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As Asia booms, S’pore must evolve to stay competitive: DPM Teo

SINGAPORE – Asia’s growth and the rising affluence of its expanding middle class present immense business opportunities and Singapore has to position itself where it can add the most value and evolve with changing circumstances, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean yesterday.

Central Business District skyline. TODAY file photo

Central Business District skyline. TODAY file photo

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SINGAPORE – Asia’s growth and the rising affluence of its expanding middle class present immense business opportunities and Singapore has to position itself where it can add the most value and evolve with changing circumstances, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean yesterday.

“As a maturing economy, Singapore cannot rely on a linear increase in labour, land or resources such as energy to grow our economy. To achieve sustainable growth, Singapore will continue to move towards higher value-added activities and innovation,” he said at the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce (SICC) annual general meeting yesterday.

Singapore had been serving as a base for global businesses looking to make inroads in Asia and is the first port of call for Asian businesses looking to expand, noted Mr Teo. He said Singapore has to remain competitive to create good jobs for Singaporeans. This would be anchored on four key attributes of its business environment — trust, knowledge, connectivity and liveability, he added.

Trust, Mr Teo said, is embodied in Singapore’s integrity, quality, reliability, rule of law and respect for intellectual property, as well as zero tolerance of corruption. Trust in Singapore’s stable business environment will allow firms to make long-term investment decisions in an increasingly volatile world and this will create good jobs and sustainable growth here.

To steer Singapore towards being a more innovative, knowledge-intensive economy, the Government had invested heavily in research and development, while remaining open to people coming from abroad with the right skills and market knowledge, said Mr Teo.

He acknowledged that there are “physical and social limits” to a foreign workforce, saying the influx had been slowed. Growth in the foreign workforce has halved from 2012 to last year, excluding foreign domestic workers and the construction sector. The year-on-year growth last December was 2.3 per cent, down from 4.6 per cent the previous year.

Singapore’s logistics as well as financial and market connectivity will continue to make it a key hub for ASEAN, Asia and the world. Mr Teo said Singapore’s network of trade agreements is the most extensive in Asia and enables firms here to access key markets. He noted that there are 60,000 foreign firms registered in Singapore.

Liveability, which includes embracing safe streets, good schools, a clean and green environment and a good quality of life, among others, also makes Singapore attractive. Good public transport, said Mr Teo, has to be the main mode of travel and, by 2030, when Singapore’s rail network doubles, the density will be comparable to that in New York and London today.

Beyond his prepared speech, Mr Teo said the Woodlands Checkpoint would be improved to address congestion. Over the next few months, about 90 per cent of people going through the checkpoint can do so with automated immigration clearance, up from the current 30 per cent. And, by 2016, 20 to 30 more car-checking lanes will be added.

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