Press Release: JTC Lands in Singapore

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: High Commissioner Heather Grant Welcomes Junior Team Canada to Singapore

Singapore — (August 12th, 2013), Global Vision

Canada’s High Commissioner to Singapore, Ms. Heather Grant, welcomed 31 Junior Team Canada (JTC) Ambassadors to Singapore, Canada’s third largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), on Monday morning.

Following a preliminary overview of Singapore and the ASEAN market by Commissioner Grant, the Ambassadors participated in several briefings by trade commissioners in the sectors of clean-technology, defense & aerospace, agriculture, and life sciences. The speaker panel preceding the briefings included: Chia Wan Liew, Chief Representative of the Export Development Bank of Canada; Caroline Berube, Managing Partner at HJM Asia Law & Co. LLC; and Huijin Kong, Counselor and Program Leader at LinHart Group Pte. Ltd.

“Starting a business in China requires comittment to things like a commercial lease for a minimum duration of 12 months.” explains Pedro Burgarelli, a Junior Team Canada Ambassador from Montreal, Quebec. “In Singapore however, you can set up a business very quickly, in a few days. With it’s prominence in the ASEAN market and it’s free trade economy, Singapore would be a great market for Canadian entrepreneurs to set up in, especially in research-intensive sectors.”

The Canada-Singapore relationship is strengthened by cooperation in multilateral forums such as Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC and with dialogue through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Canada’s support for Singapore’s entry as an observer entity in the Artic Council, and conversely Singapore’s support for Canada’s involvement in the developing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement, both demonstrate the close ties between the two nations.

Global Vision and Junior Team Canada would like to thank Commissioner Grant and the Trade Commissioners with the Canadian High Commission in Singapore for their continuous support of this mission.