| |
01 May 2005
Top international officials affirm Singapore as a land of opportunities for global business.
|
| |
|
|
According to the IAC, Singapore should continue to build on the strong leadership it has in manufacturing, for it presents tremendous growth opportunities for the country
|
| |
| |
A land of opportunity - that is how Singapore Economic Development Board's (EDB) International Advisory Council (IAC) views Singapore.
Established in January 1995, the IAC offers invaluable suggestions and advice on EDB's international and regional business strategies. Council members - including influential global business leaders such as Dr Pasquale Pistorio, President and Chief Executive Officer, STMicroelectronics; Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman, The Tata Group; and Mr Taizo Nishimuro, Chairman of the Board, Toshiba Corporation - were recently in town for the IAC's eighth meeting.
This year, a key part of the IAC's agenda was to review Singapore's progress in establishing itself as a Global Entrepolis. The vision of a compelling global hub where entrepreneurs and enterprises converge was recommended at the last IAC meeting in 2003. And judging by Singapore's thriving pool of international players and growth engines, IAC members unanimously agreed that Singapore was well on its way to achieving this goal.
The next question was how Singapore could continue on this upward trend. "Singapore is at a watershed," said Dr Tony Tan, Deputy Prime Minister, Singapore. "The world is changing rapidly, and we need to take cognisance of major developments. The emergence of India and China as rising economic powers presents us with great opportunities. Increasingly, our strategy lies in focusing more on our talent and creating the right environment."
To this end, the IAC proposed a four-pronged effort to ride on the waves of change - namely Asia's rapidly growing stature in the global business arena - to bigger and better things.
|
| |
Leveraging existing strengths
The general consensus was that continuing efforts should be put into building up Singapore's CORE competencies of Connectivity, Openness, Reliability and Enterprise to enhance the country's business and living environment. The IAC strongly believes that these strong merits will stand Singapore in good stead to capitalise on regional developments.
"In the next five to 10 years, the economic and political relationship between China and India will strengthen. Singapore can play a very important role here as a bridge for Indian companies going to invest in China and vice-versa," explained Mr Tomson Li DongSheng, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TCL Corporation.
In fact, Mr Li has already taken the necessary steps to reap the benefits. "We set up our regional headquarters in Singapore to enable us to invest in India," he said.
The local manufacturing sector was identified as another key plus point for Singapore. The industry, with its strong pool of managerial and technical talent as well as its solid cluster of supporting industries, contributes more than a quarter of Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP). The IAC affirmed that with these strengths, manufacturing continues to present tremendous growth opportunities for Singapore, and for companies that may be seeking alternative manufacturing locations.
Despite China emerging as a manufacturing powerhouse, the IAC believes that Singapore's position in the region will remain strong. "China and India have different resources compared to Singapore; these resources could be complementary to your manufacturing, technology and management skills," explained Mr Nishimuro.
|
 |
|
| |
 |
|
| |
Front row from left) Dr Pasquale Pistorio, President and Chief Executive Officer, STMicroelectronics; Mr Tomson Li DongSheng, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TCL Corporation; Ms Ho Ching, Chief Executive and Executive Director, Temasek Holdings; Dr Tony Tan, Deputy Prime Minister, Singapore; Mr Teo Ming Kian, Chairman, Singapore Economic Development Board; Mr Edward W (Ned) Barnholt, Retired Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Agilent Technologies. (Back row from left) Mr Ko Kheng Hwa, Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board; Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman, The Tata Group; Dr Koichi Nishimura, Retired Chairman, Solectron; Mr John Allan, Chief Executive, Exel; Sir John Rose, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce; Dr Dennis Gillings, Chairman, Quintiles Transnational; Dr Rob Routs, Executive Director, Royal Dutch/Shell Group; Mr Taizo Nishimuro, Chairman of the Board, Toshiba Corporation. The following IAC members are not present in this picture: Mr Akio Kosai, Counselor, Sumitomo Chemical Co Ltd; Dr Eckhard Cordes, Member of the Board, DaimlerChrysler AG; Mr Isaac Stein, Founder and President, Waverley Associates Inc; Mr Gerard Kleisterlee, President and Chief Executive Officer, Royal Phillips Electronics
|
| |
Growing global companies
Singapore was also encouraged to grow its own global companies to give resilience to the local economy. "Singapore is the best place to live and work," said Dr Pistorio, "but to develop new growth engines and play a bigger role on the global stage, I am convinced Singapore must develop its own big companies." According to him, local companies such as Singapore Airlines and DBS Bank are well-placed for success in the international arena.
It was a sentiment Mr Tata shared. "Singapore has made itself very attractive for multinational companies from other countries," he said. "Now it must go on to the next phase to build enterprises based on creativity in Singapore to serve the world market."
According to Mr Tata, Singapore offers a powerful combination of factors that foreign start-ups can take advantage of, particularly those from emerging economies such as India: "Many Indian entrepreneurs successful in the US have gone back to India with a view to contribute to the country. It might be possible to encourage them to come and establish in Singapore and address the regional market from here."
|
| |
Attracting entrepreneurs
Having a broad base of global entrepreneurial talent will play a vital role in helping Singapore create, identify and seize opportunities as they arise.
The IAC agreed that while the country's working and living standards are drawing in talent from all over the globe, there is a need to develop a culture that is more open to risk and more tolerant of failure. The council added that Singapore could tap on its world-class educational institutions, good international relationships and excellent living environment to attract more global talent.
Developing value-added activities
The IAC recommended that more should be done to commercialise and manage intellectual assets, to create value and generate greater wealth. The council also proposed that Singapore grows its technological base by increasing its research and development spending from the current two per cent of GDP to at least three per cent within the next 10 years.
Additionally, the IAC also proposed that Singapore leverage its multi-disciplinary capabilities to address new opportunities such as alternative energy, venture further into geographies such as China, India and the Association of South-east Asian Nations, where it can offer complementary capabilities and capitalise on its hub role to manage and add value to the increasing knowledge, financial and physical flows in these rapidly growing regions.
|
|
|
