Mr Lim Hng Kiang at the Local Enterprise and Association Development Programme Forum: “Sharing Private Sector-Led Industry Development Initiatives”

SPEECH BY MR LIM HNG KIANG, MINISTER FOR TRADE & INDUSTRY, AT THE LOCAL ENTERPRISE AND ASSOCIATION DEVELOPMENT (LEAD) PROGRAMME FORUM: “SHARING PRIVATE SECTOR-LED INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES” AT 9.30 AM ON WEDNESDAY 19 JULY 2006, AT THE GRAND COPTHORNE WATERFRONT HOTEL

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning.

Introduction

It gives me great pleasure to be here with you at this Local Enterprise and Association Development or LEAD Programme Forum. The LEAD Programme was launched in May last year to accelerate the building of a strong base of industry associations to lead industry development efforts.The aim of today’s forum is to build on the efforts of last year’s forum, as well as to provide updates and familiarise more associations with how the LEAD programme can work for you.

Creating Vibrant Industries through Strong Industry Associations

Our basic premise for starting the LEAD programme is that strong industry associations have been shown to form part of the backbone for vibrant industry clusters, and ultimately, a competitive economy. Industry associations are in the best position to know the current trends and business needs of their industries.Having direct links with the industry also allows associations to identify potential issues quickly and to collectively act in a timely manner.

Strong industry associations are not only able to help their members improve their capabilities.They can also undertake more value-adding initiatives for their members.For example, in Japan, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association or JAMA plays a strategic role in growing the overseas market shares of Japanese automobile industry members.In the ASEAN region, JAMA helps its members deepen ties with local partners through regular dialogues and technical assistance initiatives such as the Experts Dispatch Programme. JAMA will be sharing their experience at this Forum, and I hope the trail they have blazed will be a source of inspiration to you as well.

Thus, our aim in launching LEAD is for industry associations to adopt a holistic view.First, identify existing industry gaps and future trends, and then propose strategies to grow your industries. The Government will evaluate proposals based on economic parameters such as revenue and VA contributions, employment creation and the number of local enterprises benefiting from the project.Other evaluation factors include the ability of the association to implement the proposals.

Update on LEAD Programme

I am happy to say that LEAD has received good response thus far, with many aspiring industry associations heeding our call to put up their industry development plans.The Government and the industry associations have jointly committed $60m to invigorate 10 strategic industries.When fully implemented over the next three years, these proposals are expected to create 6,500 new jobs, as well as generate $1 billion in VA and$2.5 billion in revenue.Let me highlight some key initiatives for three of the approved proposals.

The Singapore Furniture Industries Council or SFICwill be developing its industry’s capabilities in design, marketing, branding and internationalisation. In fact, the SFIC has acquired a building at Sungei Kadut to develop the International Furniture Centre, which will be a permanent furniture showroom targeted at international buyers.

Second, the Singapore Food Manufacturers’ Association or SFMA has started its SME and Export Clubs, and is setting up the Food Innovation and Development Centre and the Information Resource Centre.These four platforms will help food manufacturers to upgrade capabilities, develop new products and gain access to overseas markets.

Third, the Textile and Fashion Federation or TaFf is working to improve its members’ productivity and enhance their design capabilities. One key project is the Productivity and Design Development Centre (PDDC), where industrial engineers will provide training and consultancy services to local manufacturers. This will help enhance manufacturing processes and improve production efficiency.

Besides these three, several other industry associations have also successfully applied for LEAD funding, including the Print and Media Association, Singapore (PMAS), the Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF) and theSingapore Chemical Industry Council (SCIC).Three other associations, namely the Singapore Precision Engineering and Tooling Association (SPETA), the Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS) and the Association of Process Industry (ASPRI), will be sharing their key LEAD initiatives this morning.

Fostering Collaboration among Associations

Let me now move on to collaboration among industry associations.We have seen many examples of how industries and enterprises in other countries, such as Taiwan and Japan, put aside their differences to collaborate and achieve greater collective benefits. We would like to see more of this happening in the Singapore context.

I am therefore pleased to note that we have approved a joint LEAD proposal from three of our logistics associations, namely the Container Development Association (Singapore) (CDAS), the Singapore Logistics Association (SLA) and the Singapore Transport Association (STA).These associations are working together to improve the productivity of our land logistics sector and make our trans-shipment port globally competitive.I hope that the logistics association consortium will inspire more associations and enterprises to seek partnership opportunities and I look forward to seeing more of such industry collaborations.

One key area identified in several of the LEAD proposals is the development of manpower capabilities.I have also often heard feedback on this during my meetings with various industry associations.

Therefore, I am happy to announce that SPRING and WDA are jointly launching the SME Training for Enhanced Performance and Upgrade, otherwise known as the Step-UP programme.Under Step-UP, SPRING and WDA will identify and plug training gaps, while emphasising industry and occupational skills that are immediately applicable to the workplace.

For a start, SPRING and WDA will work with the industry associations supported under LEAD to identify industry-relevant courses. SMEs participating in Step-UP will enjoy enhanced course fee support through the Skills Development Fund. We expect some 600 workers from about 100 SMEs to benefit from Step-UP in the first year.

Conclusion

For industries to sustain growth, we need to continually upgrade our capabilities, seize new opportunities and serve our customers better.I encourage all associations present to make use of this forum to learn from the plans and experiences of your peers, and to pick up useful pointers on developing strategies for your own industries.Under the stewardship of our associations, our industries will be able to scale greater heights and be well-positioned to capture new opportunities, create new value, and generate meaningful jobs in Singapore.

With that, let me conclude by wishing everyone a fruitful time at this morning’s forum.Thank you