OldTown White Coffee won the International Franchisor of the Year 2011 award at the Franchising & Licensing Association of Singapore (FLA) gala dinner last night.

It bested four other finalists - Mei Yi Jia (China), MK Restaurants (Thailand), People Impact (Hong Kong) and Goobne Chicken (Korea).

Mr Clarence D'Silva, Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer of Kopitiam Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd said: "We are both humbled and honoured for being recognized as the International Franchisor of the Year by FLA Singapore. Despite being relatively new in the Food and Beverage Industry, we have been able to venture internationally and our success can be attributed to good foresight and excellent support from all our management team members."

Earlier that morning, FLA chairman Dr T. Chandroo launched the FLA Franchise Assist Programme, which will give members better access to affordable banking services and a slew of value-added benefits.

The FLA Franchise Assist Programme, which will be administered by FLA, offers one of the most comprehensive and competitive packages for SMEs in the franchising and licensing industry. Under the programme, FLA members can apply for business loans at special rates through FLA.

These special rates are up to 1 per cent off published rate for Business Loan (with a minimum Business Loan of S$30,000) and up to 1.5 per cent off published rate for Business Loan which is bundled with Hire Purchase (with a minimum Hire Purchase of S$50,000).

Meanwhile, the annual Franchising & Licensing Asia 2011 (FLAsia 2011) was officially opened yesterday by the Minister of State for Trade and Industry Mr Teo Ser Luck, who is also the Minister in charge of entrepreneurship.

The three-day trade fair is being held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands.

New to the event is the Franchise & Retail Technology Zone that brings together solutions providers who play an important role in supporting the growth and start-ups of the franchising and licensing industry.

Admission to FLAsia 2011 is by registration only.

ellenja@sph.com.sg