Opening Address by SMS Lee Yi Shyan at the Asia-Singapore Infrastructure Roundtable 2014 at Pan Pacific Hotel, Singapore

Your Excellency, Abdul Matheen Mohamed, Minister of State for Environment and Energy, Republic of the Maldives

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1.          Good morning. I am pleased to join you this morning at the second Asia-Singapore Infrastructure Roundtable organised by International Enterprise (IE) Singapore.

2.          The opportunities that exist in the infrastructure sector today are immense. There is an infrastructure gap worth an estimated USD $8 trillion between 2010 and 2020 in Asia. This means that massive investments in transport, power, water and telecommunications will be required to keep up with the current economic growth rate.

Innovative solutions to address Asia’s infrastructure gap

3.          Emerging Asia, in particular, is growing at a healthy pace, with a growth forecast of 6.5% for 2014. However, this is not commensurate with the number and value of infrastructure projects in the region, which have largely flat-lined since 2008. Going forward, effective and well-planned infrastructure development will be a key pillar to our region’s continued growth and prosperity.

4.          Today’s roundtable is focused on the theme, “Rethink Infrastructure”. I believe that addressing the regional infrastructure gap will require businesses and governments to come together to find innovative solutions across all aspects and phases of the infrastructure value chain. For instance, we could explore new ways to structure, finance and mitigate risks when the project is conceptualised, as well as ways in which we can increase execution productivity and sustain profitability after the project is up.

Singapore as an ideal regional infrastructure hub

5.          There is much potential for Singapore to play an active and leading role in the region’s push for better infrastructure. We have globally-connected financial infrastructure, with the ability and appetite to fund infrastructure projects. We also have a strong pool of local companies that have developed innovative solutions, borne out of the constraints that Singapore faced in our development.

6.          Singapore companies have wide-ranging infrastructural   capabilities, from airport management, water desalination to waste-to-energy plants. More importantly, they have strengths along the entire infrastructure value chain, from detailed planning, effective project development and engineering, to stringent procurement processes, and efficient construction and operations.

7.          Many of these companies have since grown into global players, sharing their expertise in capacity building, financing, project development and technical solutions with governments and institutions around the world. Companies such as Changi Airport Group, Hyflux, PSA and Sembcorp Industries have developed projects both locally and overseas that are fine examples of infrastructure projects. Our companies’ familiarity with doing business in Asia also makes them good partners to explore infrastructure projects in the region with.  All these factors indicate that Singapore is in a good position to be a regional hub for the development, financing and execution of infrastructure projects.

8.          Stronger partnerships among governments, industry players as well as financiers are key to maximising unlocking the potential that resides in the infrastructure sector. Building on existing expertise, IE Singapore will be leading industry efforts to address the opportunities and challenges in the region. This will be done by structuring effective Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) for projects, building a pipeline of talent, and creating platforms for industry collaboration.

9.          First, the Asia Infrastructure Centre of Excellence (AICOE) was jointly launched by IE Singapore and the Asian Development Bank last year, to meet the needs for sound selection and structuring of public-private partnership (PPP) projects in Asia.  The AICOE will be working with governments in the region to structure PPP projects

, and to explore ASEAN’s capital markets to finance or refinance such projects. Areas that the initiative will fund are wide-ranging, covering power generation, water management, transport infrastructure, and more. I am happy to note that the AICOE has started operations, led by Mr Phillip Crotty, who has significant expertise in PPP projects. 

10.       Second, Singapore’s private sector needs more talented people, who understand the specific needs of the infrastructure sector and how PPP projects work. IE Singapore is therefore working on an Infrastructure Development Programme (IDP) for tertiary education to ensure the availability of infrastructure talent in Singapore. The IDP will look at building a pipeline of talent, trained in a multi-disciplinary fashion, with the right capabilities for the infrastructure sector. As a start, IE Singapore has launched an internship with the National University of Singapore. Nine industry partners from different parts of the value chain are on board to offer 24 infrastructure-related internship positions. It is heartening that the first run saw an overwhelming response; it was oversubscribed by three times.

11.       Third, this series of infrastructure roundtables will allow Singapore players to keep abreast with opportunities and developments in the infrastructure sector. It will also serve as a platform for project sponsors to discuss key projects with potential partners and stakeholders.

Government collaborations in infrastructure

12.       Other ground work in the infrastructure sector is concurrently being carried out by other agencies. For example, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has been collaborating with the World Bank on the World Bank-Singapore Infrastructure Finance Summit. The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) is also working with the Singapore Management University and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy on an executive programme, the Asia Leaders Programme in Infrastructure Excellence (ALPINE), which will groom upcoming leaders in project development.

Conclusion

13.       With continued support for the different initiatives from both local and foreign companies, I am confident that Singapore will be able to build an even more vibrant infrastructure sector for the regional market. With that, I wish you all a fruitful roundtable session. Thank you.