SPEECH BY MR LEE YI
SHYAN,MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY AND
MINISTER-IN-CHARGE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP, AT THE WORLD FEDERATION OF
DIRECT SELLING ASSOCIATION WORLD CONGRESS XIII GALA DINNER, 10
OCTOBER 2008, 8.00 PM AT THE SWISSOTEL, RAFFLES
CITY
Distinguished
Guests,
Ladies and
gentlemen,
Good
Evening.
Introduction
I am happy
to join you this evening for the Gala Dinner of the World
Federation of Direct Selling Association 13th World
Congress. I would also like to extend my warmest welcome to all our
guests from overseas. I hope you have enjoyed your stay here in
Singapore so far.
Direct Selling Industry
Direct selling is a dynamic and growing channel of distribution of
products and services to consumers directly. The direct selling
industry, with its ease of entry, provides many people around the
world with an unique opportunity for self-employment as they put
their entrepreneurial talents to test.
Your theme for the Congress “Empowering Lives Globally” is an
excellent expression of the phenomenon that direct selling is now a
global industry. The WFDSA now has 59 national Direct Selling
Associations members with 67 million sales persons selling an
estimated US$112 billion worth of products and services last
year.
Even in this period of economic uncertainty, growth opportunities
for the direct selling industry abound. The industry could take
this chance to consolidate and re-position itself to leverage on
the opportunities presented by key worldwide trends such as the
emergence of newly affluent markets, rising health care costs, and
longer life expectancies.
Consumer Education and
Self-Regulation
The growth
of the industry depends very much on the confidence the consumers
have in direct sellers.In Singapore, we rely on legislation,
consumer education, and industry self-regulation to ensure and
promote a healthy and vibrant direct selling business
environment.
While
multi-level marketing schemes or pyramid selling are prohibited by
the Multi-Level Marketing and Pyramid Selling (Prohibition) Act,
the Government has also specifically excluded legitimate
businesses, including bona fide direct sellers,
from the Act. This way, we encourage innovative sales and
distribution techniques, while protecting the interests of
consumers.
However, it
is sometimes difficult for consumers to differentiate between
legitimate direct selling firms and fraudulent pyramid schemes.
This is where the industry has an important part to play.WFDSA and
your members have played an active role in educating the public and
promoting best practices in the industry. For instance, the Direct
Selling Association of Singapore (DSAS) works with the Consumers
Association of Singapore (CASE) to eliminate malpractices in the
marketplace. DSAS also helps to resolve consumer complaints not
only when they involve DSAS members, but also non-members. Such
measures will also help the industry build credibility and consumer
confidence.
I am pleased to note that your members understand the importance of
upholding high standards of ethical conduct in the marketplace,
which will place the industry in a socially responsible position,
while ensuring sustainable growth for the long term.I look forward
to even more pro-active measures by the DSAS to increase consumers’
confidence in the direct selling industry.
Conclusion
This is the second time after a 20-year break that Singapore is
hosting the WFDSA World Congress. In fact, Singapore is the only
country so far to be a repeated host for this prestigious industry
event. I thank you for choosing Singapore and I certainly hope that
you can consider Singapore as a destination for your future
events.
The WFDSA World Congress XIII provides excellent learning and
networking opportunities for participants to chart the future
growth of the direct selling industry globally. It is especially
laudable that one of the key objectives of the Congress is for
WFDSA to strengthen your commitment to the highest ethical
standards.
I wish you all a rewarding time in the Congress and also in
Singapore.
Thank you.