RSBF 2012 closes with deals forged and more opportunities in the offing
SINGAPORE /PRNewswire/ -- Some 700 participants from 40 countries attended the 7th annual Russia-Singapore Business Forum (RSBF) that concluded today in Singapore.
Organised by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), RSBF 2012 updated Russia/CIS and Singapore/Asia participants on regional developments through a series of themed dialogue and panel sessions helmed by distinguished political elite and business leaders.
Commenting on RSBF 2012, Mr Michael Tay, Executive Director of RSBF and former Ambassador of Singapore to Russia said, "We continue to see an increase in the number of agreements and transactions that take place within the framework of Russia-Singapore Business Forum. I am pleased to see that there are delegates from Russia, as well as from Singapore and Asia-Pacific countries, who come back here year after year. I am confident that the potential for exchange between the two regions, both economic and cultural is great."
The forum continues to fulfill its main goal of fostering closer relations, networking and collaboration between business representatives in Russia/CIS and their Singapore/Asia counterparts. This was reflected in the Forum's programme this year, having included, in addition to the usual broad-based topics, industry-specific sessions on the development of industrial clusters, real estate investments and innovation and technology.
Mr Igor Shuvalov, First Deputy Prime Minister who spoke on the sidelines of RSBF, after the Ministerial Dialogue with Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on 25 September said, "Russia and Singapore have a huge potential for cooperation. Today, we discussed with our Singaporean counterparts a number of specific projects, such as agriculture and innovation. Singapore can play an important role by sharing its experience of good governance. The Russian government is ready to consider the interests of Singaporean investors and offer them a stake in the companies that they will manage."
Other key speakers included:
Lee Kuan Yew, Former Prime Minister, Singapore
Igor Shuvalov, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation
Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Finance, Singapore
Rustam Minnikhanov, President, Republic of Tatarstan
Nikolai Nikiforov, Minister of Communications and Mass Media, Russia
Andrei Slepnev, Minister for Trade, Member of the Board, Eurasian Economic Commission
Alex Overchuk, Deputy Commissioner, Federal Tax Service of Russia
Raj Sriram, Deputy CEO, BSI Asia
Jim Rogers, International Investor and Author of A Gift to My Children
RSBF as Asia's leading business and networking platform was also reinforced by the forging of deals and the creation of opportunities.
Participant Mr David Yang, Founder and Chairman of the Board, ABBYY, and Co-founder of iiko said, "iiko's technologies work not only in Russia but also in countries such as Vietnam, China, Armenia, Azerbaijan and others. RSBF gives us the opportunity to enter the market of Singapore, as well as other markets of Asia Pacific. At the moment, we are nearing completion of our first transaction with the new Singapore restaurant, which is interested in using our software."
In agreement, Mr Raymond Armes, President and CEO of NEC Neva shared on his company's participation, "We participate in the Forum as an official partner of the Government of St. Petersburg under the project 'Our City - St. Petersburg'. Today, the Governments of St. Petersburg and Singapore begin active cooperation. Thanks to the help and support of the Executive Director of RSBF Michael Tay, the official visit of the government delegation of the Russian northern capital to Singapore was made possible in August this year. Their Singaporean colleagues have shown how the systems and solutions of the 'smart and safe city' work in real time. This collaboration is an example of trust between our two countries because the Singaporean government shares its unique experience with Russia."
Summing up his experience at RSBF, Singapore businessman Mr Leonard Ng, Business Development Director of NPH International said, "This is my third year at the Russia-Singapore Business Forum. It has been a good platform to network with people across industries, and provides a sense of the scale of collaboration and cooperation that can ensue between two vastly different regions. The diverse culture and linguistic differences within Russia is intriguing, and it is a market of great potential for anyone who dares to venture, as long as they have the stamina."
Delegates to RSBF will close the forum with the Closing Party at newly-opened contemporary Italian restaurant Zafferano, Singapore's largest Italian restaurant, before embarking on site visits and networking events the day after.
Russia was Singapore's 29th largest trading partner in 2011. Total trade amounted to US$ 4.7 billion. Currently there are more than 330 Russian companies in Russia, compared to only 14 in 2004. The Russian-speaking population has grown from 300 in 2003 to about 5,000 people so far. Singapore was visited by more than 38,000 Russians in the first six months of 2012, which is around 20% more than that over the same period last year.
*Please refer to Annex 1 for more quotes from participants.
About Russia-Singapore Business Forum
The Russia-Singapore Business Forum (RSBF), initiated in 2006, is an annual B-to-B forum organised by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) that takes place in Singapore. The RSBF Organising Council is led by Executive Director, Mr Michael Tay, former Singapore Ambassador to Russia. The RSBF's Strategic Partner is Sberbank, the largest bank in Eastern Europe. The RSBF has the support of key Singapore Government agencies, particularly the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Since the inaugural forum in March 2006, the RSBF has grown in stature to become Asia's leading business and networking platform for Russia/CIS and Singapore/Asia General businessmen. It is evolving into a broader platform for emerging markets from these two regions, and has set a precedent in bringing together top government officials and business elite from these regions.
About Singapore Business Federation
As the apex business chamber, the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) champions the interests of the business community in Singapore, in trade, investment and industrial relations. Nationally, SBF acts as the bridge between the government and businesses in Singapore to create a conducive business environment. Internationally, SBF represents the business community in bilateral, regional and multilateral fora for the purpose of trade expansion and business networking. For more information, please visit our website: www.sbf.org.sg
Annex 1: Quotes from Participants
Mr Sergey Belousov, Senior Partner of the venture fund Runa Capital, Founder and Co-owner of Parallels, Acronis, Rolsen, Acumatica
"This is the fourth Russian-Singapore Business Forum, in which I am involved. Over the years it has become one of the best sites, enabling people to meet and find new points of interaction between the most active and fastest growing businesses of the Asian region and Russia. Surprisingly, this is where I was able to meet with a number of successful business and political leaders, among them Michael Tay, Sergei Sobyanin, Rustam Mininhanov Ruben Vardyanyan, Eugene Tugolukov Rustam Tariko, Oleg Deripaska from Russia and Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Chok Tong, Herve Aymond of Corndale.com, Dmitry Levitt from Singapore. A series of meetings resulted in long-term partnership in the field of high-tech business, scientific and educational projects. Businesses of Parallels and Runa Capital's portfolio companies grow and develop rapidly in Asia. We have made a number of investments in Singapore technology startups, helping Russian, American and European IT-companies to enter this market, and for us Forum has become a catalyst for cooperation with Asian companies."
Mr Victor Tarusin, Executive Director of the Business Council Russia - ASEAN (Part of the Chamber of Commerce of the Russian Federation)
"The RSBF platform is very effective for attracting investments to Russia and for Russian companies to enter international markets. Business Council Russia - ASEAN has brought a whole delegation of Russian companies, including Morton group, which offers investors from South-East Asia to participate in the projects of the group, such as an office and residential complex "headquarters at Mosfilm."
Mr Maxim Shereykin, Deputy Governor, Kaluga region
"This is not the first time we come to the forum, because it gives us the ability to quickly move from words to deeds. To last year's agreement with SsangYong is already being implemented. The company began construction of housing complex in Kaluga on the area of 18 hectares. This year we are particularly interested in attracting pharmaceutical investor-companies. In Kaluga there is a successfully operating pharmaceutical cluster, which currently has four global investors, including companies such as AstraZeneca and Novo Nordisk."
Mr Anatoly Mamaev, Director of SibSpark
"I am pleased that at the Forum we were able to talk directly with First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Igor Shuvalov, who was interested in our project and has instructed his unit to study it and to consider options for state support. We hope that this meeting will yield concrete results in the form of future development of our project."
For media queries please contact:
Mr. Gerald De Cotta
Tel: +65-6827-6896
Mobile: +65-9831-7210
Email: gerald@sbf.org.sg
Ms. Eileen Lee
Tel: +65-6827-6874
Mobile: +65-9004-6920
Email: eileen.lee@sbf.org.sg
Source: Singapore Business Federation
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