A Singapore Carol

There were no Scrooges present at NBAS and IN’s pre-Christmas event Singapore your gateway to growth in Asia on 19th of December in Oslo. On the contrary, all the contributors and participants came bearing gifts.

As we are heading into 2020, the Asian economy is on the brink of becoming larger than the rest of the world’s economies combined, according to World Economic Forum (WEF). This autumn WEF also named Singapore the most competitive economy in the world. This, combined with the city state’s top ranking in ease of doing business and its strategic position at the gateway to Asia, makes Singapore an interesting object for Norwegian businesses to scrutinize.

200 Norwegian companies are already present in Singapore. Team Norway – Norwegian Business Association (NBAS), The Norwegian Embassy and Innovation Norway - provides a good foundation for doing business in Singapore.

Paul’s gospel
19^th of December, in the chilly, grey Oslo weather, law firm Wikborg Rein generously found room for a 50 PAX herd, with representatives from Norwegian authorities, start-ups within different sectors, health clusters, NGOs and the more traditional shipping and energy segments.

A wide range of wise men – amongst them an angel – were singing the carol of Singapore.

The gospel of Paul (Kastmann, head of Innovation Norway Singapore), was that South East Asia is the fastest growing region in the world, as the larger economies see a stagnation in growth.

Many factors make Singapore attractive for Norwegian business: The city state is a highly developed market economy which is politically stable and transparent, with a pro-business environment, a talented international workforce, and a longstanding strategic partnership with Norway.

Paul also pointed to the specific opportunities for Norwegian companies to enter the South East Asia-market within sectors as fintech, health-tech, ocean space, renewable energy and smart cities.

Go tell it on the mountain!
Magnus Lande from Veracity /DNVGL and Tapi Roll from SaleScreen elaborated on the importance of really understanding the culture – to blend in - to succeed in business in Singapore and the rest of Asia.

Erik Ingvoldstad from EedenBull is an extremely experienced entrepreneur. He has lived and worked in three different markets - Norway, Australia and China - as well as overseeing work across Asia Pacific (APAC), the Nordics and the globe, before coming down the chimney to do business in Singapore. Erik emphasises the advanced fintech environment, progressive regulations, a broad focus on user and customer experience in the market, and proximity to APAC markets as some of the reasons to choose Singapore for your business location.

Espen Gylvik from Cyviz and Andreas Samuelsen from Conexus explained why Singapore is the perfect hub for doing business in Asia when you have a unique product and a robust business model. The talented workforce, great access to large markets, the authority’s clear business focus, and the transparent and fair tender processes being parts of the answer.

The angel investor from Cocoon Capital, William Klippgen, and COO and cofounder of Antler, Fridtjof Berge, focused on the massive access to talent and venture capital, the non-corrupt government, strong protection of intellectual property and state-of-the art education and research institutions.

We had a curious, constructive and healthy critical Gaute Hagerup, CEO at Oslo Business Region, as moderator for a 45 minutes Q&A/debate on Singapore as a business hub. During this intense session, questions were answered, and opportunities were nuanced. Also, the views of the already well-established Norwegian business sectors in Singapore, like shipping, were more prominent.

Though business is not really a Christmas story, and Singapore and Asia is not altogether the new-born saviour of the world economy, we can still go tell it on the mountain: Singapore has great opportunities for doing business - both for established companies looking to expand to Asia, and for start-ups with a certain level of maturity and a product adapted to the market.

We look forward to the next step and wish you all welcome to the
Singapore Norway Innovation Conference (SNIC) on the 5^th of March 2020 at the Singapore Stock Exchange.

Tickets will be available from early January.

A big thanks to:

Innovation Norway - for co-hosting and a brilliant keynote.

Wikborg Rein - for the excellent venue and service.

Singapore Norway Chamber of Commerce - for supporting us and helping as gather a large quality crowd.

Oslo Business Region - for supporting us and for moderating the debate.

PinkFish - for the delicious lunch.

All the participants - for taking active part, showing enthusiasm and for creating such a buzzing networking atmosphere.