Speech by Minister Chan Chun Sing at the SMCCI Food and Fashion Festival

SPEECH FOR MINISTER CHAN CHUN SING AT THE SMCCI FOOD AND FASHION FESTIVAL ON 10 NOVEMBER 2018 (SATURDAY), 7.45PM

Shamir Rahim, President of SMCCI,

Exco members of SMCCI,

I am very happy to join you tonight. I have three points that I would like to make. The first being that SMCCI has raised the bar for the inter-chamber night. Tonight, you have brought a new experience to East Coast Park.

The second thing is that tonight I am very heartened to see the various entrepreneurs showing off their skills and hard work. It is one thing to see MNCs with big plans, but it is another thing to come on a Saturday evening to see the startups or the pre-MNCs as some would call them starting up here. Congratulations to all of you here for your hard work because its such hard work that gives us hope that the entrepreneur scene in Singapore is vibrant and alive.

Last but not least, my third point is that I see all of you as an extension of the MTI family. I have said this to many of the Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs) before, that no matter how good our policies may be and how much we try to plan at a government level, without the interface of the TACs, it would be impossible for us to reach out to all of the entrepreneurs in Singapore. I always remind myself that no matter what I do, it is for you and it is with you. Without your inputs, we would not be able to make better policies to enable more entrepreneurs to thrive. Without your contribution, we would not be able to execute the good policies that we want to share with all Singaporeans. Thank you very much to SMCCI, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCCI) and Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce (SICCI), as well as all the TACs that have been working with the MTI family. You are truly part and parcel of the MTI family and we can only grow stronger working together. Thank you.