Thank you for your comments Lord Green.
Ladies and Gentleman,
1. A very good morning to you. I am pleased to be invited by the British High Commission and the British Council to jointly open this innovation forum.
2. First of all let me extend a warm welcome to everyone, particularly those who are visiting Singapore for the first time.
Emphasis on Innovation for Economic Growth
3. As Lord Green said, we are both here because of the emphasis our governments place on innovation for economic growth. This emphasis on fostering and encouraging innovation is critical not only in helping our companies compete in the global marketplace but has the power to transform our cities, societies and the quality of our lives.
4. Both our countries have built up a strong innovative base, with UK having a remarkable history of innovation stretching a hundred years and Singapore with over 20 years of science and technology planning and investment. Both countries have complementary strengths we can leverage on to develop more cross-bord er research and innovation partnerships and share best practices to find solutions to global challenges our societies face.
5. Frameworks like the UK-Singapore Economic and Business Partnership signed in 2011 will help encourage greater cooperation between our countries, especially in business, research and policy. There are already many good examples of large British firms such as Rolls-Royce and GlaxoSmithKline undertaking research and development activities in, and in collaboration with, Singapore.
Emphasis on SMEs
6. Beyond large companies, we should also focus on small and medium enterprises. Like the UK, Singapore recognises the importance of SMEs in our economy. And the statistics are very similar. SMEs account for 99 percent of our companies, employ 70 percent of our workforce and contribute nearly half of our GDP.
7. SMEs form an important pillar in our economy that we want to continue strengthening as part of our growth strategy. Over the years, we have been initiating many ways to incentivise, encourage and catalyse innovation in SMEs to enhance their competitiveness and help them compete on the global stage.
8. Very soon, you will hear from Dr Raj Thampuran, MD of A*STAR, whose agency works with SMEs to facilitate the transfer of our public sector R&D capabilities to support their growth. Our Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board (SPRING) and the Infocomm Development Authority also play important roles in this work.
9. These government agencies work closely with the business community, especially SMEs, to build up their capabilities. We have initiated several programmes that offer valuable expert advice and technical expertise from the Government to SMEs in terms of technology roadmapping and technology adoption. In some cases, researchers from government agencies like A*STAR are even seconded to SMEs to help them with their R&D efforts. PJI Contract is one SME that benefitted from such secondment. With the help of an A*STAR researcher, the company developed a new range of coating solutions that was released last year. These new solutions have generated half a million in revenue so far.
10. Another way that the Government helps SMEs to build up capabilities is to link them up with larger enterprises, so as to encourage knowledge transfer or co-creation of better processes or innovative products. We started with the manufacturing sector and have now extended our support this year to include the food manufacturing, printing, retail, ICT and construction sectors. Grants are available to both large enterprises and SMEs to facilitate such collaborations. By supporting these, the Government aims to encourage more co-innovation that will result in win-win partnerships for all our companies, large and small.
11. It is clear that the success of our economies will require helping and supporting our SMEs. Policymakers, academia, industry practitioners and SMEs themselves must come together to develop an ecosystem that harnesses technology and encourages a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.
12. Even amidst today’s challenging global economic environment, I remain confident that companies, including SMEs, in both Singapore and the UK can remain competitive and strong. We have good fundamentals in place, such as a good education system and a pro-enterprise business environment. With that extra push from innovation, we will be able to sustain quality growth in our countries.
Conclusion
13. I hope today’s discussions will serve as a platform to allow us all to learn from some of the leading innovators from Singapore and the UK.
14. I wish you all the best and a fruitful day ahead. For our visitors from the UK, I hope you will enjoy your visit and return again soon.
15. Thank you.