June-July 2012 - Association of Dutch Businessmen

Association of Dutch Businesspeople in Singapore
www.adb.org.sg
J u n/J u l
2 0 1 2
Event
Visit Philips
lighting division
MITA 373/03/2001
Business
Interview with
Peter Kok of UBS
Singapore
Communication without
losing face

PROLOGUE
Board Members
Mark Leenders
President
Market Director South East Asia,
Greater China and Korea Nespresso
OVERWHELMING
INTEREST
Marleen Dieleman
Vice President
Visiting fellow NUS Business School
Raymond Hofstede
Honorary Secretary
Attorney-at-Law Loyens Loeff
Martijn Schouten
Honorary Treasurer
Business Development Manager
Vopak
Frank Kuijsters
Member / Chief Editor
Director Digne Consult Asia Pacific
Martijn Kuipers
Member
Commercial Director Mammoet
Nico Derksen
Member
Director International Tax
Management
Rinske Bloemendal
Member
Membership - Medical Receptionist
International Medical Clinic
Willem van Donge
Member
Business Manager, Brunel
Secretariat
Lineke van Nederpelt
Executive Assistant
IMCD Asia
April and May have been rather hectic months back home.
On a happier note, to some at least, the Dutch community
in Singapore wholeheartedly celebrated Queen Beatrix’s
birthday at several events, which are traditionally kicked off
at Harry’s Bar, followed by the Red Carpet Champagne Bar
on Saturday, the Dutch Embassy’s Queen’s day reception
and the traditional Oranjebal at Hollandse Club on 30 April.
Singapore started to turn Orange.
The April event was the networking champagne tasting
at the Red Carpet Champagne Bar. It was a bubbly event
with great snacks that were enjoyed by many. On May
21, Philips Lighting received over 65 enthusiastic ADB
members who wanted to ride the waves of change from
the traditional Eindhoven light bulbs or ‘peertje’ to LED
lighting, and hear about changing the DNA of the world’s
biggest lighting company. Our members’ interest was
overwhelming and we had to close subscription for this
event rather quickly. I perceive this as a good sign and
perfectly in line with ADB’s objectives of having more
members actively participate in our events.
On a separate note, some members have expressed
their concern about the use of the ADB database for
purposes not or indirectly related to the Association of
Dutch Businesspeople. The Board would like to assure all
members that our database will not be lent, sold or used
in any other way than for purposes entirely related to the
ADB. There are better ways to reach the solid base of ADB
members for non-specific ADB activities, namely via the
social media LinkedIn ADB platform that is public domain
and frequently visited by ADB members.
Fellow members, June promises to be even more exciting
than the past few months. Will the Euro zone remain stable
after the recent French and Greek elections? Luckily, we
will have some distractions. For those who love football
and enjoy short nights, the Dutch team may beat Germany,
Denmark and Portugal in the first round. It would be nice
to see a repetition of 1988’s thrilling tournament. For those
who hate soccer, June will be over before you know it…
P.S. Save the date for the Heavenly White ADB Dinner &
Dance on Saturday, 25 August.
“The ADB provides opportunities for Dutch business
people to meet, interact and share knowledge by
means of company visits, lectures, networking events
and membership communications.”
Mark Leenders

Contents
Vol. 22 / No. 4 / June-July 2012
Prologue 1 By Mark Leenders, ADB President
Events 3 Blissful ignorance at the Red Carpet Champagne Bar
4 How LED is changing the DNA of the world’s biggest
lighting company
Business 6 Interview with Peter Kok of UBS
8 Sustainability & business: The Singapore context
10 Interview with Dennis van Noord from Booking.com,
online hotel reservations
12 The 2 nd annual Singapore Yacht Show
14 Apps reviewed – Touchnote and Shoeboxed
extra 15 Drink up!
Bizz News 16 Dutch business news
DutchCham News 18 Latest news by DutchCham
Know your tax 19 Gains no longer taxable!
singapore 20 Communication without losing face
not to miss 22 Things to do in Singapore
column 23 Questions
Embassy News 24 Latest news by the Dutch Embassy
adB News 26 Announcements, member info and more
Photographer for cover: Frank Kuijsters
P4
Another great ADB event, when
members got an insight into the
impact of LED lighting on, not
only Philips lighting division, but
also on our daily lives.
P6
Peter Kok shares his thoughts
on working in Singapore versus
working in Europe and if
Singapore will be his permanent
home.
P20
Read more about the customers,
habits and superstitions that
may influence your business
relationships. The third part in this
series.

Blissful ignorance at the
Red Carpet Champagne Bar
April 12, 2012
Text Marleen Dieleman Photos Nico Derksen
Events
Bart Sjoerdsma, Marcel de Bruijckere, Marcel Verdonk,
Pieter van Houwelingen, Eugene Schermer
Let me confess right from the beginning that I claim no
expertise whatsoever on drinking champagne, or, in fact,
any other type of alcoholic beverage. I am a simple tourist
when it comes to drinking. I come, drink a glass (two
perhaps, if I get really excited), am blissfully ignorant of the
deeper meaning of it all, take pictures, and go back home.
It’s an old habit formed in the motherland. Since Reims
was only six hours away by car, we would take our old
Peugeot 205 (inappropriately nicknamed “Brutus”) and
drive down to France. We would then tour some vineyards,
buy as many boxes of champagne as Brutus could carry,
basing our choices on irrelevant selection criteria such as
whether the vineyard owner was humorous. The drive
back home would then take at least an hour more (as
mentioned Brutus was what Singaporean property agents
would call “original”). Many hours of happy drinking
followed.
So, when the idea was floated in the ADB board to
organize a champagne tasting event, I was immediately
enthusiastic, and set aside my initial suspicion of Red
Carpet since they had mildly annoyed me with a variety of
spammed invitations.
Even while writing this the next day, after too many
glasses of bubbles – I can say it was a great evening. I was
able to maintain my blissful ignorance and equally enjoyed
all glasses of champagne (that includes the one with
orange juice) without feeling guilty about not remembering
all the subtle details of the sophisticated winemaking
process.
I suspect that all the other ADBers went up to the
sommeliers to quiz them on the rich and intricate variety
of tastes on offer, but I ignored them altogether for fear
of clogging my scarce brain cells with alcoholic knowledge
that would spoil the perfect tourist experience.
Michael Schaap is one of the happy winners of a bottle of
Champagne (with Red Carpet team)
Instead I enjoyed meaningless chatting and shamelessly
munching on Dutch snacks (herring with raw onions!
bitterballen! rookworst!). Hurray for another great example
of fine Dutch entrepreneurship in Singapore and thank you,
Red Carpet team. Thanks also to Lineke for the brilliant
idea, and to the numerous ADB members who joined. We
were actually a little unsure whether you would fork out
SGD 50 (not to mention the ridiculous ERP trap around
Suntec). The result of the experiment was definitely
beyond our expectations.
Despite not participating in the lucky draw (spam fears
again), I was rather fortunate to sit next to auspicious
companions, and could free ride on more bubbles
(courtesy of the Voskamp Lawyers clan). Twelve-Four-
Twelve was apparently my lucky day.
I re-affirm my love for alcoholic tourism. The best of all
was: I did not even have to take the pictures: Nico did.

Events
How LED is changing the DNA of the
world’s biggest lighting company
Text Francine Linssen Photos Lineke van Nederpelt and Iolanda Meehan
On Monday May 21, about 65 ADB members gathered
at the Philips Singapore Headquarters in Toa Payoh for
an ‘interactive evening event’. We were welcomed in a
hall where Philips lighting was all around us in its many
forms. Huge, round luminaires that changed colour every
minute lit up the area, making it look more like a club than
a workplace. The sensation of being in a disco continued
after a quick drink, when we were asked to take a seat
in the presentation area. Loud club music was playing to
energise everyone for the three speakers of the evening.
The invitation promised insights into the impact of LED
lighting on Philips’ lighting division, traditionally more a
producer of light bulbs and tubes. “Philips Lighting has
been leading the lighting industry for many years and has
been shaping it herself. With the entrance of LED, this whole
industry is in for a shake-up. Not only does the competitive
landscape change, but also the way lighting design is done.”
The state-of-the-art use of music, film and trendy
presentations was really impressive. The first presentation
‘Ready for the next century of lighting leadership’ was given
by Jan Benes, Regional Business Director at Philips Lighting
for the ASEAN/Pacific region.
He presented some interesting facts about Philips.
Founded in 1891, Philips has been around for more than
120 years. In 2011 Philips made €22,6 billion in sales and
spent an impressive €1,6 billion in R&D investments.
The company has 122.000 employees worldwide in
100 countries. The company is divided as follows; 25%
Consumer lifestyle, 35% Lighting and 40% Healthcare.
The Philips Lighting division had a turnover of €7,6 billion
in 2011, with a workforce of over 53.000 employees
worldwide and 5% of sales re-invested in R&D.
Jan explained Philips Lighting’s aims with digital
lighting. One of the most important considerations is the
significantly lower impact on the environment. However,
to be successful in a highly competitive market, Philips
Lighting works along three pillars;
- Being people focused
- Partners in innovation
- Meaningful solutions (‘enhance life with light’)
The lighting market is expected to expand by over
25% by 2015. This growth will be caused by growth in
LED sales, Government intervention to push for energy
efficient lighting solutions, and by a growth in the number
of light points in developing areas, because of the drive for
urbanisation in China and India.
LED is the leading technology in this growth because
of its energy, efficiency and durability. LED is transforming
the industry and Philips is leading that transformation.
Meanwhile, they are also investing in other innovative
technologies for the future, such as OLED (organic LED) and
lasers. One of the main challenges in this transformation
is to figure out exactly how fast old technologies, such
as incandescent light bulbs and florescent tubes, will be
phased out to make space for LED.
This phase over to LED forms some challenges for
Philips, because it has quite a strong Industrial footprint
in conventional technology. In 2008, Philips Lighting
still had 100 production sites, which already reduced to
approximately 70 in 2011. The question is how many
will be needed to support the sales in 2015. Many
governments are putting legislation in place to phase out
the incandescent light bulbs, but florescent tubes might be
here to stay a little longer.
Philips constantly invests in market research to find
out what direction the customer is moving in. Since LED
technology is very different from the old technologies
and does not involve a huge replacement market as light
bulbs do, Philips’ approach to customers is also changing
dramatically. Instead of thinking in products, the people at
Philips are now thinking in segments, turnkey projects and
end user-driven lighting solutions. Now they are talking to
brand creators instead of facility managers. Key accounts
in the region include McDonald’s and the Municipality
of Kuala Lumpur. A transformation such as this is easier
said than done and the company has put a lot of effort
in to changing its organization to have the right skills and
capabilities in place.
Jan Benes is convinced that Philips Lighting’s
competitive advantage is in the extensive understanding

Events
of how lighting is used in the application. For example, he
explained how Philips Lighting has helped retailer Albert
Heijn in The Netherlands to make its fresh products, such
as meat, look more attractive by using lighting. This is
almost a literal example of enhancing life with light!
Nigel D’Acre, Regional Business Director for the urban
lighting division, spoke next. The audience enjoyed another
few minutes of club music and gorgeous images of streets,
hotels, bars, retail outlets, monuments, castles, sports
stadiums and more. The structures and shapes of all these
were accentuated by lighting (all by Philips, of course).
The urban lighting division focuses on cities, people
and light. In ‘cities’, Philips’ aim is to create identity within
rapid urbanization. ‘People’ is all about connections, safety
& convenience and liveability. ‘Light’ in urban lighting
means multipurpose, in context and sustainable (90% of
the divisions revenue already comes from LEDs). The new
approach that Jan explained earlier translates here to
inspirational workshops with urban planners to explore
the future of urban lighting. One actual product that
came out of such a workshop is the “FreeStreet”, a street
lighting system that does away with vertical streetlight
poles in favour of horizontally-strung cables. Nigel also
explained the added value of RGB LEDs (Red / Green /
Blue) for their ability to create all possible colours within
the system. Together with a system that can control each
and every light point, Philips can create lighting schemes
that exactly suit the customer’s needs. This is exactly the
reason why Philips has won the projects to light up the
Empire State Building and the new WTC in New York. Nigel
concluded with examples of some local projects; the OUB
building at Raffles Place and the Singapore Flyer. All are
great examples of how Philips Lighting has changed from
a company that sells products in boxes to a project selling
company.
Last but not least, Chris ter Steege, Director of Digital
Integration and co-leader of brand development in the
region, took the stage. Chris zoomed in on how Philips has
gone beyond a lighting-brand, to become a brand that is
associated with health and well-being. Philips takes a far
more outside-in and collaborative, localized and grassroot
approach to developing the Philips’ brand. This drives
brand differentiation and brand preference in the region.
Philips’ general brand development is moving toward
promoting Philips as a leader in improving the quality of
life, health and well-being of individuals and communities
through meaningful innovation.
To support this re-branding initiative, Philips has
kicked-off a campaign called the “Plus Project”, which
Nigel D’Acre, Jan Benes, Chris ter Steege, Mieke de
Schepper, Anastasia Mulyono
has already gone live in Indonesia and Thailand. The
core of the campaign is connecting with individuals and
local communities to crowd-source ideas about how to
improve health and well-being through innovation. In
total over 1000 quality ideas for projects were obtained
and, if executed, these will make a strong impact on the
local community, increasing Philips’ brand association with
health and well-being.
Chris continued to highlight a number of key
innovations in this campaign. These included co-creation
of content with creative customers and social data
visualization to drive thought leadership. A key innovation
in the campaign was to connect not only to traditional
media but also to so-called social media influencers. Philips
held informal events with local bloggers and twitterers
to discuss the campaign. They exchanged ideas and this
ultimately led to a massive ‘buzz’ around the campaign in
social media space. For example, in Thailand, the Twitter
hash tag ‘#philipsplus’ was the number one trend for a few
hours.
When asked about the business impact of the
campaign, Chris answered, “So far, so good, all campaign
and channel KPI’s are being smashed. It’s been amazing
to see how people have reacted to our campaign, but the
proof is in the pudding. We are currently conducting the
post measurements on the impact on brand differentiation
and brand preference. This, together with the ideas that
were crowd-sourced as inputs to future innovation, will
ultimately define the true business value of the campaign.
We’re excited”. Chris finished up with the announcement
of the launch of the campaign in Singapore in July this year.
“Stay tuned, we hope you’ve been inspired, and we’d love
you to be involved”.
After this last presentation, the audience was invited on
a tour of the Philips Lighting Application Centre, which was
both entertaining and interesting. They showed the guests
how LEDs can even be integrated in to existing systems
of bulbs and tubes, with no re-wiring required. A sales
team, led by Dutch GM of Lighting for Singapore Mieke de
Schepper, was on stand-by to answer any questions during
the informal wine and cheese with drinks afterwards.
Thanks to Philips Lighting for this excellent event!

Business
Interview
with
Peter Kok
Managing Director and
Regional Market Manager for
Singapore and Malaysia for UBS
Text Richard Soemita
Photos Peter Kok and UBS
My name is Peter Kok. I am 54 years old and was born in a
small village in Groningen. I studied Business Administration
at Groningen University and started my career in banking
with the domestic business of AMRO Bank in 1983. I arrived
in Singapore in May 2007. This is the third time I have lived
here. My previous stints in Singapore were from 1990-1991
and 1995-1998. The first two times I lived in Singapore,
I worked for AMRO Bank Asia and ABN AMRO Private
Bank Asia. In between, we lived in the Netherlands and
in Switzerland. I am here with my wife Anneke. Our two
children study in the UK.
Why UBS?
If you want to play in the major league of Wealth
Management you have to join a big Swiss Bank. UBS is one
of the largest Wealth Managers in the world and it is one of
the few, which can offer integrated Wealth Management,
Asset Management and Investment Banking solutions.
Wealth Management is the core of its business, unlike many
other players where Wealth Management is a relatively
minor activity of a corporate or retail bank. This has a lot of
impact on the dedication towards this business from all the
stakeholders. UBS has a long history and was founded 150
years ago in 1862. We have had a presence in Asia for more
than 40 years, with representation in all major countries and
we employ over 8,000 staff.
What made you decide to come to Singapore?
Singapore is very much home to us and when I was
approached by a headhunter to move from Switzerland back
to Singapore, the decision was made within minutes. Wealth
creation in Asia is incredible and therefore Singapore is the
place to be at this point in time.
What is your role in the company?
I am one of the four regional managers in Singapore and I
am responsible for our business in Singapore and Malaysia.
In addition, I am responsible for the Financial Intermediary
Business in APAC. These are independent advisors or asset
managers who use our platform and product to serve their
clients.
What is the most significant difference between working in
Europe vs. Singapore?
For me, the major difference lies in the general atmosphere.
In Europe, it is much more subdued and focused on efficiency
and cost control, while in Singapore we are rather optimistic
about the future and expanding our business continuously.
We have aggressive hiring plans and are continuously looking
for top quality people. However, it is a challenge to find top
quality people with a proven track record, as the wealth
management business is still relatively young here. Another
major difference is the working hours. Our staff generally
works long hours and because of the nature of our business
a lot of private time is spent on entertaining and meeting our
clients in the evenings and the weekends.
What is the difference between being a manager in SG
vs. Europe?
When I arrived from Singapore to Zurich, where I was the
head of the private bank of ING, it struck me how similar the

Business
What is the best location / country you have lived so far?
We have only lived in three countries: the Netherlands,
Switzerland and Singapore. All three are good places to live
with very limited or no hardship. If I would have to rank the
countries, I would give Singapore the top rating, followed
by Switzerland and then the Netherlands.
mentalities of the Swiss Germans and the Singaporeans
are. There is deep-rooted respect for hierarchy and
as a result, the staff would not easily disagree with
management in meetings. You would hear their real
reactions to proposals in the corridors after the meeting,
where the staff would discuss these amongst themselves.
This sometimes makes it difficult to assess whether there
is real commitment to the decisions made. It is therefore
extremely important to have very good personal assistants
or business managers, who know what is really being said
and give you feedback. I am blessed with excellent people
around me, who are candid and willing to tell me if I need
to adjust my plans.
How do you compare the attitude of the workforce in SG
vs. your previous location?
Although it is always dangerous to generalize, I believe that
the staff in Singapore is more business focused, compared
to Switzerland. They have the drive to be successful and
are willing to sacrifice their private lives much more to
achieve their goals. In Wealth Management, we employ a
lot of women. The balancing act between family and work
is difficult. Thanks to grandparents and domestic helpers,
(female) members of staff have the opportunity to build a
career and at the same time raise a family. In Switzerland,
the support network is much more limited (or extremely
expensive) and therefore the employees are much more
focused on their work life balance.
Would you make SG your permanent home?
This is a topic of discussion in our family. It will very much
depend on where the children settle down. Personally, I
am very much inclined to retire here, but if the children
stay in Europe, Switzerland would be a viable alternative.
Although my wife and my families live in the Netherlands, I
am pretty sure we will not to go back there, as I do not like
the cold and miserable weather there. We will cross that
bridge when we come to it, but at the moment it looks like
Singapore for the foreseeable future.
How do you spend your weekends?
As I do a lot of entertaining, wining and dining, I prefer to
spend my time at home. I play some tennis and sometimes
I play golf and we meet our friends or entertain guests
from overseas.
About UBS
UBS draws on its 150-year heritage to serve private,
institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well
as retail clients in Switzerland. Its business strategy is
centred on its pre-eminent global wealth management
businesses and its universal bank in Switzerland.
Together with a client-focused Investment Bank and
a strong, well-diversified Global Asset Management
business, UBS will drive further growth and expand its
premier wealth management franchise.
UBS is present in all major financial centres
worldwide. It has offices in 57 countries, with about
35% of its employees working in the Americas, 36% in
Switzerland, 17% in the rest of Europe, the Middle East
and Africa and 12% in Asia Pacific. UBS employs about
65,000 people around the world. Its shares are listed
on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE).

Business
Sustainability & Business:
The Singapore Context
Text Petra Pronk, Footprint Consultancy
Passing Singapore’s beautifully lit waterfront, while driving
in your comfortably air-conditioned 4WD, is hardly going
to make you to think of this little red dot on the map
as a sustainability hub. Air-conditioned shopping malls,
abundant plastic bags, take-away food, glass buildings,
imported fruit and vegetables from all over the world,
convenience and consumerism everywhere; all make it
unlikely that Singapore is an international example of
energy saving and sustainable development. Even worse,
Singapore also lacks natural resources and relies almost
entirely on its neighbours for raw materials and water, as
well as for dealing with its high volume of waste. Looking
beyond this first impression, there are initiatives that
are slowly helping Singapore to climb the green ladder.
So what and where are these initiatives? Are they really
making an impact?
Red Dot
According to world indicator rankings and maps, Singapore
is often depicted as a little red dot in South East Asia.
Singapore’s red dot is very not so little and is instantly
recognizable on a map of energy statistics. Singapore ranks
in the top 20 of largest energy users and CO2 emissions per
capita. In the current climate, this is not a reputation that
the Singapore government and therefore Singaporeans are
very proud of. Singaporeans are well aware of this reputation
and will go to great lengths to prove the world wrong. With
a number one ranking on the most globally competitive and
world’s best business environment lists, Singaporeans and
their government are desperate to mark the little red dot on
the map of sustainable development as well.
produce energy. This includes energy from food and other
recycled materials. The challenge the government has set
itself is to achieve growth with fewer resources. Its plan
is to increase the use of renewable resources for energy
and water and to aim for a 35% improvement in energy
efficiency from 2005 by 2030. This will ultimately make
Singapore more competitive.
Targets, Targets, Targets
As in many areas, Singapore has set a long list of targets
to become more sustainable and more energy efficient.
To name just a few, they are aiming for a reduction of
domestic water usage to 140 litres per person/day by 2030,
to reduce levels of fine particles to 12 μg/m3 by 2020,
70% of all journeys to be made by public transport, recycle
30% of its food by 2012 and increase the recycle rate to
70%. In addition, the government plans to open up 900
ha of reservoirs and 100 km of waterways for recreational
activities by 2030 and to have 0.8ha of green space for
every 1000 people and increase greenery in high-rise
buildings to 0.5ha by 2030. With this list of targets comes
a long list of initiatives, including national initiatives on
energy management for large-scale users to BCA Green
mark schemes for new and old buildings. There are also
many local initiatives.
Dependency
Singapore is still more or less 100% reliant on its
neighbours for raw materials and water. The government
published the Sustainable Development Blueprint in
2009. It contains the strategies and initiatives they believe
are needed for Singapore to achieve both economic
growth and a good living environment over the next two
decades. A major part of the objectives is to become more
independent and use internal renewable resources to

Business
Coca Cola, recycling and the Singapore
heartlands
Coca Cola Singapore and Northwest CDC launched their
partnership to promote environmental awareness through
recycling, which is entitled Give It Back! Through this
initiative these parties, together with other agencies, plan
to organise a reverse vending machine in order to increase
awareness about recycling. In addition, more than 360 HDB
blocks in the Pasir-Ris Punggol GRC will carry information
about the importance of recycling, and the location of
recycling bins. This is a small step on the way to a recycling
rate of 70% by 2030.
Plastic Bags
Plastic bag production in Singapore has been singled out as
an environmental worry because of the amount of crude
oil used in their production. Last year, Singaporeans used
about three billion plastic bags, produced using roughly
37 million kilos of crude oil and 12 million kilos of natural
gas. Each year, more than one trillion plastic bags are used
around the world and less than 2 per cent are recycled.
The rest end up as litter or in landfills, where they can
take up to 1,000 years to decompose. In Singapore, plastic
bags are incinerated along with domestic waste at one of
four plants. One way to reduce plastic bag consumption
could be for the shops that dish them out to customers to
start charging. However, retailers and hawker-stall owners
say they will not charge until the Government makes this
mandatory, for fear of losing customers to rivals who
dispense bags for free.
Food
Singapore aims to recycle 30% of its food waste by 2012.
Currently, the rate stands at only about 9%. Eating out
is a popular activity among Singaporeans, but recycling
leftovers is not. In 2007, Singapore produced 558,900
tons of food waste, which could fill over 890 Olympic-size
swimming pools. This makes up about 10% of Singapore’s
total waste output. However, only 51,200 tons of food
waste was recycled for uses like animal feed or to generate
electricity. The rest was incinerated.
Local food and beverage company, Apex-Pal, which
operates restaurants such as Sakae Sushi, is planning to do
its part by starting to recycle food waste this year. It is the
first company to do so on its own, on new premises, and
will use its food waste to generate energy. It expects to
save at least S$300,000 annually with this measure.
In December last year, a pilot project was started with
five hawker centres recycling their food waste. They are the
Chinatown Complex Market, Bukit Timah Market and Food
Centre, Taman Jurong Market and Food Centre, Yuhua
Village Market and Food Centre and the Tekka Market.
They send waste to Singapore’s only food waste
recycling plant in the western part of Singapore, which
handles about 100 tons of waste a day. The food waste will
then be turned into electricity, which could power more
than 3,000 four-room HDB flats.
and declare their waste reduction and recycling targets. In
total, about 100 hotels and 74 malls will be affected by this
measure. Hotels and malls can generate more than 1,000
kilos of waste a day, while their recycling rate can be as
low as 10% or even less. The Grand Hyatt Singapore saved
$17,000 or 35% on haulage fees when it cut its waste from
124 tons a month to 70.
Cars
Starting July 2013, a new carbon emissions tax scheme
for vehicles will be introduced. From July next year, those
registering new cars with higher carbon emissions will
pay between S$5,000 and S$20,000 more. Rebates within
the same range apply to vehicles producing less carbon
dioxide from January next year. This comes with a new
Carbon Emissions-Based Vehicle Scheme (CEVS). Besides
new cars, it applies to all taxis and newly imported used
cars registered from 2013 onwards. Electric vehicles could
enjoy significant registration rebates under “Band A” of a
new Carbon Emissions Scheme. Vehicles under “Band A”
accounted for 20% of cars bought in 2011.
Balancing Act of Reputations
Its international reputation is all-important for this small
country. Recently, the UN was very critical and described
Singapore’s use of renewable resources as insignificant.
This was a blow to their reputation and created a stir
amongst the elite. Singapore is relying heavily of its
reputation to attract business. The overall business climate
is essential to make it attractive for businesses to settle
here. Balancing the lack of natural resources, reliance,
reputation and the development of a sustainable Singapore
is a huge challenge. Too big a step towards sustainability
will make Singapore less attractive, but too small a step
could damage Singapore’s reputation and make it less
competitive as a business hub. We will just have to wait
and see if the changes will be enough of a balancing act.
Waste and hotels
From 2014, it will be compulsory for hotels with more than
200 rooms and malls with net rental areas of more than
50,000 sq. ft. to report the amount of waste they generate

Business
Interview with Dennis van Noord
from Booking.com, online hotel
reservations
Text Richard Soemita Photos Dennis van Noord
I moved to Singapore in June 2010, together with my wife,
Suparna Kapoor, who is from India. It’s just the two of
us, but we are expecting a baby soon! Before we moved
to Singapore my wife and I lived together in Amsterdam
for nearly 2 years. As she is from India, Suparna had to
deal with the infamous integration program in Holland,
but she completed it successfully and, as a result, we can
also speak Dutch to each other these days. I met my wife
in Delhi, where we also got married. She was a personal
trainer in Delhi for 10 years, where her clients came from
Delhi’s high society. She has now started a career as a
certified hypnotherapist in Singapore.
Why this company, Booking.com?
Booking.com is (probably) the most successful Internet
company that ever hailed from Holland. I already started
working here in 2003 and I was once no. 22 on the payroll
list. We now employ 3,500 people spread over 60+ offices
worldwide. It has been an amazing experience to see how
a company like this has developed into the largest online
hotel reservation business in the world and I still enjoy
working for this company every day!
From day 1, I realized that I was surrounded by very
intelligent, skilful and especially ambitious people. You just
plug into the energy and find your own way of contributing
to the success that was built up in a relatively short period
of time. I have always been lucky enough to work closely
with our main directors for many years. They have taught
me so much that I will be thankful to them forever.
Most of all, the people from the early days still work at
Booking.com and we all share these same feelings about
the company.
What made you decide to come to SG?
The Asian market was developing into a more serious
business region for our company, so our CEO decided to
send me, together with quite a group of other more senior
people from HQ, out to Singapore (our regional head
office). I am here to develop our business-to-business
sales team and perform the same tricks I once did for the
European market, where I worked for over 7 years. I believe
that my strength lies in B-to-B sales (business development)
and building up a team of sales people. It was now time for
me to use these skills in a new market environment. I am
10

Business
very pleased with how we are doing so far and I am blessed
with the kind of people on my team who are developing
and performing even better than I hoped!
What is your role at Booking.com?
Here at Booking.com we only work with directly contracted
hotels (currently over 200,000 worldwide) to be sure we
build good relationships with the hotels and get their
lowest rates, highest availability and quality content for
our website. We translate this content into 41 languages
(in-house), so we can serve a very wide range of people in
their own language.
I am the Regional Manager for Strategic Partnerships
for Asia and, together with my team, we look out for
partners (websites and mobile platforms) through which
we can re-sell the Booking.com online hotel reservation
service. This is done via either direct linking with our
website or via more sophisticated (white labelled) product
integration solutions. This works by integrating our service
into our partner’s website, using an interface we develop
that is implemented directly on their website in their house
style. If you take the example of KLM or EasyJet, we power
the hotel products on their sites.
What is the biggest difference between working in the
previous location vs. SG?
The weather! It is strange to live in a country where there’s
no such thing as seasons! Generally speaking, Singapore
is a very comfortable place to live. I’m very happy having
made this choice and for my wife and I it’s the perfect
location, where east meets west in a multi-cultural society.
Work-wise, there’s perhaps not even that much of a
difference. Wherever Booking.com opens new offices, we
are able to develop the same work atmosphere as we have
in Amsterdam, which is very informal, open and flexible.
We manage to motivate our people, making them feel
comfortable working here, while being absolutely sure that
we are all very focused and professional in the execution of
our work. This is also why we became so successful across
the world. In the end it’s the people who work here who
achieved this!
I travel a lot for work throughout Asia, where China,
Japan, India, Thailand and Malaysia are the most attractive
markets for my team and I to deal with. For Booking.com
in general, every market is attractive and we are growing at
a very fast pace here in Asia, where we have managed to
build up a large database of contracted hotels. We supply
considerable amount of business to these hotels each day.
What is the difference being a Manager in SG vs. Europe?
The people! It is very interesting and exciting to work
with people from so many different countries with
different cultural backgrounds, which are so different from
western cultures. Also business-wise, you find out that
how to meet, greet, discuss, negotiate, close deals, build
relationships, etc. is quite different. In the end, as long as
you are open, honest and willing to make that extra effort
in terms of the service you offer them, but obviously also
having a commercially attractive product to offer, your
company will be appreciated in all these countries.
How do you compare the attitude of the workforce in SG
vs. Europe?
In Europe, people dare to share their thoughts with
you. That was an interesting learning curve for all of us
Europeans who came out here to build up the organization.
It took some time, but we managed to get our people to
be really involved and engaged in our company, where
they now share their ideas with us. We have managed to
create a very nice working environment for our people and
they do not only enjoy working at Booking.com, but they
especially enjoy the fact that their voices are being heard.
What is the best location / country you have lived in so
far?
I would still say Amsterdam. There’s no city in the world
that can compare to Amsterdam. However, I’m happy we
have left Holland as I needed something new in my life
and my wife and I wanted to experience more than just a
life in the lowlands. Singapore is a good starting point and
I expect that we will stay here for a couple of years. We
believe that there are plenty of great places to live in Asia
and let’s see what the future may hold for us.
Would you make SG your permanent home?
For now? Yes … For how long? I’m not sure … but for the
next few years I/we would love to stay here in Singapore.
How do you spend your weekends?
Eating and shopping! No, just kidding … Of course, you do
these things here as well, but we like “variety” in our lives.
To list a few things: going to the movies, theatre, concerts,
walks in the park, chilling by the beach, spa treatments,
meeting friends (we have quite a few out here) or just
spending a weekend in any holiday destination in the area.
There’s so much to choose from and with all the (budget)
airlines, it is very easy to go to places. There’s only one
thing that you need to find though … time! My work plays
an important part in my life and I am very dedicated and
devoted to my company.
About Booking.com
Booking.com B.V., part of Priceline.com (Nasdaq:
PCLN), owns and operates Booking.com, the leading
worldwide online hotel reservations agency by room
nights sold, attracting over 30 million unique visitors
each month via the Internet from both leisure and
business markets worldwide. Established in 1996,
Booking.com B.V. guarantees the best prices for any
type of property, ranging from small independent
hotels to a five star luxury through Booking.com. The
Booking.com website is available in 41 languages and
offers over 201,926 hotels in 164 countries. Booking.
com B.V. is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands,
and is supported internationally by more than 60
offices around the world. There are over 3,500 people
worldwide dedicated to serving Booking.com’s
customers and hotel partners.
11

Business
The 2 nd Annual Singapore
Yacht Show
Text Richard Soemita
Sometimes I get the feeling that the Dutch are conquering
the world even though we are such a small nation. Several
large projects have been built in Singapore with Dutch
expertise and knowledge. Last month, I was impressed
when I boarded the Feadship super yacht Helix, which is
yet again Dutch design and craftsmanship at its best.
The 2 nd annual Singapore Yacht Show was held at the
end of April at ONE°15 Marina Club, Sentosa Cove. This
popular show is the top platform in Asia for exhibiting
super yachts. The show is rapidly gaining momentum and
is renowned as the foremost yachting industry showcase
in the Asia Pacific region. Following the success of the
inaugural edition last April, the show has more than
doubled in size in every aspect, from the number of
super yachts, finely crafted boats and exhibitors, to luxury
lifestyle partners. The Singapore Yacht Show 2012 featured
some of the world’s largest and most luxurious power
and sailing super yachts. Some of the highlights included
Feadship’s brand new 45m motor yacht Helix, which
was making her debut in Southeast Asia; the 45m luxury
yacht Vantage from Palmer Johnson, and Sanlorenzo’s
stunning 35.5m super yacht Onyx. There was also strong
participation from leading yacht brokers such as Burgess,
Ocean Independence, Simpson Marine and Northrop
& Johnson. Other top exhibitors in the Dockside Village
included Sevenstar, Heesen, Gulf Craft, KOP Group, Leica
and Luxury Yachts.
“The presence of the biggest names in the yachting
industry is testament not only to Singapore’s but Asia’s
growing economic clout,” said Andy Treadwell, Managing
Director of the Singapore Yacht Show. “As the ranks of
billionaires and multi-millionaires in the region continue
to embrace the yachting lifestyle, we want them to savor
the best that the industry has to offer and we are confident
the show will go from strength to strength in the next few
years.”
The Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Teo Ser
Luck, showed support for the event and the industry by
joining guests on a tour of the yachts and other exhibits on
the opening day of the show.
Feadship’s latest F45 Helix
Dutch shipyard Feadship recently launched the stunning
and sophisticated Helix. Just shy of 45 meters LOA, this
yacht was designed by Feadship and Sinot Yacht Design and
shows an extraordinarily high level of finish combined with
the finest technologies.
Helix made her public debut at last year’s Monaco
Yacht Show, showing off many of her unique features.
These include a layout that places all staterooms on the
main deck, assuring gorgeous views for all guests from the
large windows that make up a recognizable element in her
hull design. Her exterior is based upon clean lines, sporty
and contemporary, yet sleek and highly elegant. Helix is not
about being flashy or in your face, but all the more about
visually pleasing the super yacht connoisseur. She stands
out by being her confident self.
With all guest staterooms located on the main deck, the
first logical result is that guests will not be using the lower
deck at all. This solves the problem of separating crew and
guest areas rather quickly, with the main deck pantry giving
access to the lower deck. With a total of five staterooms
plus a convertible private office, Helix facilitates a party of
up to twelve guests: 10 guests in 5 staterooms, plus two in
a convertible private office.
A second notably intelligent aspect of the vessel’s
design has to do with the classification of Helix as being
under 500 gross tonnage. This is the result of the upper
deck saloon being designed in such a way that this entire
area is classified as an outside space, mainly due to having
glass doors on three sides that can be fully opened.
Whilst visiting the Helix during the show, I had a chance
to speak to Dick van Lent, the Director of Feadship and ask
him a few questions.
Why is Feadship so successful?
The foundation of Feadship’s success can be attributed
to the fact that creating a Feadship is a truly wonderful
experience for our clients. Of course, we have an unrivalled
pedigree and a history that goes back to 1849. But,
Feadship owners tell us that the fun that they have in
12

Business
building a super yacht with us - along with the innate
sense of quality that all our yachts have in common - is the
defining factor in their choice to partnership with us. Quite
simply, each Feadship is totally unique and reflects our
commitment to setting new standards in terms of perfect
craftsmanship and superior technology.
What distinguishes Feadship from its competitors?
The slogan ‘There are yachts and there are Feadships’ has
been long established and with good reason. The quality
of a Feadship has been the benchmark for the global super
yacht industry for a very long time and few people dispute
that the combination of design, engineering, construction
and finishing that blend together in a Feadship is the best
that money can buy. What also sets us apart from our
competitors is that we only build genuinely customised
yachts that have a timeless elegance, which ensures that
any future resale value is upheld.
Why have the Dutch always been one of the best ship
builders in the world?
The Dutch have boats in their blood due to our
geographical location that has involved us in a centuries
long symbiotic relationship with the water. The
Netherlands is famous around the world for its engineering
and technology in relation to water management, and
our dedication to building yachts for pleasure purposes
dates back as far as the 16 th century. In fact, even the word
yacht stems from the Dutch word ‘jacht’. Today, the Dutch
super yacht industry leads the way as leading yards such as
Feadship cooperate with the world’s top marine equipment
suppliers. As our country is relatively small, it is very easy
to work together and the location at the hub of Europe also
makes the Netherlands an easily accessible and attractive
place to build a super yacht.
Now that Asia is booming do you think that the market
for owning a yacht will match that of Europe?
Feadship has been serving clients in the Far East for
decades and we are delighted to see that the market is
growing again. Because every Feadship is a bespoken super
yacht, it really does not matter where our clients come
from, as they are making all the decisions as to how their
super yacht will look. Naturally, we will be honest about
what works best based upon our experience, but ultimately
every Feadship is an expression of the personality of her
owner. That, of course, is a wonderful thing to translate
into an Asian perspective. Having been at both the Hainan
Rendezvous in China and at the Singapore Boat Show,
I am convinced that we are on the cusp of a new era in
Feadship’s history in this region.
Feadship
Feadship is the combination of two Dutch shipyards that
were separately established, but came together in 1949.
The De Vries and Van Lent families founded Feadship, which
stands for the First Export Association of Dutch Shipbuilders.
Feadship consistently sets new standards in the
construction of modern technologically advanced and
cutting-edge super yachts. Recent yachts designed
and launched by the famous yard show an interesting
departure from traditional yacht design. This reflects a
persistent desire within Feadship to lead the luxury motor
yacht industry with new ideas and innovations. Recent
notable additions to the Feadship fleet include M/Y Air and
M/Y Tango.
Over the years, the company has been responsible
for a fleet of more than 200 Feadship luxury yachts. This
large number is a testament both to Feadship’s experience
and the inherent reliability of its super yachts. With five
major large luxury yachts launched each year, Feadship
is acknowledged as global leader in the construction of
premium quality displacement motor yachts.
Northrop and Johnson Asia
During the show, I also met yet another Dutch
entrepreneur, Bart Kimman, who is a director of Northrop
and Johnson Asia, the largest super yacht brokerage in Asia,
as well as a director of Asia Yacht Services, a provider of
shore support to visiting and resident super yachts in Asia.
Bart brought the first super yacht on display in
Singapore, a Jongert 45m sailing yacht, displayed in One
Degree 15 in 2007.
Representing the best of the Dutch shipyards is still
a unique feature of Northrop and Johnson, but today its
portfolio has been expanded to include other international
brands that are a perfect match to the custom built Dutch
yachts. Northrop and Johnson represent the best quality
and brand value in their category and are backed up by a
dedicated service team.
We like to think Northrop and Johnson is a one-stopshop
for the serious buyer of a luxury sailing yacht or
powerboat. From consulting during the purchase process,
coaching and crewing the yacht, to all-important after sales
service, our team has a can-do attitude and will attend to
every detail to make the purchase of your luxury yacht the
experience and delight it should be. If necessary, Northrop
and Johnson will also assist you to sell or trade your yacht
as you upgrade to the very best luxury yachts the world has
to offer.
Located on the waterfront at two of Hong Kong’s
premier marinas, as well as in 9 other countries in
Asia (including Singapore), Northrop and Johnson, in
combination with Asia Yacht Services, offers a modern and
well equipped infrastructure to provide the wide range
of service facilities essential to maintain a luxury yacht in
pristine condition.
Their professional yachting know-how will assist you
when buying, servicing, commissioning, refitting, building
or selling a yacht. Hence their slogan: “Northrop and
Johnson, the experts in yachting since 1947”.
13

Business
Apps Reviewed – Touchnote
and Shoeboxed
Text Jonie Oostveen of Strategic Partnership
Touchnote
This app doesn’t help you to improve your productivity,
but it is really nice. It lets your family and friends know
how you are doing in Singapore. The app converts the
pictures that you take on your smartphone to actual,
“old fashioned” postcards! The way it works is extremely
simple. You add a photo in the app. This can be a picture
that you have already stored on your phone, or a new
one. The app allows you to do some basic picture editing
and you can include text, e.g. “t’is hier fantastisch”. You
can write a longer message on the back, like you would
on a real postcard. The last step is to add the recipient’s
address. This can easily be done when the app connects
to the phone’s address book or you can enter the address
manually. Downloading the app is free, but to send the
postcard you need to buy credits. 1 credit costs USD 1,49.
You can buy them per 1, 5 or 8 credits.
The app is available for iPhone, iPad, Android and you
can also use it from your PC at www.touchnote.com
Rating : *****
Costs : 1 credit USD 1,49
Platforms : iPhone, iPad, Android and website
URL : www.touchnote.com
Shoeboxed
With all the travelling, business lunches, taxis and other
expenses, filling out your monthly expenses report can
become a time consuming task. I always tend to postpone
this cumbersome activity, resulting in an ever-increasing
pile of receipts, making the task even more dreadful.
Shoeboxed (named after the old fashioned way of
collecting your receipts in a shoebox) helps you reduce
the time spent on your expense report. Instead of saving
your receipts, you take a picture of them. Shoebox then
“automagically” digitalizes it and makes it available in an
overview to your online account. It can then be exported
to dozens of formats such as Excel, PDF, or exported to
accounting, financial or CRM tools like SalesForce. Besides
receipts, you can also take a picture of business cards and
Shoeboxed will allow you to synchronize them to your
Outlook address book. The good thing about Shoeboxed is
that all the scanned receipts and business cards undergo a
human check to make sure that the data is accurate. The
app is available for iPhone, Android and Blackberry and is
free, including 5 credits, which means that you can send in
5 receipts or business cards. You can buy 5 more credits for
USD 4.99 or use the premium version additionally.
Free 5 credits per month
Costs : Premium: USD 9.99, 29.95 or 49.95
Platforms : Android, iPhone, BB
exclusive designer tailors
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The custom tailor is an artist in the
truest sense. Using a gentleman’s
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the tailor fashions a garment that
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Whether you begin with a custom
dress shirt or mens’ suit, the experience promises to be among
the most rewarding you will encounter. A custom shirt shop such
as TJ Tailor is an excellent place to embark on your journey.
TJ Custom Tailors
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14

Extra
Drink up!
Text Meera Nair Personal Lifestyle & Health Coach
Feeling tired, lethargic, experiencing headaches, or low in
energy during your day at the office? Do you know what
could be the cause? It is not always a lack of sleep, working
long hours or stress. Ask yourself this question- am I
drinking enough water at the office? Even the slightest form
of dehydration can cause our performance levels to drop, as
well as leaving us feeling tired, having a headache & being
low in energy.
You may think you are drinking enough, but is that really
the case? Are you drinking at least 2 liters of water a day?
You may think you are, but are you truly? Here are the top 3
reasons why we don’t drink enough water during the day (at
the office and work).
Reason 1 - “It is so cold in the office that I don’t feel thirsty”.
Reason 2 - “I’ll be running to the bathroom every hour and
can’t do that in the middle of a discussion or an important
meeting with a client!”
Reason 3 - “I drink coffee, tea, colas, so that takes care of
the Water thing”
Let’s look at each of these reasons in detail.
1. You may not feel like drinking lots of water in an airconditioned
environment. We lose water through
perspiration in both cold and warm environments.
The body uses water to help regulate your body
temperature. In a warm environment, we feel thirsty
faster and we drink water without any effort. However
in a cold (and dry) environment, our body is constantly
trying to keep the body temperature up and our kidneys
must work overtime. If we do not replenish what we lose
(in whatever way) we become dehydrated.
2. Running to the bathroom every hour is not as bad as you
think it is. In fact, in a sedentary work environment it is
a good thing as you are forced to get out of your chair
and get your body in motion. Your concentration level
tends to drop every 40-50 minutes and a a trip to the
bathroom is a wonderful way to break for a stretch. You
will get back to your seat feeling more energized.
3. Coffee and Tea are diuretics. These beverages dehydrate
your body instead of hydrating it. Also, one tall glass of
soda contains 10-12 teaspoons of sugar. These unused
sugars are converted to fat and stored in the body,
mainly around the tummy for men and around the hips
and thighs for women.
So how much water a day is enough? A healthy person
can consume a rough estimate of 1 liter per 25kg of body
weight. If you weigh around 75 kg, you can easily drink
anything from 2.5 to 3 liters. (If you have any health issues
related to drinking more water, please consult your doctor).
Initially, when you start the habit of drinking at least 2l
of water a day, you may be running to the toilet more
frequently, but after a while the bladder will be able to take
charge and it will adjust. The frequency of bathroom breaks
will go down. Water also increases your metabolism and, as
such, many people also lose weight by simply drinking more
water. In addition, added effects of drinking more water are
better skin and a natural glow, reducing fats in the skin and
automatic detoxification. You will get all that just from a few
glasses of H 2 O (water).
So drink up! The more you drink, the better. Make it a
habit. Put a 1 or 1.5l bottle on your desk and finish it once
in the morning and once in the afternoon. You will feel and
see the difference within days. If you need to know more or
have a question on the topic above please call or email me.
Stay Fit, Stay Healthy
Medical Advice Disclaimer
The information included in this article is for educational
purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute
for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult
his or her healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness
of the information for their own situation or if they have any
questions regarding a medical condition or treatment plan.
Reading the information in this magazine does not create a
physician-patient relationship.
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15

Bizz News
Senate tears up big city public transport tender plan
Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague may be able to keep their public transport services in house because the senate
has voted against legislation to force through privatisation. The 10 senators representing the anti-Islam PVV voted with the
opposition to halt the legislation which requires the big three cities to allow private firms to compete to supply tram, bus
and metro services. The three cities have been fighting the proposal since it was first mooted in 2000. Although most local
and regional transport services are now contracted out, parliament supported the cities’ refusal to comply, saying their
services were too complex. Transport minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen continued to press ahead with the plans, saying
the move would improve efficiency and cut costs by a total €120m. Now the cabinet has fallen and the PVV is no longer part
of the governing alliance, PVV senators were free to vote against the plan. It is unclear whether the three cities will now halt
the tender process. Bus companies in the three cities went on strike several times in protest at the plans.
Building firm
bankruptcies soar
The number of building companies going
bankrupt soared by 37% in the first four
months of this year. In April, 180 building
firms went bust, a 78% rise compared
with a year ago, according to website
Faillissementsdossier.nl. The building
sector has come under pressure from the
housing crisis, as well as the economic
problems. In total, 4,068 companies went
bankrupt in the first four months of the
year – up 20% on a year ago.
More evidence
emerges of problems
with medical bills
Health insurers detected fraudulent
and incorrect insurance claims totalling
€175m last year and a further €800mworth
of claims were rejected. Medical
specialists, mental health institutions and
other healthcare providers accounted
for 75% of the fraudulent claims. In
many cases, bills had been submitted
for treatments that cannot be carried
out together. Health insurers have for
years been paying bills for alternative
therapies such as hypnotherapy and
psychosynthesis without knowing what
they were paying for.
Tough first quarter for ING as net profit
shrinks by almost 50%
Net profit earned by financial services group ING went down by almost
half to €680m in the first three months of this year. ‘The operating
environment remained challenging in the first quarter, as the European
sovereign debt crisis persisted, increasing volatility on financial markets,’
chief executive Jan Hommen said in a statement. Q1 earnings were hit by
the decision to set aside several hundred million euros to cover a hopedfor
out-of-court settlement with the US authorities relating to transactions
carried out by ING Commercial Banking in 2007. ING also said it is in talks
with the Dutch government and will soon begin negotiations with Brussels
about the requirement that ING sell its insurance activities.
Court
Earlier this year, the European Court of Justice said the European
Commission was wrong in imposing extra conditions on the bank when
it repaid some of the €10bn loan early. Nevertheless, Hommen said
the bank ‘remains committed to the decision to separate the banking
and insurance operations, and is making good progress in preparing
our insurance and investment management businesses for stand-alone
futures in Europe and the US.’ ING does not yet know when it will repay
the remaining €3bn it owes the government out of the total €10bn bailout
it received during the financial crisis.
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16
bb&l_2010_ad_194x61.indd 2
12/9/09 4:13:43 PM

Bizz News
Mexico’s Movil bids to buy 28% of Dutch telecoms firm KPN
Mexican company America Movil has made an offer of €8 a share to take over a 28% stake in former Dutch state telecoms
monopoly KPN. America Movil, owned by the world’s richest man Carlos Slim, already owns 4.8% of the Dutch firm and
sees the bigger stake as a way of breaking into the European market, according to media reports. Under Dutch merger and
acquisition rules, shareholders with a stake of more than 30% in a Dutch firm are required to make a formal takeover offer.
Premium
The €8 a share represents a premium of more than 23% on KPN’s closing price in Amsterdam on May 7. KPN booked sales of
€13bn in 2011 and has operations in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France and Spain. KPN said in April it will speed up
its ongoing reorganisation after first quarter net profit and turnover both declined and would now shed the planned 4,000 to
5,000 jobs by next year, rather than 2015.
European position
The offer will give the Mexican firm a significant stake in a company ‘with a relevant position in European markets’, news
agency Dow Jones quoted America Movil as saying. America Movil is the biggest provider of wireless telephony in Latin
America and had 246 million subscribers by the end of March.
Long crisis could cost Dutch local
councils billions of euros
A long-lasting economic crisis could cost the Netherlands’
major cities billions of euros, according to an analysis of the
financial situation facing Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Eindhoven
and The Hague by research group SEO. The analysis, involving
various crisis situations, was requested by the city authorities.
‘Amsterdam would be very sensitive to a property crisis but in
Rotterdam, a socio-economic crisis will have the most serious
consquences,’ said SEO director Jules Theeuwes.
Financial crisis
The organisation says a new financial crisis will hit Rotterdam
the hardest. The port city will be faced with a budget shortfall
of up to €90.5m within five years. Amsterdam will have to find
€82.5m. But The Hague will be less affected, with a shortfall of
€32.5m while Eindhoven will escape relatively unscathed with
a €3.5m spending gap. If the situation worsens and becomes a
full blown socio-economic crisis with soaring unemployment,
Rotterdam will have to find an extra €252m to keep its budget
intact, while Amsterdam will face a €230m spending shortfall.
Property
A collapse in housing prices and property development will
cost Amsterdam €413m but in Rotterdam, the damage would
be limited to €97m. ‘It is good to know what position we are
in so we can make preparations,’ said Stef Depla, of Eindhoven
city council.
Still a long way to go before
new budget pact is finalised
The five parties which agreed emergency austerity
measures to reduce the Netherlands budget deficit
to eurozone limits are still a long way from finalising
the details. The five parties - the coalition cabinet of
VVD and CDA plus GroenLinks, D66 and ChristenUnie
- are due to hold talks with finance minister Jan Kees
de Jager. In particular, there are wide differences
on how to achieve the planned €1.6bn in savings
on healthcare spending. GroenLinks, for example,
wants to tackle the high salaries earned by medical
specialists while ChristenUnie wants to remove
ivf and egg donation treatment from the basic
insurance package.
Extra spending
The parties are also divided over how to spend the
extra €200m set aside for spending on nature. It will
be weeks before the agreement has been finalised.
‘Every party has its priorities,’ said GroenLinks MP
Bruno Braakhuis. The agreement was reached two
days after the collapse of the alliance with the
anti-Islam PVV. Last week, the macro-economic
forecasting CPB said the financial impact of the new
spending plans is impossible to calculate because
the measures are too vague. The agreement includes
savings and reforms totalling €12bn.
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17

DutchCham News
DutchCham Upcoming events
12 June 2012
DutchNet, Business Referral Breakfast
Join DutchNet, a
monthly Business
Referral Networking
Breakfast organized by
the Dutch Chamber of
Commerce (S).
Keynote speaker:
Stephen Briones,
Country Manager
Commercial Banking
Thailand for ING
“The challenges of
doing business in Thailand” is the topic for this event.
Stephen is enthusiastic to share with you his
experience in doing business in Thailand. “In May, there
will be some political issues arising which I think would
be of interest to members of the Dutch Chamber. Several
powerful political supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra who
were banned after the 2006 coup will be eligible to reenter
politics on May 30”, says Stephen.
Stephen Briones is Country Manager of Thailand with
responsibility for all of ING’s corporate and investment
banking activities in the country. Prior to re-joining ING,
Stephen was responsible for a large number of notable
acquisitions and financings while at Jardine Fleming
in Bangkok and also with ING Barings from 1995 to
1999. Stephen began his investment banking career in
New York with Chase Manhattan and GE Capital before
moving to Bangkok with Citibank in the early 1990s.
Each participant will meet 19 other valuable decision
makers and will be invited to give a 60 second elevator
pitch/ business presentation. We encourage members to
pass referrals that actually turn into business, all while
drinking your morning coffee and still in time for your
daily routine.
DutchCham supports you in creating long term
valuable business contacts. Don’t miss out on this unique
business development opportunity.
Opportunity for Dutch
ingenuity: New Generation
Container Port Challenge unveiled
Performance, productivity, sustainability, innovation and
creativity – achieve these targets in order to win the Next
Generation Container Port (NGCP) Challenge’s top prize of
USD 1 million, jointly organized by the Maritime and Port
Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the Singapore Maritime
Institute (SMI).
The NGCP Challenge seeks to identify ideas that will
achieve a quantum leap in port performance, productivity
and sustainability for a new generation of container port
that is set 10 years in the future.
Participants are challenged to think beyond existing
conventions and submit radical new proposals to plan,
design and operate a future container port confined to
a land area of 2.5 square kilometers. Other operating
specifications include a handling capacity of at least 20
million twenty-foot containers, 24/7 operations and a 90
per cent berth on arrival for ships. Ideas will also be judged
on efficiency, productivity, and environmental and financial
sustainability criteria.
The Challenge is open to all interested individuals,
professionals, companies, tertiary institutions and research
institutes of any nationality. Eligibility is not limited to
those in the maritime sector to encourage cross-sharing
and adoption of ideas from other domains. Participation
via consortiums or teams is preferred but not required.
Registration for the international competition is
open till 31 July 2012. Participants will have to submit
their proposals by 31 December 2012. Submissions
will be evaluated by an international panel, comprising
representatives from the Singapore government and
the maritime industry. The winning proposal will be
announced at the next Singapore Maritime Week (SMW),
which will take place from 7 to 12 April 2013. In addition
to the top prize, MPA and SMI will also set aside S$5
million in R&D grant to develop promising proposals
and concepts. For more details on the NGCP Challenge
statement and registration, visit www.dutchcham.sg
For more information on the events listed above and others please visit: www.dutchcham.sg
PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY:
Dutch Chamber of Commerce Singapore - 1 Raffles Boulevard - #05-517 Suntec City - Singapore 039593 - T +65 6884 5084 - E info@dutchcham.sg
18

Know your tax
GAINS NO LONGER TAXABLE!
Text Pieter L. de Ridder and Eliënne de Vries, Loyens & Loeff, Singapore
The Budget
Singapore’s annual Budget includes, amongst other
proposals, new or amended tax legislation. This can relate
to all kinds of taxes, such as personal income tax, corporate
income tax, and goods and services tax (GST). The Budget
2012 was announced on 17 February 2012. In general, this
year’s Budget does not include very innovative proposals
but rather aims at Singapore’s long-term challenges and at
improving the future perspective for its people.
One interesting proposal for the international business
community relates to the taxation of gains from equity
investments by companies that are located in Singapore
(Singapore incorporated companies or foreign incorporated
companies that have been ‘relocated’ to Singapore). The
proposal includes widening the scope for exemption of
investment income, by implementing a ‘safe harbour’ rule
for exemption of such gains, and therefore provides greater
certainty and stability for inter alia regional headquarters
and investment holding companies.
Exempt investment income
Various countries, including the Netherlands, exempt
income from investments (i.e. dividends and capital gains)
from income tax under a so-called participation exemption
regime. Countries apply different (and sometimes
comparable) conditions for this tax exemption. The
Netherlands exempts both dividends and capital gains;
some other countries exempt only dividends.
As of 1 June 2003, investment income in the form
of foreign dividends is exempt from income tax in
Singapore under an exemption scheme (provided that a
few conditions are fulfilled). Capital gains from the sale
of shares are in principle always tax exempt in Singapore
(irrespective of this scheme). However, when share
disposal gains qualify as gains from a trade or business
instead of as ‘capital in nature’, they are normally taxable
as business income. There are no fixed rules for the
distinction between what is ‘capital in nature’ and what
is not; facts and circumstances of each individual case
have to be interpreted for this qualification. Due to the
significant difference in tax treatment (i.e. tax-exempt
vs. taxable at 17% for corporations and up to 20% for
individuals), this qualification of gains has since long been
subject of various court cases and discussions with the
Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS).
More certainty
In the latest Budget, implementation of a ‘safe harbour’
rule has been suggested in this respect. Conditions have
been proposed to apply as of 1 June 2012, which, once
fulfilled, would automatically make that gain qualify as a
capital gain. These new rules should accordingly exempt
all gains from share disposals realised as of 1 June 2012, if
they satisfy the following two conditions:
(i) The selling company holds a minimum shareholding of
20% in the company whose shares are being disposed
of; and
(ii) The selling company maintains that minimum 20%
shareholding for at least 24 months directly preceding
the disposal.
It is anticipated (footnote 1 ) that if these conditions are
not fulfilled, taxability of the gain should continue to be
determined based on the facts and circumstances of each
individual case. However, companies that do meet these
conditions will, on gains realised after 1 June 2012, no
longer run the risk of being challenged by the IRAS on the
nature of such gain, thus the risk of a 17% tax liability will
then be omitted.
This is good news for Singapore investment holding
companies, regional headquarters that hold their regional
group companies and many more. We therefore hope that
when further guidance on these rules is published (see
footnote 1 ), this will not contain any additional conditions
that must be fulfilled before this ‘safe harbour’ rule bears
its fruits.
1
The IRAS will release further details closer to the date of 1 June 2012.
Wij begrijpen wat u zoekt
Het Nederlandse makelaarskantoor in Singapore
Hester Calkhoven +65.9011.8055
www.executive-homes-consultants.com
19

Singapore
Things you should know when living in Singapore (part 3)
Communication without losing face
TEXT Francine Linssen
Singapore is often called ‘Asia for beginners’ as it seems so
westernised at first glance. There are – however – many
customs, habits and superstitions that may influence your
business relations with the locals. The third part of this
series focuses on communication.
Intro
Communication in Singapore (and other parts of Asia)
is different from communication in The Netherlands in
various ways:
- Losing and gaining face (and –thus- respect) play an
important role;
- Building a relationship comes before doing business;
- Communication and especially criticism are more
indirect;
- Customs and habits are different (small things that
matter).
This article aims at helping (new) ADB members to get
the most out of their (business) contacts.
The concept of (losing and gaining) ‘face’ is important
to understand if one aims at developing meaningful
(business) relations in Singapore and all over Asia. In short,
it means respect for others and for you. Never do anything
that will make an Asian feel disrespected and ashamed.
When it is unavoidable to correct someone, do so privately,
discreetly and courteously. Take the blame yourself if it
concerns business partners or clients, e.g. “I’m sorry, I
must have explained it poorly. I appreciate your excellent
answer, but I should have included more information
in my request.” This approach allows the other person
to change his or her answer while maintaining dignity.
Never embarrass yourself, your business partner, client
or employee and especially not in public. If you become
emotional you lose face, but if you manage to maintain
harmony you will gain respect and gain ‘face’.
Relationships come first
In all parts of Asia, one needs to build a relationship
before trying to negotiate a business deal. For the Chinese,
networking (guanxi) is very important. This takes time. In
Holland either one can come first.
Business Meeting Preparation
Initiative
A request for a meeting may need to be followed up with
a letter explaining the agenda. Ensure that the person you
will be meeting with has decision-making authority.
Dress suitably
Avoid an unintentional insult. Dress in a business suit for
all meetings and conferences. Be aware of the climate
and make sure that your suit is a light one. Ask about
appropriate attire for social events. Jeans might not be
considered acceptable even if the dress code is casual.
Take off your shoes
In Singapore, as in other Asian countries, you will be
expected to remove your shoes before entering certain
buildings, restaurants or rooms. Buy new socks before your
meetings and always carry an extra pair with you.
Be punctual
Always be on time for your appointments and meetings to
show your respect. As the pace of business is different in
Asia, always plan lots of time for meetings. Expect delays,
but do not be the cause of them.
Buy the right gifts
Do your research beforehand to determine what kind
of gift, if any, is appropriate. Never give sets of four or
anything with the number four in or on it. As explained
in last edition’s article, the number four is considered
unlucky since 4 is homophone with the word for death or
suffering. Boxes of luxurious chocolates will do on most
occasions.
Shake hands
Shaking hands is a Western custom that is quite common
when doing business in Asia. If someone extends his or her
hand, shake it immediately, but not too firmly and not too
long. Remember that Muslim women will not shake hands
with men.
Business cards
Use two hands when offering your business card to a
customer or partner, and do the same when receiving
theirs. Take a moment or two to examine the card and then
place it on the table in front of you or in a business card
holder. Do not put it in your back pocket and never write
on a business card.
Business Meeting Communication
How to address relations?
Never assume that you can use the informality of
addressing people on a first-name basis until you are
invited to do so. Instead, stick with the more formal title
of “Mr” or “Mrs”. Chinese surnames are the first in what
is typically a three-name series. If in doubt, ask. Resist any
temptation to shorten someone’s name.
Say it in Singlish
Try to speak more slowly and distinctly but not so slow or
distinct as to offend. Keep in mind that many Singaporeans
have been educated in the US and UK and the standard
of English in Singapore can be very high. Avoid buzzwords
and explain concepts thoroughly. Remember that your
counterpart might have trouble understanding English with
a Dutch accent, as tone of voice plays an important role in
the Chinese languages.
20

Singapore
If there is any question about the comprehension of
English by the people you are meeting, always use your
own translator or interpreter. Do not rely on the other
organisations translator or interpreter. Also, meet with
your interpreter prior to the meeting and make sure he or
she understands you and your company.
Singaporeans tend to use lots of abbreviations. It is
useful to know a few. A funny example:
“I was driving on the PIE near WDL to a D&D in AMK,
organized by the NUS, the EDB and the MOM. LKY was
there and talked about the developments in the COE, the
MRT and ERP. Later on, I saw many NMPs and SPGs on the
dance floor. It was GR8.”
Key:
AMK - Ang Mo Kio
AYE - Ayer Rajah Expressway
BKE - Bukit Timah Expressway
BMT - Basic Military Training
COE - Certificate of Entitlement (for cars)
CTE - Central Expressway
D & D - Dinner & Dance, a function usually
organised annually by companies
ECP - East Coast Parkway
EDB - Economic Development Board
ERP - Electronic Road Pricing
KJE - Kranji Expressway
LKY - Lee Kuan Yew
LTA - Land Transport Authority
MOM - Ministry of Manpower (Singapore)
MRT - Mass Rapid Transit
NMP - Nominated Member of Parliament
NMS - National Museum of Singapore
NP - Ngee Ann Polytechnic
NUS - National University of Singapore
PIE - Pan Island Expressway
PROGRESS - Providing Opportunities through Growth,
Remaking Singapore for Success
SPG - (slang) sarong party girl
WDL - Woodlands, Singapore
Non-verbal communication
Less gestures
Never talk with your hands in your pockets. Try to avoid
pointing. If in doubt, avoid gestures entirely. And never
pass things using your left hand, as it is considered unclean
in many cultures and also in Singapore. Many also consider
feet offensive, so watch the position of them when crossing
your legs. Ensure that your foot is not pointing at someone.
Dining and drinking
It is considered an honor to be given the fish head at a
meal. To refuse it would offend your host. Be gracious,
accept the tribute and have a taste. When the focus is no
longer on you, it will be taken away. Always compliment
the host on his choice of restaurant. Also, never assume
that your wife or girlfriend is included in a dinner invitation.
Never order an alcoholic drink at lunch unless everyone
else does. Take your lead from your host. Muslims do not
drink and, in certain countries, liquor has no place in the
business day. Afterhours are a different story.
Unless you have serious food allergies, try the
local cuisine. Ask your host for recommendations and
descriptions. Never cross your chopsticks or leave them
sticking out of your rice bowl. Be aware that there may be
some form of blessing before and after the meal, so do not
start eating until you’re sure it’s permissible to do so.
Compliments
If an Asian person gives you a compliment, be polite and
deny it. Modesty is considered a blessing in Asia even more
so than in other regions.
Apologise when it’s expected
If there is any possibility that you have offended someone,
apologise immediately. Not doing so will harm your
career far more than the apology will hurt your ego. It is
important to remember that your sense of humor may not
go over well cross-culturally. Leave your jokes at home so
you won’t have to apologize later for causing offense.
Have tact and diplomacy
Always be aware of other people’s feelings, regardless
of their situation, country or culture. Being honest does
not mean being tactless. Think before you speak to avoid
creating awkward situations. Never criticize and never
discuss divorce, death, religion or politics.
Sources / more information on:
– www.business-in-asia.com/tips.htm
– http://www.askmen.com/
– www.cyborlink.com
– www.executiveplanet.com
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Singapore_abbreviations
21

Not to miss
comedy festival
10-14 July
Stuffing one of the world’s largest comedy festivals into one show is not easy,
but the Melbourne international comedy festival has done just that with
roadshow 2012. Offering a selection of Australian, international and special guest
comedians.
More Information www.sistic.com.sg
Annie
10 July - 5 August
From its broadway beginnings the classic film musical, this heartwarming rags-toriches
story of plucky young Annie’s adventures still attracts many. A star cast of
over 40 performers from around the globe will put on one of the best loved family
musicals of all time.
More Information www.sistic.com.sg
Lord of the flies
25-28 July
Powerful, devastating and primal, this stage adaption by Nigel Williams of Nobel
prize winner William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, is an uncompromising study of
the darkest corners of human nature, in what will be a confronting experience for
the audience.
More Information www.sistic.com.sg
Para-Human
26-28 July
Para-human celebrates rare artistic collaboration by Cambodians, Indonesians and
Singaporeans. In this exciting new work of contemporary dance the relationships
and distinctions between humans and animals is expressed.
More Information www.sistic.com.sg
22

column
Questions
by Richard Soemita
After nearly 5 years in Singapore, I sometimes still do not
understand some of the nuances of Singlish. It’s not the
accent or wording that I have a problem with, but it’s the
underlying thoughts of the Singaporeans that confuses
me, e.g. there is more behind the taxi uncle asking you
where you work than meets the eye. In the beginning,
I was always skeptical when uncle threw at least a 100
questions at me between the MRT station and my condo,
even though it is only a 4 minute trip. They were questions
like: are you married?, how much you pay for your condo?,
how old are you?, how come you don’t have a girlfriend?,
and the seemingly more innocent question: where do you
work? I always answered the latter by explaining I work
for a local firm, where I earn a crappy local salary, i.e. I am
underpaid for a foreign top executive. Once I said that I
was a low paid undergrad working for the POSB bank in
Shenton Way. Uncle said, ‘nooo, cannot. That is the HQ
for DBS Bank’. I explained that the POSB and DBS have
an exchange program whereby I had to be based in the
DBS building. He then corrected me again saying that is
impossible since he used to be one of the top managers at
the DBS bank so he should know! So from now on I ensure
that I am looking at my IPad for answers when uncle
interrogates me during the taxi ride.
Another question I never understood is asked whenever
you pay with your credit card. Why do they always ask
you which credit card it is if the logo and name are
clearly stated on the card? However, my all time favorite
question is when situations such as the following occur. For
example, you buy a cell phone and at home it appears that
something is wrong with the battery. So you go back the
next day and show this to the sales rep, explaining what
the issue is. He takes the phone apart, scratches his head,
assembles it again and then turns it on. The phone still isn’t
working and he stares at me saying: ‘so how?!’ The first
time I heard this I wasn’t sure whether I was getting the
blame for the problem or whether it meant to go to hell
and fix it myself.
By far the most irritating question is usually asked when
you are at a restaurant. The waiter never fails to ask this
question while taking your order! You are verbally deciding
between the sea bass or lobster, clearly demonstrating
that you are interested in fish this evening. When you
finally place your order the waiter then suddenly blurts
out: ‘sir, why don’t you take the roast lamb instead?’ I don’t
remember asking for his advice or his opinion. Instead he
should be saying “excellent choice, sir!”
Some Singapore questions are so totally unrelated.
Today, I discovered this organic shop and bought some
oatmeal. The friendly shop assistant came to me and gave
advice about the different types of oatmeal. As soon as
I had made my choice, he then asked if I wanted to buy
some kitchen equipment. When I looked at the shelf I
could see toasters, coffee machines and fruit juicers. What
was the relation between these and my oatmeal?
It will probably take me another 5 years to get to the
next level of understanding Singlish. I suppose we should
just be happy that the Apollo 13 crew members were not
Singaporeans. If they had been reporting a major problem
back to Ground Control, they would surely have been
misunderstood with the Singlish version, ‘Houston, so how?!’
23

Embassy News
Stemmen vanuit het buitenland
voor de Tweede Kamerverkiezingen
op 12 september 2012
Wie mag er stemmen?
Aan de Tweede Kamerverkiezingen mag iedereen meedoen
die op de dag van de verkiezing 18 jaar of ouder is én de
Nederlandse nationaliteit bezit.
Stap een: Eerst registreren
Om vanuit het buitenland te stemmen moet u
zich eerst registreren in Den Haag
Als u kiezer bent en buiten Nederland woont (en
uitgeschreven bent uit de GBA), moet u zich eerst laten
registreren bij de gemeente Den Haag om deel te kunnen
nemen aan de Tweede Kamerverkiezingen op 12 september
2012. Ook als u zich al eens geregistreerd heeft voor eerdere
verkiezingen is dit een verplichting.
Vul het registratieformulier in dat beschikbaar is via de
websitewww.denhaag.nl/verkiezingen. Op deze site staat
ook uitgebreide informatie over de registratieprocedure.
U kunt dit registratieformulier online invullen. Vervolgens
moet u het formulier afdrukken, ondertekenen en samen
met het bewijs van Nederlanderschap opsturen.
Als u geen internetverbinding heeft, kunt u een
registratieformulier op ambassade of consulaten(-generaal)
afhalen.
Wat moet u doen om te registreren als kiezer
buiten Nederland?
Een registratieformulier (beschikbaar via www.denhaag.
nl/verkiezingen) invullen en ondertekenen.
Een bewijs van het bezit van het Nederlanderschap
bijvoegen; dat wil zeggen een kopie van een geldig
Nederlands paspoort of een verklaring van een Nederlandse
ambassade. Het legitimatiebewijs moet minimaal geldig zijn
tot en met 31 juli 2012 en de verklaring van de ambassade
over het bezit van het Nederlanderschap mag niet ouder zijn
dan 3 jaar.
Het registratieformulier met bewijs van
Nederlanderschap moet vóór 1 augustus 2012
bij de gemeente Den Haag ontvangen zijn.
U kunt op de volgende drie manieren het ingevulde
en ondertekende formulier mét het bewijs van
Nederlanderschap naar de gemeente Den Haag sturen:
1) Per e-mail:
Het ingevulde en ondertekende formulier met het bewijs
van Nederlanderschap scannen en per e-mail sturen naar de
gemeente Den Haag:kbn.verkiezingen@denhaag.nl
2) Per post:
Het ingevulde en ondertekende formulier met een goed
leesbare kopie van het bewijs van Nederlanderschap sturen
naar:
Bureau Verkiezingen (KBN)
Postbus 12620
2500 DL Den Haag
Nederland
3) Via ambassade/ consulaat-generaal:
Het ingevulde en ondertekende formulier met een goed
leesbare kopie van het bewijs van Nederlanderschap sturen
naar de ambassade of het consulaat-generaal in het land
waar u woont of een buurland. Het adres kunt u bij hen
opvragen (via de site, mailen, bellen of per brief).
Ook formulieren die uiterlijk op 1 augustus 2012 op een
ambassade of consulaat-generaal zijn ontvangen, zijn tijdig
ingediend.
24

Embassy news
Stap twee: stemmen
Nadat uw registratie in de gemeente Den Haag is
ingeschreven, ontvangt u een briefstembiljet:
Het briefstembiljet kunt u op uw eigen huisadres ontvangen
óf via de ambassade als u dat heeft aangegeven onder punt
3 (Postadres) op het registratie¬formulier.
Heeft u aangegeven dat u het briefstembiljet via de
Nederlandse ambassade te Singapore wilt ontvangen dan
moet u het volgende postadres opgeven.
Adres
Postcode
Plaats
Land
Postbus 12200 (509 Singapore)
2500 DD
Den Haag
Nederland
Vervolgens kunt u het briefstembiljet persoonlijk
afhalen of op eigen verantwoordelijk¬heid laten toesturen.
Toesturen kan alleen als uw postadres bekend is.
Stem uitbrengen, met een rood potlood
Alléén die briefstembiljetten die met een rood potlood,
correct zijn ingevuld, zijn geldig. Op alle ambassades en
consulaten-generaal zijn rode potloden voor u beschikbaar.
Op het registratieformulier kunt u aangeven op welke
manier u uw stem wilt uitbrengen:
1. Bij volmacht:
U kunt een kiesgerechtigde inwoner van Nederland
machtigen. Deze gemachtigde moet het verzoek ook
ondertekenen.
2. Persoonlijk in Nederland:
Als u op 12 september, de dag van de verkiezingen, in
Nederland bent, kunt u persoonlijk in Nederland stemmen.
U ontvangt dan een kiezerspas waarmee u op dag van de
verkiezing in Nederland uw stem kan uitbrengen in een
stembureau.
3. Per brief:
U ontvangt een briefstembiljet en instructie waarmee u per
brief kunt stemmen.
Hoe kunt u uw briefstembiljet opsturen?
a. aan de gemeente Den Haag terugsturen. Uw
briefstembiljet moet uiterlijk op 12 september om
15.00 uur Nederlandse tijd bij de gemeente Den Haag
ontvangen zijn.
b. via een Nederlandse ambassade of consulaat-generaal
naar de gemeente Den Haag sturen. De ambassade of
het consulaat-generaal moet uw briefstembiljet ruim een
week van tevoren ontvangen. Over de exacte uiterste
datum van ontvangst volgt nader bericht.
c. sturen naar de Nederlandse ambassade te Singapore, die
als briefstembureau is aangewezen voor deze verkiezingen.
Het briefstembiljet moet dan uiterlijk op de verkiezingsdag
(12 september 2012, 15.00 uur lokale tijd) ontvangen zijn
op de Nederlandse ambassade te Singapore.

ADB News
Job seekers / Internship
Name : Rongde Wong
Age : 29
Tel. no : +65 9882 5926
Email : sasa_wong@hotmail.com
Study: Bachelor of Commerce, Marketing
Management, HBO Nederland University of Applied
Sciences Groningen
Specialization:
• Sales/Trading
• Marine, Oil, Gas Shipping industry
Working Experience: Bebeka u.a., Bunker Trader
Internship: August 2005-February 2006, Hollandse
Club Singapore: Internship Club Membership
Looking for: A challenging job within an
international company in Singapore. Preferably related
to a (shipping) company where i can bring my European
(Dutch) and Asian (Singaporean) background in to
practise. I am available.
Name : Pieter Bas Blanken
Age : 28
Tel. no : +31 6 2013 0426
Email : pbblanken@gmail.com
Study & Programs:
• Safran Management Development program
Executive program for 40 high potentials(

ADB News
Name : Alfred Griffioen
Why did you come to Singapore, and why did you decide
to join ADB?
I am one of the founding partners of Alliance Experts, a
consultancy specialised in building and optimising strategic
collaboration and alliances. We recently opened our
Singapore office, and I frequently travel to Singapore to
assist our three new partners here. During the weeks
that I’m in town, I visit ADB events as much as possible.
Eventually, I might even relocate!
Name : Barbara Pacifico
Why did you come to Singapore, and why did you decide
to join ADB?
I only recently joined my husband in Singapore.
Fortunately, my children and I already love it here! I used
to work full-time as marketing/sales manager in the
health care sector. Now I am determined to start up my
own business in Singapore. Looking forward to meeting
you soon!
Name : Erik Pieter Weerts
Why did you come to Singapore, and why did you decide
to join ADB?
Mid April 2012, my wife Pleun and I moved to Singapore
for my employer KPMG. Next to my job as an auditor of
international clients, I like to make bike trips on my racing
bike and play the saxophone in an orchestra or a band.
Via ADB, I would like to get in touch with other Dutch
people who have made the same move. At this moment,
Asia is a high growth market and that is also the reason
why we chose for Singapore. Next to that it is a very clean
and beautiful city. See you in the near future during one
of ADB’s activities.
Name : Fred Saarloos
Why did you come to Singapore, and why did you decide
to join ADB?
First of all, thank you ADB for choosing Red Carpet
Champagne Bar as one of your locations for gatherings.
It was our pleasure to host you all and meeting new (and
old) friends. I’m an ex-banker who spent in all 25 years
with Standard Chartered and Citibank across Asia and
Europe, and I have been based in Singapore for the last
16 years. Red Carpet Champagne Bar is my latest hobby
and investment, and I’m proud to call myself the ‘drinking
partner’. Looking forward to seeing you all back at Red
Carpet soon!!!
Name : Gertjan van der Lee
Name :
Jolle IJkema
Why did you come to Singapore, and why did you decide
to join ADB?
Having finished a 6-year assignment in Shanghai, I just
re-located to Singapore as a Procurement Manager
for Jacobs Engineering Singapore to manage the EPCm
procurement & contracts activities for a large Chemical
project build here at Jurong Island. I have over 30 years
of procurement experience. I joined ADB to learn more
about Singapore business culture and to meet other ADB
members. Learning and sharing knowledge are key to
success!
Why did you come to Singapore, and why did you decide
to join ADB?
After living and working in Indonesia for 7 years and in
The Netherlands for 11 years, we came to Singapore
in the middle of 2011. Being back in Asia feels like
being back home for us. I moved to Singapore for CEVA
Logistics, where I am responsible for the management
and development of the company’s LEAN program across
our operations in the APAC region. I am looking forward
to joining the ADB community to meet and stay in touch
with the Dutch professional community in Singapore.
27

ADB News
How a soccer star is made; nurturing talent
27 June
Whether you like or not, the month of June is football fever time. Come and join
us at our June event for a football treat and see football stars of the future in
the making... perhaps the new Marco van Basten or Ryan Giggs. Exclusively for
the ADB, you will be able meet R. Sasikumar, a former Singaporean professional
football player who also played in Holland and Michael Kreek, the head coach
of the Ajax U-15 squad, who will give a short presentation and will answer your
questions. You even will be able to meet a few young talented Ajax players
during the 24 th Canon Lion City Cup.
Program:
17:30 Arrival & registration at the Jalan Besar Stadium
18:00 FC Porto vs Ajax
19:45 Drinks & snacks
20:00 Introduction by R. Sasikumar, Organising Committee Chairman
20:15 Talk and Q&A by Michael Kreek, head coach Ajax U-15 squad
20:45 Singapore U-15 v Manchester United
Please note that alcoholic drinks will not be served during the evening.
Registration is required via www.adb.org.sg. Cost for the above program is
SGD 20 (to be paid on the spot) – late cancellation and a no-show policy applies.
Sponsored by:
July: No event
August: 25 August -
Dinner & Dance 2.0
New members
Arthur Claringbould, Arthur Claringbould
Consultancy
Barbara Pacifico-de Groot
Bert-Jan van Essen, Credit Suisse
Dirk Jan ter Horst, Akzo Nobel
Erik Weerts, KPMG
Ferry de Bakker, La Croisette
Fred Saarloos, Red Carpet Champagne Bar
Gertjan van der Lee, Jacobs Engineering
Hein Jan Smit
Jacky Lee, Reader’s Digest
Jakob Boelens, MaxGrip B.V.
Jan-Jaap Jager, Parallels
Jan Teun Koningen, MaxGrip B.V.
Jolle IJkema, CEVA AP Holdings Company
John Bouma, Alcatel-Lucent
Jurgen Versteeg, BAM International
Maarten van Marle, Fokker Services Asia
Maria van der Burgt, RBS
Michael Schaap, Peninsula Petroleum
Peter Kepel, Securities Services
Rutger Niewerth, ABN AMRO Bank
Saloua Hoeve-Ouchan, Voskamp Lawyers
Theo Oostinjen, Vopak Asia
Sander van Wijk, ABN AMRO Bank
Wilfred den Hertog, Philips
Yan Vermeulen, Boyd & Moore Executive
Search
Yvette Gorter, Voskamp Lawyers
Zsuzsika Oostinjen-Belovics
Leaving members
Ard Huisman, Vopak
Elsbeth Snieders
Jan de Vegt, KLM Cargo
Jorn Wisselink, Food Concepts Group
Onno Rombouts, Heineken
Patricia Weijzen, Mendelwood
Robert de Bruin, Unilever
Roger Peters, Mendelwood
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Frank Kuijsters, Chief Editor
Aleid van der Schier
Bridget Schiff van Akkooi
Francine Linssen
Lineke van Nederpelt
Petra Pronk
Richard Soemita
SECRETARIAT
Lineke van Nederpelt
MAILING ADDRESS
c/o 22 Camden Park
Singapore 299814
Telephone: 9101 6201
email: adb@pacific.net.sg
WEBSITE
www.adb.org.sg
DESIGN
Jennifer Phua
PRINTER Khoo Sun Printing Pte Ltd
MITA 373/03/2001
This magazine is distributed free of
charge to all members and relations
of the ADB.
We invite members to contribute to
the next issue.
The contents of this magazine are
partly based on information received
from third parties. The Committee
does not take responsibility for the
correctness of the articles
Membership fee is S$ 100 per
calendar year. For registration, please
see the website www.adb.org.sg
Membership is renewed
automatically effective the first
month of the new calendar year.
Make your cheque payable to
“ADB Singapore” and send to ADB,
c/o 22 Camden Park, Singapore
299814.
Termination of membership must
be received by ADB Secretariat in
writing before 1 January. Please
notify the ADB secretariat of any
changes in employer, (email)
addresses or any other personal
particulars that might be of interest
to the ADB administration.
28

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drinkable since 1873