CAPE TOWN – In 1995, Ms Christina Tan and her business partner made a seemingly preposterous decision: They would go to South Africa to sell high-end luxury goods such as designer handbags and fine Swiss watches. The country had just held its first democratic election that brought Mr Nelson Mandela to power, marking the end of the apartheid era, and...
PM Lee Hsien Loong at a reception with overseas Singaporeans based in South Africa and the region at The Table Bay hotel in Cape Town on May 14.CAPE TOWN – In 1995, Ms Christina Tan and her business partner made a seemingly preposterous decision: They would go to South Africa to sell high-end luxury goods such as designer handbags and fine Swiss watches.
Ms Tan was among some 60 Singaporeans whom Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met at a reception on Sunday evening, the same day he landed in Cape Town for a six-day visit to South Africa and Kenya. About half of them are based in South Africa and the region. “I am here because South Africa is an important country in the world, because we have many friends in South Africa,” he said. “It is important for us to keep in touch with them, to grow our friendship with them, and our growing economic ties with them as well.”
While Singapore’s ties with the African continent have historically not been intense, there are actually many bright spots and opportunities for those looking to seize them, said PM Lee.There is a lot of vibrancy and, increasingly, “business being done and Singaporeans going there; some staying there, and blazing new paths in new areas and starting things”, he said.
Others include Mrs Chloe Duthie, 31, who moved from Singapore to Cape Town after tying the knot with her South African husband. She was soon bitten by the entrepreneurship bug due to “the thriving culture here, which is very creative and competitive”.
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