Winston Ho, International Enterprise Singapore

(IE Singapore)

Mr Ho began by stressing two points. Firstly, New Zealand was an interesting market which Singaporean companies should explore instead of focusing on the traditional markets. Secondly, New Zealand companies should also view Singapore as an Asian base for development.

The years from 1993 to 2003 were a decade of regionalization for Singapore as the government encouraged local companies to move beyond the domestic market. Singapore invested heavily in flagship projects such as the Wuxi and Suzhou industrial parks in China, the Bangalore IT Park in India and other regional industrial parks.

Projections for Singapore's trade with the world indicate a twofold increase up to 2015. Foreign direct investment likewise is set to increase twofold in that period. Asia is currently the fastest growing region in the world with East Asia heading the pack followed by Southeast Asia. Thus Singapore and New Zealand companies should look to collaborate in order to invest in Asia.

Mr Ho identified a few key sectors where Singapore-New Zealand collaboration would be beneficial:

1) ICT

The ICT sector was an area where firms from New Zealand and Singapore could embark on joint collaborations or partnerships. The Singapore government agency A*STAR has launched initiatives to allow Singapore-based Infocom local enterprises to enhance their position by working with global players like Motorola to form R&D centres in Singapore.

2) Media

The media industry was another promising sector where collaborations could take place. New Zealand and Singapore recently signed a co-production agreement for screen productions. This enables companies from both countries to share resources and expand the distribution network for quality exportable content.

3) Biotechnology

Both Singapore and New Zealand have invested heavily in local companies to help them start new projects and to commercialize new technologies for the international market.

IE Singapore has an I-Partner scheme which brings together locally-based companies to hunt for projects overseas.