Mr Lim Hng Kiang at the Singapore Furniture Industries Award (SFIA) 2010 Presentation Ceremony, 1 Oct 2010

SPEECH BY MR LIM HNG KIANG, MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY AT THE SINGAPORE FURNITURE INDUSTRIES AWARD (SFIA) 2010 PRESENTATION CEREMONY AT THE RAFFLES CITY CONVENTION CENTRE AT 7.30 PM ON FRIDAY, 1 OCTOBER 2010

Mr Andrew Ng, out-going President, Singapore Furniture Industries Council,

Mr James Goh, incoming President, Singapore Furniture Industries Council,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good evening

I am pleased to join you today in celebrating the achievements of many outstanding companies and individuals, who have made invaluable contributions to Singapore’s furniture industry. Let me extend my warmest congratulations to the award recipients. The success of the winners and nominees is a reflection of the SFIC’s persevering efforts in raising the global profile of Singapore-made furniture.

The Singapore Furniture Industry- Developing New Markets and Building New Capabilities

2009 has been a rough year for many businesses, but many Singapore furniture companies did not lose sight of the bigger picture. They pressed on to develop new markets, build new capabilities and train their people to increase productivity to prepare themselves for the next wave of market opportunities.

In a recent survey conducted by SFIC, SPRING and IE Singapore, more than half of Singapore’s furniture companies said they plan to expand their manufacturing, sales, regional headquarters and retail activities overseas in the next three years. They will join companies such as Star Furniture, Grandwork Interior, Technigroup, Falcon Incorporation, Wilsin and many others that have successfully launched their overseas operations in China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia and Vietnam.

This expansion is changing the landscape of Singapore’s furniture industry, as companies move their manufacturing capabilities overseas, closer to their customers to take advantage of cost efficiencies and a wider talent pool. In their place, we are seeing a new, services-led furniture industry in Singapore. For instance, companies such as Air Division and Cilicon Faytory are focusing on the local market for retail, contract building and design services.Companies like Kingsmen Creatives are also expanding and diversifying their businesses, going beyond interior fit-out projects to win high-profile contracts such as the Universal Studios Singapore theme park on Sentosa and the Shanghai World Expo 2010.Such a far-sighted, growth-oriented focus has placed our local furniture companies in good stead to ride the exceptionally strong wave of economic growth that Singapore enjoyed in the first half of this year.

Growing globally competitive companies entails improving work processes to increase productivity. For instance, Ewins recently introduced a new system to provide sales staff with quick access to vital information such as inventory levels and product prices through PDAs. Staff can also issue orders and invoices remotely. This helps to free up bottlenecks and empowers their frontline staff to work more effectively and efficiently while improving their levels of customer service.

Industry Development

Industry development is a continuous journey for all stakeholders. More notably, such a development is reflected in SFIC’s efforts in banding with the industry to promote the interests of the industry as a whole. Thanks to the efforts of SFIC and the industry leaders like those of you present today, the long-term outlook for Singapore’s furniture industry is promising. Over the last five years, Singapore’s furniture industry has been growing at a steady rate of 10% and it is progressively making its presence felt on the global furniture scene. In January this year, at the Cologne Furniture Fair, Singapore companies secured spot sales of S$14.6 million, a 75% increase compared with the previous year.This is an encouraging sign of our export viability on the back of a strong economic recovery.

I understand from SFIC, that the industry is well on course to exceed the Council’s initial target of doubling Singapore’s share of global furniture output from 0.5% in 2005 to 1% by 2015. Today, our furniture companies export to more than 60 countries, not only to Europe and the US, but also to developing countries such as Mexico and Brazil in Latin America, and Kazakhstan in Central Asia. SFIC has also been instrumental in the development of Singapore Mozaic, which is fast becoming a widely recognised international branding for Singapore furniture that stands for good design, high product quality and strong service standards.

I encourage SFIC to continue taking the lead in furthering the industry’s interests through branding, capability building and talent development initiatives, to ensure that the industry stays ahead of emerging global trends like environmental sustainability. Government agencies such as DesignSingapore, IE Singapore, JTC and SPRING will continue to support SFIC in its efforts to further grow and develop the interests of the local furniture industry.

I hope that our Singapore companies will continue to work together to embrace a quality-conscious philosophy, and to sharpen their focus on design and productivity. Companies must continue to stay alert to address emerging global trends and shifting demographics. They should leverage the robust environment to strengthen business capabilities and intensify internationalisation efforts. Only then can they stay ahead of the curve in serving the needs and wants of the burgeoning base of global consumers.

Conclusion

Last but not least, I congratulate Mr James Goh, the new President of SFIC, and members of the newly elected Executive Committee on their appointments. I look forward to their continued contributions to Singapore’s furniture industry just like those who had served before them. I am confident that under this new leadership and SFIC’s dedication in furthering the interest of its industry members, the future will hold many exciting opportunities for the Singapore furniture industry.

This is an evening of celebrations and recognition for the Singapore furniture industry. I wish everyone a pleasant and memorable evening ahead. Thank you.