Five sub-committees set up to chart Singapore’s economic development

SINGAPORE — Members of the Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) met for the first time today (Jan 11) and formed five sub-committees to oversee issues critical to Singapore’s economic development.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting that lasted more than two hours, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, who chairs the CFE, said two main committee members — one Minister and one private sector member — will co-chair these sub-committees. 

“We formed the sub-committees so we can do much more in-depth study on these areas but we’re also cognisant that the work of the sub-committees are all very inter-related. So on one level, we do have very deep dive into each specific area and on another level, we are also going to have the main committee meetings to coordinate this,” he said today.

The CFE, formed to develop economic strategies to position Singapore for the future, aims to complete its work in a year’s time. Mr Heng said the broad themes it will focus on include investing in capabilities and innovation, coming up with integrated solutions and helping companies to internationalise. 

Mr Heng will lead the sub-committee on future corporate capabilities and innovation along with Singapore Business Federation (SBF) chairman Teo Siong Seng. 

They will recommend strategies to enable companies to adopt innovation and technology to create more value.

CFE vice-chair and Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S Iswaran will team up with Mr Jean-Luc Butel, president of K8 Global and senior adviser at McKinsey and Co, to spearhead the future growth industries and markets sub-committee. They will identify priority clusters and markets, and recommend strategies to grow them.

The third sub-committee is tasked to study the future of connectivity and how Singapore can remain well-connected as a competitive key hub. This will be co-chaired by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Chan Chun Sing and Ms Mariam Jaafar, partner and managing director at The Boston Consulting Group Singapore.

Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong and PSA International’s group chief executive Tan Chong Meng will lead the future city sub-committee that will look at how Singapore can enhance its infrastructure while overcoming resource constraints. 

Newcomer to the Cabinet, Acting Education Minister (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung will oversee the future jobs and skills sub-committee together with Mr Bill Chang, Singtel’s country chief for Singapore and chief executive for its group enterprise business. Their work will focus on preparing Singaporean workers for the future.

Mr Heng said the co-chairs are picked based on their “particular areas of expertise” as well as their ability to offer additional perspectives. Other than the main committee members, the sub-committees will also be made up by additional representatives from both private and public sectors.

Details of the sub-committee members will be announced at a later date, but Mr Heng said the 30-member main committee will meet roughly once every three months. At the first meeting today, the CFE also lined up its activities for the year, which include canvassing views from the various stakeholders in the economy.

“Our next task is to have the sub-committees convene their meetings… At the same time, we are bringing together some of the committee members and other parties to have thematic discussions,” he said.

When asked about the SBF Position Paper that tabled recommendations by the business committee to develop a vibrant economy, Mr Heng said he will “say a few words” on the report tomorrow. 

Reiterating the importance of the CFE, Mr Iswaran said it is “timely” to look at how Singapore can position itself in the medium to long term given the “always dynamic” environment.

Mr Heng added: “The goal of the Committee on the Future Economy is very simple, which is to create good jobs and good opportunities for Singaporeans, in Singaporeans’ interest and to enable Singaporeans and Singaporean businesses to ride the wave of change.”