The business community is varied and so are the cultures. If you will be staying in Singapore you will meet Indians, Chinese, Indonesians, Japanese etc. each with their own customs and if you are traveling it’s even more varied. People in Singapore are used to cultural differences and many others are expats themselves so if you behave politely you will usually be forgiven some mistakes. It is terribly difficult to figure out all the things you should and should not do. We will try to offer you some basic advice here as a guide not claiming in any way to be complete.
Make sure you have plenty; even the secretary is likely to hand you one and you should reciprocate. Hand your card over with both hands holding it between thumbs and index fingers, receive the offered card the same way. Sounds a bit awkward (and it is) but at least you’ll get off on a good start. When you receive it, don’t simply glance at it and put it in your shirt pocket! Study it carefully and put it next to your diary / laptop or something during the meeting (making sure not to loose it in the paperwork).
If you are in a representative / sales function you may want to discuss your title with your superior. Where ‘division head’, ‘principal engineer’, ‘marketing manager’ and the like are good indication of what you do in Europe or the U.S. in Asia these should be more like ‘Manager SEA’, ‘Senior Consultant’ and ‘Director of Marketing’ to reflect your proper position. It’s all in a name but it is important, we know of examples where people have cards with their in-company title system and one for use in Singapore.
Not straightforward, a business lunch can be anything from the hawker to the Raffles (though neither is likely), it depends a bit on the business you are in and what level of people you are invited by or are inviting.
If you are the host, bear in mind that Muslims do not eat pork and, if they are devout, the restaurant needs to be Halal. At the same time Hindus do not eat beef. If you are in mixed company or not sure, then chicken, fish and mutton are safe bets (unless someone is allergic to shellfish of course). Alcohol during lunch is not common but very acceptable during diner (except for devout Muslims). Having a quiet drink after diner is uncommon, a visit to the karaoke bar not, particularly with Chinese clients / suppliers. Note that many people you meet will not be very familiar with Western food beside burgers and spaghetti. The safest thing is probably to have your secretary arrange things for you and play it by ear.
Gifts during a meeting or signing ceremony are not a requirement but neither are they uncommon. The gifts should not necessarily be big or expensive and can definitely be 'company gifts'. Flowers are not very common but foodstuffs are, again there are some things to consider.
For Hindu's (Indians) leather goods may be taboo, avoid them to be sure.
Do not give alcoholic presents to Muslim's (Malay).
Chinese will have little problems with most things but some groups do not appreciate numbers like 4, as the number 4, in mandarin, has the same pronunciation as "death". Similar, do not present a clock as a gift to a Chinese. Because clock has the same pronunciation as "funeral". But, the number 8 is favored by many especially the business folks. Because 8 has the same pronunciation as "becoming rich".
For Westerners (Christians) most things will be acceptable in general. In all cases personal tastes are off course another matter.
One safe bet is a company / country specific gift, Dutch can give some Delfts Blue pottery, Koreans miniature theatre masks. Your counterpart may not necessarily like the gift but you will not offend him / her and the gesture will be appreciated.
There are sources that tell you Singaporeans are punctual, we have a different opinion. It is not so long ago there even was an official campaign to have guests turn up in time at wedding diners ... Though things are not as bad as in some other countries in the region it is not uncommon for to have to wait for (some) of the attendees of a meeting to turn-up. Being early also is not much appreciated and can get you the remark of "so early ah" when your 5 minutes ahead of schedule.
Having said this many like the idea of punctuality and turning-up late is not good form, try to be as on time as possible therefor, the ever-present coffeeshop should help you with the buffer-time.
With thanks to our visitors for additional info given.
Do you need more info? Leave a message on our expat message board!
Interested in advertising with us?
