Welcome to Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

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From documents available with the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SICCI), the genealogy of the SICCI is as follows:

Indian Merchant Association (IMA) – 1924;

°	Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) – 1935;
°	Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce – 1971;
°	Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) – 1991.

The Chamber has its humble beginnings in the efforts of a few dedicated Indian businessmen who set out in 1924 to organize the Indian mercantile community in Singapore. Though Indian merchants had been active in trade & commerce in this part of the world from time immemorial, the historic developments that followed the arrival of Stamford Raffles in Singapore nearly two centuries back, gave a fillip to their activities.

Eleven years later, on 26^th August 1935, when Mr. R Jumabhoy was President of IMA, the Association’s name was officially changed to ‘The Indian Chamber of Commerce’. It then became an entity that was exempted from registering, under Ordinance 116 (Societies) of Malaya.

On 27^th September 1937, a ‘Certificate of Incorporation’ under the Companies Ordinance was issued to the ICC. The Indian Chamber of Commerce donned its current day avatar as the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry in 1970.

Whilst the Chamber, from its very origins, had set out to operate as a business entity and prove its credibility as a leading commercial institution in Singapore, SICCI had also proven its ‘corporate citizenship’ by undertaking important social & charity roles, whenever the needs arose.

The Chamber Premises

The Indian Merchants Association, at the time of its conversion to the Indian Chamber of Commerce, was located in a small rented room in an old building in Malacca Street, where the Republic Plaza now stands.

Later, in 1937, with its incorporation, the Chamber relocated to another rented but far more spacious premise at No. 4 Raffles Quay. But in 1953, when the site was required for putting up the present Asia Insurance Building (soon to be the Carlton Hotel), the Chamber had to move out to yet another rented place at No. 94 B Robinson Road.

Only in 1963, did the Chamber move into its very own premises, a three-storey building at 55 Robinson Road. These premises were acquired after the Chamber sold the property that it had bought at 41 Market Street as early as 1949, but could not occupy as its tenant refused to move out! This property, unfortunately, was ultimately acquired by the Government for urban redevelopment.

In 1984, the Chamber acquired a modern office space in Tong Eng Building in Cecil Street. The office space was well equipped with a trade documentation centre, conference/seminar facilities and library.

In 2007, the Chamber acquired its current premises, a three-and-a-half storey conservation property, at 31 Stanley Street. This acquisition more than doubled the working space for the SICCI Secretariat and after extensive renovations, provided state-of the-art facilities. This shift has also enabled the SICCI to set up its ‘Enterprise Development Centre (EDC@SICCI)’, an entity which will integrate the Chamber’s activities and foster enterprise development, especially amongst its SME members.