Recommendation from His Excellency, Mr Chris Sanders, Netherlands Ambassador to Singapore

Diplomatically the Dutch have been represented in Singapore from 1856 onwards. Nautical maps of Singapore, produced by the Dutch East Indies Company the VOC, however date back as far as the early 17th century, indicating the historical importance of this region for Dutch trade.

The first international bank in Singapore was the "Algemeene Handelmaatschappij," a precursor of ABN AMRO, since 1830. Royal Dutch Shell established itself on Pulau Bukom in the beginning of the 20th century. Heineken started operations in 1930 under the name "Malayan Breweries." Many merchant shipping companies, like the KPM, Royal Inter Ocean Lines and NedLloyd operated in Singapore.

The presence of Dutch companies in Singapore increased significantly only after 1961, when the late Albert Winsemius accepted Lee Kuan Yew's offer to become his personal advisor on economic an social affairs. He personally went around in the Netherlands to persuade companies to invest in Singapore and he was successful.

Today, the Netherlands is a formidable commercial player in Singapore, with over 250 companies, 3600 Dutch Nationals living and working here and an impressive trade and investment portfolio. Notably the subsequent 3rd largest bilateral fixed assets investor and a with 13 % share of the total trade with the European Union, the Netherlands truly impresses.

In 2008 the Embassy proudly hosted the soft launch of DutchCham by the Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade, Frank Heemskerk. At last we have a recognizable face for Dutch Trade: DutchCham (S). Having wanted its creation for some time, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is truly happy that DutchCham accepted to open its door within the Embassy. Jointly we promote Dutch trade, and the Netherlands as the destination for your foreign footprint in Europe,.

The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency, the Netherlands Office for Science and Technology, the Agricultural Office and the Trade Section of the Embassy will all work jointly with DutchCham to enhance the economic ties between the two nations. We warmly recommend DutchCham (S) as your starting point.