Hangzhou, China, Monday, 14 September 2009 - Various Singapore companies from sectors including accounting and finance, textiles and apparels, relocation services, events & seminars and IT and design services recently participated in the business mission to the APEC SME Summit in Hangzhou, China from 10 - 13 Sep 2009 organized by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), and the Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (ASME).
The Summit, on the theme "Small Businesses, Big Dreams", was supported by the Singapore Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China (SingCham). Alongside the 2-day high-level conference, participants also attended a trading fair titled 'Alibaba.com-Taobao "Net Products" Trade Fair' which showcased products from 1,200 exhibiting suppliers from China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore and Chinese Taipei.
The focus of the Summit was centered on exchanging ideas, trade, and exploring partnership opportunities among the smaller businesses. The main topics of discussion during the Summit were on factors hampering the growth and development of small businesses; tips on surviving the economic slowdown and assessing the future direction of growth for small businesses.
Prominent thought leaders from academia, banking institutions and global business such as Jack Ma, CEO of Alibaba Group; Teng Theng Dar, Chair of APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) 2009 and CEO of SBF; Bill Clinton, Former President of the United States and Founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation; Kobe Bryant, Olympic Gold Medalist and NBA Champion; Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks Coffee Company; Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate; and Liu Chuanzhi, Chairman of Lenovo Group Limited; and other executives and dignitaries were some of the keynote presenters at the conference.
The APEC SME Summit, which was jointly hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), People's Municipal Government of Hangzhou, the Alibaba Group and the Singapore Business Federation, attracted the participation of 3,000 business managers and entrepreneurs from more than 20 nations.
Held in conjunction with the APEC SME Summit, the Alibaba.com-Taobao "Net Products" Trade Fair which was jointly organized by the Zhejiang Province Committee for Economic and Communication Affairs, Zhejiang Province Bureau of Commerce, People's Municipal Government of Hangzhou and Alibaba Group gathered thousands of e-commerce merchants and buyers to network and identify new products, markets and partnership opportunities. Products such as consumer electronic products, chemicals & pharmaceutical, household appliances, textiles and garments, personal care, sports equipment and stationeries were exhibited at the fair.
150,029 participants attended the fair, including some 20,000 potential buyers, 50,000 Taobao retailers and approximately 30,000 students from Zhejiang Province. Contracts worth more than RMB 0.1billion were closed during the 3-day trading fair.
Based on feedback gathered by SBF, many Singapore delegates gave the business mission big thumbs up for the highly relevant programme that met their business needs, especially when it came to exposure to the China market. Anthony Wong, Director of Business Development, Axon Management Consultants Pte Ltd said "We have gained a better insight about the business developments in China, especially the great push towards E-commerce by visionary like Mr. Ma Yun. We look forward to learning more about the latest in international business developments during the APEC SME Summit in Singapore in November. We are very grateful to SBF and ASME for guiding us and providing SME like us with an opportunity to venture out." Mr Wong also added that he was thankful for the many contacts, leads and prospects that they are currently working on from the Hangzhou trip.
The next and final APEC SME Summit in 2009 will be held in Singapore on the 12th of November at the Raffles City Convention Centre.
The Summit in Singapore will feature a strong line up of illustrious speakers which includes Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba.com, Scott Davis, Global CEO of UPS and other business personalities from Google, Skype, LG Electronics, Adidas, SAP and PCCW. Listening in to speakers who are the who's who in the business world are international delegates from the APEC economies and the region-positioning the APEC SME Summit 2009 as the premier business event for business leaders, senior executives and business owners of growing and mid-sized companies to network and extend their business connections.
To hear these global business leaders and network with a very select group of business executives, sign up now and reserve your seats by 6 Nov 2009.
To register, please visit
www.apecsmesummit.com
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