Speech By Minister S Iswaran At The Opening Ceremony Of Philips ASEAN & Pacific Centre at Philips' APAC Centre

Your Excellency, Mr Jacques Werner,

Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Singapore

Mr Ronald de Jong,

Chief Markets Officer of Royal Philips

Mr Fabian Wong,

CEO of Philips ASEAN and Pacific

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning.

Introduction

1.         I am delighted to join you today to celebrate the opening of Philips’ ASEAN & Pacific (APAC) Centre in Singapore.

Philips and Singapore enjoy a long-standing partnership toward value creation.

2.         Philips and Singapore enjoy a long-standing partnership.  Over the past 65 years, Philips’ operations in Singapore have evolved significantly, from manufacturing basic consumer electronics – such as radio tuners and black & white TV sets – to developing sophisticated solutions across consumer electronics, lighting, and healthcare.

3.         In many ways, Philip’s effort to reinvent itself mirrors Singapore’s own efforts to constantly renew its economy.  The most recent of our national initiatives to sustain the growth and vibrancy of our economy is the ongoing work of the Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) to envision new pathways for Singapore’s economic development.

4.         Indeed, Philips’ transformation into a Health & Wellness company, with a growing emphasis on innovation and value creation is very much aligned with our imperatives for the future of Singapore’s economy.  And it will foster a deeper partnership between Philips and Singapore.

5.         This APAC Centre has been conceptualised as a platform for open innovation.  It will house new capabilities in design, digital innovation and healthcare, as well as facilities such as Rapid Co-Creation & Proto-typing Spaces[1] and a Mock Hospital[2].  The Centre will bring together different stakeholders to develop and test-bed next-generation products, services and integrated healthcare solutions.

Ageing populations, growing healthcare demand and technological advancements are driving new healthcare paradigms.

6.         The Centre’s work is particularly important, given that the world is ageing rapidly.  The United Nations estimates that 12.3% of the global population is aged 60 or over today.  That proportion will increase to 22%, or nearly 2 billion, by 2050[3].

7.         The demand for healthcare is expected to grow in tandem.  Global healthcare spend is predicted to grow at an average annual growth rate of 5.2% till 2018 – Asia is one of the regions with the highest projected growth rates at 8.1%[4]. 

8.         At the same time, scientific advancements have enabled medical technology firms to offer digital healthcare solutions and applications, such as the remote monitoring of patients’ medical conditions.

9.         Collectively, these trends are driving the advent of new healthcare paradigms:  

a.       First, provision of healthcare is moving beyond the hospital to the community.  This involves reshaping health delivery systems to better integrate care settings from hospitals to include homes and other long-term care providers;

b.       Second, patients, care-givers and physicians will be better enabled by technology to make timely and more informed decisions on treatments;

c.        Third, there is increasing emphasis on proactive, preventive healthcare, and not just reactive treatments.

These shifts can disrupt businesses based on conventional models of healthcare delivery, even as they create new opportunities for innovative enterprises. 

Healthcare is a growth sector for Singapore, and we are well positioned to capture opportunities from the new healthcare trends.

10.      We believe that Singapore is well-positioned to seize opportunities that arise from these trends.  Indeed, healthcare is one of the growth sectors that the CFE is actively exploring.  One reason is the need for innovative healthcare solutions in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region.

11.      We also start from a relative position of strength on the supply side.  Singapore is home to a vibrant and growing ecosystem of leading digital companies, with capabilities in areas such as Analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), and Cybersecurity.  We also have a thriving Medical Technology (MedTech) cluster, hosting about 50 regional headquarters and 25 R&D centres of leading MedTech firms.  There are strong supporting capabilities in basic science, applied research and clinical excellence, and we are developing specialised talent in the areas of biodesign and regulatory affairs.

12.      These combined strengths position us well to integrate and create new healthcare products and solutions for regional and global markets.  For example, integrating digital technologies, such as Big Data, Analytics and the Cloud, with IoT-enabled medical devices can enable the development and delivery of targeted solutions to improve healthcare outcomes.

Open innovation, partnerships and capturing opportunities from new business models will support Singapore’s shift towards value creation.

13.      However, the fast changing industry landscape and rapid advancement of new technologies mean that companies can no longer solely rely on their in-house capabilities.  Instead, open innovation and partnerships – amongst industry players as well as between the public and private sectors – will play an increasingly important role in bringing stakeholders together to find novel solutions.  This will allow us to combine different perspectives and capabilities to achieve common desired outcomes and create value. Cultivating such collaborations and partnerships is also a key thrust of the Industry Transformation Programme, which was announced at the recent Budget.

14.         To this end, Singapore has established various industry-level collaborative platforms for the healthcare sector.  An example is the Centre for Healthcare Assistive and Robotics Technology (CHART), which was established at Changi General Hospital (CGH).  CHART enables healthcare professionals to work closely with academia, industry and research institutions to develop impactful solutions that harness robotics and assistive technologies.  CHART has partnered Hope Technik, a local engineering firm, to co-design and prototype automation solutions in the hospital setting, which are “age-friendly” and easy to operate.  These solutions, such as power-assisted beds and transporters for trays of surgical instruments, assist our healthcare workers with lifting and delivering heavy loads.We have also established the Diagnostics Development Hub (DxD Hub) to accelerate the development of clinically-validated, market-ready diagnostic tools and solutions, through partnerships with the research community, clinical institutions and industry.  

15.         We are also partnering industry to capture opportunities from new business models.  This includes the creation of ‘living labs’ that enable companies to partner local healthcare providers for the development, test-bedding and export of new healthcare solutions.  Philips’ partnership with the Eastern Health Alliance (EHA) and CGH to co-develop and pilot Singapore’s first tele-health programme for heart failure patients is a good example of such a partnership model.  Through this programme, Philips, EHA and CGH have delivered customised care plans, patient education, and tele-monitoring services to their patients to reduce the risk of re-admission.

16.      In addition, we have been engaging large enterprises to undertake corporate incubation and venture activities.  Such partnerships allow large enterprises to access external technology innovations, while enabling our start-ups to scale effectively by tapping into the financial resources, expertise and networks of the large enterprises.  I am pleased to note that Philips and EDBI, the corporate investment arm of the Economic Development Board, established a $30 million Investment Alliance earlier this year, to scout for and fund promising digital health companies in Singapore and the region.

17.      Through these and other initiatives, Singapore will continue to deepen our partnership with industry and other stakeholders in the healthcare sector to support their growing needs and regional expansion.

Conclusion

18.      In closing, I am confident that the APAC Centre will support Philips’ transformation into a Health & Wellness company, and also contribute towards Singapore’s efforts in building a resilient future economy based on innovation and value creation.

19.      Philips has been a long standing partner, growing with Singapore since 1951.  I believe this long standing partnership, based on mutual trust and deep collaboration, will continue to grow from strength to strength in the years to come.  I wish the entire Philips team every success with this Centre and all its business ventures.  Thank you.

[1] Brings multidisciplinary stakeholders (from within and outside Philips) together to collaborate with an aim to rapid prototype development and testing.

[2] Simulates a patient’s hospital journey to identify problem statements and develop/test solutions that can help hospitals integrate processes.

[3] Source: http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/worldageing19502050/pdf/80chapterii.pdf

[4] Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit (World Healthcare Outlook, 2Q2014, issued in May 2014)