MINISTRY OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY

BG GEORGE YONG-BOON YEO Minister for Trade and Industry

1. Our vision is for Singapore to become an advanced and globally competitive knowledge-based economy, competing on the basis of innovation and knowledge. Rapid technological change and globalisation are posing new challenges for our economy. We will meet these challenges and achieve our vision within the next decade.

Manufacturing and Services as Twin Engines

2. We must develop manufacturing and services as the twin engines of growth for the Singapore economy. This helps to diversify our economy, reduce vulnerability and broaden our economic base.

3. We must ensure that Singapore remains an attractive place for manufacturing investment based on total capabilities, comprising skills, technology and supporting services. The Economic Development Board (EDB) will attract investments in the high-growth, high value-added areas. It will help industries upgrade and develop new capabilities, with focus on the electronics, chemicals, life sciences, and engineering clusters. It will encourage a balanced mix of manufacturing activities within each cluster to achieve greater resilience. EDB will also upgrade our existing industries to stay globally competitive and develop emerging industries.

4. We will develop Singapore into a premier services hub in Asia with a global orientation. We will strengthen our existing hub status for traditional services such as trading, financial services, logistics, and tourism. At the same time, we will develop new high growth services like education, healthcare, info-communications and media. We will attract global services players to Singapore, and help our services companies enhance their capabilities. We will actively promote e-commerce. The Trade Development Board (TDB) will expand TradeNet and establish a world-class infrastructure for international trade.

5. The Singapore Tourism Board will make Singapore a world class tourist destination. We will make Sentosa more affordable and fun. Sentosa Cove will be developed as an integrated waterfront, leisure and residential resort. We will also develop the Southern Islands over the next decade for our recreational needs.

External Links

6. Whilst we encourage our companies to participate in the growth of the region, we must diversify our markets to other regions to tap on new opportunities, and to spread market risks. We will enhance our network of overseas trade and investment offices. TDB will support local enterprises to internationalise and diversify through business missions, international exhibitions and other overseas market development programmes.

7. An open, rule-based multilateral trading system is vital to the economic wellbeing of Singapore. We will actively participate in the New Round of trade negotiations in the WTO. We will also work within regional fora such as ASEAN, APEC and ASEM to promote regional and global trade and investment liberalisation.

8. At the same time, Singapore will deepen and strengthen our trade and other economic links with our economic partners by exploring bilateral WTO-consistent Free Trade Agreements. This will complement our continued commitment to a new round of broad-based multilateral trade negotiations in the WTO and APEC's Bogor goals of establishing free trade in the Asia-Pacific. Building World-Class Companies

9. We aim to nurture 100 promising local enterprises (PLEs) into world-class companies by 2005. EDB will help these PLEs build up core competencies in the areas of manpower, technology and market information. EDB will also proactively help both PLEs and MNCs to identify suitable opportunities for collaboration. In addition, it will encourage PLEs to consolidate their strengths through mergers and acquisitions, and strengthen the equity base of growth companies through co-investment.

Strengthening Our Small and Medium Local Enterprises

10. The Productivity and Standards Board (PSB) will facilitate the growth of small and medium local enterprises (LEs) and help them to be internationally competitive. It will help LEs raise their technological capability, efficiency and service quality. It will encourage them to pool resources, exploit IT and modernise management. A National Best Practice Centre will be established to promote widespread adoption of best practices.

11. The Productivity Movement has played a key role in upgrading the productivity of workers. To sustain productivity growth, PSB will implement a Productivity Action 21 plan to prepare businesses and the workforce for the knowledge-based economy, paying special attention to raising productivity in the construction and retail sectors.

Human and Intellectual Capital as a Key Competitive Edge

12. We will support the Ministry of Manpower's efforts to develop a world-class workforce. We will maximise the potential of Singaporean workers by supporting training and manpower development schemes such as the Skills Development Fund (SDF), Initiatives in New Technologies (INTECH), and the Training Attachment Programme (TAP). We will also help to attract foreign talent to supplement our domestic workforce. Leveraging on Science, Technology and Innovation

13. We need to enhance our science and technology capabilities. The National Science and Technology Board (NSTB) will develop the research and development capabilities of our research institutions. It will also support industry collaboration and technology commercialisation.

14. We will nurture and build a critical mass of intellectual property-based enterprises in Singapore through the Technopreneurship 21 programme. Our environment must foster intelligent risk-taking, creativity, and an acceptance of failure as a learning process. We will develop the Buona Vista Science Hub as a focal point for technopreneurial activities. NSTB will catalyse the development of a vibrant venture capital industry and financing infrastructure to seed, nurture and grow high-tech start-ups. It will establish linkages with overseas hi-tech nodes to help local technopreneurs gain access to foreign markets, expertise and business partnership.

Optimising Resource Management

15. We will ensure secure, reliable and affordable supply of water. Besides seeking additional water supply from Malaysia and Indonesia, we will actively pursue the diversification of water resources. Our first desalination plant will commence operation by 2005. We will build 8 storm-water collection ponds to collect rainwater in the north-eastern part of the island. We will study the latest water treatment and reclamation technologies and their possible application to treat water collected in the Marina Bay when the Marina Barrage is built. We will encourage the development of alternatives to potable water supply, such as industrial water.

16. To provide sufficient land for industrial development, we will accelerate reclamation and intensify land use. We will reclaim more land on Jurong Island for an integrated, world-class chemical hub. We will reclaim land at the Tuas View Extension for industrial use, and to house desalination plants, power stations and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal. We will equip the land with world-class supporting infrastructure and price it competitively.

17. The Jurong Town Corporation (JTC) will develop specialised industrial parks for industry clusters such as pharmaceuticals, and new facilities to host emerging knowledge-based industries such as e-commerce. JTC will develop new industrial parks and buildings with innovative designs that use land more productively.

18. We will implement a secure and competitive national energy policy, with a balanced fuel mix. We will facilitate the import and use of natural gas, including the development of a LNG receiving terminal. We will further deregulate the electricity industry and divest the generation companies to the private sector. Singapore Power will be publicly listed. The Public Utilities Board (PUB) will facilitate the development of district cooling to serve the air-conditioning needs of cluster developments.