During the delightful Norwegian Seafood Dinner, the Chief Executive Officer of Thome Group Singapore, Mr Olav Eek Thorstensen, received the NBAS Award 2013.
The NBAS award is given in recognition of significant contribution to bilateral business relations between Norway and Singapore. The award presentation featured short interviews of Mr Thorstensen’s business partners, colleagues, and friends, calling him “an icon of the industry”, “the face of the Norwegian shipping community in the early days” and “a warm personality, helpful and gentle”, stating how he “found all the things in Norwegian shipping he would like to change, and managed to do it here in Singapore”.
Mr Thorstensen himself, telling the story of his family’s heritage in shipping, and the long road from arriving in Singapore more than 40 years ago – also shared his thoughts on the kinship of our two countries: “Singapore and Norway fit well together – Norway with its large international fleet, and Singapore with the world’s leading port, being an important centre for Norwegian shipping. Looking forward, I think that Norway and Singapore will develop that relationship even further, because Singapore will be used by Norwegian companies as the platform to develop more business in Asia”.
The NBAS award ceremony is held conjointly with the popular Norwegian Seafood Dinner – an annual event to showcase the delicious seafood from the cold, clear waters of Norway. Here, close to a thousand guests had the opportunity to sample the finest Norwegian seafood, presented in both Asian, fusion and classical Norwegian style alike.
