Welcome Address by MOS Alvin Tan at Think Big Leadership Business Series 2024

Mr Andrew Koh, Head of Singapore Operations, Canon Singapore

Mr Norihiro Katagiri, Senior Vice President, Canon Singapore

Mr Vincent Low, Head of Enterprise Business, Singapore Operations, Canon Singapore

Ms Jacqui Lim, Chief Commercial Officer, Mediacorp

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

Introduction

1.            Thank you for inviting me to deliver this year’s Think Big Leadership Business Series 2024’s welcome address. I am happy to kickstart the event. I understand it’s going to span over two days and you are expecting over 1000 people attending. I think it is quite useful for us in thinking about this year of elections, to also take the perspective of a zoom camera, for us to zoom out, and, of course, to zoom in. For us to zoom out, to see the big picture, and then, to be quite specific, zoom in to the issues that matter, particularly to businesses.

2.            The “Elections” theme Canon has chosen is of course very timely.

3.            You think about “Thinking Big” when zooming out, and zooming in, when thinking about how businesses can survive.

4.            In that vein, my remarks will focus on three simple questions:

a)    Why Elections Matter

b)    Why Businesses Matter

c)    Why Governments Matter

Why Elections Matter

5.            Many of you might be familiar with this quote, often attributed to the Greek statesman Pericles. This quote is attributed to him, but it’s also been attributed to many different people. It reads like this “You may not be interested in politics, but politics is interested in you”. 

6.            There is wisdom in that quote. It was relevant in 461 BC and it is also relevant in 2024 AD.

7.            Elections matter to all of us because they represent who we are as peoples, what we believe and how we exercise those beliefs.

a)    In turn, how we choose and what we decide in these elections defines us as well. They shape us and they affect us. They impact us. So elections matter.

b)    This year, we’ve seen many significant elections worldwide, with implications and impact for the people involved, for the nations involved, and for the world.

·         This year, we witnessed elections in the world’s largest democracy (India).

·         We have witnessed elections in the world’s largest Muslim nation (Indonesia).

·         We have witnessed elections in the world’s 4th largest economy just last weekend (Japan).

·         We also may know who the next leader of the world’s largest economy is next week.

·         We also have elections in other very significant parts of the world, like in Mexico, France, as well as the United Kingdom.

c)    As Andrew mentioned, these electoral changes happening across the world are significant because they are held in states that have an outsized influence on the world and the world order.

d)    The world order is changing from a globalised and liberalised rule-based system characterised by free trade to one that is more uncertain, more volatile, and marked by conflict, mistrust, distrust, disinformation, misinformation, walls, barriers, fragments and blocks.

e)    And elections matter, because in a world that is more connected, either by travel, by trade or by telecommunications, what happens at home affects what happens outside, and vice versa.

f)     Politics is now domestic, even as it is global. This is more so in 2024 AD than in 461 BC.

g)    That’s why elections matter.

Why Businesses Matter

8.            This brings me to my second point, which is “Why Businesses Matter” and what businesses must do to not just survive, but to thrive.

9.            Many of you are from the business sector, and you know that businesses matter because they provide jobs, products and services. You are the engines of growth. Businesses matter to governments. They matter to society; they matter to people.

But business, too, are vulnerable to geopolitical uncertainties, like elections, particularly small and medium enterprises, which form the majority of businesses in almost every single economy. 

a)    Looking at some surveys, 46% of businesses surveyed in Singapore say that geopolitical risks pose significant risks to them as they look to go overseas and internationalise.

b)    Ongoing trade tensions between major economies, such as US and China, have led to higher tariffs and disrupted supply chains. We have seen disrupted supply chains particularly in the COVID-19 pandemic. This makes it difficult for SMEs to plan and execute their business strategies.

c)    You also see the rise of protectionist policies and regulatory changes, and these can also create barriers to market entry and increase compliance costs for many SMEs.

d)    Large economies around the world are also adopting industrial policies that often promote self-reliance and protect national security interests. We also see new rules, new laws and new industrial policies.

e)    Unfortunately, we also see hostile rhetoric, particularly towards immigrants. These immigrants often become “hot button” topics during elections, and thus these increasingly shape immigration policies.

10.         What can SMEs and businesses do to survive and thrive? What are the opportunities that SMEs have in a world where elections and politics play such a pivotal role? This is not new, but I will share a few different suggestions.

a)    First, the Tech & Digital world is evolving very quickly. The digital revolution and rise of e-commerce have opened up new markets and enabled SMEs to reach customers worldwide.

According to McKinsey, the global e-commerce market is growing annually at 12.22% from 2022 to 2030, providing a significant opportunity for SMEs to expand their reach and go overseas, and to expand to different markets. SMEs are also increasingly using AI to scale their businesses and reach. 

Canon is a good example. Earlier, we visited your “Towards AI” solutions showcase, which empowers SMEs to make strategic investments in AI and uses AI to make it much easier to reach customers. With over 75% of companies globally planning to adopt AI technology within the next five years, Canon’s showcase will spotlight innovative AI and technological solutions.

Earlier, we also looked at Antelope AI Genie, an advanced AI-powered solution that uses automated content analysis, summarisation, and comparison.

b)    The second is sustainability. There is an increasing focus on sustainability and green technology. These also provide new avenues for SMEs to innovate and grow, particularly in areas such as carbon and biofuels trading and agritechnology. Every single company is already looking at sustainability, not just because it matters and because temperatures are rising and you see more varied temperatures and weather patterns, but also because in the supply chains, the bigger companies and also the SMEs across the supply chains are requiring more sustainable solutions to meet their net zero tariffs targets.

c)    Then you also have Emerging Markets: As global trade flows shift, many emerging markets are experiencing economic growth and also increasing consumer demand. These form alternative markets for us to secure foothold and gain early mover advantage.

Why Governments Matter

11.         This brings me to my final point: Why Governments Matter. Naturally, elections and politics matter because they are the very process that produce government. And the government they produce matters to society, to people and to businesses. Let me focus on why government matters to businesses, given the topic of the series. Recognising challenges SMEs face in a more fractured world, governments and international organisations have introduced support schemes to help SMEs become more resilient and tap opportunities for growth.

a)    In Singapore, we have our Enterprise Financing Scheme (EFS) that provide our SMEs with greater access to financing. Earlier this year, we extended and expanded the scope of our Enterprise Financing Scheme (Green) to help our businesses go green and reduce their carbon footprint.

b)    We also partner with our Trade Associations and Chambers to help our SMEs expand and access new opportunities abroad. For example, we partnered our Singapore Business Federation and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry on GlobalConnect, a programme which helps our companies internationalise. Global Connect provides them advisory and facilitation services so our SMEs can learn about, land and localise their products and services, and businesses in overseas markets. 

c)    Earlier, I mentioned emerging markets as an opportunity. I travel regularly to these emerging markets, in Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America for example, and the growth and opportunities are promising.

·         In Ghana, we signed the Singapore-Ghana carbon credits cooperation implementation agreement to build green ecosystems which facilitates projects which are mutually beneficial for both countries, including our local businesses. These will help to drive investments into green projects in Ghana

·         We also signed, just over the last couple of years, two regional free trade agreements, one with the Pacific Alliance and the Mercosur. These are all huge Latin American countries with significant demographics. These will help our companies open up new markets in these large consumer economies.

d)    Over the past 2 months, Singapore has been buzzing with activities. Connecting the world, connecting businesses. You will see that we are the hub, connecting the world to Singapore and connecting Singapore to the world. We are playing conductor and convenor to global businesses and events, and helping our SMEs connect to these businesses, and helping our SMEs to build these capabilities so that they can sell their goods, products and services to these big businesses, investors and across the world.

Conclusion

12.         Ladies & Gentlemen. I’ve spoken about

·         Why Elections Matter

·         Why Businesses Matter

·         Why Governments Matter

13.         Four years ago, I left the private sector to participate in my first elections as a candidate. It was at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. I was, and I think I still am, a political rookie, coming from the world of businesses. I ran in the elections during the pandemic, entered public office, and when then-PM Lee Hsien Loong asked if I would leave the private sector to join his team as a political office holder and serve our nation during a crisis, I think it's quite unconscionable to say no.

14.         I joined the Ministry of Trade Industry, Ministry of Culture, Community & Youth, and was asked by then-Senior Minister Tharman to join MAS. It was at MTI, looking after small businesses, and during the COVID-19 crisis, the tourism sector, that was particularly defining for me, as I worked with many of the SMEs to overcome COVID-19 together, and the bonds we had during those times. It is an amazing experience to see our MICE sector and our tourism sector flourish. That is why government matters, because government, working with businesses, particularly during crisis, can help businesses overcome those really tough times.

15.         Now, Singapore’s elections are important. They will be due before November, next year, so there is still about a year to call it.

16.         Like all the elections I highlighted earlier in my remarks, Singapore’s elections, too will matter.  It will matter to our people. It will matter to our businesses, particularly our SMEs, and so the government it produces will also matter.

17.         I thank you for the opportunity to allow me to spend some time this morning to speak with all of you.

18.         Thank you very much.