Looking for Young Professionals to Live and Work in Shanghai

Singapore, 8 March 2010 — The Singapore International Foundation (SIF) has opened applications for its annual Singapore-China Young Business Ambassadors (YBA) Programme.

The programme targets aspiring Singapore and Shanghai professionals between the ages of 21 to 35; as well as Singapore companies that want to develop its staff competency and global exposure, particularly with regards to China.

Every year, four selected Singapore executives will spend up to 10 weeks immersed in the all-round experience of working and living in Shanghai. Likewise, four Shanghai executives will get the opportunity to do the same in Singapore, in companies that are relevant to their fields.

Apart from developing global perspectives, these ambassadors will get to share work experience, build international business links, and gain an understanding of foreign business environments. Says Ng May Yin, 36, a Young Business Ambassador to Shanghai in 2004 who is now the Director of Engineering at AES Corporation in Beijing:

“I am glad that I had the opportunity to be one of the four Young Business Ambassadors (YBA) sent to Shanghai in SIF Young Business Ambassador programme. It provided me a platform to network with the local professionals, understand the cultures and market as well as to know how the municipal office of building and construction of Shanghai operates.”

Supporters of the YBA programme in Singapore include DBS, UOB, Shook Lin & Bok LLP, OCBC, Singapore Airlines Ltd, SIM University, CapitaLand Ltd, Surbana Corporation Pte Ltd and Starhub Ltd among others. The SIF’s Shanghai partners are Shanghai People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (SPAFFC) and Shanghai Municipal Bureau for Foreign Experts (SMBFE).