SINGAPORE \u2013 Singapore\u2019s economic strategy has never been about growth for its own sake, but for it to percolate through the broad economy to improve people\u2019s lives, said Minister for Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) Tan See Leng.<\/p>\n
Responding to a WP motion suggesting that the country\u2019s economic model was in need of reforms, Tan said its strategy has delivered good jobs, rising incomes and social mobility over successive generations.<\/p>\n
The Government\u2019s responsibility now is to ensure that this model continues to deliver in a very different world, he added.<\/p>\n
WP MP Kenneth Tiong (Aljunied GRC) had moved the motion on the future of Singapore\u2019s economy, which Parliament affirmed after PAP MP Edward Chia (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) proposed four amendments to it.<\/p>\n
The WP, which rejected the first of the four amendments, voted against the motion\u2019s final version with all 12 of its MPs recording their dissent.<\/p>\n
Over close to nine hours, the House debated how Singapore can nurture its small and medium-sized enterprises, provide jobs for workers, and encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, amid greater uncertainty in the world.<\/p>\n
Opening the debate, Tiong set out his party\u2019s vision for an economy where fair distribution is built into growth, \u201crather than grow first and then redistribute by vouchers and rebates\u201d.<\/p>\n
Such an economy is one driven by dynamic local companies, healthy domestic demand, and Singaporeans and Singaporean capital venturing abroad, he said.<\/p>\n
Tiong added that Singapore\u2019s longstanding economic model based on hosting large foreign multinational companies (MNCs) was now faltering in producing good jobs for the young, and has also squeezed and stunted local enterprises.<\/p>\n All 12 Workers\u2019 Party MPs voted against the motion\u2019s final version.<\/p>\n PHOTO: MDDI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Speaking at the end of the debate, Tan said that despite the different \u201cviews, diagnoses and prescriptions\u201d put out by the 23 speakers before him, there was substantial common ground across the aisle in areas such as providing fulfilling careers and good incomes for Singaporeans, as well as having globally successful Singapore enterprises.<\/p>\n The Government cannot guarantee every venture will succeed and every job will remain the same or that transitions will be painless, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut what we can always do is maintain a place where every person has a fair chance to try, a pathway to progress, and support to recover from setbacks.\u201d<\/p>\n The Government will play its part by maintaining a trusted, open economy, investing for the long term, addressing gaps in capability, financing and market access, and helping workers prepare for change, he said.<\/p>\n But others have to play their part as well, he added, saying businesses must transform and invest in people, workers must keep learning, and entrepreneurs must build, compete, persevere and accept responsibility.<\/p>\n Recounting his own entrepreneurial journey, Tan, who is a doctor by training, said he had founded Healthway Medical Group along with a few other doctors at 27, with no formal business training, and had to learn the ropes on the job.<\/p>\n The company managed to find a niche by providing corporate healthcare services in HDB and industrial estates, and got a breakthrough when MNCs in Singapore became its earliest clients, he added.<\/p>\n Meeting the demanding standards of these established global companies allowed his company to build a track record and win the confidence of subsequent customers, he said.<\/p>\n Rather than crowding his firm out, Tan said the MNCs actually enabled it to grow.<\/p>\n Drawing from his experience, he said he learnt that the Government must build the runway, but entrepreneurs and workers have to run on it and take off.<\/p>\n The Government can maintain sound institutions, open markets, clear rules, and also reduce avoidable friction, and share selected risks where there is a wider economic benefit, he noted.<\/p>\n But it cannot find the customers, build the business team, make commercial decisions, or persevere on the entrepreneur\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n \u201cGovernment support should be a springboard for enterprise. It cannot become the business model,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cGovernments cannot and do not create champions by simply writing larger cheques.\u201d<\/p>\n Tan said Enterprise Singapore\u2019s Scale-Up programme \u2013 designed to groom fast-growing local companies into global champions \u2013 helps firms build capabilities.<\/p>\n The 80 companies in the programme\u2019s first seven cohorts generated a combined $2.5 billion in additional revenue within three years, and $1 billion came from overseas expansion, he added.<\/p>\n Tan outlined how government policies can help bridge five gaps that entrepreneurs and companies face: from aspiration to a first venture, research to innovation and enterprise, product to first customer, early traction to sustained scale, and a strong base to global scale.<\/p>\n For instance, programmes like Startup SG Founder, which provides start-up capital, mentorship and networking opportunities, provide structured early-stage support so serious ideas have a fair chance to be tested.<\/p>\n There are also programmes like the Partnerships for Capability Transformation scheme, which facilitates partnerships between local firms and MNCs, so that SMEs can participate in MNC supply chains.<\/p>\n When companies are ready to scale up, there is also the Startup SG Equity scheme to catalyse private investment in early and growth-stage deep-tech companies.<\/p>\n But not everyone will start a company, and most Singaporeans will experience the economy through work, Tan said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat does not make their stake in Singapore\u2019s success any less direct or lasting. A good job provides income today. But it should also enable a person to build skills, experience and confidence over time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Addressing concerns over job disruption, Tan, who was previously manpower minister, acknowledged that job loss raises fears about income and whether one\u2019s experience will still count, among other things.<\/p>\n \u201cThese concerns are real. We should not answer them merely by pointing to aggregate statistics or the number of courses available,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He added that support for workers must begin earlier, and that is why the Economic Strategy Review has proposed \u201ccareer bridges\u201d linking workers in at-risk roles to more resilient occupations through training, guidance and job matching.<\/p>\n Wrapping up, he said Singapore\u2019s success has never been guaranteed, and each generation has had to build it by staying open, learning faster, taking calculated risks and pulling together when circumstances were difficult.<\/p>\n \u201cThe next chapter will demand that same spirit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be powered by all fellow Singaporeans who can build, who can lead, who can own, innovate, adapt and grow. That is how we secure the best future for Singapore, and that is how we will ensure that Singapore\u2019s future economy truly works for all Singaporeans.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 Singapore\u2019s economic strategy has never been about growth for its own sake, but for it to percolate through the broad economy to improve…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":74676,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=74675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74675\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/74676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=74675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=74675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=74675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/picture><\/div>
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