I recently received an email from an English Democrats member who works in Singapore. He has pointed out that, just like the story about the goings on in the Gulf where Scottish business was being much more effectively promoted than English business, the same is happening in Singapore.
There is now a Scottish section of the British Chamber of Commerce, but not an English one.
We English really do need to start raising our game otherwise things will certainly go from bad to worse for us. Who will we be able to blame but ourselves?
Here is the correspondence duly anonymised and below that is a copy of the section in the Singaporean British Chamber of Commerce with a link in case you want to check the original.
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From: katie@britcham.org.sg [mailto:katie@britcham.org.sg]
Sent: Tuesday, 12 March, 2013 5:09 PM
Subject: Scottish Business Group – Newly Formed!
SCOTTISH BUSINESS GROUP – NEWLY FORMED!
Dear Member,
We are delighted to announce that the Chamber is going to establish a Scottish Business Group (SBG) and that the Scottish Business Association of Singapore (SBAS) will be merging with the British Chamber of Commerce.
The SBAS was developed in 2011 and has grown to such an extent, they have decided to use the support of the British Chamber to provide a wider network as well as the administrative back up required to run an association.
The newly formed SBS committee will be chaired by Jason Grant who runs Scottish Development International’s Southeast Asian office in Singapore, supporting bilateral trade and investment between Scotland and the Asean member countries. Jason and the current committee will work out an engagement plan for the remainder of 2013.
We are excited by the further enhancement of our Business Group offering and as you are now able to select up to 3 business groups, we would welcome you to join the group online through your members profile. You may also join their LinkedIn group or if you are interested in more involvement on a committee level please do not hesitate to let Jason know.
Of course we will keep you informed of the first activities and very much look forward to seeing you there.
Kind regards,
Katie Hudson
Membership Manager
Sent: Tuesday, 12 March, 2013 8:04 PM
To: Katie Hudson
Subject: RE: Scottish Business Group – Newly Formed!
Dear Katie,
With regards to Scottish Business Association of Singapore (SBAS) seting up the Scottish Group in the British Chamber, what happens when the Scottish referendum takes place next year?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-21741448
From: Katie Hudson [mailto:Katie@britcham.org.sg]
Sent: Wednesday, 13 March, 2013 1:11 PM
Subject: RE: Scottish Business Group – Newly Formed!
Hi
Nothing will change, we run as an independent organisation for our members.
Kind regards,
Katie
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British Chamber Of Commerce Singapore
Scottish Business Group
The Scottish Business Group is a new cross-sectorial group within the British Chamber of Commerce. It has been established to build on the long-established trading links between Scotland and Singapore, and to promote and advance commercial interaction between the two countries.
The Group is open to businesses and business professionals located, or interested, in Singapore who enjoy an economic, educational, social or historical relationship with Scotland. The group aims to:
promote the development of commerce between Scotland and Singapore
provide a central business contact point for all current and new British Chamber members who have an interest in Scotland, or in Scottish-related business
provide a networking access point for Scottish companies seeking to develop business interests in Singapore and into the wider ASEAN region
manage events that facilitate the transfer of experience and expertise within Singapore’s fast-growing Scottish business base
Chairman:
Jason Grant – Scottish Development International
Jason runs Scottish Development International’s Southeast Asian office in Singapore, supporting bilateral trade and investment between Scotland and the Asean member countries. With a background of small company finance, innovation & commercialization and technology transfer he has worked in Asia for over 8-years, the last four of which have been based here in SDI’s Singapore operations. SDI in Singapore focuses primarily on supporting Scotland’s export development, with a regional focus on increasing Scottish company participation in the Asia Pacific Oil & Gas supply chain, supporting Scottish academic institutions enter the regional education sector and increasing Scottish exports to the growing consumer markets of SE Asia.
British Chamber of Commerce Singapore – Building Networks Connecting Business Creating Opportunities