SPEECH BY MR S ISWARAN, SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE & INDUSTRY AND EDUCATION, AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF FRANCHISING & LICENSING ASIA 2010, ON THURSDAY, 21 OCTOBER 2010, 0940 HRS AT MARINA BAY SANDS

Dr T Chandroo, Chairman, Franchising and Licensing Association, Singapore

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Introduction

Good morning. I am pleased to join you all at this opening ceremony of Franchising & Licensing Asia (FLAsia) 2010.

Singapore – a Growing Regional Franchise Hub

Since I officiated at FLAsia (pronounced as F-L-Asia) a year ago, Singapore has advanced further in its bid to be a regional franchise hub. Our strong IP infrastructure network, pro-business climate and strategic accessibility, have rendered Singapore an ideal base for local brands seeking to globalise their operations, as well as overseas brands seeking to expand in Asia. Back in 2005, only 35 local members of the Franchising and Licensing Association of Singapore (FLA) had ventured abroad. Today, almost twice that number have done so. We now have about 250 foreign brands in Singapore, 25 per cent more than five years ago. Of these, 8 in 10 have expanded into the region and beyond in the last five years.

Historically, Singapore has been a regional base for many established companies, ranging from the services sector (e.g. the big four auditing firms) to manufacturing (e.g. oil companies such as Shell Petroleum). In more recent times, Singapore has also attracted companies beyond the traditional sectors. These include lifestyle companies such as Trung Nguyen Coffee, Texas Chicken, Quiznos Sandwich and Tully's Coffee. This is testimony to Singapore’s attractiveness as a regional base for many new and emerging industries.

And even as overseas brands set up their bases in Singapore, some of our smaller home-grown companies, such as Ramen Ten and Chewy Junior, are gearing up to franchise their operations broad in enter newly emerging markets such as the Middle East and Vietnam. It is noteworthy that they are supported by the FLA’s market development program. Apart from food service brands, the FLA is also looking into helping other sectors such as education and retail to explore the Vietnamese and Chinese markets.

Indeed, the franchising and licensing industry in Singapore is showing robust growth. I am pleased to note that FLAsia 2010 has seen a 15 per cent increase in local and international participants. I am told that FLA is also aiming to attract about 10,000 visitors annually to the show in the near future.

This year, the International Symposium on Franchising is being held in conjunction with FLAsia. FLA has collaborated with US-based International Franchising Association (IFA) to bring this international conference to Singapore for the first time.

With Asia rebounding strongly from the global financial crisis, many companies are looking towards the emerging markets in Asia such in China, India and Southeast Asia. Singapore is therefore, pleased to be able to host this symposium and provide franchising businesses from around the world with the opportunity to engage the Asian market. I am confident that our local franchise businesses will also seize this chance to network with fellow franchise businesses, exchange business ideas and discover the latest trends and strategies that could help increase your overseas presence.

Professionalising the Franchising Industry in Singapore

At this juncture, I would like to commend the FLA forits efforts in growing our franchising and licensing industry. Through its programmes and platforms such as FLAsia, FLA has played a key role in supporting our home-grown companies to expand abroad. In addition, the FLA has also been instrumental in helping to raise the skill sets of our franchising talent in order to meet international standards and ensure that we remain competitive. Indeed, marked progress has been made in this regard. The successful launch of the FLA-CFE (Certified Franchising Executive) programme last year has helped to provide on-going training for those in the franchising industry. In its first launch, over 250 participants from 200 companies attended CFE courses; including candidates from China to the Middle East.

The Future of the Franchising Industry in Singapore

The outlook for the franchising and licensing industry is promising. The annual turnover for the franchise sector is about $8 billion and makes up about 18 per cent of the total domestic retail sales volume. In fact, vibrant growth of the franchising and licensing industry here has led to the rise of a thriving support industry, comprising franchise-related technology companies, law firms, and consultancies companies.

This has led the FLA to have a new dedicated “Franchise & Retail Technology Zone” in FLAsia 2010. The zone features exhibitors who provide solutions for the franchise, chain store and retail industry.These solutions range from Point of Sales (POS) systems, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Digital Signage to barcode scanning and prepaid, loyalty cards solutions, and security.

With Singapore’s current system of supporting services including strong Intellectual Property infrastructure, established legal ecosystem and franchise capability development initiatives led by FLA, I am confident that the franchising industry will grow and expand even further.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to congratulate FLA for successfully organising FLAsia 2010. I wish all our local and overseas visitors and exhibitors many fruitful franchising opportunities over the next few days.