Mr Lim Hng Kiang at the Opening of Inaugural GE Day

SPEECH BY MR LIM HNG KIANG, MINISTER FOR TRADE & INDUSTRY AT THE OPENING OF INAUGURAL GE DAY ON 1 OCTOBER 2007 AT 2.45 PM, ISLAND BALLROOM, SHANGRI-LA HOTEL

Mr Ferdinando Becalli- Falco
President & Chief Executive Officer, GE International,

Mr Stuart Dean
President, GE South East Asia,

Mr Colin Low
President, GE Singapore, Philippines and Vietnam,

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Introduction

Good afternoon. I'm happy to be invited to address you today at this significant event for an old friend of Singapore.

GE first established a presence here in 1969, with electronics manufacturing. Today, the company employs some 2,500 people in a wide range of activities, from manufacturing and research & development (R&D), to headquarters services. In fact, a number of key GE businesses have their regional headquarters in Singapore, from which they direct operations across the Asia Pacific region.

Singapore Remains Competitive in the Face of Global Developments

When GE first arrived in Singapore in the 1960s, it was just after our country’s independence. In those uncertain times, we opened our doors wide to foreign multinational companies, such as GE. This was because we knew that foreign companies would bring in capital, technology know-how, management capabilities, and global markets. And in return, Singapore offered skilled manpower and land to meet their needs.

Singapore now offers political stability, reliable infrastructure, excellent education and skills training. We have adopted an “East plus West” strategy which has brought us much success, within just a few short decades. In fact this “East plus West” strategy has worked so well that it is now the standard formula for economic development in many developing countries.

Key Pillars for Economic Growth

Moving forward, our future lies in capital-intensive, knowledge-intensive and innovation intensive industries. These are to be found in both manufacturing and services. These two pillars will continue to be Singapore’s engines of growth for the future.

Manufacturing accounted for some 28 per cent of our GDP last year, and has a tremendous multiplier effect with significant spin-offs to the exportable services sectors. Manufacturing and services are mutually reinforcing with many services now part of the whole manufacturing value chain. Similarly, Singapore is an attractive location for manufacturing because of the high quality of the supporting services available here.

Key Drivers for Singapore’s Future

Beyond manufacturing and services, there are also several key drivers for Singapore’s future. Today, I’d like to touch on just two of them – one of which is the rise of the Asian economies, and the other is urbanization.

Emerging Asian Economies

First, the emerging economies. This year, Singapore has taken over as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN. We are focused on making ASEAN stronger and more integrated. An integrated ASEAN is important so that we can keep pace and grow with China and India as they move forward. I’m happy to say as basis for this, the ASEAN member countries have agreed to accelerate the creation of a unified regional market by 2015, five years ahead of the original plan.

GE’s own experience bears witness to the growth of Asia and ASEAN, with this being the first year that GE’s revenues from outside the USA exceeding the revenues generated within the USA. Moving forward, I’m told that you are increasing your focus on emerging economies in Asia, and rightly so.

As you do so, we hope that you will find that Singapore remains a value proposition for you, as a country that is well-positioned in South-East Asia, and between the emerging economic powerhouses of China and India. Our people and infrastructure and connectivity make us the ideal location in Asia for trade, business and investment.

Urbanization; Megacities

The second key driver is urbanization and megacities. According to consulting firm, Booz-Allen, the world’s population is projected to increase by one-third, to exceed eight billion by 2050, with, for the first time in human history, more than 50 per cent of humanity living in metropolitan areas.

Singapore has developed several initiatives to capture opportunities presented by some of the challenges of urbanisation. For example, an Environment and Water Industry Development Council was set up in May 2006 to spearhead the development of the environmental and water industry in Singapore and position Singapore as a Global Hydrohub. A Clean Energy Programme Office was also set up early this year to grow the clean energy industry in Singapore.

Collectively for both clean energy and water, the National Research Foundation has allocated a total of S$500 million to build up the necessary R&D competencies and talent base to support this industry. This funding will significantly help Singapore achieve the goals of attaining S$3.4 billion in value-added and 18,000 jobs from both the clean energy and water sectors by 2015.

Here again, Singapore and GE have common interests. In response to our strong focus on water technology, GE established its Water & Process Technologies Global R&D Centre in the National University of Singapore last September. The Centre is one of three in Asia and conducts research aimed at alleviating pressing water issues, related to quality, availability and the affordability of safe, usable water supplies which are being driven by the effects of urbanization.

Singapore and GE

GE’s growth in the region parallels Singapore’s economic strategy. Many of the areas that GE is focusing on for growth are similar to Singapore’s focus areas, such as aerospace, healthcare, infrastructure and media. This makes us natural partners and indeed, we have grown together over the years.

GE remains deeply engaged in Singapore’s development today. It is actively contributing to the Resorts World at Sentosa development which will add much vibrancy to Singapore’s cultural and entertainment scene. This integrated resort will feature GE products and intellectual property such as a Universal Studios theme park; a waste water reuse system for landscaping; and the novel use of solar control materials.

Conclusion

In conclusion, thank you for your trust and confidence in Singapore. We are indeed privileged to be the only country in Southeast Asia that has all six of GE’s business units, providing testament to Singapore’s business environment and capabilities. I am sure that there are many more opportunities for us to work together for mutual benefit.

Thank you and I wish you a fruitful day ahead.