Doing Business with Singapore

1
DOING BUSINESS WITH
SINGAPORE
By Suman
2
Objectives

• Business Greetings
• Languages of Business
• Making Contact with Business People
• Verbal Communication
• Non-Verbal Communication
• Entertainment

3
Uniquely Singapore

• Singapore is multilingual and multi-ethnic
  country.
• Population 4.8 million in June 2006
• Chinese, Malays, and Indians
• Political Overview Republic
• Parliamentary System of Government
• Australia and Singapore are close in business
  relations

4
MAP
5
Flag
6
Time Zone
Location Local Time Time Zone
Merced Friday, May 25, 2007 at 11 00 a.m. UTC-7 hours
Singapore Saturday, May 26, 2007 at 200 a.m. UTC 8 hours
Source Thorsen, Steffen. The World Clock
Converter-Time Zone
7
Night view of Singapore
8
Business Greetings

• When introducing two people, state the name of
  the more important or more senior person first.
• For example Chairman Lee, meet Mr. Jones.

9
Languages of Business

• Official languages
• Malay
• Chinese/Mandarin
• Tamil
• Most spoken
• English
• Mandarin

10
Making Contact

• Senior business people tend to do business in a
  traditional, relationship- focused mode
• Younger business people are more deal-focused.
• Direct contact with younger business people.
• Indirect approach with traditional business
  people.

11
Verbal Communication

• Most Singaporeans speak softly.
• Loud talk is a sign of poor manners.
• The word yes might not mean your counterpart
  agrees with you.
• Avoid asking negative questions.

12
Nonverbal Behavior

• Expect a gentle handshake
• Men usually wait for a woman to offer her hand
  first
• Singaporeans sometimes smile to cover anxiety or
  embarrassment
• When seated, be careful not to cross your legs

                                                  
                                                  
                  
13
Entertainment
14
Robertson Quay
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Entertainment Clarke
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Accommodations
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Food
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Summary

• Forming a relationship with each group member is
  essential in conducting business in Singapore.
• The Personal relationships you build is often
  considered more important than the company you
  represent

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References
Country Briefings-Singapore. Economist.com 27
April 2007. 2 May 2007. lt
http//www.economist.com/countries/Singapore/profi
le.cfm?folderProfile-
factsheetgt Culture of Singapore. The
Encyclopedia Wikipedia. 1441, 14 April
2007. Doing Business with Singapore.
Worldbiz.com. 2007. 3 May 2007
lthttp//secure.authorize.net/gateway/transact.dllgt
. Singapore. Department of Statistics.
Singapore Population.. 2007. 7 May
2007. lthttp//www.singstat.gov.sg/index.htmlgt
Thorsen, Steffen. Time and date.com. 2007. 7
May 2007 lthttp//www.timeanddate.com/timeconverte
rgt