Speech by Minister Chan Chun Sing at BritCham 19th Annual Business Awards

KEYNOTE SPEECH BY MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY CHAN CHUN SING AT THE BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (BRITCHAM) 19TH ANNUAL BUSINESS AWARDS ON THURSDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER 2018 AT TOWER BALLROOM, SHANGRI-LA HOTEL

His Excellency Scott Wightman,

British High Commissioner to Singapore

Dr Bicky Bhangu,

President of the British Chamber of Commerce

Ladies and gentlemen,

1.   A very good evening to all of you and a warm welcome to all the guests from the UK who have joined us this evening.

2.   Thank you for inviting me to the 19th Annual Business Awards.

3.   We celebrate tonight the outstanding and innovative achievements of British and Singaporean companies across a wide range of industries. Tonight’s finalists include multinational firms such as BP, Rolls-Royce, and Dyson. It also includes startups like Rebel & Soul and Upstart Alliance rapidly making an impact in their respective fields. My congratulations to everyone.

Shared Challenges, Opportunities and Values

4.   I was wondering what would be a suitable topic for this evening’s sharing. It was not difficult to choose a topic that is closest to the hearts of many of you present in the audience this evening. I guess the topic must be the 29th of March 2019, 2300GMT. The moment in history that we are all holding our breath. 

5.   Now, some commentators have attempted to draw parallels between Singapore on the 9th of August 1965 and the United Kingdom on 30th of March 2019. They suggested that UK could follow Singapore’s example – break free and live happily ever after.

6.   I am not sure either “break free” or “live happily ever after” would be a correct and appropriate characterisation of events for Singapore.

7.   Neither am I under the illusion that Singapore 1965 should or could be compared with UK 2019.

8.   I have no crystal ball. I have no better idea than you how the road to Brexit will happen.

9.   So, I thought it will be more useful for us to imagine and focus our attention on the challenges and actions beyond 30th March 2019 - “the day after”, regardless of how Brexit may come about, and if Brexit may come about at all.  I will make six propositions this evening, as part of my sharing.

10.   First, after 29th of March 2019, we will continue to live in a globalised world with an interconnected production and value chain.

Despite the headwinds of anti-globalisation worldwide, globalisation is here to stay. But perhaps in a different form, one that is progressing with the times. It will be hard to imagine, for us to go back to a world where complex products can ever be made in a single country alone. In all those labels that you find in your products, “Made in XX country” is more likely to be untrue in today’s world. Just walk down the aisle of any retail joint – you will be hard pressed to find a product that is made entirely in any one single country.

11.   Take the smart phone. I don’t think any country can make it all alone. Two years ago, MIT Technology Review did a study. What if any country, including the US, tries to onshore all of the iPhone’s production? They concluded that the new price will be higher. Even then, they concluded that no country has all the components that are necessary to produce this product. And if that particularly country is to look for substitutes to all the necessary components, the price of that new iPhone would have gone up quite a few times than what it is today. This just goes to show how interconnected our value chain is today. My belief, for the first proposition, is that on 30th of March 2019, come what may, we will continue to live in a globalised world with an integrated value chain.

12.   Now I come to my second value proposition. If globalisation is ever destroyed, and we are back to a mercantilist society, where every one of us is just producing for ourselves, everyone will be worse off. So if globalisation is to be stopped, all of us will be worse off. Hence, it is in our common interest to defend and uphold globalisation. The UK and Singapore share this interest more than ever before. As like-minded partners, we need to stand together to defend, define and evolve the new global standards for trade and commerce.

13.   Singapore is staying open for business and Singapore will continue to stay open for business. We will not and cannot fall to the isolation impulse. Connectivity, to Singapore without a hinterland and a natural market access, is not an option.  It is survival.

14.   We will continue to pursue open and rules-based access to more markets for our companies, and this is the reason why my Ministry is working so hard to bring about new generations of free trade agreements - bilaterally, multilaterally and across the world, to create those valuable opportunities that we so need for our companies.

15.   You name it, we are working on it. CPTPP – we have signed it, ratified it, we hope that it will come into force in the early part of 2019. RCEP – we are at a critical stage of negotiation and we try to achieve substantial progress by the end of this year. And next month, if all goes well, we will sign the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement and the EUSIPA.

16.   And I believe that the UK will share the same beliefs and take the same actions as Singapore, to defend, define and evolve the global trading system and standards. Perhaps, with Brexit looming on the horizon, the UK will work even harder to bring this about. Not being part of the European Union does not mean that the UK will stop trading or working with Europe. Paradoxically, the UK not being a part of the European Union, must lead to a renewed commitment to stay engaged with the global production and financial systems. As some members of the UK government will say, the aim of the UK is to be Global Britain and not just Great Britain.

17.   Third, you had heard me saying that we must “evolve and deliver” a new global standard. That’s because today’s connectivity and trade is no longer just about air, land and sea connectivity. Today’s trade is not just about trading in goods and services as we define it conventionally.

18.   From Singapore’s perspective, we see connectivity beyond these three physical dimensions. Trade must also encompass the new, non-physical dimensions of connectivity, including data, finance, talent and technology.

19.   The WTO’s system must continue to evolve and meet these new challenges and create new platforms for us to seize such new opportunities in how we connect our economies with each other. It will require us to develop new global governance standards for trade and connectivity and I’m sure Global Britain and Singapore will share this common interest more than ever before.

20.   Trade and finance are our lifeline and have been in our lifeblood since time immemorial. UK and Singapore will know it and appreciate it more than many others. So we will need new rules for how we transact data, finance, and how we protect intellectual property and so forth.

21.   Talent and idea flows will be essential for a well-functioning global system.  Talent mobility will bring with it inevitable social integration issues that must be sensitively managed. And that brings me to my fourth proposition.

22.   Globalisation will require all states to redistribute the net gains from trade and to help our people to adjust to the shifts in the global production chain that are integrated. There will be net winners and net losers in a country and we will need to find ways to re-distribute some of these gains and find ways to help those who have been losing out relatively or have been losing out absolutely to make the adjustments to catch up with the rest of the pack. All this will require political will and capability on the part of the government. Failing which, there will be the inevitable local backlash, leading to global consequences.

23.   As the saying goes, all politics are local. Unless and until we address some of these local issues, it may cause spillover effects onto the global stage.

24.   However, the solution to uneven gains from globalisation is not to move away from globalisation. The solution is not to isolate ourselves from the rest of the global production system. The solution must be to work hard to help our businesses and our people adjust to the new realities. To acknowledge that, to find solutions together and to work on it. It is the same for the UK and Singapore.

25.   Globalisation brings forth new challenges. Managing the problem of the unequally rich is just as important and tricky as managing the problem of the equally poor. But we have a choice.

26.   Fifth, beyond globalisation, we will still have to solve our common challenges for modern humanity. Key to this will be urban society management. The world is urbanising rapidly. It will bring forth new challenges and new opportunities. If done well, urban society is the most optimal way to organise people living together, to organise the exchange of ideas through a dense and compact network and to be more efficient by sharing resources with rural societies. Having said that, all urban societies face the challenges of managing our energy consumption, pollution, water management, social integration of multi-ethnic societies, health and transport.

27.   All these are complex, yet common issues that confront all of us. And these are precisely the opportunities that the UK and Singapore can work together, share ideas, if not, at least to commiserate together.

28.   Our companies can come together to create new products and services and I’ve just seen some great examples of how this is being done right before our eyes. The delegation that just arrived in Singapore from Wales has been looking around for opportunities to bridge the two economic entities to find common opportunities, to solve our common challenges and that’s great news for all of us. That just goes to show that the greater the integration we would like to see in the global economy, the harder we need to work to bring different economic entities together.

29.   While the UK and Singapore may be separated by physical distance, it should not deter us from looking for opportunities to work together. Not just bilaterally between the UK and Singapore, but more importantly, to use each other as a platform, as a Launchpad, as a gateway to the larger markets around us.

30.   Singapore has always looked to the UK, not just as a market but as a platform to reach out to the wider European community and even North Africa. And I’m sure, the UK companies that are in Singapore today are not just servicing the Singapore market. Many of you have shared with me, how you use Singapore as a platform to service the regional economies and that is how we have connected with each other across the years, decades and even centuries.

31.    The UK’s presence in Southeast Asia dates back to more than 200 years ago. Next year, we will celebrate and commemorate the founding of modern Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles. The strong presence of UK in this part of the world has been built up by the blood, sweat and tears of the generations before us. It will be a pity if the UK no longer engages Southeast Asia beyond the moment of distraction. But I am confident that whatever happens on 29 March 2019, I’m confident that the UK will continue to stay engaged in this region. And that’s where members of the audience have such an important role to play.

32.   You are all leaders in the industries, and you are the movers and shakers of the business world. Your decisions will speak volumes of how the UK wants to and desires to remain engaged in this part of the world. And with your participation, I have every confidence that the ties between the UK and Singapore will continue to grow from strength to strength.

Conclusion

33.   So let me say once again. I understand and I appreciate everyone’s concerns in the room on the events leading up to Brexit, if it comes about. But perhaps more important than thinking about the journey to Brexit, is to focus our attention on the day after Brexit. The actions that we need to take together, the challenges that we will face together, but more importantly, the values that we all stand for together.

34.   And if we can focus on our commonalities, our common challenges, finding opportunities to forge new partnerships, then I have every confidence that we will continue as partners to uphold the values and systems that define the global standards of trade and commerce that have benefitted us all these years.

35.   Singapore and the UK do not just have a shared history, values and system. We have a shared destiny in upholding and evolving an open, rules-based global system for our individual and collective good.

36.    Singapore remains committed to deepening our relationship with the UK regardless of what happens on the 30th of March 2019. Thank you very much and have an enjoyable evening.  

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