SPEECH BY MR LIM HNG KIANG, MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY AT THE 25TH ANNUAL “SINGAPORE 1000 & SME 1000 INCORPORATING THE SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL 100” AWARDS GALA DINNER ON FRIDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2012, 7.45PM, RITZ CARLTON MILENNIA SINGAPORE

Mr Max Loh
Managing Partner, Ernst & Young

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

It is my pleasure to be here this evening, as we gather to recognise the top performing companies and SMEs in Singapore.

Economic Backdrop

The global economic environment will be a challenging one this year. As a small and open economy, Singapore will not be spared from the weakening external demand arising from fiscal sustainability concerns in the eurozone and the continued subpar growth in the advanced economies.

Even in these uncertain times, there are still growth opportunities in Asia, especially in the emerging markets. With our strategic geographical location, Singapore is well positioned to seize these opportunities.

This naturally brings us to the question: how can we prepare ourselves to weather through this period? Allow me to share my thoughts on this, reflecting on the theme for this year’s Awards – “Scalability and Sustainability”.

Impetus towards venturing beyond borders

Looking back over the last 25 years, Singapore can be proud of the way our local companies have grown and build their footprint around the world. In this period of uncertainty, coupled with Asia’s growth, it is important that companies, who have not done so, start equipping themselves with capabilities to take them forward and seize opportunities in the overseas markets. This will enable our economy to be more resilient and diversified.

I am heartened that more of our local companies, including the SMEs [1], are cognisant of the importance of internationalisation, as part of their long-term growth path. To support companies with their growth aspirations, IE Singapore is working closely with companies to understand their strategies in order to provide relevant and holistic assistance to help them succeed. IE Singapore has a broad range of schemes and programmes to help our companies. It will also continue to support our companies in pursuing new market opportunities and develop our local players into globally competitive companies. Nonetheless, companies can do more and I encourage you to tap on the schemes available to help build your international footprint.

Developing sustainability through innovation and productivity 

Second, it is critical that companies, including SMEs, continue to invest in innovation and productivity. Last year, SPRING Singapore supported more than 3,900 SMEs through 3,800 upgrading projects amounting to a total of $98 million. Going forward, SPRING will continue to help companies to upgrade through productivity improvements, technology adoption and innovation, human capital development, branding and other programmes. We will do so through a sectoral approach as well as through individual companies.

I urge companies to see this period as a window of opportunity to transform their businesses, upgrade employees’ skills and seek ways to raise productivity. Sustaining such efforts will enable companies to remain competitive and emerge stronger when the economy recovers. 

Conclusion

This year marks the Awards’ Silver Anniversary. Launched in 1988, this event started off as a corporate awards event aimed at recognising home-grown companies for their financial performances. Progressively, the scope of the Awards was expanded to include SMEs and today, we are seeing recipients comprising not only local MNCs, but also SMEs and local companies who have successfully expanded their operations abroad.

To commemorate this special occasion, three companies will be receiving a special award. One of them is Singapore Eastern Trading [2] who has contributed the highest aggregated sales/turnover to our economy over the last 15 years. Since its inception here in 1989, it has been a vital link in Shell’s global trading network and is a major market player across Asia Pacific.

The other company is Fortrec Chemicals & Petroleum. As a company which started off engaging in the supply of petrochemicals and petroleum products, it has now enhanced its product offerings to include an entire suite of services such as integrated financing, raw material sourcing and distribution. Fortrec has also expanded its presence in another eight countries. All these have enabled the company to achieve the highest sales/turnover growth in the last 10 years.

I would also like to congratulate Keong Hong Construction for achieving the highest sales/turnover growth crossing the S$100 million mark amongst the SMEs. From a sub-contractor focusing traditionally on the domestic market, Keong Hong Construction took a leap of faith and branched out into new horizons to secure its first overseas construction project in Maldives and foray in property development.

In closing, my heartiest congratulations to all the other recipients of this year’s Awards. I wish every one of you continued success in the years ahead. Thank you.