30 European companies arrive in Singapore this Sunday (July 10) kick-starting the five-year long EU Business Avenues in South East Asia programme.

The first business mission leverages on Singapore’s push and focus on Environment and Water Technologies by bringing European companies specialising in these sectors and technologies. The 30 companies will present cutting-edge European solutions related to water and the environment. They will be in the dedicated EU Business Avenues Pavilion which is part of the Singapore Water Week.

From: 11 to 13 July. 9am to 6pm daily

At: Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, Level 1 Exhibition Hall C (Opposite the VIP Lounge)

There will be an official opening of the Pavilion on Monday, July 11 at 10.30am.

We invite your reporter, photographer/camera crew to meet the selected companies and report on how European technologies are providing solutions in this sector.

On 14 and 15 July, the mission travels to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.  

Conceived and funded by the European Union (EU) to help European Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) unlock potential business opportunities in the fast-growing South East Asia region, the programme will facilitate some 20 targeted week-long business missions for up to 1,000 European SMEs across a range of sectors in South East Asia over the next five years.

According to latest data from the 2016 EU-Singapore Trade & Investment Report, more than 30 million jobs in Europe currently depend on exports to countries outside the EU and 90% of future global growth is set to happen outside Europe’s borders. The EU and ASEAN have already a robust trade and investment relationship amounting to around €270 billion in goods and services and EU companies invested €184 billion in the region. In 2015, EU merchandise trade alone with ASEAN grew by 12% year-on-year, another indication of the region's strategic importance to Europe and signalling the strong relevance and timely introduction of the EU Business Avenues in South East Asia programme.

Dr Michael Pulch, EU Ambassador to Singapore, says the programme "underlines our interest in further economic integration within ASEAN."

"I am confident this initiative will bring more business opportunities that will benefit both regional and local stakeholders as well as enhance the sharing of advanced environmentally friendly technologies from Europe to the entire region,” says Dr Pulch.

About EU Business Avenues in South East Asia

The EU Business Avenues in South East Asia programme provides a comprehensive suite of dedicated services covering business, cultural and legal needs: Market Studies, Business Culture Awareness Training and Business Meetings – all of which, are expected to facilitate collaboration with local players, in the form of joint ventures, distributorships or licensing agreements, to smoothen and speed up the process of entry into local markets.

Built upon the successful EU Gateway model of matchmaking and business support services, this EU-funded initiative aims to forge long-lasting business collaborations in South East Asia. The programme's partners in Singapore include the Singapore Business Federation, the National Environment Agency, the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore, national water agency PUB and IE Singapore, amongst others.

Following the completion of a successful pilot programme to Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam in 2015, the expanded programme will now cover three additional markets: Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand.

The inaugural business mission under this programme is focused on Environment and Water Technologies, and future week-long business missions will cover the following sectors: Construction & Building Technologies, Contemporary European Design, Environment & Water Technologies, Food & Beverage, Green Energy Technologies, Healthcare & Medical Technologies, and Information & Communication Technologies. For more information, visit https://www.eubusinessavenues.com/

The full list of participating companies in the inaugural mission and a short description of their technologies can be found in Appendix A.