Major deals were signed when the Danish Business Minister Rasmus Jarlov visited Singapore this week on his first international visit. The prime focus was Maritime Innovation and Fintech.
During the three day long visit to Singapore, Danish Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs, Rasmus Jarlov, and his entourage initiated three new important partnerships between Denmark and Singapore. In the maritime sector an agreement was reached between the two countries’ innovation environment that not only will help big players and shipping companies but also small businesses find better growth opportunities.
In the fintech-field a new joint agreement was provided to bolster the fintech ties between the two nations. Under the name of “DanSing FinTech Bridge” the agreement provides a concrete offer to companies, including landing sites, networks, technology partnerships, data access and sandbox assistance. According to the Danish Embassy it will allow more Danish fintech companies to become part of the growth in Asia, but also bring Singaporean solutions to Denmark.
Finally, the Minister for Business launched a new international board leadership program that will strengthen the board work in both countries.
A successful tour
Both countries possess a lot of power and know-how within all three areas. According to Dorte Bech Vizard, the Danish Ambassador to Singapore, the visit from the Danish Business Ministry was a big success:
“The Minister of Business visited Singapore to contribute to growth in the blue Denmark, strengthen the fintech sector, focusing on the UN’s sustainability target as an export tool and he pulled several agreements across the finish line.”
The UN’s sustainability goals are one of the key focuses for the Danish Ambassador:
“The common thread through the initiatives is that new technologies and forms of cooperation can contribute to achieving the UN’s sustainability goals. At the same time the goals save a huge business potential, and I look forward to the forthcoming work of translating the new agreements and the strong Danish-Singapore cooperation to sustainable growth opportunities for our companies,” Dorte Bech Vizard says.
Other members from the embassy also expressed enthusiasm about the amount of agreements that took place on the visit and expressed that it was extraordinarily many for one visit.
An important alliance
This is the first international visit Mr. Jarlov has done as a Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs. Since he took office in June he has cancelled all international visits his predecessor had already planned before leaving office. Mr. Jarlov felt that he had a lot of things to catch up on in Denmark before doing an international visit. It is no coincidence that Singapore was his first choice of doing business abroad:
“Singapore is absolutely one of the most important places of doing business for Denmark and is a very important partner,” said Mr. Jarlov at the Block71 in Singapore where he signed and initiated the first business deal between Denmark and Singapore on his trip.
At Block71 – an innovative environment for maritime start-ups in Singapore – Mr. Jarlov also addressed the interest of driving the maritime sector from a traditional rust belt industry to a digital innovator.
Mr. Jarlov also met with the Singaporean Minister of Transport, Mr Khaw Boon Wan and the Minister of Finance and Board Member of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Mr Heng Swee Keat to discuss and promote ties between the two nations.
