Mr S Iswaran at the Huawei Innovation Day

​SPEECH BY MR S ISWARAN, MINISTER, MINISTRY FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY, AT THE HUAWEI INNOVATION DAY, ON 12 NOVEMBER 2015, 09:00AM, RAFFLES HOTEL

Mr Chen Xiaodong, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Singapore

Mr Li Jin Ge, Board Member and President of Asia Pacific, Huawei

Dr. Lily Chan, CEO of NUS Enterprise

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning.  

Introduction

1.            It gives me great pleasure to join you this morning for the Huawei Innovation Day.  I note that this is the first time this event is being held in Asia.  Together with its theme of “Building an ICT innovation ecosystem for smarter cities in Asia”, this forum comes at a timely juncture, given Asia’s rapid urbanization and growing urban population, and Singapore’s focus on innovation as the basis for value creation in our economy.

Impact of Technological Innovation

2.            Technological innovation in recent decades, especially in ICT, has created tremendous value in the global economy.  It has been driven by consumers’ and businesses’ demand for novel and effective products and services, as well the supply of creative and ingenious solutions.  As such technological innovation continues to gather pace and spread seamlessly across borders, it will have a profound impact on the nature of jobs, the viability of business models, and the structure of economies.  New jobs, businesses and sectors will be created; some may be modified or enhanced; yet others will be significantly disrupted and risk becoming irrelevant.

3.            Every country must assess the future of its economy against the backdrop of these global technological trends.  How do we ensure an economic environment that promotes the creation and adoption of new technology solutions?  What capabilities should we invest in and nurture to support this goal?  And how do we foster an open innovation framework that stimulates public-private partnerships and yields greater economic benefits through the commercialization of our R&D? These are some of the issues that the Committee on Future Economy will consider in the months ahead. 

4.            One important point in our favour is that we can consider these questions from a position of strength by building on our past efforts.  Over the past decades, Singapore has invested heavily in R&D, and built up an innovation ecosystem comprising public sector agencies, MNCs, large local enterprises, SMEs, startups, research institutes and institutes of higher learning. 

5.            Government expenditure in R&D, for instance, has risen eight-fold from $2 billion in the first half of the 1990s, to $16 billion in the first half of the current decade.  The number of research scientists and engineers in Singapore has also risen from 5,000 in 1991 to 32,000 in 2013, forming a strong core of experts whom the economy can rely on to take advantage of the opportunities arising from technological innovation. 

Smart cities solutions will be increasingly important to mitigate challenges faced by Asian cities 

6.            Addressing clear and present needs in the market is a key impetus for innovation.  That is how Singapore has developed niche capabilities and built a strong track record in certain sectors such as urban services and water.  One sector which offers future opportunities is smart cities solutions.

7.            According to the Asian Development Bank, each year, 44 million people are being added to Asia’s urban population.  This places the existing transportation, power and utility networks in cities under inexorable stress, and results in problems such as congestion, power outages and inadequate waste management.

8.            In addition, city authorities also need to meet the needs of their ageing populations, address citizens’ rising expectations for better government services, and embrace environmental sustainability.

9.            Smart cities solutions, including the adoption of ICT technologies and the embedding of intelligent systems within buildings, transportation networks as well as utility grids, will play an increasingly important role in addressing these challenges.

Singapore is well-positioned to be a living lab for smart cities solutions

10.         Singapore is well-positioned to contribute to and benefit from these developments.  As a small city-state, Singapore has had to develop innovative solutions to overcome acute resource constraints, such as land scarcity and the lack of natural resources.  For instance, in 1998, Singapore developed the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system to ease road congestion by influencing drivers’ road usage patterns.  Several major cities, including London and Stockholm, have studied Singapore’s ERP system to address urban congestion.  Meanwhile, our transport authorities are studying models for the next generation of the ERP system.

11.         In these and other areas, Singapore is recognised as a global city and living laboratory, where companies can partner public agencies to develop, test and commercialise smart cities solutions.

12.         For instance, leading international energy and public utilities companies EDF[1] and Veolia have established Centres of Excellence in Singapore, and are working with our Housing Development Board to develop a complex systems modelling tool.  This tool uses 3D simulation to visualise and test building plans in a virtual environment to help town planners design optimal living conditions.

13.         Home-grown company ST Electronics has also developed an Intelligent Water Management System that remotely monitors and analyzes data from our water infrastructure in real-time.  This system allows our Public Utilities Board to respond quickly to incidents that could adversely affect our water supply.

Singapore is committed to growing this industry, through capability development and R&D

14.         Smart cities solutions have the potential to transform cities, improve the living environment for citizens, and create new and fulfilling jobs.  New capabilities and skill-sets will be required to support the development of industry that creates solutions for smart, or smarter, cities.

15.         Data analytics has been identified as one such important capability.  Hence, the government has been actively partnering companies, universities and research institutions to train Singaporeans in data analytics, with the aim of nurturing a pool of 2,500 multidisciplinary analytics professionals by 2017.  For example, EDB has partnered IBM and the National University of Singapore (NUS) to establish the NUS-IBM Centre for Business Analytics, whose Master’s program is now in its second intake, with 28 students from more than 10 different industries.  Currently, this is one of four masters and five bachelors programs for data analytics in Singapore.  

16.         In addition, Singapore has also invested in research programs to support the development of smart cities solutions.  For example, the Singapore–MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Centre undertakes research on Urban Mobility, Low Energy Electronics, Environmental Sensing and Modelling.  I am pleased to share that autonomous vehicles (AVs) developed by SMART and NUS have been plying public roads in our One-North district since October, in a one-year trial.  This project aims to address the “first and last-mile problem” in our transportation system.

Conclusion

17.         Today’s Huawei Innovation Day is a good opportunity to reflect on the many emerging opportunities that will arise from the quest to build smart cities.  I commend Huawei on this initiative and would like to acknowledge its strong and continued commitment to Singapore.  Since 2001, Huawei has played a leading role in building up our telecommunications infrastructure.  Huawei’s R&D Centre in Singapore has also embarked on co-innovation projects with our public agencies, including SMRT and IDA.  We will continue to encourage more of such public-private partnerships that support innovation and value creation in our economy. 

18.         In closing, the need for smart cities solutions in Asia provides exciting opportunities for our people and businesses.  I am confident that Singapore can play a meaningful and valuable role in that regard, through collaborations and partnerships between the industry, research community and public agencies, to develop innovative solutions that address the growing needs and challenges of cities in Asia.  

19.         I wish you all a productive day ahead.

[1]Electricité de France, or commonly known as EDF, is a French energy company, and a leading producer of electricity.