Mr Lennon Tan, President of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation,
SMF Council Members,
Distinguished Guests,
Introduction
1. Good evening. Thank you for inviting me tonight to celebrate the 90th Anniversary of the SMF with you.
2. I am very happy to see so many of you here tonight – SMF members, business leaders, and Ambassadors. This is testament to the value that SMF has brought to the manufacturing sector over the years.
The role of the manufacturing sector in the Singapore Economy
3. SMF has been the mainstay in championing the interests of Singapore’s manufacturing sector. Since its inception in 1932, SMF has worked tirelessly to help Singapore companies innovate, increase productivity, transform, and expand overseas. SMF has also grown from strength to strength, growing from a group of 17 founding members to representing the voices of about 5,000 members today.
4. Through the years, SMF’s efforts have contributed significantly to the growth of our manufacturing sector, which has remained the bedrock of the Singapore economy.
a. In 2022, manufacturing accounted for about 22% of our Gross Domestic Product, and about 220,000 jobs in Singapore.
b. The sector also received a record S$17 billion in total Fixed Asset Investment last year, which was driven primarily by investments in the semiconductor industry. We expect these projects to create more than 4,600 jobs over the next five years.
5. However, there are significant external headwinds will present some near-term challenges for the manufacturing sector. Geopolitical uncertainties amidst the Russian-Ukraine war and US-China tensions, stiffer competition for investments globally, and inflationary pressures will affect external demand and business costs.
6. To ensure we continue to grow and prosper, manufacturing companies will need to seize new growth opportunities and transform. This is encapsulated in our Manufacturing 2030 vision – a three-pronged roadmap to grow Singapore into a global business, innovation, and talent hub for Advanced Manufacturing. We aim to achieve the following:
a. First, a stretched goal of a 50% increase in the sector’s value-added (VA) by 2030.
b. Second, to grow a strong pool of Singapore Global Manufacturers, who are market leaders in the respective sub-sectors.
c. And third, to be the sector of choice for local talent, at all levels, and especially for critical roles, leadership roles, in manufacturing.
Partnership with SMF
7. TACs like SMF, with your extensive reach and influence in the sector, play an important role in turning our Manufacturing 2030 vision into reality. SMF has also just completed your leadership transition last year, and subsequently taken active steps to strengthen your organisational capability and capacity, which will allow you to continue your good work in helping our manufacturing companies grow, pivot and transform. Let me outline the specific areas in which SMF plans to support the Government to achieve this.
8. First, SMF will help to catalyse innovation within companies, and foster collaboration between partners to drive technology development.
a. Efforts on this front have been underway since last year. For example, to support Singapore companies in growing their business through the strategic use of their intellectual property (IP), the SMF and the Singapore Innovation and Productivity Institute signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the United Nations’ World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in August 2022. Through this partnership, the aim is for 57 SMF members to pilot WIPO’s IP for Business tools and materials.
9. Second, through its business missions and trade shows, SMF’s Global Business Group helps manufacturing companies internationalise by capturing opportunities and building deeper expertise in new markets.
a. In the past two months, SMF has hosted visits by the Johor Chief Minister, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan, and delegates from Japan and ASEAN.
b. SMF is planning more exciting programmes in Asia and Europe in the coming two years. I encourage companies to tap on these programmes to deepen their overseas networks.
10. These efforts to encourage internationalisation and innovation will help companies to enhance their competitiveness, build new capabilities, and gain new revenue streams. In turn, this will level up Singapore’s manufacturing ecosystem, its attractiveness to leading investors, as well as the growth prospects of our own local companies.
11. Third, SMF will also work closely with various Government agencies to roll out initiatives that help manufacturing companies access talent.
a. For example, SMF has partnered Enterprise Singapore to implement the Global Ready Talent programme (GRT), which supports companies to offer work opportunities to young talent.
i. To date, SMF has helped facilitate about 3,700 local internships with more than 400 Singapore enterprises under the GRT since 2019.
b. SMF also partners SkillsFuture Singapore on the Work Study Programme, and Workforce Singapore on Career Conversion Programmes.
c. I am also glad to witness the exchange of MOUs between SMF and the Singapore University of Social Sciences, Temasek Polytechnic, and Ngee Ann Polytechnic, which will take place later this evening. The MOUs are part of SMF’s ongoing efforts to step up industry exposure for budding young talents, and to upskill existing workers in the manufacturing sector. I believe these will go a long way in ensuring manufacturing continues to remain an attractive sector of choice for students and youths.
Conclusion
12. In closing, I would like to congratulate SMF on 90 years of tireless work that has helped the manufacturing sector in Singapore grow from strength to strength. I have only been able to share just a handful of your contributions and initiatives in this speech, but we look forward to continuing our partnership with SMF to champion initiatives that will continue to grow and transform the manufacturing sector.
13. I would also like to wish the new SMF council led by Mr Lennon Tan a productive and successful term.
14. Thank you.