October, 2008
SSBA-SCS Charity JiLin Trip report

With the funds raised through our Starry Starry Night Charity Gala Dinner held on 24 Nov 07, we selected three needy schools to rebuild in Jilin, in northeastern China:

双辽市红旗街聪明小学	Before rebuilding：Click here
	After rebuilding: Click here
松原宁江区毛都站镇三马架小学	Before rebuilding：Click here
	After rebuilding: Click here
永吉县西阳镇南响水小学	Before rebuilding：Click here
	After rebuilding: Click here

The buildings of these three schools were all graded as 危楼, or translated literally, “dangerous buildings”. In April 2008, we visited these schools to see for ourselves their current state. In May/June 2008, the three buildings were torn down, and rebuilding began. By August 2008, reconstruction was completed, and the school students started their new academic year in September 2008 in the new school buildings.

When we visited the reconstructed schools in October this year, we were very pleased to see how the schools have been transformed from dark, cracking, leaking unsound buildings to brand new, bright and sturdy looking buildings. We asked the students how they felt about their new schools, and many of them grinned and said that they now no longer worried about the buildings tumbling on them. They also liked their bright and clean new classrooms. The sparkle in their eyes melted our hearts!

We are thankful to the many who helped make this rebuilding effort a success. In particular, we are grateful to the many individual donors and corporate sponsors for their generous contributions. The corporate sponsors are listed below:

CapitaLand (China) Investment Co., Ltd
(www.capitaland.com.cn)

Deutsche Bank Private & Business Client
(www.deutsche-bank.com.cn/mybranch)

deVere & Partners
(www.devereandpartners.com)

Global Fine Wines
(www.shanghai-global.com)

Millennium Hong Qiao Hotel
(www.millenniumhongqiao.com)

Roche Diagnostics (Shanghai) Ltd
(www.roche-diagnostis.com.cn)

Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited
(www.temasekholdings.com.sg)

We are also thankful to the China Charity Federation for connecting us to the needy schools and for supervising the rebuilding process. Last but not least, we are grateful to the local authorities for facilitating the reconstruction projects. For all three schools, the local government contributed funds to make the schools even better than what our funds alone would have been able to achieve.

Yue Tong Mui
Community Services Director
SSBA-SCS

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6th and 13th September, 2008 Time: 12:00– 5:00pm
Tiger Beer Challenge Cup 2008 Soccer Tournament

Location
Luwan Stadium

The second round of Tiger Beer Challenge Cup kicked off with a hearty roar at Lu Wan stadium where more than a hundred soccer enthusiasts gathered to battle it out. Following the huge success in year 2007, there was a positive demand to include more teams in the competition and the organizers of this event, namely Shanghai Singapore Business Association – Singapore Club Shanghai and Shanghai House of Entrepreneurs, NUS (SHEN), were more than willing to accommodate the request. They were also very excited to learn that their aims of promoting the local sports scene and encouraging people to have a healthy lifestyle have taken off with the event held a year ago.

This year, a total of six Singaporean, one Hong-Kong and one Malaysian teams signed up for the challenge sponsored proudly by Shanghai Asia Pacific Brewery. The format of the challenge remained at 8-a-side but the duration of the event has been extended from the initial one day to two days to ease the schedule. The teams were divided into two groups in which only the top two teams of each group could qualify. In anticipation of the tournament, many teams trained hard prior to the event to ensure that their players had the fitness. They also aimed to improve the team play so as to be in better position to lift the grand trophy. With much awaited eagerness from all players, day one of the event ended brilliantly. The contest was left open with three teams fighting for the top two slots in both groups and it seemed very likely that day two of the event would be at least twice as exciting.

As promised, day two began vividly with the remaining 4 group matches. Out of the four, the most interesting match was the one between defending champions, Singapore Reds, and 9+10 United, a newly formed team consisting of students from NUS and NTU. Singapore Reds was second in table and they had to win with a convincing score-line against 9+10 United who sat comfortably at the top of the group. After an uneventful first half in which no goals were scored, Singapore Reds pressed hard in the second half and were rewarded with 2 goals that saw them through to the semi-finals. In the other group game, Dragon 2 won against Dragon 1 to advance into the semi-finals.

The semi-finalists played very defensively and both semi-finals ended with no goals. Penalties were conducted and after a series of fine saves and pin-point shots, the finalists for 1st and 2nd placing were Dragon 3 and Dragon 2. Singapore Reds and Lions United were knocked out to play 3rd and 4th placing.

It started to rain just before the start of the Finals but that did not dampen the mood of the players and the strong crowd of supporters. The supporters of each team cheered loudly and it seemed that they were having as much fun as the players on the field. The Final was a very spirited game in which both teams did well in preventing the opposition from scoring. Just when it seemed that the game was going to proceed to penalties, a late goal saw Dragon 2 as the Champions of Tiger Beer Challenge Cup 2008.

After the tournament, players went to Orchard CRC where they were treated to scrumptious Singaporean cuisines and the award-winning taste of Tiger Beer. The prize-giving ceremony and lucky draw contest were also held at the place where a few lucky people walked away with fantastic prizes, including a camcorder sponsored by Canon.

The event was no doubt successful and all participants and supporters had a great time during both days of the event. Last but not least, the event was made possible by Shanghai Asia Pacific Brewery, Shanghai Singapore Business Association – Singapore Club Shanghai and Shanghai House of Entrepreneurs, NUS (SHEN), Orchard CRC, Otsuka (China) Investment Co. Ltd, Canon and ParkwayHealth and we would like to thank all of them for their individual sponsorships and for the tremendous support given.

Prepared by Bu Shuzhan NCSH 9th Batch

Click here to view photos of the event

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12th September 2008
Mid Autumn Festival –

Location
Singapore Consulate

The Mid-Autumn Festival, which dates back over 3,000 years to moon worship in China’s Shang Dynasty, is one of the two most important holidays in the Chinese calendar today. Traditionally on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, eat moon cakes and pomelos together.

On the night of 12th September 2008, around 150 Singaporeans gathered together at the Singapore Consulate to celebrate this Chinese festival together. As a ‘9-month old infant’ who knows little about the traditional Chinese culture and practices, I was eager and excited about what the Shanghai Singapore Business Association (SSBA-SCS) could offer me on this memorable festival.

And spot on! I was glad I turned up at the Consulate that night.

The birth of the night began with a Singaporean buffet with local foods such as nasi lemak, beef redang, curry chicken and hokkien mee. The dinner not only brought a sense of comforting familiarity to our mouths and hearts, but also acted as a perfect opportunity for fellow Singaporeans like me to gather and learn new faces. Following the dinner was the screening

of the Singaporean film which, depicted how the people in China are now so “Mad About English” in order to prepare themselves for the 2008 Olympics. To build up the Mid-Autumn atmosphere of the night, a session of 猜灯谜 and a pomelo peeling competition was also played.

And of course, what becomes of this festival without any lanterns and mooncakes? Above at the balcony, decorations of lanterns, candles and lightings were put up and transformed the consulate to that of a lovely Chinese portrait. And while the kids trotted along with their lanterns, the adults were busy conversing and savoring mooncakes from Bakerzin and Coffeebean.

On the whole, it was an enjoyable and memorable night for many Singaporeans like me. It seems like wherever Singaporeans go, they would always find home in the Singapore community.

By Elim Lau (NCSH 9th Batch)

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9 August 2008
NATIONAL DAY DINNER 2008

Location
Marina Bay

While most Singaporeans stay tuned and awaited for the navy march and fireworks display at the Marina Bay, Singaporeans living and working in Shanghai celebrated in a way no less interesting than the National Day Parade in Singapore.

Alongside the Chinese orchestra and dance performance were excited Singaporeans toasting beer for their country’s 43rd birthday, and singing national day songs such as Count on Me Singapore and Di Tanjung Katong. Towards the end of the event were a group of oldies and kids dancing and swaying along with the music. Undoubtedly, this was definitely a heartwarming night for many home-sicked Singaporeans who are working in Shanghai.

And who says national day celebrations will be stale and boring in a foreign land? All thanks to SSBA, I know most of the Singaporeans had a lot of fun this national day. Thank you SSBA. 

Written by Elim Lau (NCSH 9th Batch)

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4 July 2008
Volkswagen Shanghai Plant Visit

Location
Shanghai

Led by the Director of Manufacturing of the Shanghai Singapore Business Association – Singapore Club Shanghai (SSBA-SCS), Ms Cindy Goh, a group of SSBA-SCS members visited the Volkswagen Plant in Shanghai on the 4th of July 2008

The visit started with a networking lunch at a nearby restaurant in Ma Lu (马陆). There, members enjoyed a sumptuous lunch along with networking opportunities with other like-minded members who are interested in the automobile industry. The group was made up of members from various industries from banking, to consultancy to Human Resources with one common goal in mind: to understand more about Volkswagen in Shanghai, China.

At the plant, members were ushered into the conference room where they viewed a video introduction to Volkswagen in Shanghai, from how it was started and the challenges it went through to reach where it is now. Details of the history includes which companies did Volkswagen did a joint venture with and the automation processes it underwent to reach the increase its production capacity from a mere few thousand units to half a million annually now.

After the video, members visited the showroom and exhibition area where they got to understand more of Volkswagen glorious past and also on the exciting future. The final part of the tour was the visit to the assembly plant itself. Where we can see how Volkswagen vehicles assembled right before our eyes!

On the whole, the trip is successful and members only wanted to get more out of the plant visit, by seeing more processes and places in the plant. This left members wanting more of such visits to other industries!

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18 June 2008
Banking and Finance Forum

Location
Le Royal Meridien

On the 18 June 2008, SSBA-SCS organized its second Banking and Finance Forum at Le Royal Meridien. Participates consists of mainly executives from various companies including: Citibank, OCBC amd Standard Chartered. Notably, Chong Qing Municipality also sent a delegation for the event.

The event started with a welcome speech by Ms Anita Loh, Banking and Finance Chairman of SSBA-SCS. Followed by the first Keynote address by the Vice Mayor of Chong Qing Municipality. The Vice Mayor shared his views and findings about investment in West China and in particular, investing in Chong Qing. Participates manage to gain not only insights on the investing in Chong Qing but also the government perspectives on various investment issues.

Johnson Chng, Partner &Head of Financial Services, Greater China, Bain & Company shared, in his Keynote address on Driving Organic Growth in Consumer Banking, his views on strategies to adopt in China. He shared not only strategies but his experiences on the implementations of these strategies to ensure success. The final 2 keynotes focused on the challenges of the banking industry. Mr Andrew Au, CEO of Citi China spoke about Banking in China: Challenges and Opportunities. Ms Leong Wai Leng, Chairman of OCBC Bank (China) Ltd, shared her experience on the challenges of a Singapore bank in China.

Participants are happy to have gained not only valuable insights but also network with speakers and fellow executives attending the event. Indeed, the second Banking and Finance Forum has been a success that leave us looking forward to more of such events!

Click here to view photos of the event

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