Committee of Supply – Head V (Ministry of Trade and Industry)

Debate in Committee of Supply resumed.

Dr Koh Poh Koon: Thank you, Sir. Mr Charles Chong asked about the Government’s efforts to build up our start-up landscape. Start-ups play an important role in our economy. They help to boost Singapore’s economic competitiveness through innovative ideas and disruption of existing industries, thus contributing to sector development and transformation.

In recent years, we have seen good growth in the number, contribution, and quality of our start-ups.

The total number of start-ups in Singapore grew from 22,000 in 2003 to 43,000 in 2016. They contributed $7.7 billion, or 1.9% of GDP in 2016. In particular, the number of tech start-ups increased from 2,800 to 4,300 in the same period, employing about 24,000 workers in 2016.

Start-ups in Singapore are also attracting a good level of investor interest and funding. In January 2018, local logistics start-up Ninja Van raised over US$87 million in its Series C funding round, while late last year, home-grown gaming company Razer raised US$528 million in its initial public offering in Hong Kong.

These success stories are certainly not one-off. In Singapore, the venture funding activity and deal flows have multiplied significantly from 80 deals worth US$136.4 million in 2012, to 174 deals worth US$1.37 billion in 2017.

These developments reflect the growing quality and potential of start-ups here. This shows that our moves to distinguish Singapore’s start-up scene through establishing a strong brand identity, strengthening our talent attraction efforts, and enhancing funding support are bearing fruit.

“Start-up SG” was launched in March 2017 as a single brand identity to showcase Singapore’s start-up ecosystem to the world. It also unified the Government’s start-up support schemes, making it easier for entrepreneurs to apply for support.

SPRING leveraged the Start-up SG brand to organise the inaugural Start-up SG competition, SLINGSHOT@SWITCH, in September 2017. The competition attracted more than 900 teams from over 30 countries. Media coverage of the competition and the Start-up SG brand was extensive, and helped to increase global mindshare of Singapore as a start-up hub.

Second, to improve Singapore’s attractiveness to global entrepreneurial talent, we enhanced the EntrePass scheme’s entry and renewal criteria in August 2017. Since then, the number of applications has more than doubled.

This is an encouraging development. Given Singapore’s small size, we need to remain open to promising global entrepreneurial talent who can contribute to the vibrancy of our start-up scene. This will help to seed future growth and good local jobs. In 2016, foreign start-ups generated a total of 9,800 local jobs. As a percentage share of the total employment generated by foreign start-ups, local jobs took up 54%, which constitutes an increase from 50% in 2012.

In one example, after Dr Bert Grobben’s application for the EntrePass was supported in 2015, he incorporated a start-up here, called Budding Innovations. His company specialises in commercialisation of technology by working with companies to develop go-to-market strategies. Budding Innovations has since created five local jobs, of which three are PMETs.

Third, to strengthen funding support, we raised the cap and proportion of the Government’s co-investment funding share under Start-up SG Equity last year. This aims to catalyse private sector investment into promising Singapore-based technology start-ups with intellectual property and global market potential.

Building on this, SPRING appointed nine co-investment partners last month with the goal of further catalysing over $200 million into more deep tech start-ups in the growth sectors of Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering, Health and Biomedical Sciences, and Urban Solutions and Sustainability.

Beyond funding, the deep tech start-ups will stand to benefit from the resources and know-how provided by those various co-investment partners, which had been chosen for their expertise in the respective sectors. This includes help with technology translation, prototyping and manufacturing facilities, and strategic networks for development and commercialisation – thus working to shorten the start-ups’ learning curves, and improving their chances of success.

To scale up, start-ups should seek out growth opportunities, both locally and abroad. Start-ups can tap on partner networks which we have put into place.

Last year, the Government worked closely with partners like the Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE) to strengthen start-ups’ access to smart financing and global networks. This included supporting the launch of ACE International Centre, which provides a landing pad for global start-ups, and helps local start-ups to scale up and internationalise.

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JTC has also developed LaunchPads at one-north and Jurong Innovation District (JID), which offer a range of spaces for startps to operate in and test-bed their ideas. More importantly, LaunchPads serve as hubs to connect entrepreneurs with accelerators, incubators, venture capitalists, and fellow entrepreneurs in related fields. This creates opportunities for knowledge sharing, collaboration, and growth. At JTC LaunchPad @ JID, JTC will work with partners to provide a one-stop prototyping centre where deep tech start-ups can leverage shared equipment for small batch production.

SPRING will also be launching the Start-up SG (SSG) Network later this year. The SSG Network will be a one-stop database of information, as well as an e-community of start-ups and ecosystem players. This will support networking and facilitate business matching for start-ups.

With the establishment of Enterprise Singapore (ESG) in April this year, start-ups will be able to leverage ESG’s international network of offices and in-market partners to scale up and expand into new overseas markets. ESG will advise start-ups on capability development and internationalisation, while providing them with integrated support through the schemes that were previously under SPRING and IE Singapore.

As the Minister for Industry, Mr S Iswaran, had earlier highlighted, the Government is adapting to better serve the needs of industry in Singapore’s new economic environment.

As part of this, the Government will restructure the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) in April 2018 to take over SPRING’s current role as the administering agency for the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (CPFTA). Besides the CPFTA, CCS will continue its current mandate of administering the Competition Act. To reflect its new role, CCS will be renamed to the “Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore”, or CCCS.

I would now like to address Mr Lim Biow Chuan’s question about consumer protection for online transactions, specifically his suggestions to restrict the use of mandatory arbitration clauses in standard terms and conditions and pre-ticked boxes for additional goods and services.

The CPFTA protects consumers against errant retailers which engage in unfair trading practices, regardless of whether these transactions take place online or offline. The Act provides for civil actions to be taken by consumers and by specified bodies against retailers that persist in unfair trading practices.

The Government adopts a balanced approach of supporting a pro-enterprise environment, while at the same time protecting consumers. In line with the principle of the freedom of contract, businesses are free to enter into consumer contracts, as long as it is mutually agreed to by the contracting parties.

Businesses and consumers should be alert to the clauses and conditions of any contract they enter into, including the fine print. Consumers should also take steps to protect themselves before making their purchases. This could include checking reviews on the reputation of retailers as well as their refund policies and mechanisms. Practices, such as using small print to conceal or mislead consumers on a material fact in relation to the transaction, can be considered as unfair practices under the CPFTA.

We note Mr Lim’s suggestions on arbitration clauses and pre-ticked boxes. The Government will study them and take them into account when we next review the relevant consumer protection legislations. We will continue to monitor the situation and take appropriate actions, if necessary.

As I have elaborated in my speech, the Government has in place extensive support structures and initiatives to support our SMEs and start-ups on their transformation journey. What remains is for companies to step up and make the right investments today to seize new growth opportunities – not just for themselves, but also for a better future for all of us.

The Chairman: Senior Parliamentary Secretary.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministers for Trade and Industry (Ms Low Yen Ling): Chairman, Minister Lim Hng Kiang, Minister Iswaran, Senior Minister of State Sim Ann and Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon have spoken about how our economy has to transform.

We face global trends, such as the shift in economic weight towards Asia and the emergence of new technologies. What does this mean for our people, Singaporeans? With these changes come opportunities. All of us, whether as students, employees and business owners, need to constantly learn, constantly adapt, and constantly embrace new skills and knowledge all the time.

As the Government, we will strive to enable our people for the future, especially through (i) the deepening of relevant skills; and (ii) the nurturing of global market expertise.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa, Mr Yee Chia Hsing and Miss Cheryl Chan talked about the importance of continuous skills upgrading in today’s evolving economic landscape. I agree that our people need to be enabled with the relevant skills for jobs today and in the future.

That is why it is absolutely crucial for every Singapore to make lifelong learning a way of life. We are fostering this cultural change through initiatives such as the national SkillsFuture movement as well as the Adapt and Grow programme.

While we recognise that continuing education and training may not be easy due to many competing demands on our time, it is a necessary investment so that we can stand ahead for the future.

The changing economic landscape means that for some people, mid-career switches have become necessary. The types of jobs available may be different as some sectors undergo restructuring. For those looking to make a career switch into a different sector, the Government has developed a suite of Professional Conversion Programmes (PCPs), under the Adapt and Grow initiative. The PCPs are career conversion programmes which help mid-career jobseekers, including Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs) to reskill and move into new occupations and sectors.

In July 2017, MOM identified five priority sectors with strong potential for PMET job creation. They are Healthcare, Infocomm and Media, Wholesale Trade, Professional Services and Financial Services. In partnership with Workforce Singapore, our economic agencies are working closely with companies as well as Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs) to train and place local PMETs in these sectors.

You have just heard from Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon talk about the Wholesale Trade sector. I will also use this sector as an example. In the Wholesale Trade sector, IE Singapore, Singapore Management University, International Chamber of Commerce Academy and Workforce Singapore jointly developed the a PCP called International Trading PCP. This provides training for the fundamental skills and knowledge of international trade, such as digital marketing, procurement, supply chain management and logistics. In the past one year, the programme has successfully placed close to 70 PMETs with trading companies since the launch of this programme in July 2017. So, it has been about seven to eight months.

Mr Kenny Ang is amongst those who has benefited from the International Trading PCP. After having worked in the Food Services sector for about seven years, Mr Ang was keen to make a career switch. Despite his lack of experience in Wholesale Trade, he was able through the PCP pick up relevant skills and knowledge that is needed. Mr Ang has since found employment with Raduga Pte Ltd, a distributor of mobility solutions and mobile phones. He manages the company's marketing campaigns and branding projects with regional partners.

The International Trading PCP is but only one of the many PCPs available. MOM will be giving further updates on the Adapt and Grow initiative. Chairman, please allow me to continue in Mandarin, please.

( In Mandarin ) : [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Just a while ago, I talked about the PCP and how it has helped more mature workers to make a mid-career switch by learning new skills to handle new jobs.

As we develop more training programmes, it is crucial to ensure that these programmes meet industry needs. Therefore, during the process of developing the Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs), the Government has worked closely with employers, trade associations and chambers, as well as trade unions, to identify skills required in the relevant industries, and incorporate these skills into the skills framework of various industries. When an individual and company develop a training programme, everything becomes clear once they refer to the skills framework. To date, the skills framework for 16 industries has been launched. We have also launched the WSQ framework for 31 technical skills and competencies, and nine generic skills and competencies.

As we push for industry transformation and skills upgrading, employers are our most critical partners. One example is HP Singapore, which has actively groomed local talent through programmes, such as the learning platform "Brain Candy" and other graduate programmes. These training initiatives in new fields, like 3D printing and data analytics, enable their employees to keep up with changes in the industry and cope with new jobs and new demands. In response to the SkillsFuture Programme, HP recently introduced 20 employees as Growth Mindset Ambassadors under an in-house initiative. These ambassadors will be tasked with promoting lifelong learning throughout the organisation.

The Government urges more employers to promote training for their workers and encourage workers to upgrade their skills, just like HP Singapore. With the rapid development of new technologies, every company has to keep pace with the changes in disruptive technologies, and ensure their employees continue to grow, so that their company continues to grow as well. It is often said that a hardworking employee is a good employee. Similarly, employers who encourage employees to work hard and learn are also good employers. Companies that take training seriously and reward employees accordingly, will also be able to attract and retain good workers.

Ultimately, if employees are equipped with industry-relevant skills that enhance their productivity and support the growth of the company, employers also stand to benefit. Hence, promoting skills upgrading amongst employees is the ultimate key to maintaining the long-term competitiveness of businesses.

( In English ): My colleagues have highlighted the need for companies to venture beyond our shores, especially to the rest of Asia. A lack of familiarity with overseas markets is often cited by companies as the biggest obstacle to internationalisation. I agree with Mr Yee Chia Hsing that our enterprises and our people need to develop greater global market expertise to capture Asia's potential.

The Government is committed to helping Singaporeans build up international networks and cross-cultural awareness through market immersion and overseas training programmes. These programmes are targeted at individuals across a range of ages and levels of experience – from our young students to our current and future business leaders.

For our students, we have the SkillsFuture Young Talent Programme (YTP). The YTP provides our students with opportunities for overseas internships and work-study programmes in the fast-growing Asian markets, including Southeast Asia. The YTP is open to students in Universities, Polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education. I am pleased to report that over 5,000 students have benefited from the YTP to date. And over the next three years, another 3,000 students can look forward to being sent out under this initiative.

On behalf of MTI, I would like to thank our industry partners and our post-Secondary educational institutions (PSEIs) that have grown the YTP to this scale since its launch in 2012. Many students speak of their enriching experiences. With your permission, Mr Chairman, may I display a photo.

The Chairman: Yes.

Ms Low Yen Ling: This is ITE College Central's is Ms Lim Siying. Last December, Siying sent a stint working at Big C Supercenter in Lamphun, Thailand. During her stint with the hypermart operator, Siying led a group of 18 trainees and managed the inventory, labelling and a promotional campaign for the cosmetics section. Siying shared with us that this exposure has sparked her interest in the different Southeast Asian markets. She observed that the different Southeast Asian markets have diverse leadership and business styles.

She shared that the stint has also broadened her horizons and led her to make many friends overseas. And she is quite sure, that whether she works for a company or if she becomes a business owner, these friendships with many different nationalities will serve her very well throughout her lifetime. And that is the impact we hope to make via the YTP.

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Thus, the YTP not only offers students valuable opportunities for cross-cultural leaning, they also learn to venture out of their comfort zones and build networks in today's increasingly inter-connected world.

So, that is for students. How about our current and future business leaders. Our current and future business leaders are able to tap on SkillsFuture Leadership Development Initiative (LDI) to enhance the growth and international exposure to key overseas markets.

In his Budget Statement, the Minister for Finance announced the launch of the new ASEAN Leadership Programme under the LDI. Earlier, Minister Iswaran also spoke about the LDI ASEAN Leadership Programme.

The ASEAN Leadership Programme offers opportunities for business leaders current and future to gain overseas market immersion and training that are vital for the development of their global market expertise.

As our Singapore companies expand throughout ASEAN and beyond, it is crucial that we have a pipeline of talent ready to lead and support these efforts.

The ASEAN Leadership Programme will focus on creating a vibrant pool of business leaders who understand the unique business environments and cultures of Southeast Asian markets. These countries offer significant growth opportunities for our companies, especially as ASEAN continues to integrate.

The ASEAN region is an important one. ASEAN’s GDP is expected to grow 5.2% annually from 2018 to 2020. By 2030, ASEAN could become the fourth largest single market in the world, after China, the US and the EU. With more than 600 million people, and a middle class that is expected to increase from 38 million households in 2015, to 161 million of middle class households in 2030, ASEAN has lots of promise and untapped potential.

In the second half of this year, the ASEAN Leadership Programme will be launched by ESG and its partner, the Human Capital Leadership Institute. Besides the knowledge of business cultures and leadership styles in key Southeast Asian markets, the ASEAN Leadership Programme will also arm participants with the chance to go in market to learn from as well as to network with both private and public sector leaders.

This not only helps our business leaders better navigate the region and capture the emerging trends, it extends the connections and growth into new markets. The ASEAN Leadership Programme is expected to support more than 100 Singaporean participants over the next three years.

In conclusion, the Government is deeply committed to enabling Singaporeans with the skills and knowledge to stay relevant. However, we cannot do this alone. We need employers, we need TACs, we need unions, we need PSEIs, we need training providers to all work closely together to empower our people.

On the individual level, we each have to take responsibility for our future by embracing lifelong learning. Only then, can we capture new potential; only then, can we grow in step with the changes; and only then, can we rise to overcome the new demands of tomorrow. Thank you and, on behalf of the MTI team, I want to wish everyone a happy Chap Go Meh (15th day of the Chinese New Year).

The Chairman: Mr Liang Eng Hwa, would you like to withdraw the amendment?

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: Thank you, Mr Chairman, it looks like the more than two hours of download has cleared all our doubts and there are no clarifications from us. It leaves me to thank Minister Lim Hng Kiang and let us congratulate him on the successful conclusion of the CPTPP or the TPP-11. I also thank Minister Iswaran, Senior Minister of State Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon and Senior Parliamentary Secretary Low Yen Ling for their very comprehensive replies to our cuts. I also want to thank all the Members who stayed till the end of the session, really testing the adjournment time limit. With that, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $977,755,000 for Head V ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $5,181,486,800 for Head V ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.