POST EVENT HIGHLIGHTS: THE NETHERLANDS, YOUR EUROPEAN PARTNER IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade Officiates at NFIA Seminar in Singapore
The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) held a seminar on "The Netherlands, Your European Partner in International Business" on Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at the Fullerton Hotel in Singapore. The seminar coincided with the visit of Mr Frank Heemskerk, the Netherlands Minister for Foreign Trade who officiated at the event. Mr Heemskerk was in Singapore to hold talks with Singapore's Trade and Industry Minister, Mr Lim Hng Kiang and launch the soft opening of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce held on May 19 2008.
The NFIA seminar, supported by IE Singapore was opened by Ambassador Chris Sanders. Also present as a guest speaker was Mr Lodewijk Asscher, Deputy Mayor of the City of Amsterdam.
Topics for the seminar focused on the attractiveness of the Netherlands for investment opportunities. Mr Heemskerk listed three main reasons for this, namely, the Netherlands is the Gateway to Europe; it is business friendly; and it offers a high quality of life. Mr Lodewijk cited several similarities between Singapore and Netherlands, most significantly the excellent port facilities and infrastructure in place. Amsterdam is home to top class multinationals and ranks number 5 in terms of the most livable European cities.
Other topics included an update on the Netherlands as a logistics hub for European supply chain operations by Ms Karin Rancuret of the Holland International Distribution Council; and an overview of the corporate tax structure and benefits of investing in the country by Mr Pieter de Ridder of Loyens & Loeff. Ms Joey Chua of IE Singapore spoke about the organization's partnering role in supporting foreign investment outside of Singapore.
About 40 people attended the seminar and lunch, representing CEO's, senior level management and decision-makers, and government personnel from the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
