Today is a special day. It is the 185th anniversary of the founding of the Chamber in Singapore on 8 February 1837. The Chamber was founded to advocate the continuance of Singapore’s free port status: hence our tagline: Helping businesses and Singapore since 1837.

We marked this significant anniversary with an in-person event on RCEP and what it means for businesses. We were privileged to host one of the world’s foremost trade experts as our guest speaker: Dr. Deborah Elms, Founder and Executive Director of the Asian Trade Centre.

Dr. Elms unpacked RCEP with a focus on services, including investments, and manufacturing. She pointed out RCEP is a powerful new trade agreement that links Asian markets together. Entering into force on 1 January 2022, it offers a range of new benefits companies can tap on to create products and deliver services in and across Asia. She encouraged companies to actively utilize RCEP and to track its implementation. She also emphasized the importance of companies providing feedback and inputs to their governments to ensure full implementation and further future enhancements to help businesses.

The Chamber thanks Dr. Elms for her time, presentation and for sharing her expertise. We also wish to thank our very engaged audience for the excellent questions posed during the Q+A segment.