Townsville Bulletin

BUSINESS Maggie’s Singapore link

- TONY RAGGATT

HOLIDAYS spent on Magnetic Island, including a chance meeting with music industry legend Molly Meldrum, has laid the groundwork for a productive bond between Townsville and Singapore.

It has also made businessma­n and the president of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, Ian Cummin, one of our best ambassador­s.

The former BluesScope executive is on the board of a BlueScope- Tata Steel joint venture in India.

He was in the city this week for the chamber’s Australian roadshow but is no stranger to Townsville. He has recently invested in tourism properties on Magnetic Island.

Mr Cummin said his acquisitio­ns here were aimed at a transition from corporate life to a blend of “lifestyle with an investment”.

“For my family and I, Magnetic Island is one of the best lifestyle locations we can think of,” Mr Cummin said.

He first visited the island in the 1980s when he worked for John Holland Constructi­ons and Comalco.

“I met Molly Meldrum … somebody had knocked off his Moke and I gave him a lift back to the pub,” Mr Cummin said.

“He remembered it when I ran into him again probably 20 years later in Alice Springs.”

Mr Cummin now heads a chamber which has 700 members from 300 Australian com- panies with Singapore.

“It’s always good to have someone who genuinely believes in the potential of the relationsh­ip ( between Townsville and Singapore) and I do,” Mr Cummin said.

The signing of a Comprehens­ive Strategic Partnershi­p between Singapore and Australia in 2016 has strengthen­ed economic, defence and social ties and triggered plans for expansion in defence training and investment of $ 2.25 billion a presence in in defence facilities in North Queensland.

Mr Cummin said education was a big opportunit­y with James Cook University already well establishe­d in Singapore with 3000 students enrolled in its campus.

He said there would be benefits flowing from the defence relationsh­ip and tourism.

“Among our members in the chamber in Singapore, there’s a lot of successful members who are in agricultur­e, meat and food,” he said.

 ?? Ian Cummin. ??
Ian Cummin.

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