FCCS Focus Summer 2011 by The French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore

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Focus

The Magazine of the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore

Summer 2011

www.fccsingapore.com

French Gastronomy in Singapore

Cover French Gastronomy2_Layout 1 19/9/2011 4:19 PM Page 2

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FOCUS MAGAZINE

CONTENTS

September 2011

EDITORIAL

FOCUS MAGAZINE

SHORT NEWS

September 2011

French Companies in Singapore

Pierre Corthay Chooses Singapore for Its First Point of Sale in Southeast Asia

SHORT NEWS

Orange Business Services Receives 2011 Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific ICT Award Ubisoft Singapore Developed a New Free-to-Play Game Pierre Corthay Chooses Singapore for Its First Point of Sale in Southeast Asia Louis Vuitton to Open Island Store at Marina Bay Sands Singapore News

04 04 05 05 07

COVER STORY - FRENCH GASTRONOMY IN SINGAPORE

Singapore, the New Place to Be for Food Actors Singapore, a Gastronomic Hub? Bringing Haute Cuisine to Singapore The Gastronomy Scene in Singapore Say ‘Cheese’ A Unique Market Pairing Champagne with a Meal A Growing Chocolate Scene Singapore Lifestyle Scene Finest French Food in Singapore When Gastronomy Meets Arts of Table ‘French-style’ Throughout the World A Global Retailer with a Regional Touch A Growing Demand for French Gourmet Food in Singapore The French Lifestyle Paradox Burgundy in Singapore

09 10 12 14 16 18 19 21 22 23 24 25 27 28 28 29

FCCS BUSINESS SERVICES

French Technology Exhibits at BroadcastAsia & CommunicAsia 2011 The ICT Awards 2011 Upcoming Exhibitions in Singapore They Rely on Us...and Testify on Our Services Newly Set Up Companies through the FCCS Business Support

30 32 32 33 34

Premium bespoke French shoemaker Pierre Corthay has stepped out in style, making their ﬁrst footprint in Southeast Asia at the Malmaison by the Hour Glass boutique, an 8,000 sq ft luxury emporium located at Knightsbridge on Orchard Road.

Enhance Your Skills with FCCS Training Modules Upcoming Training Modules, Sept-Dec 2011

35 35

FCCS CLUB EVENTS

FCCS Annual General Meeting Asia Committee Human Resources Committee ICT Committee R&D Committee Marketing & Communication Committee Finance Committee Business Women Network Committee Legal & Tax Committee Luxury & Retail Committee Entrepreneurs Committee Energy & Environment Committee FCCS Events Networking Events Rugby Tournament FCCS Gala Dinner FCCS New Members FCCS Privilege Card

36 37 38 40 40 41 42 43 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 54 56

from Le Puy. An extensive collection of elegant ready to wear, all hand-crafted in Paris at the House's own ateliers, may also be had at the Malmaison boutique, bearing all the artisanal hallmarks that are synonymous with the Pierre Corthay name. F

At the ofﬁcial launch of the atelier's store in Singapore, the debonair Pierre Corthay recounted his beginnings as a young member of the Brotherhood of French Master Artisans, Les Compagnons du Devoir, and his subsequent tutelage under master bottiers John Lobb and Talbinio Berluti. Pierre Corthay's ﬁrst boutique opened its doors in 1990 when he was just 28, and the rest is history, with the shoemaker being recognised for his extraordinary talent with the lifetime title of Maitre d'Art by the French government in 2008. Now, Singaporean gents can look forward

Louis Vuitton to Open Island Store at Marina Bay Sands reminiscent of a deck on a luxury yacht.

Singapore will welcome a new luxury shopping destination and retail icon when Louis Vuitton opens its ﬁrst Island Maison at the Marina Bay Sands this September. The Maison will sit on the waterfront of the Marina Bay promenade and will be a distinctive landmark in the celebrated landscape around the bay. The Louis Vuitton Island MaiCourtesy of Louis Vuitton son is a one of a kind concept for the luxury brand, and will and women’s leather goods, ready to feature nautical-inspired interiors excluwear, shoes and accessories. Keeping sively designed by internationally acclose to the brand’s DNA where the declaimed and award winning architect sire is to transform every journey into a Peter Marino. Visitors can look forward to refined and personal experience, the a unique and sophisticated retail experimezzanine level will celebrate the roence as the ﬁrst Louis Vuitton Maison in mance of travel by dedicating an area to Southeast Asia will incorporate art and travel luggage and accessories in the first cultural elements in its retail space. Travel Room in Asia Pacific. There will also be a private lounge for intimate preThe ground floor of the Island Maison will sentations as well as an outdoor loggia feature the complete selection of men’s

From the Island, visitors can travel through a tunnel that will showcase pieces of contemporary artwork. The tunnel connects to the Marina Bay Sands mall and visitors will arrive at the Louis Vuitton bookstore, where they can browse through a specially curated range of design, cultural and art books. A spiral staircase on the same floor will lead visitors up to a magnified space which will display timepieces, fine jewellery and exceptional leather bags. The Louis Vuitton Island Maison at Marina Bay Sands will be the fifth store for the brand in Singapore and opens to the public on 18 September 2011. F

Source: Louis Vuitton Factory Outlet store blog

COVER STORY

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French Gastronomy in Singapore

September 2011

Bringing Haute Cuisine to Singapore An interview with Chef Guy Savoy, Guy Savoy Restaurant Award-winning Chef Guy Savoy is the youngest of the French legends credited with pioneering Nouvelle Cuisine. His Guy Savoy Restaurant in Paris is considered one of the finest haute-cuisine establishments in the world. Selecting only the finest ingredients, Chef Savoy prepares and serves with an uncompromising awareness of what makes a dining experience truly exceptional. This is what earned the prestigious Guy Savoy Restaurant in Paris three Michelin stars. As one of France’s most celebrated chefs, Chef Savoy has been awarded the Légion d’Honneur from the French Minister of Agriculture (2000) and the French President (2009) and was voted France’s Chef of the Year by his peers, among his numerous honours.

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO OPEN A RESTAURANT IN SINGAPORE? This project is amazing. When I ﬁrst saw the concept of Marina Bay Sands, it was hard to say no. It has so many different attractions such as the ArtScience Museum, theatres, Sands SkyPark as well as the best chefs and cuisines in the world. I told myself I had to be here. I cannot think of any other project that is close to what Marina Bay Sands offers.

“

It is the same music that we play, the same food that we serve.

”

Now that we have opened for a year, I feel even more so that Marina Bay Sands is like family to me. Yes, it is a big building and quite overwhelming for the ﬁrst-time visitor, but there is intimacy in every corner. There are a lot of familiar faces around. When I walk in the hotel lobby, everyone from the concierge to the bellboy will come and say ‘hello’. This feels like family to me. Even though there are over 8,600 people working here, it feels like a 100staff boutique hotel to me because of the sense of familiarity. WHAT WERE THE MAIN CHALLENGES YOU ENCOUNTERED AND HOW DID YOU FACE THEM? This is the second time I have opened a restaurant outside of Paris. The ﬁrst one was in Las Vegas. The challenge of opening another restaurant is how to ensure it is the same as the one in Paris. I am not just talking about the food, but the whole package – the people, the service and the atmosphere. Food and atmosphere are entirely inter-linked and you cannot separate the two. We want to give guests a sense of wellbeing when they are here. They need to enjoy the good energy and ambience that is

FCCS BUSINESS SERVICES

FOCUS MAGAZINE

French Companies in Singapore

September 2011

French Technology Exhibits at BroadcastAsia & CommunicAsia 2011 Twenty-eight French companies, among which 12 new participants, gathered under the French Pavilion at CommunicAsia and BroadcastAsia 2011, located at a new venue in downtown Singapore. The successful event provided the exhibitors with a great platform to showcase their innovative solutions to the decisionmakers in the Asia region. Indeed, more than 56,000 industry visitors,

FCCS HR & TRAINING SERVICES

to a bespoke experience unparalleled elsewhere, with Mr Corthay himself carefully personalising your pair according to your character and lifestyle. Materials are top of the range, with beechwood shanks being used for the arches and the ﬁnest leather

Aviwest – Video systems provider specialised in the development of innovative digital television solutions. Digidia – DAB/DAB+/ DMB Multiplexers, encoders and IP gateways, DRM/DRM+ content servers and modulators, SynchronousFM decoders and head-end. Digigram – Professional sound cards, IP audio codecs and other network audio solutions.

conference speakers and delegates, exhibitors and media attended the 4-day event. Fibre for NextGen Services, Cloud Computing, NextGen Services & Applications, OEM/ODM in Action and Sustainable ICT were some of the highlights offered during the event.

ment Authority) and SiTF (Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation). This event was aimed at enhancing the exchanges between France and Singapore and the visibility of French exhibiting companies here.

During the cocktail organised at the FCCS booth, we had the pleasure to welcome members of the IDA (Infocomm Develop-

The VIP Tour guests honoured the French Pavilion on BroadcastAsia with their visit on the ﬁrst day of the show. Included among other guests was Senior Minister of State, Grace Fu who visited Thomson Broadcast booth. F

Enensys Technologies – Broadcsat network equipment and test & monitoring.

Thomson Broadcast – Television and radio AM transmitters, antenna, mast and tower.

HTTV – iTV services, Video Mosaic, EPG/PVR, IPTV Middleware, VOD Solutions, iTV streamers.

Thomson Video Networks – Unique and innovative video delivery solutions.

Neogroupe – Software applications for radio and television broadcasters.

Winmedia Asia – Complete broadcast software suite for Radio/TV.

Partex International – Sales and rental of lighting balloons and inﬂatables.

WorldCast Systems – Audio & video delivery, transmission & monitoring.

FCCS CLUB EVENTS

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FCCS Events

September 2011

Exclusive Luncheon with our FCCS Patrons Members As a token of appreciation, we had the pleasure to host our Patron Members to a very exclusive Luncheon Meeting at DB Bistro Moderne, Chef Daniel Boulud’s restaurant. His Manhattan restaurant, Daniel, is considered one of the 10 best in the world. This exclusive luncheon meeting was a great opportunity for our Patrons Members to get to know each other in a convivial atmosphere. We take this opportunity to thank again our FCCS Patrons Members for their ongoing and very generous support. F

Business + Gastronomy = FCCS Monthly Luncheons Every ﬁrst Friday of the month, the FCCS organises a business luncheon in a French restaurant; each time a new venue with a different menu is selected. These informal networking sessions create excellent opportunities to develop new contacts and exchange ideas on business issues while enjoying great French food.

Our last luncheons took place at le Petit Salut Restaurant with the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, at Brasserie Wolf and at Il Cielo Restaurant. Check our website for the next business luncheons to broaden your network and register online at www.fccsingapore.com! F

Is Art a Good Investment? The purpose of this talk organised with the Belgian Luxembourg Business Group was to examine practical aspects of collecting art in the global art market, in order to suggest a more meaningful approach to

art collection than simply aesthetic preference. With an emphasis in the Asian markets, Mr Phil Whittaker, Director of Sotheby’s Institute of Art Singapore, highlighted a number of ways to aid you in

your future art investments. Held at ReDot Fine Art Gallery, this talk was followed by a cocktail, where all our French and Belgian participants had the opportunity to network. F

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FCCS PATRON MEMBERS

FOCUS MAGAZINE September 2011

The French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore would like to thank its Patron Members for their continuous support.

FCCS Focus Magazine is published by the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore (FCCS). The views and opinions expressed in its columns do not necessarily reflect those of the FCCS members and management.

director of publication Carine Lespayandel chief editor Nicolas Avril editorial contributor Virginia Ng design & layout Florence Baret advertising Nicolas Avril Florence Baret colour separation & printing NPE Print Communications Pte Ltd

September 2011 3,500 copies MICA (P) N째045/09/2010

THE FRENCH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN SINGAPORE 541 Orchard Road #09-01 Liat Towers Singapore 238881 Tel: +65 6735 5523 Fax: +65 6735 5394 www.fccsingapore.com info@fccsingapore.com

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FOCUS MAGAZINE

EDITORIAL

September 2011

Singapore - Asia’s Forefront of French Cuisine & Culture French F&B and cuisine have always been known for their exclusive quality and patrimonial culture. In Singapore, where local cuisine is wholeheartedly embraced, it is interesting to see that the French culinary term of Savoir-Faire, or know-how, has found its presence in the City-State now more than ever. Today there are more than 25 French chefs calling Singapore home, including myself. We are a small but enthusiastic bunch consisting of hotel executive chefs, entrepreneur chefs de cuisine, pastry chefs, sommeliers including CEOs of culinary schools and General Managers of hotels. In the retail sector, there is about 10 boutique or neighbourhood-style like stores owned or managed by French nationals. They range from multinational to small entrepreneurial ‘specialists’ shops with products like chocolates, cheese and wine; what we call épicerie de quartier is now not an uncommon sight. The opening of 3 Michelin-starred French restaurants in Singapore deﬁnitely marked the importance of French gastronomy in the local dining scene. In addition, professional French sommeliers give local wine connoisseurs the opportunity to enjoy the best grapes from our vineyards and terroirs. The culinary education in Singapore has also expanded with the partnerships with French culinary institutes. Cooking schools of international standards run by Frenchmen and with students from around the world allow us to have a cutting edge. Over the past 2 years Singapore has seen a booming entertainment scene

with the opening of casinos and resorts. This also results in an increasing presence of French cuisine from top ﬁne dining of Michelin stars to Brasserie-style. The brasserie concept of French cuisine – which connotes affordable value and casual surroundings often with a trendy ambience – is quite new for Singapore. With this, a new dining experience was introduced. Overall, the French inﬂuence in F&B, education, retailing and gastronomy is thriving in Singapore and will continue to expand. It is important that the French community on the whole preserve our heritage in our cuisine and through the French Meal (which UNESCO recognised in 2010 on the representative list as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity) by providing their support by way of communication and choice of food. We may be far away from home, but it is through our culinary expeditions here that we appreciate more of the cultural richness and diversity of our region in France and through our cuisine, we can help Singaporeans to discover and enjoy our heritage . I believe Singapore is at the forefront among Asia for her representation of French cuisine and culture.

Julien BOMPARD Chef/Owner, Le Saint Julien - Restaurant & La Fromagerie - Cheese & Gourmet Shop. French Gourmet Committee, The French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore; FCCS Board member.

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SHORT NEWS

September 2011

French Companies in Singapore

Orange Business Services Receives 2011 Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific ICT Award Orange Business Services, a leading global integrator of communications solutions for multinational corporations, has been named “2011 Data Communications Service Provider of the Year” by international market research and technology analysts Frost & Sullivan. The Frost & Sullivan Award recognises the outstanding performance delivered by Or-

ange in Asia Pacific. Its unprecedented reach in the APAC region combined with its broad service portfolio and delivery capabilities positions Orange as a strong market participant in the data communications segment. Arun Chandrasekaran, Research Director, ICT Practice, Frost & Sullivan, said: “In 2010, Orange Business Services further strengthened its network footprint in Asia Pacific and now runs one of the most extensive networks in Asia Pacific with 157 points of presence. It has been able to pursue a profitable business growth due to strong focus on operational efficiency and tight fiscal management of large, complex projects. It continued to focus on investments and partnerships in the fast growing emerging markets of China, India, Vietnam and Indonesia

and is well positioned to benefit from the business growth in these markets.” Yee-May Leong, Senior Vice President, Orange Business Services Asia Pacific, said: “Orange Business Services consistently provides for its multinational and local enterprise customers in Asia Pacific both world-class integrated communications services and solutions that meet their needs for coverage, capacity, performance and resilience. We also enjoy global recognition for our best-in-class customer experience. We are proud to be honoured by Frost & Sullivan in 2011 as the Data Communications Service Provider of the Year.” F LEFT Mr Nitin Bhat, Partner, Frost & Sullivan and Mr Darren Yong, Head of Commercial Management APAC, Orange Business Services

Ubisoft Singapore Developed a New Free-to-Play Game Ubisoft announced the development of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Online, a new multiplayer, third-person, cover-based tactical shooter that will be offered free-to-play online. Ghost Recon Online is developed by Ubisoft Singapore, and offers all the best qualities of the Ghost Recon franchise in a downloadable, dynamic, PC-based online game. Ghost Recon Online launches in closed beta beginning this summer.

tween three different classes of Ghost, customise their weapons, deploy cutting-edge military technology, and share intel with their team. Ghost Recon Online also features a rich lobby platform for hosting social and persistent progression features. Ubisoft also will back the game with a full set of services, including regular events and game content updates, customised content based on community feedback, and live support.

With Ghost Recon Online, Ubisoft is delivering the most social, connected and customisable Ghost Recon experience yet. The game offers players the ability to choose be-

The online features complement Ghost Recon Online’s rich graphical environments and maps, which rival the quality of those traditionally seen only in retail games. And

Ubisoft Singapore GRO Team

while the game is free for anyone to play, players also can purchase premium items and fully personalise their experience.

“The online market is an exciting new frontier for video games and for gamers,” said Yves Guillemot, CEO at Ubisoft. “With Ghost Recon Online, and other major upcoming projects, Ubisoft is creating online experiences that allow our fans to stay connected to their favourite brands and to continually receive new content and gameplay. This direct link with our fans will allow us to create new and ever better experiences for them.” F

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FOCUS MAGAZINE

SHORT NEWS

September 2011

French Companies in Singapore

Pierre Corthay Chooses Singapore for Its First Point of Sale in Southeast Asia Premium bespoke French shoemaker Pierre Corthay has stepped out in style, making their ﬁrst footprint in Southeast Asia at the Malmaison by the Hour Glass boutique, an 8,000 sq ft luxury emporium located at Knightsbridge on Orchard Road.

gant ready to wear, all hand-crafted in Paris at the House's own ateliers, may also be had at the Malmaison boutique, bearing all the artisanal hallmarks that are synonymous with the Pierre Corthay name. F Source: Luxury Insider

Louis Vuitton to Open Island Store at Marina Bay Sands Singapore will welcome a new luxury shopping destination and retail icon when Louis Vuitton opens its ﬁrst Island Maison at the Marina Bay Sands this September. The Maison will sit on the waterfront of the Marina Bay promenade and will be a distinctive landmark in the celebrated landscape around the bay. The Louis Vuitton Island MaiCourtesy of Louis Vuitton son is a one of a kind concept for the luxury brand, and will and women’s leather goods, ready to feature nautical-inspired interiors excluwear, shoes and accessories. Keeping sively designed by internationally acclose to the brand’s DNA where the declaimed and award winning architect sire is to transform every journey into a Peter Marino. Visitors can look forward to refined and personal experience, the a unique and sophisticated retail experimezzanine level will celebrate the roence as the ﬁrst Louis Vuitton Maison in mance of travel by dedicating an area to Southeast Asia will incorporate art and travel luggage and accessories in the first cultural elements in its retail space. Travel Room in Asia Pacific. There will also be a private lounge for intimate preThe ground floor of the Island Maison will sentations as well as an outdoor loggia feature the complete selection of men’s

reminiscent of a deck on a luxury yacht. From the Island, visitors can travel through a tunnel that will showcase pieces of contemporary artwork. The tunnel connects to the Marina Bay Sands mall and visitors will arrive at the Louis Vuitton bookstore, where they can browse through a specially curated range of design, cultural and art books. A spiral staircase on the same floor will lead visitors up to a magnified space which will display timepieces, fine jewellery and exceptional leather bags. The Louis Vuitton Island Maison at Marina Bay Sands will be the fifth store for the brand in Singapore and opens to the public on 18 September 2011. F

Source: Louis Vuitton Factory Outlet store blog

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SHORT NEWS

September 2011

Singapore News

Singapore Set to Overtake Las Vegas as Second Largest Casino Singapore is set to become the world’s second largest gambling hub in dollar value, with forecast earnings of US$6.4 billion this year overtaking Las Vegas which is projected to earn US$6.2 billion. Making this projection at a gaming conference in Macau, the American Gaming Association president Frank Fahrenkopf said Singapore’s two casinos had exceeded expectations and turned the city state into Asia’s second global gaming hub.

months later. The two casinos have raked in US$1.63 billion in earnings in the ﬁrst quarter of this year. But Macau would remain the top gaming hub in the world, with its more than three dozens of casinos having earned US$23.5 billion in revenue last

year. Media reports said Las Vegas’ popularity was declining due to America’s ailing economy and stiff competition from Macau and Singapore casinos. F Source: Marina Bay Sands Casino, 13 June 2011

Singapore’s gaming market would likely overtake Las Vegas as the world’s secondlargest gaming centre as early as this year, Fahrenkopf told a Macau press conference. Singapore’s two resort casinos earned US$5.1 billion in less than a year of operation, with the Resort World Sentosa opening for business in February 2010 and the Marina Bay Sands two

Singapore Poised to Rule Wealth Management Singapore is expected to leap to the top spot as the world’s largest wealth management centre by 2013, surpassing Switzerland and London according to one of the ﬁndings of a survey of 275 institutions in 67 countries by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in its latest private banking and wealth management report. Driving Singapore’s growth is the rapid pace of wealth creation and accumulation in the emerging markets, as well as regu-

latory pressures elsewhere. Singapore’s ranking in 2011 is third, after Switzerland and London. Hong Kong is in fourth spot, followed by New York. In 2013, Switzerland and Hong Kong are expected to be second and third placers, respectively, followed by London and New York. Private banks globally and regionally view Singapore as one of the best international

financial centres as well as a preferred booking centre to capture the emerging Asian business… From an operational perspective, Singapore as a booking centre for private wealth for the region is still the largest due to the more favourable regulatory environment and tax incentives, etc. F

Source: The Business Times, 22 June 2011

Singapore, 4th Most Visited City in the World Ranking 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

City London Paris Bangkok Singapore Hong Kong Madrid Istanbul Frankfurt Dubai Rome

Visitors 20.1m 18.1m 11.5m 11.4m 10.9m 10.1m 9.4m 8.4m 7.9m 7.9m

With an estimated 11.4 million visitor arrivals in 2011, the MasterCard Index Global Destination Cities 2011 places Singapore second only to Bangkok which has 11.5 million in the Asia-Paciﬁc region. Overall, London topped the world’s cities by visitor numbers with 20.1 million inbound passengers expected in 2011, ahead of Paris in second with 18.1 million. Only one city in North America is in the top twenty, New York, which is ranked twelfth with 7.6 million inbound passengers expected.

A high volume of international visitor arrivals, coupled with signiﬁcant visitor expenditures has placed Singapore among the world’s top ten destination cities on both counts, according to the MasterCard Index of Global Destination Cities released today. F

Source: MasterCard Index of Global Destination Cities 2011 and Singapore Business Business Review, 2 June 2011

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COVER STORY French Gastronomy in Singapore

FOCUS MAGAZINE September 2011

French Gastronomy in Singapore

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FOCUS MAGAZINE

COVER STORY

September 2011

French Gastronomy in Singapore

Singapore, the New Place to Be for Food Actors

A VITAL ROLE IN SINGAPORE’S ECONOMY The island state has a vibrant Food and Beverage (F&B) sector which constitutes more than 5,900 establishments and employs more than 82,000 staff. According to the latest available data, the total value of F&B sales in May 2011 was estimated at S$508 million compared to S$482 million in May 2010. On a per capita basis, Singapore has the highest food consumption levels in Southeast Asia. Singapore food consumption is forecasted to reach US$7.5 billion in 2011 and account for 3% of GDP. Because of its limited land for agriculture, Singapore imports more than 90% of its food, particularly from other Asian countries. Imports of food and beverage are expected to grow 8.3% in 2011.

A SECTOR STRONGLY SUPPORTED BY THE GOVERNMENT The government is taking a multitude of efforts to promote its reputation as the gastronomical capital of Asia and promoting Gastronomy tours to Singapore from around the world, through food events. Singapore Tourism Board also spends a huge sum to promote these events, such as the World Gourmet Summit (WGS), an annual premium culinary event which brings together world-renowned chefs and the best local talents to showcase their gastronomical creations to both trade and public visitors. In addition to promotion, the F&B sector is also financially supported. SPRING Singa-

“

The FCCS aims at enhancing the French Gastronomy in Singapore.

pore, the lead agency for the F&B industry, recently announced a S$75 million Food Services Productivity Plan. The food services sector in Singapore will get a boost in productivity with the latest five-year industry plan. By 2015, the sector-wide nominal value-added (VA) per worker is expected to increase by about 20%.

”

French Gourmet Committee gathers F&B representatives and helps them to meet, network, exchange ideas and discuss common issues. The first meetings which gathered more than 20 F&B professionals intended for setting the main guidelines and set of actions of the committee.

A GROWING INTEREST FOR WINES Singapore represents the 11th market worldwide for French wines and is definitely considered as a hub for Asia-Pacific. According to the latest available data, from January to May 2011, exports of French wines in Singapore rose by 43.4%. We also see a change in the attitude of Singaporean consumers who are slightly moving away from drinking only beer. As a consequence, the wine market is expected to grow in volume by 26.2% in 2011.

A NEW GASTRONOMY SCENE? With the recent opening of the two Integrated Resorts, we saw more celebrity chefs landing on the City-State. To accompany this evolution, and with the growing number of F&B actors joining the FCCS, we decided to launch a new business oriented committee: the French Gourmet Committee. Through this new committee, the FCCS aims at enhancing the French Gastronomy in Singapore. Launched in March 2011, the

The French Gourmet Committee also aims at promoting the French Gastronomy in Singapore by organising various French culinary events throughout the year, such as a French Marché within Voilah! French Festival in November and a Paulée in December. The French Marché will take place from the 21 to 27 November 2011 at Plaza Singapura and will showcase many regional products. Many French food and wine importers will be there to promote French Terroirs all week long, French chefs will show their talents and great entertainment will take place! Visitors will be able to taste a bit of each region and stand owners will take the chance to educate Singaporeans on the beauty of French gastronomy! This will be a unique opportunity in Singapore to learn more about French regions! F SOURCES SingStats, EnterpriseOne, Le Moci

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COVER STORY

September 2011

French Gastronomy in Singapore

Singapore, a Gastronomic Hub? An interview with Alain Mahillon, General Manager, Hilton Singapore DO YOU THINK SINGAPORE CAN BE QUALIFIED AS A GASTRONOMIC HUB? Food has always been an important part of Singapore’s culture. Singaporeans are naturally curious hence the eagerness to discover new tastes and new cuisines. Armed with such open-mindedness, their taste buds have become far more adventurous. It is not unusual to see parents taking their offspring to French and Italian restaurants to develop these taste buds at a very young age; assuredly, this is a very telling sign. ACCORDING TO YOUR EXPERIENCE, WHAT ARE THE MAIN TRENDS IN THE F&B SECTOR OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS? We have noticed a decrease in interest in the quantitative side of buffets. This can be explained not only by health concerns, but also by consumers’ insatiable thirst for new dishes, cuisines and discovery in general. A few years ago, a concept BOTTOM LEFT Alain Mahillon, General Manager, Hilton Singapore BOTTOM RIGHT Il Cielo Restaurant at the Hilton Singapore

“

Value, informal setting, and friendly service are the main expectations of our Singaporean customers.

called “grazing”, literally eating a bit here and there, was already a precursor of this trend which waned over time, but has now morphed into the tapas concept which is very successful in Singapore and beyond. Taken to a higher level of fine dining, this concept is perfectly mastered by Iggy’s Restaurant located at the Hilton Singapore, rated 28th best restaurant in the world. Another emerging trend is that of the Nordic cuisine which has jettisoned the old image of heavy, oily and fat storing food for the long winter; this is all gone and the perfect illustration is Noma Restaurant, voted best restaurant in the world, located in... Copenhagen. This well deserved rating is based on leveraging to the max what Mother Earth has to offer. Natural, organic, and sometimes raw food, with true terroir tastes and fragrances that are truly ambrosial, especially when presented in such an elegant, tasteful and enticing manner.

”

WHAT ARE THE MAIN EXPECTATIONS OF YOUR SINGAPOREAN CUSTOMERS? Value, informal setting, and friendly service. Interest for fine dining is on the wane and this trend will continue in the future. HOW DO YOU PROMOTE GASTRONOMY AT THE HILTON? We take a two-pronged approach: food and wine, or wine and food. We invite many chefs from Europe and pair the meal with wines from our wine cellar. Sometimes, we invite renowned wine makers and our chefs prepare food that will defer to the wines. We have recently started wine classes, aptly named “The Wine Apprentice” and they have been full from day one. Aspiring cognoscenti appreciate these classes conducted by our sommelier Stéphanie Rigourd, in an informal setting and where learning is fun. F

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FOCUS MAGAZINE

COVER STORY

September 2011

French Gastronomy in Singapore

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO OPEN A RESTAURANT IN SINGAPORE? This project is amazing. When I first saw the concept of Marina Bay Sands, it was hard to say no. It has so many different attractions such as the ArtScience Museum, theatres, Sands SkyPark as well as the best chefs and cuisines in the world. I told myself I had to be here. I cannot think of any other project that is close to what Marina Bay Sands offers. Now that we have opened for a year, I feel even more so that Marina Bay Sands is like family to me. Yes, it is a big building and quite overwhelming for the first-time visitor, but there is intimacy in every corner. There are a lot of familiar faces around. When I walk in the hotel lobby, everyone from the concierge to the bellboy will come and say ‘hello’. This feels like family to me. Even though there are over 8,600 people working here, it feels like a 100staff boutique hotel to me because of the sense of familiarity. WHAT WERE THE MAIN CHALLENGES YOU ENCOUNTERED AND HOW DID YOU FACE THEM? This is the second time I have opened a restaurant outside of Paris. The first one was in Las Vegas. The challenge of opening another restaurant is how to ensure it is the same as the one in Paris. I am not just talking about the food, but the whole package – the people, the service and the atmosphere. Food and atmosphere are entirely inter-linked and you cannot separate the two. We want to give guests a sense of wellbeing when they are here. They need to enjoy the good energy and ambience that is

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It is the same music that we play, the same food that we serve.

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September 2011

part of the dining experience at Guy Savoy. The restaurant has its own life – it is about the art, the food, the plating, and of course the views as well. In Marina Bay Sands Guy Savoy, we have all of that. I am very fortunate that I have the best team here. Executive Chef Eric Bost and General Manager Georges Tov have both worked with me in the Paris restaurant for many years, so they know the philosophy of my cuisine and the intricacies of my operations. Their mission is to deliver the same level of service and food as in my Paris restaurant. WHAT IS THE RECIPE OF YOUR SUCCESS? Hard work, hard work and more hard

French Gastronomy in Singapore

work. And of course, a very good team!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LOCAL DISH?

DO YOU ADAPT YOUR CUISINE TO LOCAL TASTES?

As I said, I love the Black Pepper Crab. It has a great, complex taste that comes with so many different layers of flavours such that no one flavour overwhelms the other. For such a robust dish, it is balanced between the heat and fragrance of pepper and the sweetness of the crab meat. It is a dish with a lot of punch. Other local dishes that I like include Roast Pork and Kolo Mee. I get the latter at the Rasapura food market place at Marina Bay Sands – even at 2am! F

I do not change any courses or philosophy of my restaurants, whether it is here or at Las Vegas. When Marina Bay Sands wanted to have restaurant Guy Savoy, it wanted THE Guy Savoy. We do not have to change a winning formula. It is the same music that we play, the same food that we serve. However I do get inspired by local or Asian tastes. For example, I discovered Black Pepper Crab in Singapore in March last year and have since incorporated the wonderful peppery flavour into one of my sauces in Paris and Las Vegas.

LEFT PAGE Chef Guy Savoy BOTTOM Colours of Caviar

EXCLUSIVE COCKTAIL WITH CHEF GUY SAVOY On 21 July, the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore invited its Patron and Board Members to an exclusive cocktail attended by the Three-Michelin-starred Chef Guy Savoy. In a casual atmosphere, our guests had the opportunity to visit the Guy Savoy restaurant, savour Guy Savoy’s culinary creations and above all, get to meet Guy Savoy’s warm personality. We take this opportunity to extend our thanks again to Guy Savoy and his team for a great evening! F

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French Gastronomy in Singapore

The Gastronomy Scene in Singapore An interview with Alexandre Lozachmeur, Chef de Cuisine, Brasserie Les Saveurs at The St. Regis Singapore; Claudio Sandri, Chef, Brasserie Wolf; Isabelle Berman, Marketing Manager, Picotin Bistro & Bar. To get an overview of the development of the French gastronomy and its recent trends in Singapore, we have approached three different successful restaurants, each with its own unique concepts. They shared with us their views and insights on the evolution of the gastronomy scene in Singapore. HAS THERE BEEN A SHIFT IN YOUR CUSTOMER BASE WITH MORE LOCALS THAN FOREIGNERS?

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Singaporeans are now looking for new Brasserie Wolf dining experiences.

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Brasserie Wolf: There has been a slight change over time where the crop of diners were predominantly from the expatriate community of 30+, we now see an increasing number of local diners who are younger, more well-travelled and wellread.

AS PEOPLE ARE GETTING MORE SOPHISTICATED, THEY ARE NO LONGER LOOKING FOR JUST GOOD FOOD BUT ALSO AN EXPERIENCE. WHAT ABOUT SINGAPOREANS?

themselves through constant reinvention. With this in mind, Brasserie Wolf has reinvented itself recently to present authentic, hearty and affordable French cuisine to charm Singaporeans.

Le Picotin Bistro & Bar: For the past 4 years, we have always had a nice balance of local versus expat clients with a very consistent split of 40/60 throughout the week.

Brasserie Wolf: Singaporean diners have made great strides gastronomically in recent years. Being well-travelled and more knowledgeable, whilst they still love their local food, they are now looking for new dining experiences; novel cuisine, good quality and service.

Le Picotin Bistro & Bar: With a casual suburban bistro atmosphere where dining is casual and homey, our concept has always appealed to a vast gamut of clients; from families to professionals for business dinners and sports fans supporting their teams at the bar. It is a concept that bridges the gap between fine dining and a family restaurant. We certainly believe that the experience and the atmosphere enhance the food.

Brasserie Les Saveurs: Being in a hotel environment, we are certainly more frequented by guests who stay with us. Due to an enhanced dining experience with personalised service, the change in the type of our clients has risen.

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With the recent influx of celebrity chefs and restaurants setting up bases in Singapore, besides food quality and top notch service, they are now looking out for restaurants which are able to distinguish

We believe that the experience and the Le Picotin atmosphere enhance the food.

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Brasserie Les Saveurs: Our diners and guests are global citizens who dine well and expect culinary excellence and masterful execution of intuitive service. It is certainly no longer just about good food. Flawless and personalised service makes a dining experience memorable. From our experience, Singaporeans are savvy foodies who select their dining based on certain criteria that translates to ‘value for money’. WITH SINGAPORE’S EFFORT TO BE A GLOBAL CULINARY CAPITAL AND HOSTING THE WORLD GOURMET SUMMIT, DO YOU THINK THAT THIS ANNUAL EXTRAVAGANZA, WHICH HAS SUCCESSFULLY ESTABLISH ITSELF AS ASIA’S FOREMOST GASTRONOMIC EVENT, HAS HELPED THE GASTRONOMY SCENE HERE? Brasserie Wolf: Yes, the increased engagement of such high-profile international events provides a growing affirmation that recognition is increasingly

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September 2011

given to Singapore’s culinary talents, recognising that Asian chefs are becoming increasingly capable of showcasing a highcaliber alternative to the traditional Michelin chefs. The sharing and exchanging of cooking ideas and techniques during the Summit simply serve to raise the profile of the Singapore gastronomy scene, with beautiful food creations that will garner international acclaim, but still be ‘Uniquely Singapore’. Whilst opening of celebrity restaurants offers an amazing array of choices and serves as the benchmark for culinary finesse and dining standard, there will always be a demand for casual dining. The occasional fine dining experience will always be relished but there will also be cravings for an honest-to-goodness plate of Char Kway Teow or a hearty bowl of bœuf bourguignon. Le Picotin Bistro & Bar: Such initiative provides a positive influence on the industry and community. Besides elevating the array of gastronomic offerings of choice and experience to the consumers, it also offers the opportunity to experiment and explore. Brasserie Les Saveurs: It has certainly helped open the eyes of many people to the culinary world. The St. Regis Singapore was very proud to present diners with a gastronomic Fête by talented French Chef Serge Vieira at the Summit this year and we hope that this has helped in promoting the understanding of Western cuisine and the works of a Michelin starred chef. TELL US ABOUT YOUR SUCCESS STORY. Brasserie Wolf: Our success is contingent upon many factors. While our chef is a great asset to the restaurant, people are also drawn to the authenticity of the bistro ambience, the range of wines as well as the prime location. Ultimately, it will be the holistic experience which will speak for itself.

LEFT PAGE Brasserie Wolf RIGHT TOP Le Picotin Bistro & Bar RIGHT BOTTOM Brasserie Les Saveurs from St. Regis

French Gastronomy in Singapore

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We make sure to remain present throughout the guest’s meal. Brasserie Les Saveurs

We put in great effort to retain the authenticity of classic French food as much as possible. It is not limited to just the ingredients presented, but also the techniques used. We take great pride in adding a modern twist through methods such as the Sous Vide and the use of the Josper Oven. Le Picotin Bistro & Bar: Our focus has always been on food and customer service first. The bistro concept appeals to a great clientele mix which enables us to offer many types of events. The size and conviviality makes it a popular venue for company dinners, our home delivery service, party catering as well as our fun Pub quiz meet the demands of our patrons.

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Brasserie Les Saveurs: Hosting guest chefs has certainly gained attention, and The St. Regis Singapore is proud to partner with visiting chefs to provide our guests the opportunity to delight in authentic, rare culinary experiences. Our signature Arts Celebration events featuring guest chefs are testaments to our St. Regis heritage of providing exceptional and distinctive dining experiences. To differentiate our product to that of our competitors, we also make sure to remain present throughout the guest’s meal; personalising their meals and service based on their needs. F

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Say ‘Cheese’ By Julien Bompard, Chef/Owner, Le Saint Julien - Restaurant and La Fromagerie - Cheese & Gourmet Shop Cheese is typically known to be a favourite of only the connoisseurs or food lover. However, Julien Bompard who owns La Fromagerie, has seen over the past 3 years a growing interest from Singaporeans to discover and enjoy cheese. CHEESE IN SINGAPORE Asians generally enjoy strong flavour, food with character and the excitement in eating unique and exclusive products; cheese therefore can be considered to be one of the right pick in that domain. Consequently, the demand for strong cheese is increasing. It has now become an exclusive product to be enjoyed at home or to be brought for a party. Cheese is like wine, there are many choices, many tastes, and many budgets which will satisfy beginners and connoisseurs. Today when we talk about cheese, Singaporeans are more familiar with sterilised milk cheese or industrial cheese mainly

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The demand for strong cheese is increasing in Singapore.

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for kids and for gratin. Thus, it requires a truly effort of passion to make cheeses delectable to local adults.

OUR MISSION AND STORY With the idea, mission and passion of wanting to introduce cheese to people of all walks of life in Singapore, La Fromagerie was born and is focusing on mature cheese ‘affinés’. In order to increase public awareness of

cheese and educate people’s palates in line with our mission, we organised several initiatives. They ranged from presentations and tasting sessions in universities, culinary schools, hotels and companies to the launching of our Online Boutique. Today, our Online Boutique is our main operation. Purchases can be made from a wide range of more than 100 different cheeses and gourmet food and be delivered directly to home and offices. On the retail side, clients have the opportunity to taste before ordering. Ready served cheese trays are also available and orders can be made based on individual pieces according to tastes and palates. The trays are prepared by our staff that is well trained and specialised in selecting mature cheeses. These types of trays are becoming very popular as gifts for parties or barbecues. Another initiative is the development of a new range of dishes based on cheese for home cooking and of course this includes fondue, raclette, tartiflette or Mac&Cheese. There are pre-cooked packets of 250 gms easily reheated on the stove. Last but not least, is the distribution to hotels and private restaurants made possible by our ability to offer ‘next day’ delivery service as we import about 300 kgs of cheeses from France on a monthly basis and as such, have the stock ready at hand. Over the last 3 years, we have seen a growth in our sales due to our passion. We are happy of our success and will continue to remain dedicated to promote the culinary culture of France in Singapore through our various initiatives. F

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French Gastronomy in Singapore

A Unique Market An interview with Patrick Sauze, Director, Le Bénaton Packed with wines from small wineries from all the regions of France, Le Bénaton offers an impressive selection, from casual and very affordable to rare and prestigious wines. Le Bénaton is actually a showroom for a group of reputable French growers, whose wines are mostly found in the fine dining. ACCORDING TO YOUR EXPERIENCE, WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WINE MARKET IN SINGAPORE? If you ask me to describe the Singapore wine market, the first word that comes to my mind is what I usually hear from visiting wine makers who come here for the first time: it is "unique"! On one hand, it is a very small market if you compare it with traditional European markets or even with other emerging Asian markets such as China or Korea. On the other hand it is extremely dynamic and buoyant with many activities happening on the fine food and wine scene. These developments have intensified over the past ten years and probably reflect certain evolutions in Singapore’s lifestyle. More and more Singaporeans take an interest in wine, either as a hobby, or simply as a nice drink to enjoy when going out; wine has definitely become part of local social habits when dining out and is not seen as intimidating or reserved for the initiated. The fact that it has replaced Cognac in wedding banquets is a good example.

“

These developments have intensified over the past ten years and reflect certain evolutions in the Singapore lifestyle.

One other characteristic of this market is that it is extremely open, there are numerous importers and retailers, and the variety of the offer is quite wide, from entry level to very high end wines, from old world to new world wines. The relative proximity of Australia and New Zealand, and the fact that Singapore is a convenient logistics hub are also factors that have helped the local wine scene to grow. IT SEEMS TO BE AN OPEN MARKET FULL OF PROMISES, WHAT WOULD BE THE MAIN OBSTACLES? There are indeed some factors still holding back its growth, the major one is the duty applicable based on the percentage of alcohol. Without duty, a wine that you currently buy for S$20 in retail would probably go for around S$8 to S$9, and the entry level wine would retail roughly at the cur-

”

rent price of beer. You can imagine the impact on the volume of the market. This would probably grow the share of wines consumed at home. I have no statistics but I assume that today most entry-level wines are consumed by the glass in bars or restaurants. In contrast, premium wines end up being very well priced in Singapore compared with European markets where VAT (GST equivalent) is close to 20%. This is a reality that expats soon discover once settled in Singapore, you may have to cut on your volume but you can still make a reasonable usage of your wine budget here. Those coming from wine producing countries may miss their local wine, but overall, for a market that is that new, the spread of choice is quite amazing. WHAT ARE THE LATEST TRENDS IN TERMS OF OFFER? There is still a trend for wines with brand value or rating points to dominate, because they are re-assuring, but I think the direction of the market is towards a sophistication of the offer with more presence of the boutique wines with a value-for-money positioning. This is happening across all regions of production, not just the French, good but lesser known wines are able to make their way here through specialised retailers. There is a core of wine amateurs who are setting the trend and are ready to explore with their palate and stray away from the conventional highways of wine. F RIGHT Le Bénaton at Marina Bay Sands

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Pairing Champagne with a Meal An interview with Yann Soenen, ambassador of G.H. Mumm and Perrier-Jouët, Pernod-Ricard Yann Soenen’s role as ambassador of G.H. Mumm and Perrier-Jouët is to present the heritage and values of these two champagne houses, as well as the champagne culture in general, to the world. He shares with us his knowledge on the champagne market and gives us some tips on how to pair champagne with a meal.

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Singapore is now the 16th largest country for champagnes, with still a lot of growth potential.

”

IS THE CHAMPAGNE MARKET GROWING IN SINGAPORE? WHAT TREND HAVE YOU OBSERVED OVER THE YEARS? With a rising interest for fine dining and fine wines, Singapore’s champagne market has been steadily growing by 5% per annum during the past 5 years. Singapore is now the 16th largest country for champagnes, with still a lot of growth potential. ARE SINGAPOREANS BECOMING EXPERTS IN CHAMPAGNE? Singapore is home to some of the world’s best wine experts and connoisseurs. Although a lot remains to be done for the general public in Singapore to become champagne experts, we observe a fast development of the finest champagne qualities such as Rosé, Vintage and Prestige Cuvées being stocked here, a sign that

proves Singaporeans’ rising knowledge and appreciation of champagne. CHAMPAGNE IS USUALLY DRANK AS AN APERITIF, IS IT POSSIBLE TO PAIR IT WITH A MEAL? Champagne is well-known as a celebratory drink. However, a lot of people tend to forget that champagne is also a wine. It is a great accompaniment for various dishes and the variety of champagne provides for endless food pairing opportunities. Some pairing examples are: a blanc de blancs with oysters, a non-vintage brut with seafood, a mature vintage with fish or even white meat, and a rosé with desert. There is a lot of misconception about food pairing and I encourage everyone to be adventurous and always try new associations, especially with Asian food.

IS THERE ANY FOOD THAT JUST CAN'T BE PAIRED WITH CHAMPAGNE AT ALL? Champagne is a fresh and balanced wine with delicate aromas, therefore it is quite difficult to pair with red meat and bitter ingredients such as green asparagus, beetroot and bitter dark chocolate. THE FOOD CULTURE IS VERY STRONG IN SINGAPORE, PERHAPS YOU CAN GIVE US SOME EXAMPLES OF HOW CHAMPAGNE CAN BE PAIRED WITH LOCAL FOOD? CAN CHAMPAGNE BE PAIRED WITH SOME KEY NATIONAL DISHES OF SINGAPORE, LIKE CHICKEN RICE, CHILI CRABS OR CURRY? A non-vintage brut champagne such as G.H. Mumm Cordon Rouge or PerrierJouët Grand Brut will pair perfectly with all three dishes. Both the Chicken Rice and Curry Chicken will pair nicely with champagne, as the refreshing flavours of white fruits and citrus from the champagne complements both dishes by giving the right balance. It also pairs well with the Chili Crabs as it allows the delicate flavours of the crab meat to come through. SINCE WE ARE IN ASIA, COULD YOU GIVE US SOME TIPS OF CHAMPAGNE PAIRING WITH ASIAN FOOD IN GENERAL? There is a wide spectrum when it comes to Asian food. It is so diverse that we need to look at each cuisine and try the pairings dish by dish. Champagne pairs naturally well with seafood and fried food. Therefore, it pairs well with most Asian food. Examples are Japanese sashimi, sushi, tempura, and Chinese dim sum, fried rice, fried noodles. Once again, these are only generalities. Food and champagne pairing is an experimental adventure that each one of us needs to engage in. F

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A Growing Chocolate Scene An interview with Laurent Bernard, Director/Executive Chef, The Chocolate Factory Chef Chocolatier Laurent Bernard has more than 20 years experience in pastry and chocolate, working in various parts of the world before he landed in Singapore in 2003. After a couple of years spent working here, he decided to realise his dream of having his own business and in 2006 started the first artisan-style chocolate store in Singapore.

As an artisan, I believe that I have to constantly be innovative.

WHAT ARE THE TRENDS IN TERMS OF CONSUMPTION OF CHOCOLATES IN SINGAPORE?

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As consumers’ taste grew in sophistication and the recovery of the economy, premium chocolate continued to rise in popularity. Consumers being more health conscious and thus aware of its health benefits, dark chocolate grew more popular. Consumers are now able to note the difference between a candy bar and chocolate, high-end and supermarket chocolates. They now understand that a good chocolate is not due to its cocoa content but to the quality of the cocoa. They also tend to look for something that is ‘special and particular’ as opposed to generic chocolates.

our growth, this issue is even higher. There is not only a lack of manpower but also the challenge of educating them about product knowledge. We believe that the solution is to provide good trainings and to invest in more sophisticated equipments.

ning, I wanted to present our product very differently from my competitors in terms of product and service. As an artisan, I believe that I have to constantly be innovative and at the same time be serious and not compromise on the quality of my product.

The second main challenge is to keep educating consumers about chocolate. Even though people get easier access to information, we who are passionate about chocolates have to educate them about artisanal chocolates through chocolate appreciations for example.

WHAT ARE THE KEYS OF YOUR SUCCESS?

WHAT MAIN CHALLENGES ARE YOU FACING AND HOW DO YOU ADDRESS THEM?

HOW DO YOU COMPETE AGAINST THE INTERNATIONAL WELL-KNOWN BRANDS?

Manpower has and will probably always be the main challenge. We started the business with only three people and today with

Marketing is the name of the game for the top brands. They have an impressive budget and I am not able to compete and I am not looking to either. From the begin-

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There is no secret to my success. I am a hands-on person; very involved in every aspect of the operation. I work very closely with my supplier and visit the producer. I don’t compromise on the quality of the products. Each piece of chocolate produced in my kitchen must reflect the company identity; it must be unique in terms of taste. F LEFT Laurent Bernard’s Chocolates RIGHT Laurent Bernard

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French Gastronomy in Singapore

Singapore Lifestyle Scene An interview with Virginia Brumby, co-Director of Survival Chic

Survival Chic (SC) is a Lifestyle Membership - a shortcut to the best food, wine, art, leisure and events in Singapore. Members get 30% off the total bill at 50 handpicked restaurants and daily free invites to prestigious events and venues.

hunters willing to fit their schedule around 50% off an ice cream in Tampines. The SC 30% off offer applies every day at 50 handpicked restaurants. So savings are much, much higher. There are no vouchers to print, no phone calls to make, no pushy staff waiting to harass you. WHERE DO YOU SEE GAPS IN THE SINGAPORE LIFESTYLE MARKET? In an increasingly transient world, people are used to being ‘insiders’ in their home city. They move to a new place and want to feel the same way.

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The government is pouring money into service training initiatives.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE NEW F&B AND LIFESTYLE TRENDS IN SINGAPORE? They reflect the overall demand for a level of lifestyle that fits the city’s success. Clients are starting to expect service that matches the food quality. They are also looking for more authenticity, variety, and a welcoming atmosphere at F&B establishments and events… and all this at better value for money. WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF THESE NEW TRENDS?

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personal management at places like the Senso group, Tippling Club, Blu Kouzina, Pamplemousse, Keystone, & Deliciae group (Sabio, l’Entrecôte, 83). Second: Customers are starting to appreciate inspired chefs – not the absentee ‘celebrity chefs’, but local stars like Andre Chiang, Janice Wong at 2AM Dessert Bar, and Daniel Sia at Disgruntled Chef. Third: A plethora of discount schemes – people are tired of paying tourist prices for lackluster food & service.

I can think of three right off the bat:

HOW DOES SC DIFFER FROM ALL THE DISCOUNT AND COUPON SCHEMES?

First: A new appreciation for independent, owner-managed restaurants and groups. There is no replacement for hands-on,

Unlike Groupon and all the knockoffs, SC does not do fine print. SC Members are busy professionals, not fanatic discount

Also, in Singapore, the on and offline ‘guides’ are paid for by suppliers; so a good review is bought, not earned. We started SC to address those two needs (SC does not accept money from suppliers who are handpicked). Another gap is in the level of service. Restaurant owners are often suffering from a lack of qualified staff, and the government is pouring money into service training initiatives. The area is ripe for entrepreneurship. WHAT PREPARATIONS DO YOU ADVISE FOR SOMEONE LOOKING TO GET INTO F&B ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN SINGAPORE? I was previously an F&B/Lifestyle Journalist, and did an MBA at INSEAD, focusing on Entrepreneurship. Christophe Ferreira, co-Director of SC, also has an MBA & law degree and has managed other companies. But to be honest, none of that is necessary. Nothing truly prepares you; we have made thousands of mistakes and most entrepreneurs do. So take the advice of Richard Branson (who I shared a bottle with at F1 last year). He says: “Nevermind, just do it!” F

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French Gastronomy in Singapore

Finest French Food in Singapore By Philippe Vo, Managing Director, Classic Fine Foods Classic Fine Foods imports and distributes the finest food products and brands into Singapore since 2001. Well-known for its quality of service, logistics and expertise, Classic Fine Foods leads the way in the field of good food. Thanks to a large warehouse (fully temperature controlled) and 7 air shipments from Europe every week, chefs in hotels, restaurants, airlines and ship chandlers can rely on Classic Fine Foods to bring them the best ingredients needed. A GROWING INDUSTRY Singaporeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diverse culture has produced a highly developed F&B sector offering an extensive array of cuisines. Singapore has been ranked alongside Hong Kong and Australia as one of the three major eating capitals in Asia-Pacific. Its fine food market has shown robust growth and this is expected to continue as a result of economic growth and an increased consumer taste and interest for Western fine cuisine. New premium hotels and high-end restaurants are thriving,

therefore creating exciting opportunities for Classic Fine Foods.

MORE RECOGNITION FOR THE F&B PROFESSION The F&B industry has received more recognition over the recent years. The Tourism Awards and World Gourmet Summit have provided avenues for rewarding these professionals. Thanks to its impressive range of gourmet products targeted at industry clients, Classic Fine Foods has won the Tung Lok Gourmet Distributor for the Year 2010. F

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When Gastronomy Meets Arts of Table By Geoffrey Delhaye, Brand Manager Singapore, Guy Degrenne and Insiyah Imani, Marketing & Communication, iwannagohome!TM

Created by Guy Degrenne in 1948, this eponymous label has been devoted to the arts of the table. The Guy Degrenne brand is dedicated to quality, design, the art of dining and sharing true moments with your loved ones. From breakfast to dinner, from the first day of the year to the last, Degrenne Paris is there to make every moment a delicious pleasure. With the growing interest in fine dining both at home and out, the Degrenne Paris label has seen a tremendous potential for growth in the Asian market.

For many decades past, Asia has aped the west and endeavoured to adopt the western way of life. Meanwhile western brands were enriched through Asian cultures and lifestyles. Owing to this, many western brands and products have had a presence in Asian countries for a long time, the tableware industry included. Thus though the tableware brands face a lot of competition, the Asian market has yet to reach its fullest potential, and there is always room for growth and development thanks to the growing trends of entertaining at home and the influx of a huge expatriate community in Singapore.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

Customers are slowly but surely opening up to the possibilities of colour, shape, size and design.

â&#x20AC;?

While there will always be a demand for classic and traditional tableware, we have noticed that customers are slowly but surely opening up to the possibilities of colour, shape, size and design. There is a growing interest in trendy and avant-garde cutlery, glasses and porcelain. During a demonstration on the art of table setting,

we observed that most of the questions asked were about how to set a table, what the specific requirements to emphasise the beauty of your table are, and how to mix and match colours to make the table look trendy and elegant. Singapore being close to China, the market is also flooded with inexpensive porcelain, cookware, cutlery and glassware. Therefore, for a brand and especially a new brand to expand in this market, one has to exude their USP (unique selling proposition) and define their target market, in order to reach out to the right people. Despite this competition, Singapore is still a good gateway to Asia and the ideal country to introduce a new brand, especially when it is French. The French community in Singapore has grown manifold in the past few years and this allows French brands to reach out to their own native customers to expand their buyer base. This is especially true of Degrenne Paris as at least 95% of French people are well aware of the brand and of the unique retail experience it provides to its customers. 2010 and 2011 have seen a significant boost in the recognition and awareness of the French way of life around the world since French gastronomy has been honoured as part of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. This is a very good opportunity for all brands dealing in tableware to promote the French art of table setting in Singapore and around the world. F

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‘French-style’ Throughout the World By Benjamin Bilteryst, Asia Pacific Managing Director, Christofle

As a privileged witness and a player in the evolution of taste, customs and traditions, Christofle’s collections reflect the decorative styles from Baroque to Art Nouveau, from Art Deco to Avant-Garde, always associating itself with the renowned artists, silversmiths, designers and architects of its time.

THE HISTORY OF TABLE ARTS Table etiquette was codified in the XVIII century under King Louis XIV. Little by little all the courts of Europe followed the French example. In general, meals were divided into three courses. The full choice of menu for each course would be set on the table simultaneously; usually ten to twenty different dishes with entremets to be eaten between courses. Guests would choose their preferred dish from the variety presented and inevitably many dishes were left untouched. Once finished, each course was cleared, leaving place for the following course. As the plates were laid symmetrically along and across the table, the guests, who had to serve themselves, were never too far from whatever they might like to choose. The serving of drinks was totally different to that of today. Glasses were never put on the table. They were set along with decanters and bottles on a sideboard close to the table. Drinks were served when called for. When a guest required a drink, he would summon a servant, who presented him with a tray on which there was a water pitcher, a decanter of wine, and a glass. The wine was always watered down after being served, and would be drunk without resting one’s glass on the table. When emptied, the glass was taken from the guest and brought back to the sideboard.

“

Today, the table is set to reflect moods, occasions or guests.

Clean glasses were cooled in a verrière, (a crenelated bucket in which the crenels served to hold the foot of the glass). Other important pieces on the table were the oval and round tureens which were, in general, set in pairs on a serving tray. There was always a doublure, whether in

”

silverware or in porcelain, to allow for the preparation of the dish in the kitchen. The doublure was then placed in the tureen and brought to the table. The form of the centre piece lent itself perfectly to grand decorative compositions, particularly when the theme of the table was “The Hunt”.

A NEW CENTURY IS BEGINNING The past meets the present as modern techniques are put to use to serve the know-how of past generations. New longings become compelling: the longing for harmonious hues and textures, the longing for original forms and shapes, the longing for new tastes and luscious recipes, the longing for understated luxury, without ostentation. Today, the table is set to reflect moods, occasions or guests. With playful elegance, silverware, crystal, and porcelain signed Christofle can be put together to make up a decor that is simple or rich, traditional or unexpected. It is this redefined art of fine living somewhere, between tradition and modernity, that Christofle has been creating through its collections for the last 180 years. F

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COVER STORY

September 2011

French Gastronomy in Singapore

A Global Retailer with a Regional Touch By Carrefour

Over the past 40 years, the Carrefour group has grown to become one of the world’s leading distribution groups. The world’s second-largest retailer and the largest in Europe, the group currently operates five main grocery store formats: hypermarkets, supermarkets, hard-discount, convenience & online. The Carrefour group currently has over 15,000 stores, either company-operated or franchises with presence in over 20 countries.

FRENCH FOOD HERITAGE In 1963, Carrefour invented the concept of ‘Hypermarket’ & gave the world a new level of convenience. Likewise in Singapore, Carrefour was the first to introduce the hypermarket store format in the year 1997. We now have two stores in the city area, one at Suntec city & the other at Plaza Singapura. Just recently, we have also launched an online store which delivers throughout Singapore. Our purpose is twofold; to provide a piece of home for the French expatriates in Sin-

gapore and to offer new flavours from the various regions of France to the local customers. Part of this is reflected in the Reflets de France brand that we carry. Born of a desire to cooperate with small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) within a joint initiative, ‘Reflets de France’ was first launched by Carrefour in the 1990s and is entirely dedicated to products deriving from French culinary heritage. Products are sourced from 140 independent suppliers across France. Each is made according to strict artisanal criteria to ensure their quality and the preservation of French food heritage.

LEADING RETAILER OF ORGANIC PRODUCTS Carrefour is a leading retailer of organic products in France. This stems from our commitment to helping our customers embrace responsible consumption. We offer our clients the possibility of making purchases that also promote sustainable development through our Agir Bio range. Organic food in Singapore is a growing trend. We can identify two main reasons which can be attributed to this development: - Most organic food consumers in Singapore choose

the organic lifestyle because of their concern for their health. - The second main reason comes from a greater awareness of sustainabledevelopment and the willingness to adopt a responsible consumption. With people becoming more aware of how their choices of food affect the health of not only themselves, but their families, this trend is expected to keep growing worldwide. Thanks to our global offer and our regional and organic ranges, Carrefour succeeds in the challenge of meeting the needs of our local and foreigners’ customers. F LEFT Reflets de France Products

TOP 5 ITEMS SOLD IN SINGAPORE FOR THE BRAND ‘REFLETS DE FRANCE‘ • Cider Brut & Sweet • Fish Soup • Salt • Norman cookies • Nougat

TOP 5 ITEMS SOLD IN SINGAPORE FOR THE ORGANIC PRODUCTS • Cider • Apple Juice • Rice Cracker • Cooking Chocolates • Black Chocolates

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COVER STORY

September 2011

French Gastronomy in Singapore

A Growing Demand for French Gourmet Food in Singapore Aequitas, a young but up and coming French gourmet distributor of the finest food sourced fresh directly from producers, fishermen, vegetable and fruit growers. Going the extra mile to maintain the freshness, ingredients are air-flown into Singapore 3 times a week and maintained in a refrigerated environment until they reach the hands of the customers. A DEMAND FOR GOURMET FOOD Due to its limited agriculture market, Singapore has to import most of its food requirements, which is estimated to be about 90% of total food consumption. With a population of 5 million people and over 11 million tourists in 2010, Singapore represents a great Food & Beverage hub with a growing potential.

AEQUITAS BRINGS FRENCH FLAVOURS TO SINGAPORE Inspired by the Roman Goddess of fair trade and honest merchant, source of Equity, the name, Aequitas was adopted to bring Singapore closer to a variety of high quality French produce but still kept at reasonable prices.

With the aim of distributing exclusively artisan products with a strong identity from boutique craftsmen around the world, Aequitas continually works with local chefs from 5-star hotels and restaurants, to understand their needs and come up with unique ingredients recommendations for their menus. Not neglecting the end-consumers who wishes to whip up a dish or two of fine cuisine in the comfort of their own home, Aequitas distributes French products with a longer shelf-life than major supermarkets’ products. This includes French brands like Chateau Blanc (macaron and confectionary pastry), and Labeyrie (foie gras specialty and a wide range of smoked salmon). F

As a tourist and transportation hub of Southeast Asia, Singapore has a very large food service industry with many hotels, restaurants, airline caterers, ship handlers, hospitals, and clubs. This opens up another dimension of opportunity in trade of fine gourmet food products and supplies.

The French Lifestyle Paradox By Dr Kim Hayes Medical Doctor at Complete Healthcare International, Body with Soul Total Healthcare Network

Velouté D’asperges Glace au Yaourt Terrine de Canard sur lit de figues croquantes Filets de sole aromatisés à l’huile d’olive et son gratin de poireaux onctueux Petits crottins de chèvre frais aux trois poivres Sorbet de lavande aux amandes et Nougatine What if this could sound like the prescription received by your Doctor while at 45 years old you discover you are: • overweight according to the Body Mass Index table, • your cholesterol is above the normal, and • you may suffer from a coronary heart disease in 2 to 5 years…

from dairy and vegetable sources. • Higher quantities of fish. • Smaller portions, eaten more slowly and divided among courses that let the body begin to digest food already consumed before more food is added. • Lower sugar intake – American lowfat and no-fat foods often contain high concentrations of sugar. French diets avoid these products preferring full-fat versions without added sugar. • Avoidance of common American food items, such as soda, deep-fried foods, snack foods, and especially prepared foods (according to the Fat Fallacy by Dr Will Clower).

The French Lifestyle Paradox is related to: • Good fats versus bad fats - French people get up to 80% of their fat intake

Moreover, Dr Kim adds the following points: • Savouring food to increase the feeling of satisfaction, choosing a small amount

of high quality food rather than larger amounts of low quality food. • Eating 3 meals a day and not snacking. • Taking in plenty of liquid such as water, herbal tea and soup. • Sitting down and eating mindfully – French tend to be very conservative in their eating habits. French eating culture is fundamentally different, they focus on food and gastronomy and allow time for meals. While French are slowly adding take-out (à emporter in French), it is part of the culture to set aside a time and place to savour their meals. Then, let’s try “La douceur de vivre à la Française“… Enjoy croissants, tartes aux fruits rouges, and camembert and make time for it! Santé! F

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COVER STORY

September 2011

French Gastronomy in Singapore

Burgundy in Singapore An interview with Alexandre Bac, Asia Representative, Regional Council of Burgundy The Regional Council of Burgundy opened in 2005 a Representative Office in Singapore in order to promote the region and Burgundy regional products in Singapore and Asia. Alexandre Bac shares with us the goals of the Regional Council and his views on the French gastronomy in Singapore. WHAT ARE THE MISSIONS AND AMBITIONS OF THE REGIONAL COUNCIL OF BURGUNDY IN SINGAPORE? Burgundy is one of the only areas in France that has such an expansion strategy on the international scene. Indeed, the Regional Council of Burgundy is present in Singapore since 2005 via a Representative Office located at the French Chamber of Commerce. The missions of this office are the following: • Accompany the international development of SMEs in Asia; • Promote Burgundy as a tourist destination; • Attract Asian investments in Burgundy; • Support and promote the development of partnerships for action in Burgundy; • Help students from Burgundy to seek for internships in Asia. Through this Representative Office, the BOTTOM ‘Epicurean Burgundy’: A wine Seminar on Burgundy wines organised by the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore in 2009 and 2010.

objective is to keep pushing companies to make the effort to tap further markets. WITH THE FRENCH GASTRONOMIC MEAL JOINING UNESCO HERITAGE LIST, THE RECENT OPENING OF HIGHEND RESTAURANTS BY FAMOUS FRENCH CHEFS IN SINGAPORE, DO YOU FEEL A GREATER AWARENESS OF THE FRENCH GASTRONOMY AND FRENCH REGIONAL PRODUCTS? Burgundy is worldwide famous for its gastronomy and its Terroir products. Since 2005, we have been working on raising awareness of Burgundy wines here in Singapore. Several delegations of wine producers came to Singapore to showcase their products and we have been working on enhancing the notoriety of Burgundy wines through various wine tasting sessions. This long-term job is paying as the Singaporean wine market is getting more and more sophisticated and the Singaporeans more and more connoisseurs. The fact that the French gastronomic meal

is now UNESCO listed is consequently a fantastic opportunity for Burgundy. This will allow us to highlight our regional products and above all to attract more international French gastronomic lovers to Burgundy. WHAT ARE THE FUTURE PLANS FOR THE REGIONAL COUNCIL OF BURGUNDY IN SINGAPORE? First of all, on a culinary point of view, we plan to take part to the French Marché organised by the FCCS in November. This will be the perfect opportunity for us to let Singaporeans and the international community taste regional products of Burgundy. Others projects such as a Wine Fair and oenology courses are also considered. Secondly, in a largest point of view, we do want to organise more and more business meetings for companies from Burgundy in the area. We are open minded and willing to consider any project and events that could help our companies. F

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FCCS BUSINESS SERVICES

September 2011

French Companies in Singapore

During the cocktail organised at the FCCS booth, we had the pleasure to welcome members of the IDA (Infocomm Develop-

The VIP Tour guests honoured the French Pavilion on BroadcastAsia with their visit on the first day of the show. Included among other guests was Senior Minister of State, Grace Fu who visited Thomson Broadcast booth. F

Enensys Technologies – Broadcsat network equipment and test & monitoring.

Thomson Broadcast – Television and radio AM transmitters, antenna, mast and tower.

HTTV – iTV services, Video Mosaic, EPG/PVR, IPTV Middleware, VOD Solutions, iTV streamers.

Thomson Video Networks – Unique and innovative video delivery solutions.

Neogroupe – Software applications for radio and television broadcasters.

Winmedia Asia – Complete broadcast software suite for Radio/TV.

Partex International – Sales and rental of lighting balloons and inflatables.

WorldCast Systems – Audio & video delivery, transmission & monitoring.

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FCCS BUSINESS SERVICES

September 2011

French Companies in Singapore

Astellia – Mobile network optimisation & performance. ATDI – Radio planning software tools, spectrum management system, digital maps for radio planning, consulting servcies. Atemis – Business management cloud solutions. Avencall – Publisher and integrator of open source telephony solutions. Envivio Inc. – Encoding, transcoding, IPTV, Internet TV, Mobile TV, live, on demand. Geoimage – Digital maps for radio frequency planning & telecom network design.

Haiku – Multimedia convergence solutions, mobile Internet portals and applications, multimedia devices. In-webo Technologies – Authentification solutions for mobile, web and Cloud. Iqsim – Telcom gateways, SIM server. Software solutions for communication devices. Marais Group – Microtrencher, slot cut machines, trencher adapted for the laying of fibre. Netgem – IPTV set top boxes. Qosmos – Network intelligence software and hard-

ware platforms based on Deep Packet Inspection technology. Saft Batteries – Industrial Batteries.

Supranetcom – Service delivery platforms software for the telecom value added services (VAS). Teklynx – Developer of automatic identification software that offers. Thema – Specialised in the distribution of TV Channels. Transfer To – International mobile topup services, international airtime transfer and prepaid roaming recharge.

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FCCS BUSINESS SERVICES

September 2011

French Companies in Singapore

The ICT Awards 2011 For the second year in a row, the FCCS, Ubifrance and the French Embassy have recognised the achievements of the exhibitors of the French Pavilion at BroadcastAsia and CommunicAsia and handed out 4 awards to French companies selected by a Franco-Singaporean jury board: representatives of ARCEP, CVML, Google, IDA, MDA, Mediacorp Technologies, NTU and SingTel. The ICT Awards was presented by H.E.

Olivier Caron, Ambassador of France to Singapore during a wonderful evening at Studio M Hotel. More than 130 persons gathered for this meaningful event, supported for the first time by the international business law firm Cotty Vivant Marchisio & Lauzeral (CVML). The four categories and winners were: • Most Innovative Solution: Envivio Inc

• Best Broadcasting Solution: Aviwest • Best Competitiveness Improvement Solution: Supranetcom • Fastest Growing Company in Asia: Arkadin The event provided an invaluable platform for regognising and promoting the achievement and enhancing the French companies visibility within the Singaporean IT community. F

Upcoming Exhibitions in Singapore JEC COMPOSITES

IFFS

18 - 20 October 2011 Venue: Suntec Convention Centre Estimated Visitors: 7,000 Exhibitors: 345 JEC Asia reflects the composites industry’s tremendous growth in Asia and the request for processes industrialisation in the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Australia. Website: www.jeccomposites.com

9 - 12 March 2012 Venue: Singapore Expo Estimated Visitors: 21,000 Exhibitors: 536 An electric showcase of Asia's best and congregation of the largest collections of furniture and furnishings from China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore. Website: www.iffs.com.sg

SIEW 2011

* IDEM 2012

31 October - 4 November 2011 Venue: Suntec Convention Centre Estimated Visitors: 14,655 Exhibitors: 450 The Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) is an annual week-long platform for energy professionals, policymakers and commentators to discuss and share best practices and solutions within the global energy space. Website: www.siew.sg

20 - 22 April 2012 Venue: Suntec Convention Centre Estimated Visitors: 6,500 Exhibitors: 375 As the leading trade and continual education platform in the Asia Pacific, the International Dental Exhibition and Meeting (IDEM) Singapore offers an unrivalled opportunity to reach out to the dental fraternity in the region. Website: www.idem-singapore.com

* For these exhibitions, the FCCS organises a French Pavilion in collaboration with Ubifrance.

The French Chamber of Commerce (FCCS) organises French Pavilions at selected exhibitions in Singapore. FCCS’ aim is to help you avoid the hassle of the organisation, to save time by taking care of everything from booking of space to all related administrative tasks and logistics.

Above all, a pavilion shared with other French companies offers you a better visibility during the exhibition (prime location, joint press and communication campaigns...). To optimise your exhibition, one-to-one

meetings with key-decision makers can be scheduled for you during or after the exhibition. For more information, please contact Ms Constance Laparra by email at claparra@fccsingapore.com. F

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FCCS BUSINESS SERVICES

September 2011

French Companies in Singapore

They Rely on Us... and Testify on Our Services “The aim of the Advanced Master in Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Management at ESCP Europe is to prepare future managers of pharmaceutical, medical, banking, consulting and biotechnology companies for an immediate insertion in a professional environment that is currently undergoing dramatic changes and a strong move towards globalisation. Internationalisation and increased reliance on new information technologies are it hallmarks. In this context, our programme offered two business trips to its students this year: one in New York and the other one in Singapore. The aim of our international seminars is to give students a comparative perspective on managerial and cultural practices, meet professionals in the field abroad, attend lectures and conferences, and establish links and potential partnerships in the USA and in Asia. In 2010, 25 students from our track in Biotechnology Management, Banking and Consulting went to Singapore. This year, the whole group of 50 students came to Singapore – given the reputation among students and strong attractiveness of our two former business trips in 2009 and 2010 there. As ever, the FCCS – with its great support and professionalism – was able to provide us with many worthy and privileged contacts. The trip included institutional visits, presentations and meetings with key fig-

ures to provide a thorough introduction to all aspects of the biopharma industry in the region. Throughout the very comprehensive 3-day seminar that was organised for us, we were indeed able to meet with 17 different interlocutors this year – including venture capital and project financing structures, universities, research centers, biopharmaceutical companies, commercial structures, lawyers and lobbyists.

among the most useful of all the business trips I organised since I took the direction of the programme. And this is largely due to the FCCS competences, network and professional skills. I would strongly advise French or European partners to rely on the talents and network of the FCCS, should they want to be provided with potential Asian partnerships, business contacts and relationships in Singapore.

Conferences and testimonials were both insightful and very useful in such a way that some of our students are now eager to come back and work in Singapore. And the many contacts provided will, without any doubt, provide them with new and open opportunities to develop their career in Asia.

On behalf on my 50 students, I would like to say a great and warm thank you to the FCCS!”

Our business trip has been, once more, highly interesting, very rich, dense and

Frédéric Jallat, PhD, Professor and Academic Director Advanced Master in Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Management ESCP Europe (European School of Management), Paris - France

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FCCS BUSINESS SERVICES

September 2011

French Companies in Singapore

Newly Set Up Companies Through the FCCS Business Support For more than 20 years, FuturMaster has specialised in business solutions for Supply Chain management. FuturMaster supports and enables its customers to improve their performance by providing best practice, expert services and high performance software. Its solutions are scalable and flexible, enabling its customers to respond effectively to both internal and external factors. The FuturMaster software suite has been conceived, developed and implemented to drive the whole business (from strategic,

Newrest is a specialised caterer within the food industry supplying various markets including in-flight (Airlines), retail & business solutions, and catering & catering support services. Newrest operates close to its customers, and is thus able to answer its specific needs and requirements within its budget.

Headquartered in Paris, with regional offices in Singapore, Barcelona and Munich, Sofialys provides ad serving tools for mobile advertising, offering its clients pioneering ad management and direct marketing solutions for mobile phones and tablet devices (pre and post-roll video ads, geo-localisation, creative formats…). Since its creation in 2002, Sofialys has assisted a growing number of operators and ad sales houses to optimise and monetise their mobile inventory

tactical, to operational plan) and supply chain processes (from Forecasting, Distribution, Production, Supplying and Scheduling, Planning and Supply Chain Optimisation).

for the quality of its service and consultancy, but also for the reliability of the implemented systems. FuturMaster provide tangible results and a rapid Return on Investment (ROI).

With FuturMaster, customers have achieved : • Improved customer service levels with a reduction in inventory. • Increased margins through better use of resources. • Reduced inventory obsolescence. • Reduced planning cycle times and lead times. • Improved supply chain responsiveness through collaboration with partners.

Its international coverage is illustrated by its extensive client base which spans 5 continents and multiple languages, over more than 450 customers and more than 2500 users in 50 countries. With offices based in France, the UK, China and Singapore, FuturMaster provides a truly international service to its users.

Today, FuturMaster is recognised not only

Contact: Mr Matthieu SIMON, Managing Director Email: matthieu.simon@futurmaster.com Website: www.futurmaster.com

The company was established in Spain in the mid 60's to service airline catering to the booming leisure travel industry. In December 2005, a successful Management Buy Out took place, giving the Group new opportunities for future development and growth while dedicating its highly experienced resources to ensure customer satisfaction. What originally began as a small local airline catering company has been continuing to grow in scope and geography, becoming an international player in

the catering and services industry over the past four years.

and structure their offer in a more coherent and cost-effective manner.

geo-location for clients such as Vodafone and Orange Vallée in France and RTBF in Belgium. The company therefore covers the entire mobile marketing value chain, not only by offering technological solutions and services but also through permanent innovation.

In 2009, Sofialys launched its very own online mobile ad marketplace, called ADITIC. It is currently France’s number one ad network and has a strong market share throughout the rest of Europe and the APAC region. ADITIC enables publishers and advertisers to buy and sell ad inventories for smartphone applications and the mobile web. ADITIC offers Advertisers access to premium inventories, qualified traffic from publishers and operator portals. Additionally, Sofialys implements large scale location-based services and

Established in Singapore since August 2010, Newrest is now expanding in Southeast Asia.

Contact: Mr Hugues de VILLOUTREYS, Chief Representative Email: h.devilloutreys@newrest.eu Website: www.newrest.eu

Sofialys currently serves 800 million ad impressions per month across France, the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, LATAM and APAC. Contact: Mr Yann AITBACHIR, Chief Representative Email: contact@sofialys.com Website: www.sofialys.com

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FCCS HR & TRAINING SERVICES

September 2011

Training Sessions

Illuminasia provides illumination projects to cities, commercial centres, hotels and restaurants in the Asia Pacific zone. Illuminasia will distribute 2 brands that have more than 50 years of experience in illumination and a leader position on the European market with a turnover of around € 20 million:

• Chromex offers a wide range of decorative lighting products such as garlands, bulbs, festoons or light curtains for Christmas and other events. The products are designed in France and produced in Asia or Romania.

• Leblanc Illuminations creates and produces large light motifs for cities around the world such as Paris, Lyon, London, Montreal or Marrakech. The success of Leblanc Illuminations relies on: - A design with a ‘french touch’ appreciated all around the world. - Customised products developed and manufactured in France for cities very demanding on quality and reliability. - The use of LEDs on all its product to optimise electrical consumption.

Contact: Mr Thierry DESPATURE, Managing Director Email: thierry.despature@illuminasia.com Website: www.lcx.fr

Enhance Your Skills with FCCS Training Modules In addition to its two core missions that are assisting companies hiring in Singapore and assisting French and French-speaking jobseekers in their job search and career development, the HR department of the FCCS has also developed a Training programme. This comprehensive programme offers 18 modules from half day to two-day sessions – all conducted in English – that are suitable to all levels of your organisation and its various departments. By participating in our training sessions, you and your team will benefit from: • The experience of high-qualified trainers. • Very attractive fees. • A personalised training: sessions will be conducted in small groups (max 15 pers.) From Personal Development, to Management and Professional Skills, you and your team will obtain all the keys to succeed in a professional career. Check out the future www.fccsingapore.com!

training

sessions

and

Upcoming Training Modules, Sept-Dec 2011 Sep

Thu 29

Managing Cultural Diversity in APAC

Trainer: Mrs Catherine Claudepierre, Cross-Culture Link

Oct

Wed 12

Introduction to Supply Chain Management Fundamentals

Trainer: iCognitive

Fri 21

MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator) Step 2

Trainer: Mrs Catherine Claudepierre, Cross-Culture Link

Mon 31

Getting the Best from Your Career

Trainer: Mrs Bénédicte Dabin & Mr Philippe Gérard, Talea Coaching

Nov

Thu 10

Effective Feedback and Best Practices forAppraisals & Performance Reviews

Trainer: Mr Jean-François Cousin, 1-2-Win Executive Coaching

Dec

Wed 7

Digital Marketing and CRM

Trainer: Mr Gregory Birge, F5 Digital Consulting Personal Development

Management

Professionnal Skills

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FCCS CLUB EVENTS

September 2011

FCCS Events

FCCS Annual General Meeting The FCCS Annual General Meeting took place on Friday 4 June 2011 at the Alliance Française.

Philippe Launay (Treasurer) and Mrs Carine Lespayandel (Executive Director).

year for the FCCS and thanked the team, board members and company members for their active contribution.

Mr Pierre Verdière (President) presided the meeting and the AGM committee was composed of Mr Verdière, Mr Jean-

Mr Verdière presented an overview of the principles and annual report. He highlighted that 2010 had still been a very good

Mr Jean-Philippe Launay, Treasurer of the Chamber, presented the audited accounts and the budget for 2011. F

THE NEW EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE President Vice-Presidents

General Secretary Treasurer

Mr Pierre VERDIERE Mr Jean-Marc DEROMEDI Mr Jean-Philippe LAUNAY Mr Bertrand STOLTZ Mr Philippe TAVERNE Mr Hervé GUINEBERT

THE 2011/2013 BOARD MEMBERS ARE: Mr Jean-Marc AGABRIEL Mr Julien BOMPARD Mr Olivier CHAVANNE Mr Jean-Marc DEROMEDI Mrs Christine ETCHEPARRE Mr Olivier GROMETTO Mr Hervé GUINEBERT Mr Yves LAFORGUE Mr Jean-Philippe LAUNAY Mr Alain MAHILLON Mr Jean-Pierre RAYNAUD Mrs Catherine RIDELLER Mr Paul ROMBEEK Mr Bertrand STOLTZ Mr Philippe TAVERNE Ms Hélène TOURY Mr Pierre-Franck VALENTIN Mr Pierre VERDIERE Mr Pierre VEYRES Mr Philippe WIND

VALLOUREC & MANNESMANN TUBES/ SEAMLESS TUBES AP LE SAINT JULIEN RESTAURANT TOTAL OIL ASIA-PACIFIC APRIM FAR EAST TECHNIP SINGAPORE OPEN D ASIA BANQUE TRANSATLANTIQUE - CIC SDV LOGISTICS (SINGAPORE) ESSILOR HILTON SINGAPORE CREDIT AGRICOLE CORPORATE AND INVESTMENT BANK ORBENOE BV AIR FRANCE STMICROELECTRONICS ASIA PACIFIC CVML VEOLIA WATER SOLUTIONS & TECHNOLOGIES RHODIA ASIA PACIFIC HERMES SEA BNP PARIBAS WORLEY PARSONS

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FCCS CLUB EVENTS

September 2011

Asia Committee

Challenges of Doing Business in Indonesia Our first speaker, Mr Hartmut Issel, Head Wealth Management Research Singapore for UBS presented a political and economical outlook with the latest market indicators.

This breakfast talk was aimed at answering the questions of those who are planning to invest in Indonesia or making an additional investment.

Mr Hans W. Vriens, Managing Partner of Vriens & Partners, then dealt with the legislation and gave the attendees a better understanding of the Indonesian legislation.

This presentation organised by the Asia Committee, in collaboration with the DutchCham and the Italian Chamber of Commerce, offered a complete view of this growing market.

Last but not least, our final speaker, Mr Cyrille GossĂŠ, Director of PeopleSource, shared his experience on the

Human Resources practices in Indonesia. This well-received breakfast talk ended with an active Q&A session between the audience and our three speakers. F

Global Giants Rising in the East A small Korean firm that began by exporting fish and vegetables now leads the world's sales of LCD TVs and memory semiconductors. A car manufacturer from India, a country previously unknown for its expertise in the automotive industry, has acquired and turned around a previously loss-making global car brand, Jaguar, succeeding where established car manufacturers like BMW and Ford have failed. The companies in question are Samsung and Tata Motors.

gone on to achieve global leadership in their respective industries, competing on quality against established and predominantly Western companies. At this breakfast seminar, we examined the unique domestic market factors that enabled these companies to develop expertise resulting in a competitive advantage against the dominant players, as well as the strategies adopted that have led them to achieve unprecedented global success.

The above are prime examples of Asian companies, once labelled as followers and thought to be destined to compete on price in the mass market, that have

As the regional growth story continues, Asian companies will continue to emerge onto the global stage to compete head-tohead with the current leaders. Which local

companies are expected to benefit from the same unique success factors that Samsung and Tata Motors enjoyed? Which one of these has the right strategy to have a fighting chance at leadership? And what should established western companies do to remain competitive against this threat to their market share? Our two speakers, Mr Hartmut Issel, Head Wealth Management Research Singapore for UBS and Mr Lorenzo Mancini, Asia Pacific Manager, Fiamm Asia Pacific addressed theses questions during a wellattended breakfast talk organised in collaboration with the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Singapore. F

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FCCS CLUB EVENTS

September 2011

Human Resources Committee

HR Organisation in APAC: How Are You Organised to Work With Your Different Countries? The FCCS HR Committee is composed of HR directors from multinational companies who meet about every 2 months to exchange best practices and discuss HR trends and issues. Its role is also to provide their leaders and HR managers with infor-

mation on the employment situation in Singapore as well as on the development and evolution of employment schemes and remuneration strategies. For this specific meeting restricted to HR

managers, we invited Mr Olivier Chavanne, VP - HR & Communication, Total Oil AsiaPacific and Ms Cécile Diversy, VP & HR Asia Pacific, Danone to share their knowledge and practices on how they deal with their organisation on a regional scale. F

Employment Issues in Singapore and Southeast Asia Understanding employment issues are a critical aspect of doing any business in any country. The simple reason for this is because no business can function without the employees. Depending on the jurisdiction that one operates in, the employment issues vary. This is particularly so in Asia where the employment laws are extremely diverse. This session, presented by Mrs Kala Anandarajah, Partner at Rajah & Tann, seek to address the critical aspects of employment laws in Singapore and also briefly touched on some of the Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia and India. The breakfast talk was practical and provided thoughts on basic employment arrangements, such as whether you

should do secondments, outright employment, managing the tax concerns associated with this. Additionally, the session touched on the following issues: • Managing the employment contract and understanding when legislation takes over regardless of what the contract says. • Providing for basic but important benefits, such as leave, sick leave, bonuses and other variations of compensation, holiday benefits, house, car and other allowances etc. • Maintaining of confidentiality of information. • Restrictive Covenants, Restraint of Trade, Non-Solicitation and Non-competes. • Managing termination and dismissals of employment, and obligations while serving during notice period. F

Improving Staff Retention in Asia Paciﬁc Although a moderate level of staff turnover can be good for a business, every organisation needs to have a strategy in place to retain high performers that give it a competitive edge. The cost of not doing so can be severe as high employee turnover can be very costly: lowering internal morale, harming the company’s external reputation and losing its business.

The ultimate aim should be to make every employee feel valued and proud of the work that they do. To develop a work culture that encourages diversity and creativity. There should also be effective anti-discrimination policies in place that promote flexible working, where possible. Adopting a strategy for staff retention is not easy but it will greatly benefit

your organisation. To tackle this specific topic, our two speakers Ms Cecile Diversy, VP & HR, Asia Pacific, Danone, and Mr Nicolas Ribeyron, Regional Human Resources Director - Asia Pacific, Imerys Asia Pacific, presented their case studies with relevant examples and actions. F

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September 2011

Human Resources Committee

Happiness at Work: Be Resilient, Motivated, and Successful During this committee meeting, Dr Sven Hansen, founder of The Resilience Institute, explained how to unlock the biological resources of body, heart, mind and spirit

and build practical resilience competencies to live and work productively without compromising health and happiness. He presented a new core competence of out-

standing leadership, introducing challenging new research on how the brain, body and emotion interact to drive creativity, decisions and flow. F

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September 2011

ICT Committee / R&D Committee

Developing Software in Singapore or Outsourcing? Singapore represents a perfect location for setting up a regional headquarters, but how does it compete with its neighbors regarding product development operations?

Autodesk reviewed the milestones of Autodesk in Asia and shared with the audience the strategic choices for setting up its R&D Centre in Singapore.

Through two case studies, this breakfast talk illustrated the benefits of developing software or video games in Singapore versus outsourcing in low-cost countries.

Then, we moved forward from the software development to the game industry with Mr Olivier de Rotalier, Managing Director of Ubisoft Singapore who shared his insights on the game industry in Singapore and explained why they decided to open their studio in Fusionopolis in July 2008.

Our first speaker, Mr Denis Branthonne, Regional Director, ASEAN & ANZ for

This IT breakfast talk ended with a very active Q&A session. F

Innovations in Data Discovery & Analysis Born from search technologies that evolved in the demanding crucible of the

Web, Search Based Applications (SBA’s) combine the sophisticated search, access and reporting – typically associated with databases – with the speed, scalability and simplicity of the Web. SBA’s are fundamentally changing the way that we interact with corporate information capital by safely democratising access to this information and offering tools to transform and contextually represent structured and un-

structured information together as a 360 degree view of my business; in weeks not months (or years!). Our speaker, Mr Jean Garez, Director Business Development, Asia Technical Services, introduced to our participants new models for Search Based Applications and shared with us the capabilities of Exalead. F

Intellectual Property Transfer Management at NTU Our R&D Committee organised a series of committee meetings on the Intellectual Property Transfer Management. As part of this series, we invited Mr Jeffrey Nadison, Associate Provost (Innovation), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), to discuss how Nanyang Technical University deals with the IP. He first intro-

duced Nanyang Technopreneurship Centre, and then explained NTU IP Ownership Policy. He then detailed the IP Policy for industrial trainees, the jointly owned IP and the different licensing schemes. This session ended with a discussion where our members could exchange their views on this crucial topic. F

R&D Lunch: Discussion with the CNRS Our R&D Committee received during a lunch meeting two representatives from

the CNRS, Dr Minh-Hà Pham-Delègue, Director, DERCI, CNRS and Dr Chantal Khan-Malek, Deputy Director in charge of Asia Pacific, DERCI, CNRS who came to Singapore in order to meet our industrials and have a better understanding of the R&D landscape in Singapore.

an important actor in economic life. Indeed, the CNRS develops fruitful relationships with the industry, helps laboratories to enhance their research and transfers technology to the business world. Our speakers ended their presentation with the CNRS international strategy.

Our speakers presented the new organisation of science in France and CNRS international strategy. They highlighted the new competitiveness clusters and investments for the future and presented the CNRS as

This lunch was a great opportunity for our members to gather and exchange with the CNRS representatives on possible future collaboration, such as the existing second joint lab in Singapore CINTRA. F

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FCCS CLUB EVENTS Marketing & Communication Committee

Hot Tips to Drive a Successful Marketing Campaign in Singapore For this talk, Mr Stuart Kamp, Regional Head of Marketing, Consumer Banking Singapore & Southeast Asia at Standard Chartered Bank, presented the keys to drive a successful marketing campaign in Singapore. Through a specific case study, our speaker gave valuable tips and marketing techniques to our 30 participants. Stuart illustrated his points with numerous examples and shared his vision of marketing not only in the banking sector but also shared his insights for other sectors. We ended this breakfast talk with an active Q&A session where all our members had the opportunity to have an exchange with our speaker. F

The Power of Design for a Successful Business We often associate design with just its aesthetic aspect, when design can really help your company to innovate across the board, on many levels of production and management. These days, a lot of companies are applying Design Management as their key management strategy and seeing their sales and income grow faster than others who only use design once in a while, as part of some minor project. Mr Daniel Kwintner, Director, Ingenious Design told us more about Design Management and explained how you can use it and start improving your business innovation. F

MarCom Networking Event The FCCS Marketing & Communication Committee gathered all the MarCom professionals for a dedicated Networking Event before summer. This event held at Flutes at the Fort, was the perfect occasion to broaden networks or simply discuss with other professionals. F

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September 2011

Finance Committee

The Taxation System for French Non-Resident This breakfast talk, organised by our Finance Committee, was aimed at explaining the French taxation system that might be profitable for French non-resident if they know how to optimise it.

S.A and Mrs Mai Trinh-Brunswick, from Crédit Suisse, first defined the term nonresident for taxation purpose, and then tackle several topics such as the real estate investments, life insurances.

Our two speakers, Mr Jean Guéron, Managing Director at Credit Agricole (Suisse)

Advices and tips on how to prepare the return to France after the expatriation were

given as a conclusion to the presentation. This talk, moderated by Ms Amélie Rémond, Regional Head Wealth Management Distribution, Aberdeen AssetManagement, was well received by the more than 50 participants and ended with a very active Q&A session. F

M&A: Understanding the Impact of IFRS on Deals Your future M&A deal will be influenced by International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). As surprising as it may be, an economic deal can be impacted by reporting standards.

governance principles. Understanding how this mechanism works will help you ensure that you have no negative surprises when the targets earnings are brought into your consolidated accounts.

The exact amount that the acquired business will contribute to your reported earnings after the closing will depend on the way you have drafted certain of your accounting

Mr Pascal Jauffret, Deputy Head of Asia Pacific at Mazars detailed the key features of how IFRS will impact your deals in the forthcoming months. F

Finance Networking Event Our first Finance Networking Event of the year was held in May at Wine Connection, Cuppage Terrace. Being the first one of the year, it attracted a good crowd and as always, the event provided an ideal opportunity for like minded people to connect and network over a few glasses of wine after a hard day’s work. F

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FCCS CLUB EVENTS Business Women Network Committee / Legal & Tax Committee

A New Business Women Network The FCCS recently started a new Committee dedicated to business women occupying mostly senior positions in multinational companies. The first meeting took place in May 2011 and aimed at defining the goals, scope of interest and activities of the committee. It was agreed that bi-monthly meetings would take place, allowing excellent networking opportunities and discussions.

- Mentoring; - Opening up the French business community to diversity issues; - Sharing professional experiences in different industries; - 'Raising' the next women generation

The objectives of the Committee include among others: - Learning from/sharing with other women; - Debating;

to cope working in any industry; - Supporting women professionally and personally. The inaugural meeting was held with the first speaker being Ms Yee-May Leong, Senior Vice President Asia Pacific, Orange Business Services who shared her success story and her values with the rest of the members. For the second meeting, Mrs Chloé Marchand, Commercial Director Air France KLM Singapore, Indonesia, Australia & New Zealand described her background and explained how much her personal environment influenced her professional choices. F

Protection for Foreign Investments: How to Structure an Investment to Enhance Investment Treaty Protection? Investment treaties are treaties in which states undertake to protect foreign investments in their territory and most provides aggrieved foreign investors with the means to enforce these protections through international arbitration against the host state of their investment. The protection guaranteed typically includes the obligation by the host state to treat the foreign investment fairly and equitably with no discrimination and not to expropri-

ate the foreign investment without compensation.

vestment to fall within the scope of an investment treaty.

With claims by foreign investors under investment treaties having grown significantly over the past five years or so and a number of Asian states having been on the receiving end of such claims as well as the growing awareness of the protection offered by investment treaties, increasingly foreign investors are structuring their in-

Ms Elodie Dulac, a senior associate in King & Spalding’s Singapore office and a member of the firm’s International Arbitration Practice Group, shared her expertise on this subject and gave her invaluable insight on How to Structure an Investment to Enhance Investment Treaty Protection with the participants of the talk. F

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September 2011

Luxury & Retail Committee

How to Deliver Superior & Effective Customer Service in the Luxury Retail Industry This Luxury & Retail Committee meeting was an informative morning on the possible solutions for luxury brands to enhance service in their boutiques with the main focus on the China Luxury Market. With his numerous years of working and residing in China, the participants were able to re-

ceive interesting and in-depth insight into the luxury market trends in Chinas from the expert himself; Mr Nicolas Jeanjean, Executive Director of Albatross Global Solutions. Mr Jeanjean shared the latest findings

conducted by Albatross Global Solutions in 2010 on the trends of the Chinese consumer spending, the profile of the luxury buyer, the power of the information channels (internet, blogs and social networks) and the importance of boutiques and the service in store. F

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September 2011

Entrepreneurs Committee

Entrepreneurs Committee Meeting The Entrepreneurs Committee is the place for entrepreneurs to meet and network. They believe that diversity creates dynamism and that experience sharing benefits each and every entrepreneur. In that respect, they coordinate informal meeting between French entrepreneurs of Singapore and organise breakfast talks specifi-

cally targeted to membersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; needs.

events to be organised in the future.

This meeting aimed at introducing our new Entrepreneurs members and getting them involved in the future actions of the committee. After a short introduction of the participants, we established a list of the needs and wishes and the types of

We then decided to organise a networking event especially for entrepreneurs with another chamber of commerce, such as the first initiative in last October with Singaporean entrepreneurs. All our entrepreneurs insisted on the fact that there is a need for exchange: experiences, advices, tips. We then created a special platform on LinkedIn dedicated for the FCCS entrepreneurs committee members. This aims at facilitating the exchange of information and contacts. In terms of experience sharing, we will keep organising committee meeting and breakfast talks on various topics, such as the government grants, and the pitfalls to avoid. This committee meeting was an excellent opportunity for our members to meet other entrepreneurs and share insights, tips and experiences. F

Joint-Networking Event for Entrepreneurs with the AmCham Entrepreneur Committee The FCCS Entrepreneurs Committee and American Chamber's Entrepreneur Committee invited all their Entrepreneur members to a special networking night at Outback Steakhouse. A successful and fun night of networking! More than 50 entrepreneurs joined us for this great evening where an exchange on entrepreneurial issues was shared between the French and American entrepreneurs. F

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September 2011

Energy & Environment Committee

Oil & Gas: New Environment Expectations Oil has been used for lighting purposes for many thousand years. In areas where oil is found in shallow reservoirs, seeps of crude oil or gas may naturally develop, and some oil could simply be collected from seepage or tar ponds.

ment Committee Meeting, Mr Eric Atton, Operations General Manager Asia Pacific for Vallourec & Mannesmann Tubes, focused on a case study: the impact of the Gulf of Mexico’s oil slick. He reviewed these following points:

Our speaker for this Energy & Environ-

• What happened on BP Macondo rig?

• Oil & Gas Offshore: after Macondo what to expect? • Vallourec’s solutions to answer the new environment expectations. After the presentation, an open discussion took place where our committee members could exchange their views. F

ESG & Impact Investing Limitless Opportunity Research continues to show that social, environmental, and financial returns can be gained in parallel and risk profiles of sustainable investments are attractive to mainstream investors in many cases. Moreover, new models of sustainability are being developed and deployed worldwide at financial institutions and corporations. TBLI Group™ (Triple Bottom Line Investing) introduced the idea that a truly sound

investment is one that provides both financial rewards and offers social and environmental benefits. Mr Robert Rubinstein, Founder and CEO of TBLI Group, discussed several topics including the entire gamut of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) subjects: Carbon Finance, Sustainable Private Equity, Alternative Energy Finance, Re-

search, Green Real Estate, Transparency, Human Rights, Fund Performance and Strategy, Public Private Partnerships, Faith Consistent Finance, Islamic Finance in combination with ESG Investing. This presentation was aimed at raising awareness on impact investment. It was followed by an interesting discussion on the perspectives it brought up. F

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September 2011

FCCS Events

The FCCS Organises Your Event! The FCCS organises more than 100 events a year. Here are some organisation who had benefited from our experience as Event Organiser to reach new customers and gain exposure. You can too !

Caisse des Français de l’Etranger: Votre Protection Sociale This breakfast talk sponsored by GMC Services and Caisse des Français de l’Etranger (CFE) aimed at informing our expatriate participants on the social welfare coverage. Presented by Mr Philippe Le Mener, from

Caisse des Français de l’Etranger and Mme Gabrielle de la Croix, Regional Manager at GMC Services, this informative talk brought together 30 participants. CFE has a network of 43,500 covered persons and 26,000 members in Asia. F

Sorbonne University International Law School Paris-Singapore Sorbonne University is opening an International Law School in Singapore in September. To introduce their project, they selected the French Chamber of Commerce for the organisation of a breakfast meeting.

Before an audience of more than 25 participants, our speaker, Mr Stéphane Braconnier, Professor of Law, Sorbonne University International Law School, introduced the goals of the International Law School in Singapore. F

Prepare for Your Retirement by Investing Today The question of retirement is a concern for all. Indeed, all individuals have to be prepared for their retirement and investing in real estate could be a good option. This breakfast talk, presented by Mr Jean-

François Fougeret from Resides Etudes, gathered more than 20 persons. Our speaker demonstrated the benefits of using real estate to build your retirement portfolio. F

The FCCS Brings You New Customers Do you wish to reach new customers and gain exposure? We organise your own Breakfast Talk and guarantee a qualified audience of at least 20 persons. An all-inclusive offer: We take care of everything! • We select and book the venue. • We create the invitation. • We communicate your event through our website and direct emailing to our 2,200+ Members’ database. • We assist you during the all length of the event. The format of the event is a 90-minute Breakfast Talk held in a high-end hotel with a breakfast buffet, ideal for a presentation followed by a short networking session. For more information, do not hesitate to contact us at bizclub@fccsingapore.com

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FCCS Events

Exclusive Luncheon with our FCCS Patrons Members As a token of appreciation, we had the pleasure to host our Patron Members to a very exclusive Luncheon Meeting at DB Bistro Moderne, Chef Daniel Bouludâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s restaurant. His Manhattan restaurant, Daniel, is considered one of the 10 best in the world. This exclusive luncheon meeting was a great opportunity for our Patrons Members to get to know each other in a convivial atmosphere. We take this opportunity to thank again our FCCS Patrons Members for their ongoing and very generous support. F

Business + Gastronomy = FCCS Monthly Luncheons Every first Friday of the month, the FCCS organises a business luncheon in a French restaurant; each time a new venue with a different menu is selected. These informal networking sessions create excellent opportunities to develop new contacts and exchange ideas on business issues while enjoying great French food.

art collection than simply aesthetic preference. With an emphasis in the Asian markets, Mr Phil Whittaker, Director of Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Institute of Art Singapore, highlighted a number of ways to aid you in

your future art investments. Held at ReDot Fine Art Gallery, this talk was followed by a cocktail, where all our French and Belgian participants had the opportunity to network. F

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September 2011

FCCS Events

Top 12 Beach Rugby Tournament 2011 For the first time, the FCCS organised on 4th June a Touch Rugby Tournament at the Rasa Sentosa. The main ingredients for the success of this maiden tournament were: • 10 teams • 70 players • 120 energy drinks • 240 beers • A great lunch at Trapizza • Great rugby spirit and fair play

though all the teams and players had a great spirit, the games were tough and challenging. We congratulate our winners, The Lyçée Francais, for their great performance!

Despite the heavy rain during half an hour in the morning, our players kept playing and were rewarded by a nice weather for the rest of the tournament. Even

A great thanks to all the players and especially to Jérôme Daydé and Franck Schaller from Le Quinze Gaulois who helped us a lot with the organisation.

After the finals and prize ceremony, all the players were invited to a great buffet lunch served by the Rasa Sentosa in front of the sea.

We take this opportunity to thank again our main sponsor IP Global for their fantastic support throughout the tournament. We would like also to thank all the sponsors who generously offered prizes for our finalists: Clarins, French Terroirs, and of course Heineken for the ‘energy’ drinks. The FCCS hopes to see you next year for another thrilling and enjoyable Touch Rugby Tournament in 2012! F

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Events & Gala Committee

September 2011

Glamorous Cannes The annual FCCS Gala is held to celebrate friendship between France and Singapore. The theme for the year was Cannesâ&#x20AC;Ś The Gala Dinner brought together no less than 530 of our most eminent Singaporeans and French guests in an evening of French Style. For the first time at a Gala Dinner in Singapore, a Michelin 3-star Chef since 1996, Masterchef Alain Passard organised and prepared the meal. Asides demonstrating his skills and creativity, he also shared his views on the whole concept of food preparation. Our Master of Ceremony, Hamish Brown, invited Fann Wong, a Singaporean actress and singer, to share with us her experience of the Chinese and Hollywood cinemas. Held at the Shangri-La Hotelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Island Ballroom on the 27th of May 2011, both the Singaporean and French business communities jointly enjoyed the evening under the patronage of our Guests of Honour Mr Tommy Koh, Ambassador-At-Large at the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and H.E. Olivier Caron, Ambassador of France in Singapore. This event lasted all night long with a live performance by Corinne Gibbons and Band, and a Cannes fashion show created by Raffles Design Institute specially for this event.

Prime Sponsors

The dinner provided an experience of fine French Cuisine accompanied by most delicate French wines and Champagne. Co-Sponsors

The evening was a fabulous night where the best of Singapore meets the most refined of French creativity. Thank you to all our guests for joining the FCCS Gala Dinner celebration! This event would not have been possible without the strong support of our sponsors. F

Supporting Sponsors

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September 2011

Events & Gala Committee

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Events & Gala Committee

September 2011

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September 2011

Events & Gala Committee

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FCCS New Members

FCCS New Members We are very pleased to welcome the following new members who recently joined the French Business Community. Please visit www.fccsingapore.com for more details.

PATRON MEMBER ACCOR ASIA PACIFIC Contact: Mr Michael ISSENBERG, Chairman & COO – Asia Pacific Website: www.accor.com Sector: Hotels

CORPORATE MEMBERS AGS-BTP ASIA Contact: Mr Jérôme CARRE, GM Website: www.ags-btp.fr Sector: Public Works / Engineering / Construction

LMB HOUSING SERVICES AMESYS SINGAPORE Contact: Mr William MALLOL, VP Website: www.amesys.fr Sector: Information Technologies & Computer

Contact: Ms Anne LEHMAN, Managing Director Website: www.singapore.lmbhousing.com Sector: Real Estate

POCLAIN HYDRAULICS AREVA Contact: Dr Selena NG, Regional Director, SEA & Oceania Website: www.areva.com Sector: Energy

CLESTRA LIMITED SINGAPORE BRANCH Contact: Mr Gilles MARINO, GM Website: www.clestra.com Sector: BTP / Environment / Transportation

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE SE ASIA Contact: Ms Ingrid COINQUET, General Counsel Website: www.commercial-intelligence.net Sector: Auditors / Law Firms / Consultants

DEGRENNE PARIS - SHOPPING BAG Contact: Mr Geoffrey DELHAYE, Brand Manager Website: www.gillcapital.com.sg Sector: Consumer Goods (Non Food)

Contact: Mr Ignacio LLAMAZARES, GM Website: www.poclain-hydraulics.com Sector: Industrial Products / Manufacturing

REMY COINTREAU INTERNATIONAL Contact: Mr Xavier DESAULLES, Regional MD Website: www.remy-cointreau.com Sector: Food and Beverages

RESOURCES GLOBAL PROFESSIONALS Contact: Mr Sébastien NORMAND, MD Website: www.resourcesglobal.com Sector: Auditors / Law Firms / Consultants

ROLAND BERGER STRATEGY CONSULTANTS Contact: Mr Thomas KLOTZ, Managing Partner Southeast Asia Website: www.rolandberger.com Sector: Auditors / Law Firms / Consultants

FINNAIR

THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

Contact: Mr Petteri KOSTERMAA, Sales Director SEA Website: www.finnair.com/sg Sector: Air Transport

Contact: Mr Laurent BERNARD, Director Website: www.thechocolatefactoryonline.com Sector: Chocolate

HIGH-TECH LUBRICANTS AP (MOTUL AP)

TINUBU SQUARE SINGAPORE

Contact: Mr Jacques MALZ, CEO Website: www.Motul-asiapacific.com Sector: Oil

Contact: Mr Yann BACCON, APAC Area Manager Website: www.tinubu.com Sector: Bank / Finance / Investments

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September 2011

FCCS New Members

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS BODY WITH SOUL TOTAL HEALTHCARE NETWORK

PICOTIN BISTRO & BAR Contact: Ms Jacky STEVENS, Owner Website: www.picotin.com.sg Sector: Restaurant

Contact: Mrs Graziella CHIVALLIER, GM Website: www.bodywithsoul.com Sector: Healthcare

RESTAURANT GUY SAVOY BRANDSFEVER

Contact: Mr Guy SAVOY, Chef Proprietor Website: www.guysavoy.com Sector: Restaurant

Contact: Ms Sara Ebru KISIOGLU, Managing Partner Website: www.brandsfever.com Sector: e-commerce

GIMMEL PROJECT INTERNATIONAL

YTL STARHILL GLOBAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

Contact: Mr Heinz GIMMEL, MD Website: www.gimmelproject.com Sector: Interior Design / Architecture

Contact: Ms Mei-Lynn ONG, GM / SVP Website: www.ytlstarhill.com Sector: Real Estate

J & D BURLEIGH

YTL STARHILL GLOBAL REIT MANAGEMENT LIMITED

Contact: Mr Darryll BURLEIGH, MD Website: www.jdburleigh.com Sector: Food and Beverages

Contact: Mr Thoong Shin CHONG, Senior VP Website: www.ytlstarhill.com Sector: Real Estate

ENTREPRENEUR MEMBERS ASIA DEAL GROUP MICHEZO GROUP

Contact: Mr Gregory COSTAMAGNA, GM Website: www.StreetDeal.sg Sector: e-commerce

Contact: Mr Laurent THOMAS, Managing Director Website: www.michezo-group.com Sector: Sports Marketing

EXPAT INSURANCE MISE EN SEINE

Contact: Ms. Danielle BRAY, Director Website: www.expatinsurance.com.sg Sector: Insurance

Contact: Mrs Marie-Pierre MOL, MD Website: www.mise-en-seine.com.sg Sector: Arts & Leisure

FEWSTONES NEVER 2 LATE 2 BE FIT

Contact: Ms Sophie NORMAND, Executive Director Website: www.fewstones.com Sector: Information Technologies & Computer

Contact: Ms Martine MUHLETHALER, Owner Sector: Personal Trainer

FRENCH TERROIRS

PRIMAVERA CREATIONS

Contact: Mr Laurent PIEL, Director Website: www.frenchterroirs.com Sector: Food and Beverages

Contact: Mrs Violaine HEMERY, Graphic Designer Website: www.primavera-creations.com Sector: Media / Communication

METIZO SINGAPORE

VUE PRIVﾃ右

Contact: Mr Bob AUBREY, CEO & MD Website: www.metizo.com Sector: Human Resources

Contact: Mr Olivier HENRY, Founder Website: www.vueprivee.com Sector: Art Gallery

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS MR OLIVIER BOUBERT, GM, Sales, KUEHNE + NAGEL

MRS HELENE TRIFFAULT-SAUVAGEON, Manager, iCARE EXPAT

Sector: Logistics

Sector: Insurance

MR ALEXANDRU GOMOIU, Head of Solution Consulting, MISYS INTERNATIONAL SYSTEMS Sector: Software / Information services

MR DAVID QUIRIN, Assistant Vice President, Senior Relationship Manager, TAURUS WEALTH ADVISORS Sector: Bank / Finance / Investments

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September 2011

FCCS Privilege Card

FCCS Privilege Card Terms & conditions apply, visit www.fccsingapore.com for more details. AGS FOUR WINDS - Up to 30 days free storage rent in Singapore. - 1 hour handyman service free.

AIR FRANCE - Free upgrade for new Flying Blue members from Ivory to SILVER.

AU PETIT SALUT - Special rate for use of private dining room.

BODY WITH SOUL - 10% off TCM & 1st assessment at Body Temple. - $20 off Ostheopathy & Physisio. - $100 off clinical pilates packages.

BRASSERIE WOLF - 15% off total bill at Brasserie Wolf. - 10% off total bill at selected outlets.

BRANDSFEVER - $10 store credit for a one-time registration.

CITROËN TT SINGAPORE - 5% of discount for the FCCS members.

CLUB MED - Stay 7 Nights Pay 5 Nights in selected Snow & Sun Resorts.

DEGRENNE PARIS - 15% off all Guy Degrenne/ Degrenne Paris items in iwannagohome! shops.

EDITIONS DIDIER MILLET (EDM) - 20% off on specific titles with free delivery or 40% off on specific titles with self-collection.

FOXYSALES - A permanent 10% discount on your orders.

FRENCH TERROIRS - 10% off all wines (+ gift for 6 bottles purchase). - 15% off food. - 10% off all products for corporates above S$300.

GLOBIBO - 6% off Translation Services. - 11% off Interpretation & Language Courses.

GRAND MERCURE ROXY HOTEL - 15% off on diner at selected restaurants. - 10% off Best Available Rate for guest rooms.

HARRY’S CATERING COMPANY - 10% off at all Harry's outlets in Singapore. - Harry's Premium Lager Beer @ S$9 nett.

HILTON SINGAPORE HOTEL - 10% off Journey to Vineyards of France wine promotion at Kaspia Bar.

J&D BURLEIGH - Purchase 6 bottles of Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve NV and receive 1 extra Bottle FOC.

MEDICAL PRACTICE GROUP - 10% off aesthetics services & health screenings. - 15% off Vaccination.

NEVER 2LATE 2 BE FIT - 1-on-1 training: 1 free session for every 5 kgs lost. - Bootcamp: 1 free session for every 3 kgs lost.

PETIT BATEAU - 10% off regular items.

RAFFLES HOTEL, SINGAPORE - 15% off all Food & Beverage outlets. - 15% off Meeting and Banquet packages.

RASA SENTOSA RESORT, SINGAPORE - 15% off total Food bill at Barnacles Restaurant. - 15% off total Food & Beverage bill at Trapizza.

RESILIENCE INSTITUTE - 1 complimentary Diagnostic.

SEPHORA - 10% discount for minimum S$60 spent. - 15% off any service at Bliss Spa.

ST REGIS - 20% off at Brasserie Les Saveurs & Labrezza F&B. - 25% off at the Astor Bar.

SURVIVAL CHIC LIFESTYLE MEMBERSHIP - 15% off 1 year of exclusive food, wine, art, leisure and VIP invitations.

TRADERS HOTEL, SINGAPORE - 15% off Food & Beverage at F&B outlet.

UNIQGIFTTM - 10% off all gift boxes purchased online.

VUE PRIVÉE - 15% off L’Aventurier series (100 editions) and VP lifestyle products.

WINE CONNECTION - 10% for corporate orders $500-$999. - 15% for corporate orders $1,000-$1999. - 20% for corporate orders $2,000 and above.

WINES2U - 15% off on Champagne Moutard. - 10% off on all other wines for a minimum order of 12 bottles per purchase.

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