Singapore Immigration for Business: According to a report by the Singapore United Morning Post on August 10, in line with the Singapore government's strategy of shifting from value-added to value creation, the Economic Development Board of Singapore will focus on assisting the growth of local small and medium enterprises and their development in international markets, rather than being limited to collaboration with multinational corporations.
The Chairman of the Economic Development Board, Mr. Heng Swee Keat, recently revealed the changes in the role of the board in an interview. He stated that the board will play a new role from three aspects: "attract," "transform," and "create."
He mentioned that in terms of "attracting," while the board remains open, it will adopt a more "selective and targeted" strategy in attracting new investments, stating, "We must identify our strengths and then focus on excelling in them."
For instance, the Singapore government will focus on advanced manufacturing, applied health sciences, smart and sustainable urban solutions, logistics and aerospace, and financial services as the five key growth clusters for the future. The Economic Development Board will shift its focus towards these new development directions.
Regarding "transforming," he stated that in line with the government's plan to enhance productivity, the board will assist enterprises in better harnessing the potential of their workforce and actively improving productivity.
As for "creating," the board will not only collaborate with Singaporean enterprises to find new solutions but will also assist them in creating new businesses and innovations. Mr. Heng Swee Keat stated that creating value includes generating new businesses, new values, and new solutions, even before markets exist for them.
Mr. Heng Swee Keat noted that as Singapore celebrates its 50th National Day, it is also a good time to reflect on Singapore's performance as a nation and economy. From an economic perspective, there are indeed many reasons to celebrate.
Singapore underwent industrialization in the 1960s, creating jobs for Singaporeans. As a small market, Singapore could not rely on import substitution, even using domestically produced products to replace imports, and had to adopt a "multinational corporate strategy." Fortunately, Singapore capitalized on the wave of multinational corporations establishing factories offshore, gradually developing into a mature economy. However, in recent years, many global changes have occurred, and now is the time for Singapore to consider transformation. Mr. Heng Swee Keat also pointed out that 20 years ago, Asia's importance was not significant. Today, Asia's importance has greatly increased, making the creation of new businesses and new values very important. From the current economic situation, China and India are rapidly developing, and ASEAN is also an economic entity with over 600 million people and a total value of $2.4 trillion.
People are becoming wealthier, and the Asian consumer base is continuously increasing
He believes that Asia has tremendous opportunities in creating new businesses. As people become wealthier, the consumer base in Asia is continuously increasing, allowing Singapore to transition well from a value-added strategy to a value-creating strategy in this new trend. The growing opportunities in Asia will also provide Singapore with a market to grasp and develop new things.
In terms of optimizing smart urban living solutions, the growth of Asian countries will lead many people to migrate from rural areas to cities, prompting these countries to make significant investments in infrastructure. At the same time, these countries will pay more attention to the environment and seek to adopt information technology in urbanization solutions. All of these present opportunities for Singapore.
Regarding health sciences, Mr. Heng Swee Keat pointed out that as Asian societies become wealthier, their demand for consumer products and services, including electronics, food and nutrition, beauty care, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare will also increase.
With continuous technological advancements, many enterprises, including Singapore government departments, are beginning to engage in increasingly data-driven work to provide products and services to customers and citizens. Among these, advanced manufacturing and robotics are fields of technology that have made significant progress, with developments in 3D printing and the use of big data.
However, Mr. Heng Swee Keat noted that the challenge of adopting technology is that some technologies may replace certain jobs. But because technology will also create new fields and new jobs, the government is therefore placing more emphasis on retraining employees, hoping that people will still have jobs to do.
He believes that Singapore's strength lies in being a headquarters and hub location. Although Singapore and Hong Kong have a competitive relationship in this regard, companies that choose Hong Kong often do so because they want to develop in China, viewing Hong Kong as part of China. However, if companies want to establish a foothold in the Asia-Pacific region, Singapore is their first choice.
Top international companies from many different fields gather locally, allowing enterprises from different sectors to collaborate here. Mr. Heng Swee Keat believes that Singapore must continue to strengthen and develop its manufacturing and research and development sectors, thus it must collaborate with outstanding companies worldwide to possess world-class capabilities.
Manufacturing currently accounts for 20% of Singapore's GDP, and he is confident that as Singapore strengthens research and development, the contribution of manufacturing to the economy will continue to increase.