Mr Lee Yi Shyan at the 16th APEC SME Ministerial News Conference, 9 Oct 09

OPENING REMARK by Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Minister of State for Trade & Industry and MANPOWER, AT THE 16TH APEC SME MINISTERIAL NEWS CONFERENCE ON 9 OCTOBER 2009, 12.30PM at SHANGRI-LA HOTEL

Fellow Ministers,

Excellencies,

Members of the media,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good afternoon.

Singapore as APEC 2009 host

The 16th APEC SME MM has just successfully concluded. We are here to highlight

to the media the achievements of this meeting. We are also issuing a joint statement

that contains more details.

Gathering 21 economies at one location is never easy. At this point, I would like to recognize the special effort by a number of our member economies affected by the recent series of typhoons and earthquakes. Our hearts go out to the many people who have lost their loved ones and homes. The SME MM expressed our sympathy and unity to them as they endeavor to restore normalcy in the disaster areas.

APEC SME 2009 Theme and Key Outcomes

The theme of the APEC SME Ministerial Meeting is "Helping SMEs Access Global Markets and Overcome Trade Barriers". This theme was derived from the umbrella or main APEC 2009 theme of "Sustaining Growth, Connecting the Region". This is especially relevant as one of our priorities is to help our SMEs position for growth after the crisis. Developing our SMEs has always been a priority in APEC as SMEs are important to our economies. This task has taken on even greater significance because of the crisis.

Recognizing that SME development in APEC is a long-term undertaking, Singapore, as host, has sought to build on the achievements of past meetings held in Australia and Peru. Hopefully, the progress made in 2009 would also provide a good foundation for greater achievements when Japan and USA host APEC respectively in 2010 and 2011.

Key Outcomes of APEC 2009

I would like to discuss the key outcomes of APEC 2009 under three headings.

The first heading is the APEC SME Working Group Strategic Plan. In Chiclayo, Peru, the Strategic Plan was formally approved and endorsed by the SME Ministers. The Strategic Plan has established six Priority Areas for the APEC SME Working Group to pursue. It also focuses APEC SMEs to work on these six areas for maximum impact.

I am pleased to report to you that in 2009, the APEC SME Working Group has taken the framework further by :

(a) Having champion economies to lead each of the Priority Areas;

(b) Developing and implementing projects aligned to the Priority Areas and;

(c) Developing suitable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that can be used to track progress and achievements in the respective Priority Areas.

In this way, the progress of APEC’s future work on SME development can be quantified, and progress measured. Since there are champions for each area, there will be leadership, empowerment and accountability for the work to be carried out.

Initiatives and Programmes delivered in 2009

Second, I will touch on initiatives and programmes delivered in 2009. Thanks to member economies' pro-active participation and generous sharing of their expertise, the APEC SME Working Group saw the following programmes / initiatives delivered:

1. Ease of Doing Business – Trading Across Borders led by New Zealand

2. SME Innovation Seminar led by the Republic of Korea

3. Ease of Doing Business – Access to Credit led by New Zealand

4. Symposium on SME Strategies to Manage the Impact of the Global Financial Crisis led by Chinese Taipei

5. APEC SME Technology Entrepreneur Seminar led by United States

6. APEC SME Flu Pandemic Preparedness Workshop led by United States

Most of the programmes were for capacity building, reflecting the medium to long-term focus of APEC on SME work. Most of the programmes were also delivered by several economies working together, reflecting a sense of collective ownership and teamwork.

Over the past two days, we heard over 20 presentations and reports on initiatives by member economies. In helping SMEs position for growth after crisis, we have heard the following economies, namely Japan, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Russia, Chinese Taipei, Vietnam and Singapore share their respective measures to promote SME growth and help SMEs face challenges arising from the global financial crisis.

New Initiatives Adopted by APEC SME MM 2009

Third, I will touch on new initiatives adopted by APEC SME MM 2009.In developing market research and access capabilities, we have the:

7. APEC Business Fellowships proposed by Singapore;

8. APEC Study on Export Technical Assistance Models proposed by Singapore;

9. APEC Market Research and Capability Development Center, proposed by Singapore to help SMEs boost their capabilities in market research and market access

10. APEC Proposal on Trading Houses proposed by Indonesia

11. APEC SME Crisis Management Centre proposed by Chinese Taipei

The implementation of the new programmes will take place within the next one year under the supervision of the APEC Secretariat.

Working with Partners

APEC SME Ministerial Meeting acknowledged and commend the excellent work of ABAC, which provided valuable inputs on behalf the business community in APEC. They asked the economies not to erect new protectionist measures and to commit to open markets and free trade. ABAC also suggested ways to strengthen the capabilities of our SMEs to become more resilient and to tap opportunities that can sustain their growth in the long term. APEC would continue to work with ABAC as partner to improve and enhance the six priority areas of the strategic plan.

APEC SME Ministerial Meeting also appreciate the contributions of the Women Leaders Network (WLN) and Gender Focal Point Network (GFPN). As partner organizations, they play unique roles in reaching out to their memberships, conveying and implementing the objectives of APEC SME MM.

The deliverables and recommendations will serve as inputs to the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting.

The next APEC SME Ministerial Meeting will be held in 2010 in Gifu, Japan. The theme will be “Strategy for reinvigorating economic growth with dual engine: SME and Asia Pacific Economy”.

The sub-themes are:

12. Improving business environment of SME;

13. Enhancing business support programmes for SMEs and;

14. Facilitating SMEs innovation and access to global markets.