Alvin Tan
Singapore
“And if our companies can use Johor as a complementary base to scale, serve larger markets and strengthen their regional competitiveness while retaining their core capabilities here, that is also additive integration.”
“Sir, I have answered the Member's questions specific to HDB car parks. Specifically, I think, with the provision of hose reels, fire engine access, natural and mechanical ventilations that will help in the event of a fire, and that the HDB carparks must comply with these technical specifications and safety requirements under Technical Ref…”
“Sir, all Housing and Development Board (HDB) car parks are designed and constructed in compliance with the prevailing Fire Code stipulated by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF). This includes provisions such as hose reels, fire engine access and natural or mechanical ventilation to disperse smoke and heat.”
“What was left unsaid was that in the emails and in the MP Appeal System (MPAS), the Member was informed that: one, he was aware of the fact that AVS had investigated the incident; he was aware of the processes; he was aware that AVS found no professional negligence or misconduct by the vet; he was aware and noted that AVS had found no rel…”
“As we have observed a growth in the range of animal-related services offered by non-vets that may pose a risk to animal health and welfare, Part 4 of the Bill will introduce various offences and penalties to safeguard against unlawful practice and misrepresentation by or about unauthorised persons.”
“Owners are responsible for providing for their pets' needs, including medical care. So, we strongly encourage prospective pet owners to thoroughly consider the full cost of raising a pet before committing to becoming a pet owner. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, vet professionals form an important pillar of our animal health and welfare system.”
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“The co-op must thereafter submit an extract of the resolution of the general meeting to the Registrar together with the application form. This will help ensure that the co-op had followed due process in calling for the general meeting and that members have duly approved the amendments. Most co-ops would also have sought Registry’s comments on the proposed by-law amendments prior to tabling them at the general meeting. We will continue with this general practice. Mr Don Wee also touched on removing the requirement for Registrar’s approval for the issuance of bonds and debentures by co-ops. He asked what safeguards will be in place to prevent misuse or mismanagement of funds raised through such instruments. Sir, I would like to assure Mr Don Wee that MCCY is mindful that co-ops need more flexibility in their operations. Since co-ops are already subjected to relevant laws on issuance of bonds and debentures, there is no need for an additional layer of Registrar’s approval. When making such issuances, the co-op’s management must explain to potential investors the structure of the bonds and debentures, and how these proceeds will be used. As a membership-based organisation, the co-op’s COM is ultimately accountable to its members for the management of the co-op’s funds. Should any co-op be found to have mismanaged its funds, the Registrar will take action under the Act. Fifth, Members asked questions about support for and development of the sector. To this end, I thank Members for recognising the important role that co-ops play in our society as well as the support that both MCCY and SNCF provides in the development of our co-op sector.”
“The current 10% dividend seeks to help co-ops to prioritise their long-term financial health and sustainability, while fulfilling their social mission and objectives, and also their members’ specific needs. While some may compare dividend payments to that of other corporates, the dividend yields for most larger public listed companies typically do not exceed 10%. The dividend cap for co-ops also reflects a balance between providing decent returns to their members and retaining funds for co-ops’ operations and growth. As such, the current cap would generally be adequate for co-ops. Second, we recognise the broad diversity of our co-op sector. Some are large-scale and professionally run, while others are smaller and mainly volunteer-run. Naturally, governance capabilities and the size of reserves across this whole spectrum vary. MCCY will study this further to assess how to meet the needs of different types of co-ops across this spectrum, while ensuring adequate safeguards to protect members’ interests as well as co-ops’ long-term financial health and sustainability. The fourth category of questions relate to amendments to facilitate co-ops’ operations. I will now address queries on the safeguards for two amendments aimed at facilitating co-ops’ operations. Mr Don Wee and Mr Yip Hon Weng asked how the proposed reduction of signatories required for an application to register by-law amendments would impact accountability and also to prevent abuse. Sir, the legislation will continue to require amendments to by-laws to first be approved by members at a general meeting or a referendum. In the case of a general meeting, the resolution to make amendments must be passed by at least three-quarters of the members present and voting.”
“Members will also be able to refer to the co-op’s audited financial statements, which will also be tabled for members’ approval. This enables members to understand the financial impact of such payments on the reserves, if any, before making an informed decision. Co-ops must hold their AGMs within six months from the financial year-end, so there is enough time for them to obtain Registrar’s approval before conducting their AGM. Mr Yip Hon Weng also proposed a review and monitoring mechanism to ensure that this and other legislative changes are meeting their intended objectives. We will monitor implementation of the new changes and will refine the administrative processes over time, if and where necessary, and this is to facilitate co-ops' operations and to ensure that there are adequate safeguards in place. The third category refers to Members' questions on the review of the dividend cap. Under the current legislative framework, a co-op must not pay a dividend on paid-up share capital or subscription capital exceeding 10% per annum. Mr Choo asked if MCCY can allow better governed co-ops to distribute more to their members. Mr Yip asked if we can apply a differentiated approach to allow for more flexibility for co-ops with better fiduciary governance. I thought it was important for me to make two points to these suggestions. First, as Members already know, co-ops are uniquely different from other corporates due to their membership-based structure and social mission. Co-ops’ reserves are built up slowly over years through collective efforts by past and present co-op officers and members. These reserves are therefore very critical for them to meet any losses or operational needs due to unforeseen events. Co-ops must therefore very be prudent when using their reserves.”
“This will allow co-ops to tap only on their general, unallocated reserves, such as the "Accumulated Surplus" and reserves allocated specifically to the payment of dividends or honoraria as the case may be. This will be made clear to co-ops through issued guidelines. I also agree with Mr Mark Lee that credit co-ops must maintain adequate capital buffers and ensure adequate safeguards to protect members' interests. There are two layers of safeguards over using reserves to pay dividends or honoraria. First, co-ops must seek the Registrar's approval. The Registrar will also consider factors, like reasonableness of proposed rates compared to previous years, past compliance track records of the co-op's, strength of governance and particularly for credit co-ops, if these credit co-ops have met prudential requirements. Credit co-ops must also demonstrate that they can meet the prevailing minimum CAR after their proposed dividend or honoraria payment. Second, of course, co-ops must obtain members' approval. Moving on to the second category of questions on the process for Registrar's approval, Mr Neil Parekh, Mr Don Wee and Mr Yip Hon Weng asked questions regarding the obtaining of Registrar's approval for payment from reserves and the impact that this approval may have. The Registrar will issue guidelines to co-ops on the information and documents that co-ops need to submit or provide to the Registrar. These will set clear expectations for co-ops on the pre-requisites for the application and allow the Registry to focus on co-ops which satisfy the pre-requisites. Upon receiving Registrar’s approval, the co-op must seek members’ approval with a specific resolution at their AGM. This will ensure adequate disclosure on the proposed use of reserves.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, before I answer Members' questions, I would like to take the opportunity to thank, recognise and also acknowledge the contributions that you, Mr Speaker, Sir, have made to the co-operative sector over many decades, including as Chair of the SNCF. The Members have very robustly and thoughtfully acknowledged the contributions of the co-op sector to Singapore's social development. So, thank you, Mr Speaker, Sir, for your years of developing the co-op sector. Turning now to the specificities of the Bill, I would also like to thank Members, Mr Mark Lee, Mr Neil Parekh, Mr Don Wee, Mr Yip Hon Weng, Mr Desmond Choo and Mr Raj Joshua Thomas for speaking on the Bill. There are also many other Members who have come up to me and also expressed their views about the Bill, including Mr Liang Eng Hwa for his Parliamentary Question about the role of co-ops in strengthening this social compact that I mentioned earlier on. First, let me address the need for the safeguards for use of reserves. Mr Mark Lee commented that allowing co-ops to pay dividends from their reserves contrasts with the corporate practice of paying out dividends only from retained profits. He made a comparison. Mr Mark Lee also noted that this may be of concern for credit co-ops particularly given that the drawdown of reserves would reduce their institutional capital and therefore their CAR. Mr Mark Lee also asked about the safeguards to help credit co-ops make prudent decisions as they pay dividends from their reserves. Currently, a co-op may only pay dividends from the preceding year's surplus. We propose to allow them to tap their reserves to pay dividends and honoraria, subject to the Registrar's approval.”
“CDP has also published user guides and instructional videos on the Internet and social media. There is also a new chatbot on SGX's website. That said, there are always scope for improvements to CDP's customer journey, including and particularly, for those that are less digitally-savvy. I want to assure Dr Tan that MAS continues to engage CDP, to address many of the customers' pain points across the user journey, particularly relating to those in in-person appointments and customer statements. So, finally, if any particular customer wants a physical notice by post, he or she can also make that request and CDP will accede to it.”
“Sir, I thank Dr Tan Wu Meng for his supplementary questions. Dr Tan Wu Meng has been speaking very passionately about CDP and he has raised many of these discrete cases with me, such as the ones on CDP account openings and suspensions, as well as access to CDP digital services. Both Dr Tan and I have been working on these cases on behalf of his Clementi residents. On the specific case in point, from what I understand, the particular senior had provided an email address and therefore CDP had reminded the senior to update his particulars; and there was prior warning before account suspension. We have been dealing with that case and the senior's customer account has been restored. So, that is for that. On his first point, I had mentioned in my earlier reply that MAS expects all MAS-licensed financial institutions to treat customers fairly – including all of the effective support and feedback channels. That includes CDP. I also want to commend the Member on many of his suggestions over the years. Just to update him on a few aspects, in which there have been enhancements to CDP as a result of MAS engagements with CDP to avail more in-person channels to those that are less digitally-literate. One point to note is that at least 99% of all CDP customers access its services digitally or over calls. So, that means that a vast majority are digitally-savvy. But as the Member knows, the Government's position is that we are not going to be digital-only but, we want to adopt a digital-first approach. Therefore, CDP has made a couple of different enhancements over the years. First, CDP now grants in-person appointments via the SGX Vista premises. Second, CDP now provides instant video conferencing services with CDP service representatives.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Central Depository Pte Ltd (CDP) is licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under the Securities and Futures Act 2001 (SFA), as an Approved Clearing House and a Central Depository System to provide securities clearing, settlement and depository services. MAS expects all MAS-licensed financial institutions to treat their customers fairly, including availing effective support and feedback channels. At least 99% of all CDP's customers access its services digitally or over calls. Since September 2022, less digitally-savvy customers can access self-help booths at CDP's SGX Vista premises to submit physical documents or seek in-person assistance. They also have the option to book an in-person appointment with CDP via its customer hotline. CDP service representatives also take additional care by offering priority assistance or in-person meetings to customers who have previously indicated difficulties accessing its digital services. MAS expects CDP to address feedback about the adequacy of its non-digital customer support and closely monitor the performance of its customer service.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the debate be now adjourned. [(proc text) Resolved, "That the debate be now adjourned." − [Mr Alvin Tan]. (proc text)]”
“We will factor all of these into consideration when we roll out SRF which is a "live" document, and also, put in a significant amount of effort to raise awareness and to prevent scams from happening. 1.30 pm”
“Sir, I would like to assure Dr Tan Wu Meng that these, in fact, are the types of feedback and suggestions, including by the Member himself and Mr Desmond Choo and other Members of this House to look at the rapidly evolving nature of scam typologies. We focus the SRF on phishing, but we are well aware that malware scams have also contributed to the number of scams that Singaporeans have encountered. And so, we will factor all of these in and that is why the consultation had also, as I mentioned earlier on, looked at suggestions on whether we could expand the kind of scam variants or the entities in the SRF. But, at the same time, as we combat this rapidly evolving scam nature and different typologies, we need to take a suite of approaches towards combating this. The SRF is one way in which we will ascribe responsibility using a waterfall approach. And I said earlier on that we are exploring other jurisdictions' different approaches. Not every jurisdiction's approach will fit and we need to study that carefully. But at the same time, to Member Desmond Choo's point, Money Lock is another feature that we are trying to encourage people to adopt to safeguard a portion of your funds. We also have a very strong consolidated public education and public awareness campaign that is one of the best inoculations against scams. Also, at your device level, some of the banks have ensured that there is no side-loading of apps. The key thing here is for all of us to take an upstream approach, be aware of scams, look out for scams and also to encourage your friends, family members to be very much wary of this. So, thank you for Members' contributions to this very important topic.”
“So, I raised this just to share that different approaches have to fit different jurisdictions and what we are doing is taking a very concerted, careful study approach so that we do not have or come into unintended consequences that will exacerbate moral hazard, but bearing in mind that we want to protect consumers in the process as well.”
“Sir, I thank the Member for his questions. The second question is that we are enhancing, MAS together with the banks, to increase awareness and encourage adoption of Money Lock across not just the local banks but, as I said earlier on, by mid-2024 other banks will also incorporate Money Lock. So, there is a concerted effort to raise awareness and to increase adoption of Money Lock. On the SRF consultation ended on 20 December, we received a number of very good consultation responses. I would like to highlight a couple of interesting points. The first is that the consultation responses that we received were very thoughtful. Some had asked whether we could expand the SRF to include more scam variants, more entities – that is entirely reasonable and we talked about that in this House. But there is also an interesting number of responses by members of public who submitted the consultation responses that talked about how do you factor consumers' responsibility and the contributing role in determining the payouts. And in this case, how do you encourage consumer responsibility and also to reduce moral hazards? I think this is a very important point that responsibilities must be shared and I think that is the essence of the SRF. At the same time, we are studying about how other jurisdictions are deploying their different approaches to scams, including different shared responsibilities. The United Kingdom (UK) is one, Australia is one. If you look at the UK's contingent reimbursement model, the number of Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud cases had increased by 34% since they implemented the CRM compared to the same period in 2022.”
“Sir, the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) identified five areas of collaboration during the inaugural meeting held in September 2022. These five areas are food cooperation, health and pharmaceuticals, digitalisation, energy and green projects, and skills development. Since then, the digital payments linkage between Singapore’s PayNow and India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) was launched in February 2023. This allows customers of participating financial institutions to send and receive funds through their banks or their e-wallets in real time. We also facilitated a pilot shipment involving the digital exchanges of Bills of Lading through the TradeTrust framework. The shipment showed that the digitalisation of cross-border trade financing documents can improve the efficiency, the speed and accuracy of information of shipment transactions. There are also ongoing discussions on other initiatives, such as increasing food trade between India and Singapore. Sir, India has the world’s fifth largest gross domestic product (GDP) and its rapid economic growth presents many opportunities for Singapore companies. The chambers of commerce and trade associations play a key role in encouraging and helping Singaporean companies and enterprises to do more business in India. For example, the Singapore Business Federation and the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry led business delegations to the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit and Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet in January 2024.”
“There is no strict format or wording for the person to make a pre-statement claim. Thus, those who are not legally represented will not be disadvantaged in terms of their ability to make such a claim. The pre-statement claim may be made at any point during MAS' examination of the person and the information which the person claims is self-incriminating, would then be inadmissible in criminal proceedings. MAS would, however, still be able to use such information to take non-criminal actions, such as civil penalties and prohibition orders.”
“The amendments will also not affect the MAS-CAD Joint Investigation Arrangement. This Arrangement enables MAS and CAD to jointly investigate offences under the SFA as well as the FAA. MAS officers taking part in the joint investigations are gazetted as Commercial Affairs Officers and exercise criminal powers of investigation, not the investigative powers under the MAS-administered Acts. On Mr Louis Ng's question on training and guidance to the MAS officers, I would first highlight that the expanded powers are not new to MAS. They already exist to a large extent, in the SFA and the FAA. MAS officers are experienced in conducting investigations under these Acts and I have given a few examples of such cases in my speech. MAS has internal processes and guidance, which takes into account Police procedures and practices to ensure that MAS officers exercise investigative powers lawfully and judiciously. I now turn to the Members' questions about specific proposed provisions and powers. Mr Louis Ng asked several questions about the proposed provisions on self-incriminating statements. These provisions state that when being examined by an MAS officer, a person is not excused from disclosing information on the ground that the information might tend to incriminate them. However, if that person claims before making a statement that the information might tend to incriminate them, then that statement is not admissible against the person in criminal proceedings. I will refer to this as the "pre-statement claim". Before an MAS officer starts examining a person under the MAS-administered Acts, the officer will indeed inform that person that where they claim that a statement may incriminate them, that statement would not be admissible as evidence in criminal proceedings against them.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank Mr Don Wee, Mr Edward Chia, Mr Louis Ng and Mr Neil Parekh for their questions and comments on the Bill. I will first deal with some general questions and comments relating to the proposed enhancements of MAS' investigative powers. Mr Edward Chia highlighted the importance of explaining the rationale for and consulting the industry on these amendments. I assure Mr Edward Chia and Members of this House that MAS did issue public consultations on the proposed amendments, in which we explained how they would enhance the effectiveness of MAS' supervision and enforcement. MAS carefully considered the feedback received from industry and the public and has incorporated the feedback as appropriate in the amendments. For instance, in response to feedback that it was unclear whether MAS' investigative powers would override legal professional privilege, MAS inserted a new provision to state that MAS' exercise of its investigative powers does not require a person to disclose any information subject to legal privilege. Mr Louis Ng asked how amendments to MAS' investigative powers will affect the workload of MAS' Enforcement Department and the current MAS-CAD Joint Investigation Arrangement. He also asked how MAS will ensure that its officers are equipped to exercise the expanded investigative powers and what guidance will be given to them in this regard. Sir, the proposed amendments will enable MAS to conduct investigations using its powers under the respective MAS-administered Acts more effectively. This does not necessarily lead to an increase in the volume of investigations and a higher load on MAS officers. If there is a serious cause for investigation, MAS will take it up and commit the needed resources.”
“Sir, the short answer to Mr Keith Chua is yes. The Collective is another platform for the community to come together and MCCY will continue to support that, to bring different stakeholders to contribute their financial as well as mentoring resources, to better support lower-income families. But it is also more than just about raising donations. It is about raising awareness of the needs of the community. So, you have these resources and then, you have these needs. If you are part of a corporate or individual and you want to know where to deploy your capital, your time, your expertise, The Collective will be able to do that for you. We will announce more details later.”
“One feedback that came out of it was, how do you preserve and protect the social and racial and religious cohesion that you have in Singapore? So, it dawned upon me and many of our Members that it is something that, as what Minister Edwin said, we have to cherish and we have to protect. I still remember hosting some youths from Myanmar and they were fresh off the Rohingya crisis. We brought them to Chinatown and we showed them the Fairfield Methodist Church, Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, Chulia Mosque as well as Sri Mariamman Temple. It is something that we take for granted. They said this could never happen in their country. So, when we engage in these dialogues, I think it is very important that we also, as we preserve, we want to make sure that in these dialogues, that we remember what we have and we continue to cherish all of that together. So, we will have more of these dialogues, we will create the spaces, the platforms, as well as the tools to preserve this precious racial and religious harmony.”
“Sir, I thank Mr Darryl David for his clarification. Sir, if you think about the over two weeks of Committee of Supply debate, we talked about our economy, our transport, education, environment, manpower, health. As Minister Edwin mentioned, MCCY really brings up the end of the Committee of Supply debate. MCCY stewards the heart of our nation. Our heart must be strong, it must be united. It cannot be split, it cannot be divided. But at times it is also moved, moved by issues that confront us, issues that affront us. Over the last couple of months, I have hosted a few of these very spiky dialogues. There was one I hosted with our Harmony Circle leaders on the Gaza crisis. It was not easy to do, but it allowed for our leaders a safe space to discuss, to air and to also explain their perspectives. Today, this afternoon, I am going to host two young advocates as well. It is going to be a place for space, for platforms. I also mentioned earlier on that we are equipping our Harmony Circle leaders with the tools in which to touch on and engage in these very spiky issues. But we are also doing a lot. You would have known that many of the Harmony Circles came together to raise funds for the Gaza crisis, the humanitarian crisis there, and we will continue to do so. But I also want to take us a step back and think about, because the Member mentioned cohesive societies. We have had two iterations of the International Conference on Cohesive Societies. These two editions, we brought together of about a thousand leaders and youth from about 30 countries. They came, they discussed what it meant to be and how do you build Cohesive Societies. We brought them to our heartlands, we brought them to our Harmony Circles.”
“CFS will release further details later this year and I encourage companies to find out more and we are looking forward to partner as many companies as possible. The Collective is one platform for our community and our corporates to give back. The other platform is our Singapore Government Partnerships Office (SGPO), which we launched in January, to partner citizens and stakeholders who are keen to work with the Government to turn their ideas into reality. We agree with Mr Baey and recognise that some of these ideas do not necessarily fall neatly along agency lines. Therefore, SGPO acts as a "first-stop" for citizens or stakeholders with such ideas and it helps to connect them to the right agencies or partners to put their ideas into action. So, please connect with us on our SGPO website with your ideas and your plans for action! Mr Chairman, our community and our corporates have answered the Forward SG call for a new, refreshed social compact. And we are only just getting started. You have heard me share about the different platforms and the different spaces and the different tools we have made available for our community and our corporates, so I invite all of you to join us to take that step alongside us to shape the Singapore we all want to see, together. Senior Parliamentary Secretary Eric Chua will quicken our steps in his speech about sports next, so I shall hand the baton smoothly for him as he brings us to the home stretch.”
“For example, the Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association (SSIA) partnered Mentoring SG at the recent Electronics Industry Day in ITE College Central, which I attended, and where employees from semiconductor giant Micron Electronics conducted a “flash mentoring” programme for ITE students. The students I spoke to at the event benefited greatly from the experience, they left with a newfound interest in careers within the semiconductor and precision engineering sectors. Corporates and individuals keen to support our national mentoring movement, please sign up at mentoring.sg. Sir, I shared how our community and corporates are answering the call to give back using the platforms and tools we have provided. Therefore, Mr Keith Chua’s question about how we plan to grow philanthropy and foster collaboration is timely. Deputy Prime Minister Wong shared in his Budget speech about an initiative that will help donors better appreciate the needs of our society and also direct their resources to these needs. Today, I am glad to announce the launch of this initiative, called The Collective for a Stronger Society, or The Collective, for short. Put together by the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS), in partnership with MSF and the Community Chest, and supported by MCCY, The Collective will connect donors with causes, where donors can navigate causes on the ground that uplift lower-income families; direct their resources to non-profits, social enterprises and other partners that lead impactful initiatives; and identify gaps in the landscape; and come up with fresh solutions that address unmet needs in society. I discussed these details about The Collective with the CFS team at their 15th Anniversary Lunch three weeks ago.”
“We are working closely with SNCF to groom emerging leaders and provide targeted funding to ensure our co-operatives remain relevant and also well-governed. Sir, corporates are also giving back through mentoring by helping our youths navigate key transitions, such as educational and career pathways. Ms Rahayu Mahzam asked about the progress of Mentoring SG. I would like to thank her for her own efforts in building our National Mentoring movement. She mentioned School of Day 1, by Matin Mohdari, which is part of Mentoring SG. School of Day 1 recently ran a session for youths who just received their "A" level results. I am in contact with Matin and have promised him that we will do more together under the Mentoring SG banner. Sir, since we launched Mentoring SG in December 2022, it has expanded its outreach, engaging 100 corporates, 2,000 skilled mentors and more than 5,000 youths. And we are training more mentors. Last month, Mentoring SG rolled out a Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) accredited course called Mentoring for Youth, which equips mentors with effective facilitation and communication skills through scenario-based practices. Mentoring SG is embarking on a research study to measure the impact of mentoring programmes and partnerships. The findings will enable it to scale up quality programmes. 12.30 pm This year, Mentoring SG will partner more corporates on industry-led mentoring initiatives. It will also partner more polytechnics and ITEs, to provide more avenues for corporates to give back.”
“Push Pull Give allows non-profit organisations to use their fitness studios for free and offers scholarships and employment opportunities for young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds. Push Pull Give is one of the 55 companies that have committed to the National Volunteer and Philanthropic Centre's Company of Good Programme, pledging positive social impact as the core of their business. Corporates which actively give back to society rarely do so alone. In fact, mutual support and opportunities to network with like-minded businesses are hallmarks of NVPC's Company of Good Programme. A couple of weeks ago, I visited Unilever's campus to meet 16 local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which signed up for the Unilever-NVPC Purpose for Growth programme. Unilever mentors helped these SMEs define their business strategy and how to make a positive impact in Singapore. I am sure many more companies will do the same. I invite them to come because all companies, big and small, can play a part, work together and amplify your social impact on the ground. I would also like to thank Mr Neil Parekh and the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) for working with us to set up the Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Coordination Office in SBF. I look forward to working with him and his team through quarterly industry engagements to reach SBF's 28,000 members and encourage more corporates to follow in the footsteps of Companies of Good. Mr Mohd Fahmi asked how we can support our Co-operatives, which are already contributing to society. I meet with our Cooperatives and Singapore National Co-operative Federation (SNCF) leaders regularly.”
“We set up this Network in 2022 so that individuals, community stakeholders and private partners can work together to build mental resilience in our communities. Ms Hany Soh asked about the work done by the network thus far. It has made good progress. We now have 12 well-being circles at various locales. They have trained over 600 individuals in peer support skills and reached more than 3,000 people through their programmes. The three newest well-being circles are located in Queenstown, Marymount and the Singapore Management University. And we welcome the Woodgrove Well-being Circle as well. And we have made progress beyond these community or locale well-being circles. Our network's members, such as Growth Collective SG and Happiness Initiative, have introduced their own peer support programmes, running more than 900 peer support circles across workplaces, educational and healthcare institutions. Studies done with selected partners found that these peer support circles helped improve mental well-being and sustain it over time. We will launch a guide later this year on how to set up a Well-Being Circle. So, if you want to set up one, please connect with our network or join our Partners Networking Night on 25 March at 7.00 pm at the Lifelong Learning Institute. Sir, I have shared how our community, including our youths, VCs, racial and religious groups and mental health advocates, are answering the call and giving back. Alongside our burgeoning community are corporates which have also answered the call. I recently caught up with Razif Yusoff, who is the co-founder of Push Pull Give, a fitness social enterprise.”
“Just last Saturday, the Catholic Archdiocese were the lead organisers and they will hand over to the Taoist Federation to organise next year's games. On the ground in our communities, our Racial and Religious Harmony Circles (HCs) have seen an increase in membership and activities since we refreshed them last year. I have joined a few of these such activities, including last year's Harmony Sports Fiesta at our Sports Hub that reached more than 31,000 people, thanks to the support of over 1,000 HC members, and also Marymount HC's Ultimate Frisbee Tournament with over 200 youths and the young-at-heart. Beneath the roaring energy on the field, I witnessed a shared sense of mutual trust and understanding among participants from different religious organisations and community groups at Marymount. So, well done, Marymount HC. But our work is only just getting started and we have much more to do. By 2025, we will equip 800 key HC leaders with skills, such as mediation and crisis preparedness, to bolster social harmony in peacetime and in times of crises. And our Harmony Circle Coordinating Council will continue to strengthen efforts to make our HCs more diverse and more digital. So, if you are passionate about preserving and strengthening our precious racial and religious harmony, please join your nearest HC. Sir, beyond our youths, volunteers in VCs and racial and religious groups, we see another group taking on a new challenge confronting us – our society's mental health and mental well-being, which Deputy Prime Minister Wong has affirmed as a national priority. This group comprises our SG Mental Well-being Network, which Ms Hany Soh mentioned.”
“MCCY also works with the National Council of Social Services and the Singapore University of Social Sciences to equip our VCs to better do their outreach, training, volunteer management and enable them to learn from one another's best practices. Mr Baey asked how we manage when SG Cares VCs change operators to keep up with the town's shifting needs. Over the past five years, only three towns have changed operators and, in every case, we ensure a smooth transition. Disruptions are limited and our volunteers have continued to serve on the ground consistently. So, those keen to volunteer with our SG Cares Volunteer Centres, please visit our SG Cares website to find your nearest VC and to learn about volunteering opportunities that match your interest and your specific skillsets. Sir, from youths to volunteers at our SG Cares Volunteer Centres to our racial and religious groups, our communities in Singapore are giving back. And there is no more important cause to contribute to than our precious racial and religious harmony, a point that Mr Sitoh Yi Pin, Mr Darryl David and Mr Raj Joshua Thomas made yesterday. As what Minister Edwin Tong said, it is something we must cherish and protect. I agree with them that we must press on with these efforts, and I am glad to say we are far from starting from scratch. Our community and religious leaders have worked hard over the years to achieve this. Leaders from key ethnic and religious groups contribute to our National Steering Committee on Racial and Religious Harmony. This Committee has helped foster closer ties among these leaders who, in turn, bring their communities together. Committee Members even take turns to organise the annual Harmony Games.”
“She is one of 20,000 volunteers who regularly serve with VCs and is a forerunner of what we call skills-based volunteerism where individuals volunteer their professional skills to meet specific community needs. And more professional bodies are adopting this model of volunteering. For example, MCCY is partnering Pro Bono SG to grow and develop their pool of volunteer lawyers who provide legal advice to non-profit organisations. Forty volunteer lawyers have served over 800 clients at the Community Law Centre at Tian De Temple in 2023 alone. Last December, I met Ms Cai Chengying and her Pro Bono SG team, and they told me that they will be expanding their reach beyond Tian De Temple. True to their word, Pro Bono SG launched their second Community Law Centre in the Northwest District earlier this year. But this is just the start. Mr Baey Yam Keng asked about sustaining our VCs' impact and how they are strengthening volunteer management. Ms Rahayu Mahzam asked about reaching senior volunteers. Our VCs equip community partners with skills to attract, engage and retain volunteers of all ages – the young and the young-at-heart. For example, SG Cares VCs @ Geylang and Serangoon train MOE educators to design more meaningful values-in-action (VIA) programmes and projects, encouraging students to continue volunteering even after completing their VIA requirements. Our VCs also work with community partners like RSVP Singapore and Active Ageing Centres to avail more volunteering opportunities that meet the interests of seniors, such as mentoring, befriending and supporting non-profit organisations.”
“These panels also receive support from Government agencies throughout their term, including access to agencies' policy considerations, expertise and data, to inform their policy deliberations. We will ensure that the views of our youths are incorporated into the policy panels' recommendations, and then either table these recommendations in Parliament for debate, implement them or address them via other channels, such as written responses. So, I look forward to seeing our Youth Panels' recommendations. If you are keen to share your perspectives, please join us at our inaugural Youth Policy Forum later this year. Our panels will present their policy ideas and debate them before finalising their recommendations. Sir, another segment of the community that has answered this call, in addition to our youths, are our volunteers at the SG Cares Volunteer Centres. These are individuals giving back and offering peer support in neighbourhoods they grew up in or areas that are close to their heart. An area that is close to my heart is Jalan Kukoh, where I started my volunteering journey as a youth 20 years ago, serving children, youths, seniors and vulnerable families there. Jalan Kukoh is now home to one of 24 SG Cares Volunteer Centres (VCs) across Singapore, making an impact in their respective communities. Since 2018, close to 100,000 volunteers have served with these 24 VCs, reaching over 600,000 beneficiaries. I recently met Mrs Chan Swee Fen, a volunteer with SG Cares VC @ Kreta Ayer, which covers Jalan Kukoh. Swee Fen has a Master's degree in counselling and trains volunteer befrienders in practical counselling skills, giving them confidence to conduct home visits and befriend vulnerable seniors in Jalan Kukoh and also the Chin Swee area.”
“Recently, I spent an evening with Grace, Jun Han and Valencia from Friendzone, a social enterprise that organises events to connect people and to build new friendships. Since receiving funding in YAC Season 2, Friendzone has scaled their outreach, connecting more than 4,000 participants over 200 gatherings. So, if you are a young person with exciting ideas, please watch out for YAC Season 6, coming up. Sir, our youths also want a greater say in policymaking in areas they care deeply about. That is why we set up the four inaugural Youth Panels, to partner them to shape national policies. Dr Harun asked how we are harnessing our youths' creativity to shape our future and if we are tapping a wider pool of youths. I am happy to share with him that around 140 youths from diverse backgrounds are, indeed, on our Youth Panels. And they comprise a good mix of young working adults and schooling youths, each with their unique lived experiences and perspectives. I recently caught up with Damien and Salwa from the Institute of Technical College (ITE) College West and Kaplan Higher Education Institute respectively. Despite their busy studies, they spent time at these meetings, and they found them very meaningful and also very valuable. They got to exchange perspectives with other members from different backgrounds and deliberate on complex issues to shape their policy recommendations. They are only 17 years old, and their level of maturity and insightfulness, and indeed, their questions, were really inspiring. Sir, our Youth Panels mark a shift in how our Government is creating more space for our youths to take ownership in nation-building. Our youths have a direct role in deciding the issues that the Youth Panels would address.”
“Chairman, our Forward SG exercise brought together over 200,000 Singaporeans to share their hopes and dreams for Singapore and how they can contribute towards our refreshed social compact. Our community and corporates have answered this call. Today, I will share how MCCY is creating more spaces, more platforms and more tools for them to give back and shape a better Singapore – a city and nation that inspires, as Minister of State Low Yen Ling just said in her speech. First, our community. Our community's response to the call to shape a better Singapore starts early on – with our youths. As Deputy Chair of the National Youth Council (NYC), I get to spend a lot of time with our youths. They are hungry; they are inquisitive; and they have diverse dreams and passions, ideas and ideals. Dr Syed Harun and I know this in our work with our youths at NYC, and I thank him for serving alongside me as an NYC council member. Dr Harun and I know that our youths have an unwavering can-do attitude and spirit and want to take action. They care deeply about giving back and making a positive impact on the causes they believe in. That is why we have been listening to them – listening to what they want and providing them with the space, support and the platforms to lead this change. Ms Hany Soh asked how we are supporting our youths to experiment and execute their ideas. She specifically mentioned the Youth Action Challenge, or YAC. Over the past five seasons of YAC, we have awarded funding to more than 1,000 youths and over 280 youth projects that tackle issues like sustainability, social isolation and mental well-being. These projects have created positive outcomes in our community.”
“Sir, I thank Assoc Prof James Lim for his questions. The short answer is that we do what is in Singapore's best interests, as any other jurisdiction's government would do for their own jurisdiction's best interests. But if you think about this, if you take a step back, when visitors come from outside of the region and they come to Singapore, there are also attendant benefits because then they may go and visit other tourist sites around the region. Singapore is a hub. It is a hub, a hive of activity. Connectivity helps and it also supports and benefits our neighbours around the region. So, we do what is best for Singapore, but we also understand that Singapore is a hub, a connectivity hub, and being a vibrant hub also benefits our region and our neighbours as well.”
“" Sir, STB will continue to be bold, forward-looking, strategic in assessing every single opportunity for Singapore to welcome all of these world-class events, these world-class tourism offerings, to make Singapore an attractive leisure, business destination for people to come, live, work, visit and play. We will certainly be lightning on our feet.”
“Sir, I thank Mr Don Wee for his supplementary question. As I mentioned in last Friday's Ministry of Trade and Industry's Committee of Supply, I just want to remind Members that our tourism sector was really hammered by the COVID-19 pandemic. And so, we pumped in $500 million in 2022, the SingapoReDiscover vouchers; we also put in the Job Support Scheme, which the tourism sector benefited from significantly; and also, many different times, myself and my STB colleagues have gone to speak to event organisers in the tourism sector, to keep our offerings open, so people know that Singapore can deliver reliably, even in times of crisis. Sir, we did that so that we can capture the winds of recovery, which are coming, as I mentioned on Friday. Let me give Members a few different examples. Last year, STB supported the inaugural Olympic Esports Week; we supported Gamescom Asia for two years running; Sneaker Con Southeast Asia, this year 2024; Anime Festival Asia 2024; SG Comic Con 2024; HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series; and the HSBC Women's World Championship for women's golf, which I think Mr Speaker had attended on Sunday as well. As Mr Don Wee had mentioned: the other governments, other places, other jurisdictions are not standing still. If you look at Australia's state of Victoria, they have a regional tourism events fund; Abu Dhabi has a mega events fund; and Hong Kong too has committed, over three years, HK$100 million to attract and to organise large-scale, international world-class events on its shores. Mr Speaker, there are two famous lines by a very talented young artist which have been sung and will be echoed by over 300,000 people across six nights at our National Stadium. These two lines are, "I don't miss a beat," and "I'm lightning on my feet.”
“Sir, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has been supporting leisure events through grants since 1998, to complement other marketing initiatives including campaigns and partnerships. For leisure events that STB has supported, international visitors make up 25% to 30% of the total attendees on average. Aside from leisure events, STB also supports the development and marketing of new tourism products, rejuvenation of existing tourism offerings, upskilling of our tourism workers and also helping our local tourism companies become more productive and innovative. STB conducts thorough assessments before providing any grant. These include the qualitative and quantitative benefits of any proposed event, such as its ability to drive foreign visitorship and tourism receipts, incorporate unique and innovative programming and also to profile Singapore as a vibrant and appealing destination. These events are expected to create value by generating more business for our companies here, adding to Singapore's vibrancy and also amplifying Singapore's global brand and international stature. STB tracks overall international visitor arrivals, tourism receipts and the average length of stay. Members can refer to STB's press release on 1 February 2024 for our tourism sector's performance in 2023.”
“Mr Speaker, may I have your permission to take Question Nos 5 and 6 in today's Order Paper together, please?”
“Sir, I thank Ms Jean See for her clarification. The short answer is yes. In the tourism sector, we have a variety of programmes that, through the Tourism Development Fund that I mentioned earlier on, it is not just infrastructure and bringing in these acts and MICE events, but it is also helping to build our tourism sector. I have launched very countless scholarships that we work together with the institute of higher learning (IHLs), polytechnics, the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and others, to help to boost up that pool of talent. Just wearing my MCCY hat, I will explain a little bit more. The SG Arts Plan has a very, very strong focus on all of these different talents; not just in place-making, which Minister Edwin Tong mentioned earlier on, but also to enhance our artists' capability in many of these, so that we equip them as we bring all of these acts and all of these events into Singapore, they have a good chance to be able to participate in them.”
“Sir, I thank Mr Neil Parekh for his question. My answer will be very swift. And actually, next week, there are a couple of Parliamentary Questions and that will be very tailored towards this particular question in detail. The Tourism Development Fund has a variety of different schemes. It has secured over 600 events that strengthen Singapore's attractiveness as a leisure and business destination hub. All of these different aspects that we have put in, I wanted to remind Members that our tourism sector was really, really hard hit during COVID-19. So, in 2022, we pumped in $500 million for the Tourism Development Fund. That helped significantly to prepare our very, very hard-hit tourism sector to recover. Now, they have recovered, as I mentioned in my main reply, and this $300 million top-up will also continue to boost them so that we can attract both very high-quality lifestyle entertainment acts as well as top world-class MICE events to Singapore, and just to lift Singapore to be in a very attractive lifestyle and as well as a business destination.”
“Our strong network of energy and agri-commodities traders makes us home to a growing pool of companies that trade biofuels and its feedstock, such as Mewah, which sells biodiesel globally. To produce the bio diesel they use various raw materials including used cooking oil. We will continue to grow our ecosystem with our industry partners to better support the trade of goods and services that contribute to climate action – and make Singapore the heart of sustainable trade flows. Sir, this year's Budget addresses the present challenges we face and charts the directions for our nation in a very uncertain future. To do all that we set out to do, we need the resources to provide and care for people and set them on a strong footing for the future. That is why the work that MTI does is so important. MTI is at the forefront of growing our economy in a time where growth is elusive, unlocking the potential in resources like energy and our people, in light of new and exciting discoveries in tech and science, transforming our sectors to grow green and digital as we are confronted with climate change and connecting more widely and deeply to the world when instincts compel countries to look inward. Sir, MTI will continue to do all this because building a strong, vibrant, innovative economy will help secure Singapore's future in a more tumultuous world. [Applause.]”
“For example, they can use our Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) and the Enterprise Development Grant (EDG) to defray the cost of venturing outside and exploring these new markets. We also offer a 200% tax deductible on eligible expenses for international market expansion and investment development activities through our Double Tax Deduction for Internationalisation (DTDi) scheme. Mr Desmond Choo would be pleased to know that there are many success stories from our work in helping Singapore companies internationalise. One such company is iFAST, which is a homegrown fintech firm that provides investment products and services, digital banking and pension administration services. iFAST designed a customer acquisition and onboarding strategy for iFAST Global Bank (iGB), a UK-based digital bank and developed a go-to-market strategy to strengthen its regional presence. iFAST aims to reach $100 billion of assets under administration by 2030. We look forward to more of such success stories to strengthen Singapore companies’ presence worldwide. Beyond signing agreements and encouraging companies to internationalise, we are also pursuing new trade flows in areas such as carbon credits as well as biofuels. We have built a vibrant carbon services and trading ecosystem for our companies. Today, there are over 120 carbon services and trading firms in Singapore, an increase from 70 since 2020. There are new entrants including firms like Bain & Company which has established its Global Sustainability Innovation Centre here in Singapore, and the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) which opened its Asia hub here last year. We are also growing our biofuels ecosystem.”
“We also developed Green Economy Agreements (GEAs) to support emissions reduction while spurring economic growth and also create jobs in the green economy. Our GEA with Australia has catalysed collaborations in scientific research, green shipping corridors, and co-innovation programmes for SMEs and we invite more companies to join us along this green journey. Through our journey around the world, we explored abundant opportunities for our companies back home. Mr Edward Chia asked how we are using these agreements. This leads me to my second point of how we are helping our companies internationalise and also enter these growth markets. Through SBF, we actively reach out to help companies understand and to use FTAs that we have signed, including through outreach sessions and consultations. And more than 1,600 companies have benefited from these efforts in 2023. In the past year, Enterprise Singapore also supported Singapore companies to secure deals, access new market opportunities and grow overseas through 460 overseas projects. These companies are expected to grow their annual revenue by $5.2 billion based on Enterprise Singapore’s support. As an open economy, our firms are inevitably exposed to global supply chains impact. Ms He Ting Ru pointed out that Singapore companies are therefore having to deal with new risks. We note that she has asked specific questions on manpower which we will defer to the Ministry of Manpower to address at this point. But the point is we cannot fully shield our companies from these risks, but we can provide financing for them and help them to build their capabilities.”
“With these two agreements, we have combined access to a market in Latin America of more than 500 million people, half a billion people. From India and Latin America, let us now travel to the Middle East and Africa. During Prime Minister's visit to Saudi Arabia and the UAE in October 2023, we signed several agreements including MOUs on recognition of halal certifications. Singapore companies can now look forward to exporting halal food products to both countries. Africa also presents many opportunities. Africa is the most youthful population in the world and by 2050, more than a quarter of the world’s population will be African. Last year, I joined Prime Minister Lee on his visit to Africa, where we signed agreements with South Africa and Kenya. In August, we hosted African business and political leaders at the 7th Africa Singapore Business Forum (ABSF) organised by Enterprise Singapore. This business forum attracted over 500 delegates and connected 200 businesses from Asia to Africa to explore collaborations while using Singapore as a node to facilitate Asia-African trade. SBF led business delegations to many of these regions and we met with them on the ground. They were there to explore commercial opportunities and I invite more companies to join SBF and other business delegations to expand their reach into these very promising and high potential emerging markets. Beyond FTAs, we are also pioneering new agreements in new growth engines. We now have four Digital Economy Agreements (DEAs), to facilitate end-to-end digital trade by promoting the use of digital tools, enabling open and secure data flows and building trust in digital systems.”
“At the inaugural India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable in 2022, our countries identified five mutually beneficial areas of collaboration. And we have started to see some fruits of success from this work. For example, on the digital front, India and Singapore operationalised the world’s first paperless Letter of Credit transaction backed by interoperable electronic Bills of Lading (eBLs) using IMDA’s TradeTrust framework. This showcases how digital tech can make international trade easier and also more accessible. We are also helping our students gain greater exposure to India’s markets. Enterprise Singapore, in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) announced the India Ready Talent (IRT) internship programme in February 2024. IRT offers our University and Polytechnic students internship opportunities in India to deepen their understanding of India’s business environment. From India let us travel to Latin America – a region I have been travelling to extensively over the last few years: Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and I were just in Brazil in December to sign a new FTA with the MERCOSUR. MERCOSUR is the Common Market of the South comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. This is our first FTA with all four South American economies, which will strengthen our ties with this market comprising over 270 million people and business opportunities in infrastructure development, agri-food trade, oil and gas, as well as advanced manufacturing, just to name a few. To date, more than 150 Singapore companies have commercial interests in Latin America. This builds on the FTA we signed with the Pacific Alliance bloc in 2022, which comprises Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.”
“Between 2005 and 2023, our total trade in goods and services more than doubled, from around S$890 billion to more than S$2 trillion; and currently stands at around three times our GDP. Amidst growing geopolitical tensions and protectionist trade policies, which was also a concern raised by Ms He Ting Ru, we must continue to strengthen Singapore’s global trade competitiveness. How? Let me suggest three ways: first, we must continue to advance our trade and investment with partner economies, especially in the growing markets; second, we must help our local companies to scale up and internationalise; and third, we must encourage new trade flows for in-demand areas. Mr Parekh asked how we are helping companies to seize new opportunities in growing markets. Well, my MTI colleagues and I have been travelling the world to strengthen these economic ties. We are uncovering new markets, new business opportunities and new partners for our many companies. Some of these journeys are 30 hours one way, but they are worth doing even though they are very tiring. And I will be making more of these trips this year because Minister Gan has asked me to. But let me take you around the world from a trade and also a business lens. First stop: let us go to India, a country I visited a few times last year. We continue to advance our collaborations with India, which the World Economic Forum projects to be the world’s third largest economy by 2030. It is already the world’s most populous nation and one of its youngest too. Between 2012 and 2022, Singapore’s investments into India grew by more than five times. In 2022, India was Singapore’s 11th largest trading partner and India will remain a key market of strategic importance to Singapore.”
“These events which many of you have attended are popular not just with our locals but also our visitors alike, and STB will continue to work with event organisers to improve and grow their appeal and also look for new themes, new arts and cultural experiences which have international appeal. The DesignSingapore Council, which is a subsidiary under EDB, drives the growth of our design sector. This council provides funding and coaching for design research and product development, partners with companies to adopt design for business growth, and nurtures industry-ready design talent. Ms Jean See also highlighted the potential of harnessing creative talent to redefine businesses. In addition to DesignSingapore’s efforts, broad-based schemes such as our Enterprise Development Grant (EDG) will allow businesses to engage creative professionals to build their strategic brand as well as their marketing capability. There is more good news. Singapore and China implemented a mutual 30-day visa exemption starting on 9 February 2024. We expect this to boost arrivals and spending across our retail, F&B, and tourism-related sectors. This longer visa exemption has made it more convenient for Singaporeans to travel to China for leisure and business, boosting two-way traffic. As we continue to put Singapore on the world map, we welcome people from all around the world – not just as a tourist destination, but also as a business hub. Minister Gan shared how our trade networks help grow our economy. I will focus on how we are extending our connections to be a stronger and more vibrant business node. Mr Neil Parekh emphasised the importance of trade to Singapore given our very small size and small domestic market.”
“Some of us had a sneak peek and we look forward to the soft launch this month. Staying at Sentosa at RWS, I broke ground on Universal Studios, Singapore's Minion Land just two years ago and we look forward to the launch next year. Next year, RWS will also launch the new Singapore Oceanarium which is an expansion of the current SEA Aquarium but three times its size. As part of RWS' expansion, there will also be a new waterfront lifestyle development and a driverless transport system between the mainland and RWS. Third, we have a strong line-up of leisure and business events. Together with the suite of world-class live entertainment events, we will host high quality MICE events this year, such as the Global Sustainable Tourism Council Global Conference, which is the first in Singapore and NRF 2024: Retail's Big Show Asia Pacific, which is a significant tradeshow for our region’s retail industry. Also, when MBS' expansion is completed in the later part of this decade, it will allow us to host more notable live entertainment and MICE events. The expansion will include a 15,000-seat world-class entertainment arena, more MICE spaces, and an iconic, luxury all-suite hotel tower with a public rooftop attraction. 3.15 pm To continue enhancing Singapore as a vibrant lifestyle and economic hub, we must continue to build our creative economy, as Ms Usha Chandrasdas suggested. I will share how we are doing so. First, Singapore hosts many high-quality arts and cultural experiences that enhance our attractiveness as a lively lifestyle hub or lifestyle destination. Our year-round arts and cultural calendar features events such as Singapore Art Week and Singapore International Festival of Arts, as well as cultural festivals in Chinatown, Little India and Kampong Gelam.”
“Mr Liang Eng Hwa, Mr Neil Parekh and Mr Edward Chia asked how we plan to facilitate tourism recovery and ensure we remain attractive despite intensifying global competition. We are doing so in two ways. First, through investments. We will provide a boost to our tourism sector, through an injection of over $300 million to our Tourism Development Fund 4. This will develop and market new products and experiences, including supporting local enterprises as they develop new intellectual properties, rejuvenate existing tourism offerings and also upskill our tourism workers. We are boosting this Fund 4 because it has introduced exciting attractions and lifestyle events here. And I got to launch some of these, including TRIFECTA, which is Asia's first snow, surf and skate lifestyle destination and also, of course, the year-round exclusive homeporting of Disney Cruise Line's latest cruise ship, Disney Adventure, which will start in Singapore next year. Over the past two years, this fund has also helped over 100 local tourism businesses become even more productive and more sustainable. So, we encourage all of our tourism companies to make full use of the top-up to grow your business. Second, we are also developing a pipeline of high quality and first-of-its-kind experiences here in Singapore, that we will launch in the coming years. This will help us to maintain international mindshare and strengthen our appeal as a compelling destination. Let me share some more exciting news as your in-house tour guide. First, we are improving accessibility in Sentosa with Sensoryscape which is a new attraction that will connect Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) and Sentosa's beaches. It has multi-sensorial gardens that pique the senses and showcase digital light displays in the night.”
“Then, we have live entertainment which resumed with unparalleled vitality, as Singapore played host to prominent acts, such as Blackpink, Ed Sheeran, Jacky Cheung and, of course, a particular act that is currently taking Singapore by storm. Our Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions industry, or MICE for short, have also made a very strong comeback. In 2023, we hosted some of the world's largest MICE events, like Asia Tech x Singapore, Gastech and Herbalife APAC Extravaganza. We also welcomed new events, like the 25th World Congress of Dermatology, which is our largest medical congress to date; and the transport logistic and air cargo for Southeast Asia, with the first in the edition for the region. Then, we have also our homegrown events, which many of you have participated in, such as Singapore International Energy Week, our Singapore International Cyber Week, the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH) and, of course, the Singapore Fintech Festival, which continued year after year to attract a significant turnout. Conference organisers tell me that they choose Singapore because of our position as a global meeting point for talent, ideas and for business. Even during massive disruptions like COVID-19, Singapore continued to deliver, safely and reliably and these conference organisers are bullish about our prospects to continue to play host to world-class events if there are disruptions in the future. So, confidence in us is strong. through world class events. Similarly, we remain confident in our tourism sector. This year, we expect international tourism or visitor arrivals to reach between 15 and 16 million visitors and to bring approximately $26.0 to 27.5 billion in tourism receipts.”
“Mr Chairman, we have recovered robustly from the difficult pandemic years. Amidst geopolitical and macroeconomic tensions, global inflationary pressures and heightened investor uncertainty, Singapore, through EDB attracted $12.7 billion in Fixed Asset Investment commitments in 2023. These projects will create 20,045 new jobs. This exceeded EDB's medium-term goals and is partly why Singapore remains Asia's most competitive economy and the world's fourth most competitive, according to the International Institute for Management Development (IMD). As the world's Global-Asia or Singapore as a hub for cultures, ideas and commerce, how can we strengthen our position as the world's hub? First, by strengthening our appeal as a vibrant destination for both businesses and tourists alike and residents; and second, by deepening and widening our international partnerships. Let me begin with our tourism sector, which has rebounded strongly. There has been a resurgence in visitor arrivals and an energetic revival of our city as a bustling hub of eclectic experiences. In 2023, our international visitor arrivals recovered to 13.6 million, which is 71% of our 2019 levels, while our tourism receipts for the first three quarters of 2023 reached 98% of the same period in 2019. We have launched new local experiences to capture the winds of recovery. Minister of State Low Yen Ling was your heartland guide. I will be your tourism guide. We opened the Bird Paradise at the Mandai Wildlife Reserve, HyperDrive at Sentosa and Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience at Resorts World Sentosa. We also enjoyed a vibrant calendar of signature events, like the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix or the inaugural edition of ART SG as part of Singapore Art Week.”
“I will be as quick as possible. Sir, Singapore's three local banks have introduced a Money Lock feature for customers to set aside a portion of funds in their bank accounts that cannot be transferred digitally. This limits the amount a customer may lose should their digital banking access be compromised. Since its launch by local banks in November last year, more than 61,000 Money Lock accounts have been set up, with over $5.4 billion of savings set aside in February 2024. Other major retail banks will introduce the Money Lock feature by the middle of this year. Banks will continue to make it easier for customers to use Money Lock, taking into consideration customer feedback and the collective implementation experience across the industry. For instance, instead of requiring customers to set up a new bank account to use Money Lock, DBS now allows customers to lock up funds within the same bank account. Locked funds will continue to earn the prevailing interest rate in that account. To date, there have been no reports of phishing or malware scams involving funds under Money Lock. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will work with the banks to continue to encourage customers to adopt Money Lock, and also to monitor the effectiveness of Money Lock. The majority of scams involve individuals transferring their money willingly due to social engineering or deception. There are even cases where individuals insist on transferring their money, in spite of intervention by bank staff. These are authorised transactions. The defence against such scams is for everyone to be vigilant and sceptical of anyone asking for money to be transferred to them, whether for a relationship, for a job or for an investment. 11.00 am”