS they aim to become market leader in this
new mobile messaging space in those regions.
Singapore Office
Since March 2011 eBuddy has a representative office in
Singapore. The reason to choose Singapore is that the
majority of the current users are based in the APAC and
the region is important for eBuddy’s new XMS service.
Singapore is the internet and mobile internet hub of the
region. All big internet players, like Google, Facebook,
Yahoo, Microsoft, Linkedin, Skype and mobile handset
manufacturers like, Samsung, HTC, Nokia, LG, Sony Ericsson
have their regional head quarters in Singapore. Also,
Singapore is perfectly located to serve the markets like
Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand with frequent
and cheap flight connections. Thus the decision to open
the office here was easy. Furthermore, Singapore has a
friendly business climate and a high standard of living, it
doesn’t take a lot of time to get yourself comfortable and
feel at ease on this island.
With the launch of XMS and its roll out strategy for
the next 12 months, even more focus has been put on the
APAC region. As the US and Europe are struggling with
their economies, it would not be surprising that a next
investment or even a company acquisition will come from
Asia.
Who is Jonie
Jonie Oostveen is Director Strategic Partnerships and heading the Asia business for
eBuddy from their Singapore office. He has been working in the mobile industry since
2002. First with KPN Mobile where he was part of the team that launched i-mode in the
Netherlands (the first attempt of a mobile operator outside of Japan to launch mobile
internet). Later he worked for a French mobile start up in Paris and for Philips Incubators,
before joining eBuddy early 2008. In his current role, Jonie is responsible to engage
with all mobile operators and handset manufacturers in the APAC region. So far this has
resulted in partnership with Telkomsel, Indosat, and XL, the major Indonesian operators
and with HTC and LG who are preloading XMS from the factory on its Android handsets.
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12/9/09 4:13:43 PM

DutchCham News
New Business Manager
at Dutch Chamber of
Commerce (Singapore)
We are happy to
announce that
Ms. Nele Cornelis
has joined the
DutchCham team
last month as
Business Manager.
Nele, a native
Belgian has been
living in Singapore
for the past 3 years. She has been employed by
the Hollandse club as an Events and Entertainment
manager.
Before her experience in Asia she lived in US,
Washington DC area for seven years and has held
several senior marketing and sales positions at
Tribune Media, publisher of Chicago Tribune and
Baltimore Sun. This mother of two started her
career in international media in Europe where she
was employed during 10 years by VUM and De Tijd,
publishers of daily print and online media.
Nele can be reached at the DutchCham email
address: nele.cornelis@dutchcham.sg
24 February 2012
DutchNet Business
Referral Breakfast
Join DutchNet, a monthly Business Referral Networking
Breakfast organized by the Dutch Chamber of Commerce
in Singapore. Bring your business cards and prepare a 60
seconds business presentation. Don’t miss out on this
unique business development opportunity.
Keynote speaker: Wouter van Wersch, Country
President of Alstom Singapore
23 February 2012
An evening with Prof. Jacqueline Cramer
Prof. dr. Jacqueline Cramer, director of the Utrecht Sustainability Institute and professor in sustainable innovation at
Utrecht University will be visiting Singapore in the week of 19 of February and will be giving public talks at the National
University of Singapore. The former Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment will also give a special
lecture for Dutch Members on Thursday the 23 of February at The Hollandse Club.
For more information on this and other events please visit: www.dutchcham.sg
PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY:
Dutch Chamber of Commerce Singapore - 1 Raffles Boulevard - #05-517 Suntec City - Singapore 039593 - T +65 6884 5084 - E info@dutchcham.sg
12

Dutch losing the plot
by Richard Soemita
Not sure what it is these days but perhaps I’m getting more
comfortable with the easy, but boring life in Singapore
where every other sunny day looks like the previous day,
apart from a heavy thunderstorm that floods Orchard Road.
Please note that the PUB now calls it ponding since flooding
sounds too dramatic. But the main reason for ponding is
that this will make the public focus on a natural abnormality
rather than being blamed for not doing a proper irrigation
job. The next day the newspapers report that yet again they
have brought in some heavy water experts to see how and
when they will replace the current SGD 200,000 dam that
should be more sophisticated than the Zeeland Waterkering.
During the last flooding apparently one forgot to press the
dam button in time and all was flooded within minutes. Next
time when I will visit our Ambassador in the Liat Towers I
will talk to one of the dam workers and tell him to watch the
dark clouds coming in and press the button immediately. A
permanent ‘Bangladeshi cloud watcher’ will cost less than
SGD 5,000 (one flooded Hermes Birkin bag alone cost SGD
25,000) a year and the lucky fellow can drink coffee at the
Starbucks all day. Advertise this in the papers and you will
cause a stampede at the MoM.
My mom came over for the Christmas holidays and
brought me a whole stack of Dutch newspapers, amongst
Unox erwtensoep, Hamkas chips and Old Amsterdam
column
cheese. I generally enjoy reading the debates and silly
arguments (about nothing!) that goes on in Parliament, but
what currently goes on in Holland is shocking. Two Dutch
TV hosts on the BNN show Dennis Storm and Valerio Zeno
cooked and ate each other’s flesh. A butcher advised them
which were the best cuts of human flesh, and a surgeon
removed the strips of muscle from Storm’s left buttock
cheek and Zeno’s abdomen. A chef fried the flesh ‘on air’,
and served it to Storm and Zeno with green asparagus on
the side. Cannibalism is legal in the Netherlands. “Only
when it involves maltreatment or when it violates common
decency is cannibalism illegal,” according to Gerard Spong
(who else!), who specializes in criminal law. In the same
paper I read the following headlines: Cabrio arsonist strikes
again in Waalwijk; Increased violence on bus drivers; Dutch
Police is going through a massive re-organization, however
they cannot decide on the future ‘strategy’; Mysterious
murder of Russian girl in Spijkenisse; Drunken man in
Wijchen wants to destroy cafe with his bulldozer; Sex abuse
in mental institutes much larger than initially thought;
Father of kids football team threatens referee of 12 years
old; Ajax supporter ran on the pitch to attack AZ keeper;
Prisoner accidently strangled when held down (at least this
happens in Singapore in a more civilized way: by hanging).
The above is in shear contrast to Singapore where the
only shocking (for SG standards!) events for the last decade
was: MRT slightly delayed since its opening 20+ years ago.
In Europe train delays are the norm so don’t understand
the fuss and why the CEO of SMRT left. In Holland you
probably would get a bonus if the train was NOT delayed for
one day. And more recently the salary cuts of the Cabinet
who now claim that it is a huge sacrifice on their life style,
not to mention their salaries that are 5 times more than
Obama, Sarkozy and Merkel, but not Beatrix. Lets therefore
enjoy Singapore for another year and hopefully enjoy the
New Year’s party at the Ambassador’s home for many years
to come. During the party I expressed my concern to Mr
Jansing for him getting wet feet and socks during an Orchard
flooding. So I asked him if he’s being carried to the dry part
on a sedan chair (like the one Cleopatra was carried on by
8 servants). Making the usual ‘bridge’ from chairs would be
too dangerous. His answer was: No... I........
13

Bizz News
Air France-KLM to
slash costs
Air France-KLM is to reduce investment
by €1bn and generate €1bn through
freezing wages and recruitment,
the French-Dutch airline said. The
aim of the restructuring is to cut net
debt by €2bn by the end of 2014.
The group sacked its chief executive
Pierre-Henri Gourgeon in October,
bringing back Jean-Cyril Spinetta who
pushed through the merger in 2004.
‘We have to adjust our capacity for
the next few years, whether it’s cargo
or passengers,’ Spinetta was quoted
as saying by the Financial Times.
‘The offer of transport has outpaced
demand in recent years, and that’s
weighing on all airlines.’ Wages at
KLM will be ‘moderated’ not frozen,
indicating the Dutch arm is performing
better than the French.
Minister wants to see
more temporary job
contracts
Social affairs minister Henk Kamp is
working on plans which would allow
employers to make greater use of
temporary employment contracts.
At the moment, workers who have
had three temporary contracts must,
by law, be given a permanent one.
But Kamp is keen to give employers
the option of a fourth longer-term
temporary contract. In a briefing to
MPs, Kamp says the use of longer
temporary contracts fits in the trend
of flexible working - where people
no longer have the same job for life.
In addition, he says it will encourage
employers to invest more in training
their staff. According to documents
sent to parliament, Kamp is looking
at introducing temporary contracts of
between seven and 10 years. Unions
say the plan undermines the position
of workers.
House prices fell by 4% in 2011
House prices fell by an average of 4% last year, according to the Dutch
estate agents organisation NVM. In total, 118,000 properties changed
hands, a drop of 7% on 2010. The drop in sales in the fourth quarter
was 13%, compared with the same period in 2010, the NVM said. The
organisation expects prices to drop by a further 5% this year.
Tax cut
The government’s decision to cut the tax paid on property transactions
from 6% to 2% of the value has not boosted the housing market as hoped,
property experts said. Estate agents had hoped the tax cut would boost
the number of properties changing hands by 10% but that is far from
being reached. The cut has shaved thousands of euros off the cost of
buying a house but has failed to convince people to take the plunge. Banks
have also brought in tougher rules on mortgages, reducing the amount of
money people can borrow. In addition, only half the loan home owners
borrow may be in the form of an interest-only repayment mortgage.
Estate agents
Meanwhile, the NVM says that the housing market crisis has not led to
fewer people taking up the profession. Recently, 14 new estate agents
were sworn in, in line with developments in recent months, chairman
Ger Hukker said. Nevertheless, many established companies are on the
verge of bankruptcy. Many carry out 20 or fewer transactions a year which
generates an income of between €1,500 and €2,000 a month, Hukker told
the press. In 2006, estate agents sold some 210,000 homes but last year
the total almost halved to 121,000. The NVM has some 3,500 members,
rival organisation VBO 1,011 and the smaller VastgoedPRO 797.
Philips issues disappointing trading
update and profit warning
Dutch electronics giant Philips issued a trading update warning of
disappointing growth in the fourth quarter of 2011. Group sales for the
quarter are expected to show mid single-digit comparable growth over the
fourth quarter of 2010. Operating profit will reach €500m, compared with
€913m in the 2010 fourth quarter, the company said. ‘Our expected fourth
quarter financial results have been affected by the weakness in Europe,
which has impacted our healthcare business, as well as pricing in our
consumer lighting business,’ said CEO Frans van Houten in a statement.
The company will publish definitive 2011 results by end January.
ING to take longer to repay state aid, no dividends until then
ING has made paying back the remaining €3bn it owes the state a priority and this will happen by the end of 2013, the
banking and insurance group said. ‘However given the ongoing crisis in the eurozone and increasing regulatory capital
requirements, we need to take a cautious approach and pay special attention to liquidity, funding and capital,’ CEO Jan
Hommen said in a statement to update investors and analysts on the bank’s strategy. Last year, ING said it planned to
repay the remaining money in aid it received from the government by May 2012. But in November Hommen hinted
the final settlement could be postponed because of market uncertainty and new capital requirements. In addition,
no dividends will be paid until the state has been paid off, ING said. The bank also said it had reduced its exposure to
southern European debt to around €2bn, bringing the total reduction in 2011 to around €4bn.
14

Bizz News
Royal Bank of Scotland to sell Dutch
units in global shake-up
Royal Bank of Scotland is selling its Dutch securities and merger and
acquisition activities as part of a shake-up of its global operations. In total,
RBS said it is cutting its workforce by 3,500 jobs and putting various units
up for sale. The FD says 1,600 people work for RBS in the Netherlands,
with some 600 based in Amsterdam’s Zuidas business park. Some 70 work
for the brokerage and M&A units. RBS in the Netherlands focuses on fixed
income and currency trading and has a successful payment services arm.
Sources said that the securities and M&A operations would continue to
operate while a buyer is sought, but complete closure had not been ruled
out. RBS’s presence in the Netherlands stems from its disastrous takeover
of ABN Amro in 2008. The Scottish bank, which led the €73bn takeover
bid, is largely in British government hands after running into financial
difficulty. ABN Amro Nederland has been completely nationalised.
Good year for Dutch film and cinemas
The number of cinema tickets sold in 2011 rose by 220,000 to 30 million,
a figure not reached since the late 1970s, the organisations of cinema
owners, film distributors and producers jointly announced. Dutch films
took a 22.4% share in the market, up 15.9% in 2010. For the first time
since 1986 (Flodder), a Dutch film attracted by far the largest number of
visitors. Gooische Vrouwen, based on a successful tv series and rather
like Desperate Housewives, took 28% of all visitors with 1.9m tickets sold,
putting it ahead of previous top film Avatar. However, cinema owners are
not positive about the future. The Netherlands Film Fund will have €7m
less in subsidies for Dutch productions in 2013. This will affect the number
of Dutch films made and with fewer home-grown productions, cinema
owners expect visitor numbers of drop again.
Inflation low since introduction of the
euro 10 years ago
In the 10 years since the euro was introduced in 12 eurozone countries,
inflation in the Netherlands has remained low and stable, according to
new research by the national statistics office CBS. Prior to the introduction
of the euro, inflation was often higher and fluctuated more strongly, the
research shows. Since 2002, inflation has hovered between 0.5% and
just over 2% - averaging at 1.9%. This is ‘practically the first time since
World War II that inflation has been below 2% when averaged over 10
years,’ the CBS said. Between 1992 and 2001, inflation averaged 2.7%.
Average inflation in the eurozone over the first 10 years of the euro was
2.08%, almost in line with European Central Bank targets. Best individual
performers were Germany, Finland and the Netherlands.
Dutch will take fewer
holidays in 2012
For the first time since the 1980s, the
Dutch will take fewer holidays and
spend less money on them this year,
according to the Netherlands Tourism
Agency (NBT). The worsening economic
situation will mean the Dutch take
shorter holidays, less often, nearer
home and at a lower cost. The NBT
expects the number of foreign holidays
to drop to 3% of the total and that 4%
less money will be spent. In particular,
long-distance holidays will be less
popular. The expectation is that 75%
of the Dutch population will take a
holiday, the same as 2011, but that
most of them will limit themselves
to a summer holiday with no short
breaks during the year. The research
was carried out by Nipo among 15,000
people.
Left-wing parties join
forces to call for
higher top rate of tax
The Socialist Party, Labour (PvdA) and
left-wing greens Groenlinks made a
joint call for a higher top rate of tax.
The tax increase would be part of an
investment plan based on solidarity,
intelligence and green values, the
three party leaders said without giving
any figures. The current top rate of
tax is 52% on income over €56,491. A
1% increase would generate an extra
€400m a year for the treasury. The
people affected by the increase would
get ‘a better Netherlands in return’, the
party leaders stated. The SP is currently
riding high in the opinion polls, while
Labour has seen its support almost
halve since the June 2010 general
election.
15

Singapore
The other Singapore:
Poverty and the inevitable
celebration of CNY
TEXT Francine Linssen
This month’s column was supposed to be about poverty
and small entrepreneurs in Singapore. I had wanted to
tell you more about the huge poverty gap between the
rich and the poor and how the lowest social layers in this
society cope. The picture that would come with it was one
of an old hairdresser in Chinatown. He has no barbershop,
only a chair. His customers sit on it in a dilapidated alley
behind Club Street. After giving some other examples of
small entrepreneurship caused by poverty I would zoom in
on the different groups of people that live a hard life here;
local elderly with no children, workless people, ethnic
minorities, single parent families. However when looking
for recent poverty (gap) numbers to give this column some
foundation, all I found were allegations from opposition
parties and old numbers:
- By 2000 the richest 10 percent of Singaporeans earned
36 times more than the poorest 10 percent. 1]
- According to the 2000 Census, 12.6 per cent of
households earned less than $1,000 per month. 1]
- ‘The reason why the poor in Singapore are not more
visible is that the Ministry of Community Development
and Sports conduct frequent raids through its Destitute
Persons Service, looking for and picking up vagrants.’… 1]
In 2008, researchers at the Lee Kuan Yew School
of Public Policy published a paper titled Singapore’s
Policy Responses to Aging, Inequality and Poverty: An
Assessment that concluded that ‘..high and increasing
income inequalities are an outcome of the particular
set of policies adopted by Singapore, and not due to the
general effect of globalization alone.’ 2] This paper also
indicated that the rich-poor gap in Singapore has become
a political issue that – if left unattended – could undermine
the support for Singapore’s current strategy of managing
globalization 2] . It is hard to tell whether action is being
undertaken, as there are no further statistics available.
I have to conclude that I can’t write about hidden poverty;
it is too well hidden!
Poverty is not a good topic in this time of the year
anyway as all Chinese people are getting ready for Chinese
New Year; a time for many to invest in luck and prosperity!
I think that poverty is generally being looked upon as ‘bad
luck’ and ‘next life better’ but it must be said that there are
also many Chinese who do charity. 2012 is an auspicious
(veelbelovend!) year as it is the year of the Dragon and
considered the ‘best’ year in the Chinese Zodiac 3] . The
country expects to see more births this year as it has seen
every time when the Dragon came around. Most people
celebrate Chinese New Year (CNY) over three days. It is
crucial to start with a clean slate so the preparations can
take weeks. Families clean their homes, buy new clothes
and settle their debts before the year is over 4] . Lion and
dragon dances scare away the evil spirits. It is basically
all about the opposite of poverty; fortune and prosperity
(voorspoed!) and that is just what I would like to wish the
poor of Singapore. Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Sources / more information on:
1]
http://yoursdp.org/index.php/truth-about/106-poverty-insingapore
2]
http://www.tremeritus.com/2009/10/22/poverty-andincome-inequalities-in-singapore/
3]
http://www.chinesezodiac.com/dragon.php
4]
Passage, Friends of the Museums Singapore (January/
February 2012)
16

Singapore
NCA supporting local charities,
The Breadline Group
Text Anita Jansen Photos NCA
Do you know People’s Park Complex, right in the middle
of China Town? The best place for a relaxing massage or
a treatment at dr Fish’ Feet cleaning station. But there is
more to do here: make a visit to the public restrooms and
meet one of the people living at the edge of shiny, polished
and clean Singapore. His story:
I am 82 years old and still working as daily rated
toilet attendant. My wife is 76 years old with multiple
medical problems and not on Medifund assistance. We
live together with our two grown up sons, both physically
and mentally disabled. They are not able to work.
By a social worker we are introduced in the
Breadline Group and thanks to this organization we get
$200 monthly, for a year. To survive.
Every year, after counting the funds medio December,
the NCA committee decides how to spend the money. The
Breadline Group is our number one Charity and received
25,000 dollars at the year end. On top of that NCA supports
two students via Breadline, being girls of poor families.
NCA is proud to support the Breadline Group!!
Breadline Group does make a difference to
needy families
In 1975, Breadline initiated the “Family Adoption
Scheme”, the financial assistance program that is still
going strong to this present day. The Breadline Group
currently serves 200 families with the help of 80
volunteers. These volunteers make house visits to verify
the authenticity of each case and visits the family at
least once a month to give financial assistance or help in
any other way possible. Richard Lim, one of the senior
committee members and a hardworking volunteer as well
says: “There are all these people who fall in between the
cracks. And it’s organizations like Breadline which try and
help the ones fallen through the system”. He added that
more could be done by the government, but also that
society has a role to play in caring for the poor.
The Breadline Group is run only by volunteers. The
office costs are no more than 1% per year, thanks to clever
ideas and simplicity like recycling envelopes and printing
minutes on the back of used paper.
Every two months Breadline Group has their Exco
Meeting. The most important points:
• Review and distribution new cases (around 30 every
2 months). Every case, referred by social workers from
Family Service Centres and hospitals, and the way
of help to each family will be discussed. The amount
disbursed ranges from 50 to 400 dollar (cash or
vouchers), depending on the particular circumstance
of each case. Sometimes helping by sponsoring in
kind. Case: Husband managed to get job lately, but
income insufficient with baby’s expenses. Breadline aid
will help with other two school going children: $200
vouchers NTUC.
• Rejected new cases. Client and wife are cleaners
earning a total of 1200 dollar a month. They support
youngest son who is in Primary school. Elder son (23)
stays out and daughter (20) stays with grandparents.
Both do not contribute. Asking for 80 dollar per month.
Rejected, the adult children should support first.
• Termination of Cases. After an average of 3-6 months
the family is able to live without extra support, because
of structural help or changes. Case: Assistance is
expected to end in two months time as daughter should
have found a job by then.
Attending an occasional Exco Meeting learns NCA
how the donations are reaching the underprivileged. And
walking the outskirts of Singapore together with Richard is
a meaningful eye opener. Visiting really poor families, living
in a one room flat with nothing to sit on than the bare
floor… Seeing an old mother, abandoned by her children
because they don’t want to take care of her… But so happy
with a little help and attention.
www.breadlinegroup.org
www.nca.org.sg
www.facebook.com/NCA.singapore
17

Not to miss
Roxette
6 Mar 2012
Join me for a joy ride! Remember those lazy and warm summer evenings, when
you got dressed for success, and had “the look”? The Swedish pop duo is back
and coming to Singapore to play live! It must have been love, and it still is, from
the moment they say “How do you do?”, so let’s all get our party clothes on
and dance to those golden hits of the nineties! And it’s not just Roxette hitting
Singapore this March: the Foo Fighters, Death Cab For Cutie and Duran Duran
among others are scheduled to perform in the Red Dot as well!
More Information sistic.com.sg
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
6 Mar 2012
What happened to Laura Palmer? Now is your chance to find out! Cult classic
Twin Peaks has come to Singapore! The National Museum is showing director
David Lynch’s prequel to his seminal television series, showing you the last three
days of poor Laura Palmers life. All lovers of the strange and unsettling are in for
a treat with this dark and hypnotic vision of a director who follows his emotions
while filming instead of the script.
More Information sistic.com.sg
NUS Arts Festival
9 - 25 Mar 2012
Stellar performances from Singaporean stars on the verge of breaking through
in the art scene. Expect the unexpected when students and professors combine
to fill your March weekends with cultural events, ranging from music to dance to
exhibitions. These shows will take place all over Singapore, from the city centre
to the heartlands and show off Singapore’s homegrown talents to it’s inhabitants.
Tickets are available via Sistic, but a taste of all that the festival has to offer can
be taken for free at Freeway.
More Information www.nus.edu.sg/cfa/NAF_2012/index.html
Disney on Ice: Let’s Celebrate!
15 - 18 Mar 2012
The coolest event of the year has arrived in tropical Singapore! Mickey, Minnie
and all your favorite Disney friends will take to the ice, as on the other side of the
globe the competition is heating up in our national sport of speedskating. This is
no race though, but a party filled with colours and lights - however, do not forget
to bring something warm to wear to Singapore’s Indoor Stadium as you marvel at
the acrobatic ice dances!
More Information disney.go.com/disneyonice
18

Embassy news
New Year’s message of the Embassy
of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
TEXT Ambassador Johannes Jansing
The Embassy would like to take this opportunity to wish
everyone a prosperous and successful 2012 – and Year
of the Dragon! The year 2011 has been very busy, with
many Dutch companies and organizations participating
in major events and trade shows in Singapore. The
Embassy is pleased to have been able to support,
organize and facilitate many of these Dutch activities.
Throughout the year, the Embassy promoted the four
priority sectors – Water, Creative Industry, Life Science
and Energy – by bringing together the “golden triangle”
of stakeholders – private sector, public sector, and
knowledge institutions – through sharing of expertise,
networking, and matchmaking.
Global hubs, distinctive global cities
Singapore and the Netherlands both boast the critical
hub functionalities: top-tier sea, air, and land transport,
strong infrastructure and R&D, and a formidable digital
highway. Both answer to vital needs in their respective
regions; playing the role of connector, facilitator, and
nerve centre. In short, the two countries are dynamic,
multifaceted international cores of activity.
As a window to Southeast Asia, Singapore
consistently implements original policies to attract
investment. A “distinctive global city,” Singapore is
constantly improving in areas from public transport,
to medical care, to green spaces, and from sports to
cultural facilities to entertainment options. Over the
centuries, the Netherlands has cultivated its own identity
as a global hub, a gateway to Europe and a consistent
international leader. Water management, architecture,
design, environmental planning, technical management,
and trade are just a few of the areas in which the nation
excels. Such strengths have long made the Netherlands a
key connector between countries both in its region, and
beyond. Increasing cooperation between the two global
hubs could even create additional value.
To maintain and expand their respective international
roles, it is logical and vital that Singapore and the
Netherlands exchange expertise. This is particularly
true since there is one key driver behind both
nations’ positions as global hubs: the shared status as
knowledge-based economies. Further development of
the knowledge economy is increasingly a condition of
being a first class global hub. Accordingly, Singapore
has designated focus areas to reinforce the knowledge
economy. The government is making available a huge
package of financial means to support this initiative.
to maximize the benefits of the cooperation between the
two countries. The Embassy participated in numerous
trade shows and conferences, there is a long list of
matchmaking activities and networking events which
contributed to a more intensive cooperation between
the two countries and over the year many student
delegations of Dutch universities visited Singapore.
The other Dutch organisations in Singapore kindly
cooperated in organizing events, and many Dutch
companies and business people participated in the
events, trade shows and other activities.
Some of the highlights in 2011 were:
• Visits of Professor Jan Peter Balkenende and
Professor Van Lieshout
Professor Jan Peter Balkenende, former Prime Minister,
Professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam and partner
of Ernst & Young, paid two visits to Singapore in 2011, in
March and September. Both his visits focused on themes
concerning global and regional political, security and
economic developments. Also the relationship with the
EU (Euro) and the US was an important topic. Professor
P.A.H. van Lieshout, one of the seven members of the
Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) also came
to Singapore in the beginning of 2011. Prof van Lieshout
is currently chairman of the project: “How will we earn
our living twenty years from now?”. This project focuses
on the question how prosperity can be assured in the
Netherlands in the future.
Both Professors visited Singapore to gain more
knowledge on policies regarding the global hub,
economic structure and economic growth and to see to
what extent the Netherlands and Singapore can learn
from each other and strengthen each other. They met
with politicians, universities and business people.
Special highlights in Professor Balkenende’s first visit
were the ‘meet and greet’ with students and staff at the
Hollandse School and the Q&A session that was jointly
organized by ADB and DutchCham at the Hollandse Club.
Activities in 2011
With this in mind, the Embassy organized a large number
of visits, roundtables, network receptions and meetings
19

Embassy News
• Visit Utrecht University and Utrecht Sustainability
Institute
In June, Professor Jacqueline Cramer, Director Utrecht
Centre for Earth and Sustainability and former Minister
of Spatial Planning and the Environment, and Professor
Bert Van der Zwaan, Rector Magnificus of Utrecht
University, led a delegation of Utrecht University and
Utrecht Sustainability Institute, which paid a visit to
Singapore as well as to Beijing, Nanjing en Hong Kong.
The goal of the visit was to explore possibilities for
cooperation in the field of research and education,
and to gain insights on information exchange between
private and public sector and knowledge institutions in
Singapore, in particular on sustainability.
The Embassy set up the programme, which focused
on NUS and NTU and their research institutes. Besides
these institutes, several government agencies were
paid a visit as well. The theme of the mission was
sustainability, and more specifically Water, Energy and
Sustainable Cities. After the mission the University of
Utrecht has confirmed to be interested in cooperation
with Singapore. In 2012, Professor Cramer will be
coming to Singapore for a visiting professorship at NUS.
• BioPharma, March 2011
Life sciences being one of the focus sectors of the
Embassy, the BioPharma Asia Convention is a returning
event on the Embassy calendar. The Director of
the Utrecht Science Park, Alie Tigchelhoff, and Jan
Zuidema (Utrecht Invest) were in Singapore for the
2011 Convention. The Netherlands Foreign Investment
Agency was supporting sponsor, and had 2 speaking
slots at the convention. During the Convention there
was a networking event at the Residence. The next issue
is coming up; BioPharma 2012 will be held in the Marina
Bay Sands at the end of March 2012.
• Singapore International Water Week, July 2011
Ten Dutch companies participated in the Holland
Pavilion on the Singapore International Water Week
2011 (SIWW), the global platform for water solutions
that brings policymakers, industry leaders, experts
and practitioners together. Other Dutch companies
could be found outside the pavilion. The theme of the
week was “Sustainable Solutions for a Changing Urban
Environment”.
6 July 2011 was ‘Dutch Day’ at SIWW, in which
several events took place, such as a workshop, a
network lunch and the opening of the Aquatic Science
Centre, jointly organized by Dutch organizations and
companies active in the water sector.
• Serious Games Conference, August 2011
The Serious Games Conference 2011 took place in
Singapore in August. Industry and academia discussed
the developments, challenges, research, learning
sciences, training and learning practices as well as the
business of serious games from different application
domains. The Netherlands was well-represented.
In his opening speech, Mr Thomas Lim, Director of
MDA, stressed that Singapore is looking forward to
increase cooperation with the Netherlands in the field
of serious games. Tim Laning, co-founder of Dutch
company Grendel Games, was one of the speakers at the
conference. The Netherlands is innovative in the field
of serious gaming. For Dutch serious gaming companies
internationalization is necessary for further growth and
development. Singapore offers an excellent basis for the
Asian market.
• Visit of Netherlands Forensic Institute, September
2011
The Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI), represented
by the CEO and the Advisor to the Board paid a visit to
Singapore in September 2011. During its first visit to
Singapore, NFI explored possibilities to establish joint
R&D projects with Singaporean partners. Furthermore
NFI met with industry parties that already have
developed new technology that could be of interest
to them. NFI is actively involved in and looking for the
development of technology and methods from other
areas and make these applicable for the forensic domain.
• Singapore International Energy Week, October 2011
During the International Energy Week in Singapore,
Dutch expertise in the field of clean energy was
showcased. Dutch organizations KEMA en ECN (Energy
Center Netherlands) were prominently present.
Besides trade shows, visitors were able to attend many
conferences and meetings. The Netherlands showcased
and highlighted its knowledge on solar energy,
20

Embassy news
bio-energy, energy efficiency and smart grids at the
Clean Energy Expo, in a booth at the European Pavilion.
On PV Asia Pacific Expo Professor Wim Sinke of Energy
Center Netherlands (ECN) held a presentation about
cost reduction in PV. The first edition of Asia Smart Grid
opened with a presentation of Mr Willem van Putten,
Managing Director Asia Pacific of KEMA. He shortly
highlighted the smart grid experiment in the Netherlands:
PowerMatching City. The Embassy together with KEMA
organized a roundtable discussion for leaders in the
energy industry. Participants represented public and
private organizations, and were given an overview of the
Energy sector in the Netherlands and Europe.
• Visit of Droog Design, November 2011
Co-founder and director of Droog Design, Renny
Ramakers, was in Singapore to explore the possibilities
of establishing a Droog Lab in Singapore with the ‘global
hub concept’ as its central theme. The ambitious mission
of Droog Lab is to define the next generation of global
design by investing local contexts. Lab destinations so far
have been Dubai, the Canadian North, New York, Moscow,
Dharavi (India), Hasselt (Belgium) and Shenzhen (China).
The Embassy in collaboration with DesignSingapore
Council prepared a programme, which gave Droog
the opportunity to meet with local design agencies,
universities, government agencies and private sector
organizations. Based on their findings, Droog is now
considering establishing a Droog Lab in Singapore in 2012.
The New Year: 2012
Although Singapore, the Netherlands, and other global
hubs do share core competencies, each also boasts
distinct specializations. These specializations are deeply
rooted in history. They enable each hub to develop its
own unique economic ecosystems. Naturally, these
ecosystems are directly linked to the focus sectors. In the
Netherlands, there are three main economic ecosystems
interwoven with the country’s progress: Water, Trade &
Logistics, and Food/Nutrition/Agriculture/Environment.
Interrelated, each facilitates the others.
There is also a new ecosystem evolving in the
Netherlands: Design and Innovation, extremely fastgrowing
at 7% a year. Leadership, creativity, and
excellence within the unique economic ecosystems,
and the focus sectors, are key. These drivers will enable
Singapore and the Netherlands to grow as innovative,
knowledge-based economies. In turn, they will allow
both nations to fully realize their potential as global hubs
with mainport functions.
In 2012, the Embassy will continue its activities in
the four priority sectors, while at the same time a fifth
sector, Food & Nutrition, will be explored. As in 2011,
delegations from private and public sector are expected,
as well as delegations of knowledge institutions, and
the Embassy will be facilitating and organizing Dutch
participation in many trade shows and events.
Last but not least: the Embassy looks forward to
continuing the fruitful and pleasant cooperation with
all Dutch organizations in Singapore. The first event is
already planned; on 23 February ADB and DutchCham
will jointly organize a Q&A session with Professor
Jacqueline Cramer, followed by a network reception at
the Hollandse Club.
Wishing you all a successful 2012!
21

ADB News
Job seekers / Internship
Seeking a representative in the
Asian food industry!
Bridge2Food is a Dutch organizer of international
food conferences & courses. The 7 th Food Proteins
Course will be held in Singapore from 14
– 16 May 2012. Please check our website: www.
bridge2food.com. For this Course we are looking
for a representative in Asia with strong ties within
food manufacturing companies based throughout
Asia. Preferably with R&D departments. Tasks
involve recruitment of participants, marketing the
Course in Asia, building up a database and other
organisational tasks.
The period will be from February till May 2012 on a
part time basis. Compensation can be discussed.
For more information & contact, please email:
Gerard Klein Essink at gkleinessink@bridge2food.com,
or
Hans Stoter at hstoter@bridge2food.com or call our
offices in Bilthoven at +31-30-2252060
Name : Welmoed Altena
Age : 26
Tel. no. : +31 6 22746628
Email : welmoedaltena@gmail.com
Study:
• Master of Science in Business Administration
(MScBA) - Rotterdam School of Management,
Erasmus University Rotterdam
• MA Chinese Studies (cum laude) - Leiden University
• BA Languages and Cultures of China - Leiden
University
Specialization: Chinese Economy & Business
Internship:
• Philips Singapore: Graduation project on the
transition to energy efficient lighting in Asia,
August 2011-October 2011.
• Philips Innovation Campus Shanghai, China:
Internship on zero carbon emission building,
April 2011-July 2011.
Looking for: A challenging job within an
international company in Singapore, preferably related
to sustainability / renewable energy. Available from
February 2012 onwards.
Name : Dennis van de Water
Age : 32
Tel. no. : +31 6 12964731
Study & specialization
• China Europe International Business School (CEIBS),
Shanghai, China
Associate researcher
Topic: Value Drivers and Critical Success Factors for
Dutch businesses in China
• Nyenrode Business University, The Netherlands
Master of Science in Management
• Maastricht University, The Netherlands
Master of International and European Tax Law
Working experience:
DSM Fibre Intermediates
Product Sales Manager Europe – Chemical Raw Materials
– International customer & distribution account
management (TO € 40,- mln/ year).
– Advised & realised plant investment approval China
(€400,- mln).
– Lead Global Marketing Plan.
DSM Fine Chemicals
Marketing Coordinator
– Marketing & Sales support, Performance Analysis,
Business Planning
Looking for: Reinforcing my international experience
and Asia exposure in my current role: a senior or
managerial Marketing & Sales position in the Chemicals,
Oil & Gas and/or Natural Resources industry with a
strong focus on Asia. Preference for Singapore as base
location, but negotiable.
Name : Mark van der Winden
Age : 41
Tel. no. : 8428 1385
Email : mwinden1@hotmail.com
Study: Bachelors’degree in business and marketing
Specialization: Petrochemical trading and shipping
Working experience: 15 years experience in trading
and shipping industry. Worked in Singapore between
1996-2002 (started a regional office for Anthony Veder)
and back in Singapore since late 2010. Ran my own
company in the Netherlands between 2003 and 2010.
Looking for: A new challenge in my career, preferably
in a company with an established industry presence.
22

ADB News
name : Chris Siem
Why did you come to Singapore, and why did you decide
to join ADB?
Born near Amsterdam, Chris decided to explore his Asian
roots by moving to Singapore. His career in the Big-4
allowed him to develop hands-on experience - both
in sales and project management. Since 2006, he has
managed outsourcing and offshoring initiatives for MNCs
in various capacities. Chris is married and a proud father,
a Singapore PR, loves food, and continues to enjoy his fill
of good old Dutch favorites when visiting home.
name : Camiel Tonnaer
Why did you come to Singapore, and why did you
decide to join ADB?
I am Camiel Tonnaer and I work for Alpha & Omega.
Before Singapore, I worked in the US and Germany. In
the past two years I travelled frequently to Singapore.
Someone told me; ‘Singapore is hard to hate’, I fully
agree! That is why we decided to move here. Later this
year, my wife will join me. Becoming a member, I think,
is a must if you enjoy connecting with interesting people
for leisure and for business. Looking forward to meet!
name : Rudi van Kemseke
Why did you come to Singapore, and why did you decide
to join ADB?
Moved as Vice President Sales & Marketing F&B for
Ecolab from Vienna, where I was responsible for East &
South Europe and MEA, towards Singapore in 2009 for
the area Asia, China and India. I recently left the company
after 17 years for the simple reason that we preferred
to stay in Asia and didn’t want to go back to Europe. The
business is booming here in Asia! Now I’m looking for
a new challenge. Through ADB I would like to build up
further the B2B relationships and also enjoy the activities!
nameS : Wouter de Koning &
Henriette Henny
Why did you come to Singapore, and why did you
decide to join ADB?
In the Netherlands, Wouter worked for McKinsey and
the National Railway; he currently studies at INSEAD
in Singapore (class of December 2012). Henriette is a
Consultant for Berenschot International in emerging
markets and developing countries. During this year she
will continue working for Berenschot International (doing
business development) and organize the World Press
Photo Exhibition in Singapore (planned in October 2012).
We are very much interested in meeting new people!
name : Danielle Verweij
Why did you come to Singapore, and why did you decide
to join ADB?
My name is Danielle and I am 29 years old. I joined my
husband, who will be working in Singapore for 1.5 years. I
worked as a bookkeeper in different smaller companies in
the Netherlands for eight years. During my work I studied
Business Administration and graduated in 2010. At the
moment I am exploring Singapore and I am busy finding
a job in Singapore. I hope to meet people at the ADB to
share our experiences and knowledge about Singapore.
name : Saskia Begemann
Why did you come to Singapore, and why did you
decide to join ADB?
I moved in October 2011 from Sydney to Singapore with
my Italian boyfriend. I’m working here as a Regional
Buyer at Anixter. I manage the inventory levels of
electrical wires and security camera’s. I’m a graduated
Production Engineer and am looking for opportunities to
work more in the Supply Chain area.
23

ADB News
Sustainable entrepreneurship!
23 February
For ADB and DutchCham members only
Prof. dr. Jacqueline Cramer: Business
Opportunities in Sustainable
Entrepreneurship
Prof. dr. Jacqueline Cramer is director of the
Utrecht Sustainability Institute and professor
in sustainable innovation at Utrecht
University. Before she was Minister of Housing, Spatial
Planning and the Environment (February 2007 – February
2010). Earlier she was director of the consultancy firm
‘Sustainable Entrepreneurship; strategy and innovation
consulting’. She worked with more than 100 companies on
the implementation of sustainable entrepreneurship.
Moreover she worked as part-time professor since
1990. She was also member of various (inter) national
advisory boards of the government, industry and
nonprofit organisations (e.g. crown member of the Dutch
Social-Economic Council, member of the Advisory Board
of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)/Netherlands,
the University Maastricht and the Hogeschool Arnhem-
Nijmegen and member of the nonexecutive board of Shell
Netherlands, FMO (Finance for Development Bank) and
the sustainability funds of ASN Bank.
Date : February 23, 2012
Time
: 19:00: Reception & registration
19:30: Lecture and Q&A with
Prof. dr. Jacqueline Cramer
Moderator: Arnout Mostert
20:30: Drinks
21:30: End of program
Venue : Hollandse Club, Main Hall
Registration : RSVP online via www.adb.org.
sg/events (for ADB Members)
Language : Dutch
New Members
Anke Bosman, CB&I
Arjen Nauta, PWN Technologies
Arthur Post Uiterweer, Philips Healthcare
Bas van der Schaaf, GlobalCollect
Camiel Tonnaer, Alpha & Omega
Danielle Verweij
Debbie van Middendorp, PWN
Technologies
Florine Beukers
Hans de Back, Dutchman Venture Capital
Partners
Hans Kunen, Delcam
Henriette Henny, Berenschot International
Jasper Koek, Ernst & Young
Jorn Wisselink, Food Concepts Group
Singapore
Marinus Jacometti, Hertel Asia Holding
Michael Fillië, Asyx International
Ralf Thelosen, Citco
Renske Thelosen-van Daalen, Procter &
Gamble
Rudi van Kemseke
Sander Mutsaers, ING Bank
Saskia Haverkamp Begemann, Anixter
Sylvie Stevens-van Rhijn, juf Sylvie
Wiebe Helder, Royale Asia
Wouter de Koning, INSEAD
Leaving Members
Alex Lambeek, Research In Motion
Bibiche Booi, Synergy Asia Pacific
Caroline van der Meer, ATC Trustees
Chris van Buuren, Accenture
Dennis van der Meijs, DHL
Floor Cleef
Frans Terwisga, ST-Ericsson
Hanno Roberts, Nanyang Business School
Hans Loth, De Lage Landen
Hans Rotteveel, Accenture
Henk de Jong, Philips
Jade Hagen, Amicorp
Jan Huijben, Technochem
Jonathan Horemans
Joost de Kruijff, Citibank
Karin Gerbens
Liesbeth de Vegt, HOI Singapore
Liliane de Nie, ACG Global
Lorena Nunez Rubio, Shell
Marcel Aggenbach, Nokia
Marco Hoekstra, Figlo Asia Pacific
Marijn van Poelgeest, Shell
Marloes van de Mortel
Martijn van Eldik, CBRE
Nancy Hilbrink, KCDat
Patricia de Jonge
Piet Bonsma, Alpha & Omega
Richi Murli, Amicorp
Sascha van Roosen, Roosen Eventures
Sjoerd Manschot, Philips
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Frank Kuijsters, Chief Editor
Floortje Muskens
Francine Linssen
Katrijn de Ronde
Lineke van Nederpelt
Michiel Sengers
Richard Soemita
SECRETARIAT
Lineke van Nederpelt
MAILING ADDRESS
c/o 22 Camden Park
Singapore 299814
Telephone: 9101 6201
email: adb@pacific.net.sg
WEBSITE
www.adb.org.sg
DESIGN
Michiel Sengers
Jennifer Phua
PRINTER Khoo Sun Printing Pte Ltd
MITA 373/03/2001
This magazine is distributed free of
charge to all members and relations
of the ADB.
We invite members to contribute to
the next issue.
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
Membership fee is S$ 100 per
calendar year. For registration, please
see the website www.adb.org.sg
Membership is renewed
automatically effective the first
month of the new calendar year.
Make your cheque payable to
“ADB Singapore” 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. 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.
24

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SPECIALISTS IN HEAVY LIFTING AND TRANSPORT
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Phone: +65 6861 1638
Fax: +65 6861 2718
Mammoet is known throughout the world for its heavy lifting
and transport. Mammoet combines a long experience with a full
range of services which makes the company unique.
Mammoet has been operating in the south-east Asia region for
more than 30 years and has been involved in most of the major
projects in the offshore, petrochemical, power and civil sectors.
www.mammoet.com