Opening address by Minister S Iswaran at the ASEAN-India Business Forum

OPENING ADDRESS BY MR S. ISWARAN, MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY (INDUSTRY) AT THE ASEAN-INDIA BUSINESS FORUM ON FRIDAY, 21 APRIL 2017, 9.30AM, AT MARINA BAY SANDS CONVENTION CENTRE, BEGONIA ROOM

Business leaders from India and Singapore, 

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

Opening

1.              Good morning.  I am glad to join you at this ASEAN-India Business Forum. It is a timely forum for a variety of reasons. As you have heard from CEO, IE Singapore, partly because of the global circumstances, companies are seeking out new areas of opportunity.

2.              It is also a timely forum because of the priorities that we have, not just in Singapore but in ASEAN as we have gathered through our interactions with the various governments in the region, the emphasis on growth, development of capabilities especially in the SME sector and connectivity within the region and through the region to the wider global economy.

 3.              While our Singapore-based companies and many others are increasingly aware of how internationalisation is a key plank in the strategy to build competitiveness and the pathway for sustained growth, they also face growing economic and political uncertainty in many of the traditional overseas markets, including China, Europe and the United States.

4.              Against this backdrop, it is essential that we seek out new opportunities.  ASEAN and India are familiar markets in some ways but we need to develop greater depth and breadth in the way we engage in this region. This is also a point that our recent report of the Committee on the Future Economy emphasised. The reason we emphasise this was because as we look at the developments around the region, it is quite clear that the domestic needs of the economies, the pursuit of higher standards in the region and the greater disposal income of the people are all going to create important opportunities for businesses. But it also means that it must be met by quality solution providers whether it is in products or services

5.              That is why in this year’s Budget also included a number of new initiatives to support companies that are taking steps to expand overseas.

ASEAN and India are the new growth engines of Asia

 6.              A number of Asian markets have proven to be bright spots for businesses.  Southeast Asia and India, in particular, are experiencing strong economic growth driven by growing consumption and infrastructure developments.  Together, both markets represent a quarter of the world’s population (two billion), and a combined nominal GDP of US$4.5 trillion.  In India alone, consumption is expected to grow four-fold between now and 2025, to reach slightly over US$1.00 trillion in value.  India’s consumer market is expected to become the fifth largest in the world by 2025.  Similarly, the number of middle-class households in Southeast Asia will double between now and 2025. So whatever the matrix you look at, there are significant opportunities to be had.

 7.              Indeed, these are markets that we need to engage, and we believe that Singapore offers a good platform from which companies can seek out partnerships and opportunities in the region for their growth. We are well-connected to the region both in the physical sense through our various air and sea connectivity elements but we are also well-connected through our trade infrastructure. Businesses and travellers benefit from physical connectivity in terms of daily flights between Singapore and key cities in India and Southeast Asia.  Businesses are supported by a strong suite of FTAs and Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs) between Singapore and all these markets.

8.              We are also a regional hub for many multi-national corporations, to provide corporate functions from Singapore such as legal services, treasury functions and intellectual property management.  Which means we have a good, well-diversified corporate base here which can then partner and help seek out opportunities in the region. Most significantly, Singapore shares a strong historical, cultural and people-to-people ties with India and many of our Southeast Asia neighbours.

9.              While there are already strong business links between Singapore and the two regions, our engagements can be taken further both in terms of the depth and in terms of our understanding, nuances of these markets, the breadth in terms of the sectors and what we want to engage in.  Apart from the traditional commerce hubs in Southeast Asia and India, we must actively engage new centres of growth that are emerging.  For instance, in Indonesia, IE has signed an MOU with Makassar City on smart city collaboration. This was signed during the last Leaders Retreat between President Joko Widodo and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Semarang last year. This MOU will allow Singapore companies to partner Makassar in its vision for smart city development. IE is also working with companies to explore opportunities relating to cruise, marina and land transportation solutions in Medan, Semarang and Bali. These are all important cities which are seeing quite brisk rates of growth apart from your traditional areas such as Jakarta and Surabaya.

 10.          Myanmar as you have heard, is another example.  While the first wave of investments had focused on Yangon’s infrastructure needs, we are now engaging other cities including the Mandalay and Ayeyarwaddy regions’ industrial, transport, logistics and utilities sectors.  Similarly, I believe many of you would be familiar with Singapore’s engagement with India in not just at the central level but at the state level and specifically the development of ‘Amaravati’, Andhra Pradesh’s new capital city. IE has also signed an MOU with the state governments of Gujarat, Rajasthan and most recently the city of Pune to collaborate on smart urban solutions and tourism developments to name a few sectors. The point here is that we are already working in these markets. The question is how we can take this engagement to another level in order to create more opportunities for mutual benefit.

 11.       These examples that I have cited highlight the value and potential for us to engage these markets early, whether at the state and city level to support their growth trajectories over the next few decades.   

New opportunities abound in Southeast Asia and India for companies with innovative business models

 12.          It is equally important to recognise that Southeast Asia and India are fast-changing markets with a healthy appetite for innovative solutions.  In fact, we have seen some quite remarkable progress in some of the regional cities in terms of their adoption of digital technologies and consumer habits and I think this is something that should be taken note of. This is probably best exemplified by the adoption of e-commerce in both regions. While it is a relatively nascent area when compared to developed markets like North America and China, there is now a long and clear runway of growth of opportunity for e-commerce retailers, fintech and fulfilment players.  As the e-commerce sector is expected to grow at least 25 percent annually across both regions, it is no surprise that market leaders like Amazon, Alibaba and many others are planning to make significant investments in these markets.    

 13.          There is room for both established businesses and local start-ups to be involved in the digital economy.  Indeed, we all know that the digital economy creates unparalled opportunity for even a start-up or the smallest business to access opportunities in the furthest markets. You can reach companies anywhere in the world. Therefore, it presents a unique opportunity for growth, something that all our businesses should be looking at seriously.

14.          Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) for example, a traditional publishing and media company, has embraced digitalisation as a means to transform its business to reach consumers in Southeast Asia.  Local start-ups like ShopBack, an e-commerce affiliate marketing platform that connects both merchants and shoppers, currently has presence in Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia and Taiwan and is also planning further regional expansion.

 15.          The success of our established companies and start-ups in the digital sphere reminds us that companies can punch above their weight when they are able to offer innovative and relevant solutions for the markets they operate in. The success stories of Southeast Asia’s unicorns like Grab and Garena are other examples of how technology and innovation provide businesses with new opportunities for market solutions and market access. Grab currently operates in 39 cities with a fleet of over 710,000 drivers and has also invested US $100 million in its first research and development centre in Singapore, which will house over 200 engineers and scientists. Garena, founded just 8 years ago, now has operations in seven countries outside of Singapore. Again, they have been growing at a very brisk rate. We look forward to more of such success stories, where companies based in Singapore and the region chart their growth, riding on the opportunities that we are all witnessing unfold.

Strong Government Support for Internationalisation

 16.          In Singapore, we recognise the importance of internationalisation to our companies’ growth. Through our economic agencies, principally IE Singapore, we are developing new tools and initiatives to equip our companies so that they can make the most of the vibrant business opportunities in the region. To better address the opportunities in consumerism and urban infrastructure in the region, our agencies will be stepping up their activities and resources in Indonesia and the Philippines this year.  

 17.          Beyond helping to secure projects overseas, IE Singapore is also working with companies to develop their capabilities in internationalisation.  You heard Ark Boon (CEO, IE Singapore) talk about the people aspect and this is something that cannot be over-emphasised because ultimately whatever your business strategy, whichever market you are focusing on, you need the people who understand the market, understand your business strategy to execute.

 18.          I am very pleased that IE Singapore is facilitating partnerships between the Confederation for India Industry (CII) and three of our Institutes of Higher Learning through an MOU which is to be signed later today, to help undergraduates access internship opportunities with CII’s member companies across India.  This will help build a pipeline of India-ready talent that can support companies as they expand in this important market. It complements what we are already doing in Southeast Asia and  is also a way to augment the work of our institutes of higher learning, to make sure our students, even as they start their learning journey from secondary school through university, have the opportunities to go into the region, understand the culture, assimilate some of the value systems so that they become truly effective and region-ready players when they enter the work place.

 19.          We are also launching new initiatives to help our companies engage fast-growing sectors.  The Global Innovation Alliance (GIA), which was announced in the Budget this year, will see Singapore companies and start-ups connect with partners and multipliers in major innovation hubs and demand markets around the world. What we are trying to achieve here is to create connectivity not just for large companies and SMEs but also start-ups because very often the start-ups themselves see the need to connect into some regional market where there are opportunities and potentially technology partnerships as well.

Closing

20.          I want to conclude by emphasising that Southeast Asia and India are increasingly important markets for Singapore and our businesses. Indeed, they are increasing important markets for all of us from the region. Companies should therefore closely examine their strategies for Southeast Asia and India and be open to adopting new business models that can help them enter these markets and stay there for the long-haul to participate in the growth and contribute to their development. IE Singapore and our other government agencies stand ready to support our companies as you develop and execute these market engagement strategies.

21.          I look forward to many more fruitful partnerships between Singapore entities and stakeholders from ASEAN and India and wish all of you great success.  Thank you.