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It is good to see the Chamber in such good shape, with the regional economy significantly more buoyant than when I was last here. The vitality of the Chamber reflects the strength of the business relationship between the UK and Singapore. In 2006, the UK exported to Singapore over £4.8 billion-worth of goods and services, across a broad range of sectors. And the UK has maintained its position as Singapore's largest source of Foreign Direct Investment, with a cumulative stock worth something over £15.4 billion. More than two-thirds of Singapore's investment into the EU comes to the UK.
The Chamber and the High Commission continue to work together well. I welcome the restructuring of the sectoral business groups, I know that we will continue to be closely associated with them. One area which will continue to grow in activity is climate change. This is a subject of significant importance for the British Government and one which will, I am sure, stay at the top of our political agenda for the forseeable future. In Singapore we have done much already to highlight the concerns and the actions being taken by the UK to address them. During the IMF meetings in September last year British companies were able to showcase their very strong climate change credentials. More recently, I know that the Chamber's Energy and Utilities Group arranged a showing of "An Inconvenient Truth". I am sure that we can do more to keep this crucially important challenge in the spotlight and I look forward to working with the Chamber on this.
Over the past couple of years the Chamber has deepened its involvement with the Singapore British Business Council, and I hope it will continue to do so. The SBBC provides an important channel for British business in Singapore to feed in information about the trends and opportunities here.
In my most recent post in London, as Managing Director at UK Trade & Investment, I had the opportunity to meet many British Chambers in different parts of the world. It is clear that the Chamber continues to set the standard for such organisations both in Singapore and more widely and I congratulate you for this. I can assure you of the High Commission's full support as you seek to build on the excellent platform you have established.
Paul Madden,
British High Commissioner
Singapore
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