Lim Hng Kiang
Singapore
“The company has made commitments to recycle the ash, and as for renewable energy, the gasification project is not an energy project, it is not a generation company (genco). It is to produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide or, essentially, carbon. Because as feedstock to the petrochemical sector, you need more C and more H2.”
“The Government will continue to recover the IIA awarded if the company fails any conditions or breaches the legislative amendments. I would like to highlight that there are no errant cases in the last five years for IIA and the current amendments are, therefore, not reactionary in nature, but are being made for legislative clarity.”
“In addition, the IIA scheme will be extended till 31 December 2022. Clauses 10 to 13 give legislative effect to this change. The remaining legislative changes arising from our periodic review of the income tax system are either administrative or technical in nature.”
“Data on household and individual savings rates by income groups are not available. However, data on the aggregate level of household financial assets can be obtained from the Household Sector balance sheet compiled by the Department of Statistics.”
“The aggregate level of financial assets owned by Singapore’s household sector6 in each of the past five years is provided in Table 1 below. Data on the amount of financial assets owned by households and individuals in the different income percentiles is not available.”
“The Second Review of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (Second CECA Review) is ongoing. The review is taking some time as both countries have our respective interests to work through, such as in the area of labour mobility. Our agencies regularly engage Indian counterparts to work through issues collaboratively.”
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“The Department of Statistics (DOS) does not measure household wealth inequality. Household wealth comprises several components. These include the value of residential properties net of mortgage loans, shares and securities, savings in the Central Provident Fund accounts, life insurance and bank deposits. Many of these data are not readily available for statistical compilation. For instance, administrative data on bank deposits and mortgage loans are sensitive personal data protected by the Banking Act. It is also challenging to collect such data through surveys as personal wealth is a sensitive topic. In fact, the experience of other countries that have collected wealth data through surveys is that individuals tend to under-report their wealth. Nonetheless, DOS will continue to monitor international developments in the compilation of wealth statistics and review the feasibility of doing so in Singapore if necessary.”
“We also encourage local companies to internationalise in order to ride on the growth opportunities in overseas markets. The Government will help companies do so through schemes like the Global Company Partnership (GCP), which provides customised assistance in areas, such as market access, financing and manpower development. At the same time, the Government will continue to strengthen linkages with our trading partners so as to boost exports. Over the years, Singapore has built up an extensive network of Free-Trade Agreements (FTAs) with key economic partners, such as the G3 and ASEAN economies. We have also deepened economic linkages with emerging economies in South Asia, the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. This gives local enterprises the opportunity to access a diversity of markets and strengthens Singapore's trade resilience.”
“The decline in non-oil domestic exports (NODX) in June was largely due to external factors. In particular, the drop in personal computer (PC) exports came on the back of weak global PC demand. According to market research firm IDC, global shipments of PCs are likely to decline by 6.1% in 2014 due to lacklustre demand, following the 9.8% contraction in 2013. Page: 113 Similarly, the fall in tourist spending on shopping and food services in the first quarter of 2014 was due to external factors. In particular, Indonesian visitors, who are one of our top spenders, had contributed to the bulk of the decline in shopping expenditure. This was likely due to their weaker purchasing power as a result of the depreciation of the Rupiah against major currencies, including the Singapore dollar. These developments do not signal a loss of competitiveness of our local enterprises. In fact, other SME-dominated sectors like precision engineering and general manufacturing activities, such as furniture manufacturing, continued to post positive growth in the first half of the year. Net business and company formation has also remained healthy across most sectors, including the manufacturing and food services sectors, with the number of new firms formed increasing in the first five months of 2014 even as the number of firms that ceased operations remained stable. Nonetheless, we recognise that tighter labour constraints and rising business costs may have adversely affected some local companies. The key to companies coping with higher costs, without affecting their competitiveness, is to raise their productivity. In this regard, we encourage more companies to step forward to tap on the various productivity schemes that the Government has in place.”
“In addition, the IFS was enhanced to increase the maximum loan quantum from S$15 million to S$30 million, to support businesses for bigger overseas projects. Page: 108”
“The Singapore banking system remains healthy and has continued to provide credit to the corporate sector. Moody's has continued to assign Singapore banks the highest average ratings compared to all banking systems globally. Bank loans to businesses grew by 16% year-on-year as at June 2014, from S$316 billion to S$367 billion. The 2013 Annual Small- and Medium Enterprise (SME) Development Survey by the DP Information Group found that financing was not a major issue for most businesses. The proportion of SMEs which reported financing challenges in the survey has been on a declining trend, from 38% in 2010 to 17% in 2013. The Government has a comprehensive suite of schemes to help businesses with their financing needs. To support businesses with their domestic financing needs, SPRING offers the Local Enterprise Finance Scheme (LEFS), which provides secured loans for businesses for the purchase of factory and equipment, as well as the Micro Loan Programme (MLP), which provides unsecured working capital loans for micro-enterprises. To support businesses with their internationalisation financing needs, IE Singapore offers the Internationalisation Finance Scheme (IFS), which provides businesses with financing for their secured overseas ventures, as well as the Trade Credit Insurance Scheme (TCIS), which provides insurance for businesses to protect against non-payment by overseas buyers. The Government regularly reviews these schemes to ensure that businesses have adequate access to financing. In Budget 2014, the MLP was enhanced to increase the Government's risk-share of MLP loans to young enterprises of less than three years from 50% to 70%, in response to industry feedback that banks were reluctant to lend to such enterprises due to lack of track record.”
“This is because of a slower accumulation of savings, even as investment spending continues to support our economic restructuring efforts and the upgrading of public infrastructure. Nonetheless, as we transform our economy and continue to build up the competitiveness of our manufacturing and exportable services sectors, the value of our goods and services exports is expected to rise. This will help ensure resilience in our trade Page: 121 balance and current account surplus over the medium term.”
“Singapore's current account surplus declined from 23.7% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010 to 17.5% in 2012, before picking up to 18.3% in 2013. Despite this moderation, our current account surplus to GDP ratio remained one of the highest in the world. The fall in the current account surplus between 2010 and 2012 was mainly due to a decline in the trade surplus, as the net exports of goods fell. This was in line with the slowdown in global trade activity. As global and regional trade flows picked up in 2013, Singapore’s trade surplus similarly saw an up-turn. I would like to specifically address Ms Tan's underlying concern over tightening domestic liquidity conditions. First, the surplus in the trade and current account balance remains sizeable and continues to be a source of inflow of funds into the domestic economy. This has supported an appreciation of the Singapore dollar. On a trade-weighted basis, our exchange rate has appreciated by around 7% over the last three years. Second, domestic interest rates have remained low over the same period, with the three-month S$SIBOR averaging around 0.4%. This is consistent with the still-low global interest rate environment, and is indicative of continued ample liquidity conditions in Singapore. Third, notwithstanding the low domestic interest rates, we have not seen any unusual flow of capital into and out of Singapore in the recent period. From a broader medium-term perspective, the current account balance reflects the underlying savings and investment in the economy. As Singapore's population ages, the current account surplus, as a percent of GDP, is expected to decline gradually.”
“We will ride on the strengths of our education system, through Pre-Employment Training (PET) and Continuing Education and Training (CET), to ensure that Singaporeans are Page: 58 well-trained to meet the needs of the industry. We will work to develop the next generation of highly skilled technologists and craftsmen with strong vocational skills who are able to excel in the future manufacturing landscape. We will nurture Singaporeans with a global outlook, a keen understanding of global and regional markets and relevant soft skills to operate in a cosmopolitan environment. This will prepare Singaporeans to take on key positions in global and regional headquarters based in Singapore and in local companies which are venturing abroad. Together, we will transform the economy to succeed in a more competitive environment, develop Singapore into a leading global city with a mix of advanced manufacturing and productive service sectors, in order to generate quality growth and create good jobs for Singaporeans. Page: 59”
“MTI has set aside more than $300 million over the next three years to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in this restructuring effort. This is over and above the $1 billion that has been committed from the $2 billion National Productivity Fund to support a wide range of productivity programmes, most of which are targeted at SMEs. We will focus more on upstream interventions in sectors with the greatest potential for productivity improvement. In addition, SPRING, A*STAR and other partner agencies will step up efforts to implement platform projects that drive significant productivity improvements within and across sectors. JTC will develop innovative infrastructure solutions, through clustering of related activities and shared facilities. SPRING will continue to support SMEs in their restructuring journey through incentives, advisory services and technology adoption. Over the next three years, around 40,000 to 45,000 young Singaporeans are expected to enter the job market per year, with two-thirds aspiring to hold professional, managerial, executive and technical (PMET) jobs. Our efforts to transform our economy will create many good jobs to meet their aspirations. We will partner MOM, MOE and the industry to prepare Singaporeans to take up these opportunities. We will develop career pathways, applied learning tracks and apprenticeship programmes to attract and prepare Singaporeans for the specialist, managerial and leadership roles in the economy. We will also provide more structured and systematic career guidance and counselling for both students and working adults, to deliver better matching of skills, competencies and aspirations to jobs.”
“EDB will aim to position Singapore as the advanced manufacturing hub in Asia. A*STAR, EDB and SPRING will step up efforts to apply our R&D investments to help our companies deliver new products and services. Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) will help industry players raise their capabilities, and work with them to co-create new content and activities, so as to grow yield-driven tourism. International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and SPRING will continue to broaden and deepen our base of globally-competitive companies to seize opportunities regionally and globally. We will reinforce Singapore's position as the Global Asia Hub by expanding our international network through multilateral platforms, such as World Trade Organization, Page: 57 ASEAN and APEC. We will continue to strengthen our economic linkages and competitiveness through our network of Free Trade Agreements, Investment Guarantee Agreements and Double Taxation Agreements. We will enhance our value proposition through timely investments in infrastructure and improvements to our enterprise-friendly business environment. The Energy Market Authority (EMA) will continue to reinforce our energy security and ensure that businesses and households have access to competitively-priced energy. The Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) will focus on promoting healthy and competitive markets for businesses. We will continue to encourage productivity at all levels. Our companies will need to raise their productivity and build new capabilities to compete effectively in the new operating environment, as well as to seize new growth opportunities locally and internationally. We will support them to persevere and stay the course on economic restructuring.”
“MTI will promote sustainable economic growth and create good jobs, to enable Singaporeans to improve their lives. Singapore has entered a new phase of growth where we face a favourable but also more competitive external environment. Recovery in the US and Eurozone as well as continued resilience in the Asian economies will support Singapore's growth over the near term. Increasing urbanisation and a rising middle class in Asia will boost demand for our services. However, other economies are also working hard to raise their competitiveness to attract investments and tap on these opportunities. We continue to face stiff competition from developed economies and global cities, and major emerging cities are also rapidly closing in on us. Nevertheless, our strong economic fundamentals put us in a good position to continue growing our economy and create good jobs. Singapore sits at the heart of a growing Asia and is well-connected to the world. We have key strengths – our open and business-friendly environment, good governance, sound infrastructure, a highly-educated workforce and our reputation as a trusted hub – that we can apply and must safeguard. At the same time, we will need to sharpen our competitive advantages and maintain emphasis on high productivity, quality and expertise to deliver innovative goods and services that can command a premium. We will support research and innovation to transform and develop our industrial capabilities. We will leverage the investments we have made in research and development (R&D) to transform existing manufacturing sectors and grow new ones. We will identify and grow competitive services sectors that play to Singapore's strengths, to tap on the region's growing demand for exportable services.”
“The JTC LaunchPad @ one-north is a five-hectare industrial site at Ayer Rajah Crescent that is envisaged to be a vibrant community for start-ups and incubators in the biomedical sciences, infocomm, media, electronics and engineering industries. It comprises three blocks – the current Block 71 and two new blocks, Block 73 and Block 79. Blocks 73 and 79 will be completed by the end of this year. Since 1 April 2014, JTC's rentals have been applied uniformly across all the units of Block 71. They range from $20.00 per square metre per month, for non-air-conditioned units, to $27.00 per square metre (psm) per month, for units with air-conditioning and power provision. These rates will also apply to Blocks 73 and 79 when they are completed. The anchor tenant, NUS Enterprise, will pay the same rates. JTC will periodically review these rates. Page: 114 Tenants who entered into tenancy agreements before 1 April 2014 were paying rentals that range from $15.07 to $18.80 psm per month, depending on when they started the tenancy and which floor their units are located. When these tenants renew their tenancy agreements, the new rates will apply. However, for tenants who face significant rent increases, JTC will phase in the rental increase to help them adjust. The LaunchPad is dedicated to growing start-ups. Companies that have been incorporated for less than five years can apply for space at the LaunchPad. Existing tenants which were incorporated less than five years old ago can apply to renew their leases for one more term. Each term of tenancy is three years.”
“That is what we are doing under the NPCEC. We have a sectoral plan. We have a dialogue with the players, and we work out what are the appropriate and most relevant productivity measures for that sector. We do so for the hotel sector, the food manufacturers' association sector and so on. We do that at the sectoral level.”
“In fact, we do so. For big plots of land, as well as for SMEs seeking renewals of their leases, we have a dialogue with them. To qualify for renewal of their tenancies, they have to demonstrate value-add, types of jobs created and the linkages to the cluster, that is, whether they add value to the competitiveness of the cluster or the sub-clusters, before we renew the lease. 7.00 pm For the plain vanilla flatted factory type, we would just release it, sometimes with planning conditions, for example, floor loading, so that it caters for certain types of industries. We leave it to the market.”
“It is, indeed, my assurance to the Member that we will watch and monitor very closely. We have dialogues with the various business groups, both at the Chambers level, sectoral level and the different industries, and we also reach out to the companies on the ground. We will continue to have these dialogues. We do these dialogues regularly. And we will monitor this very closely.”
“If you look at sectoral level productivity, as Senior Minister of State Lee Yi Shyan mentioned earlier, some sectors are doing well; some sectors are not restructuring as fast as we want them to do. We are monitoring this very closely but, on the whole, as many Members have pointed out, our productivity numbers are not shaping up as much as we would like. Again, this indicates that we are not restructuring as fast as we should. Similarly, when SPRING and all our agencies deal with the firms at the firm level, we get a slightly varied experience. Some firms now realise that they have to do the restructuring process and are doing so in a more determined way; others are just beginning. We are extending our outreach programmes to try and reach out to all the firms that want to restructure. I would argue in support of Deputy Prime Minister Tharman that we are taking this in a very measured way and the pace of restructuring is the crucial issue. If we do it too slowly, we will cause more pain to the economy; if we do it too fast, we will cause unnecessary attrition. I would like to assure Mr Inderjit Singh and all Members in this House that all the various Government agencies in MTI, MOM and MOF are monitoring this very closely. We will make sure that the pace is done right.”
“Mr Chairman, thank you for letting me join the debate again. This is because Mr Inderjit Singh raised a very important issue about the pace of restructuring and I thought we should spend some time responding to it. Deputy Prime Mininster Tharman responded completely yesterday. The way Deputy Prime Minister Tharman put it, we have two options. One is to restructure very rapidly and that will cause a lot of consolidation, shake-out and some companies will be attrited when they actually have a chance to survive. The other way is to do it very slowly and then it would be an even more painful process. Deputy Prime Minister Tharman stated very clearly that the path that we are taking is the middle path and we feel that this is the right pace. Let me address it slightly differently. We can look at it at the macro level; we can look at it at the sectoral level; or we can look at it at the firm level. I would argue that if you look at it at the macro level, we are not doing it as fast as we should. As I explained just now, our growth in the last five years is 5.2%. Page: 161 Many economists would argue that we are growing above potential. Last year, we generated 134,000 jobs. When we set out the White Paper on Population, one party in this House argued for freezing of foreign workers. That is, in fact, a very drastic solution. We prefer the middle path – consistent, steady restructuring but at a pace that the economy can take. If we look at the way the economy is still growing and the jobs that it is still generating, and the fact that the labour force is still growing, one could argue that we are slightly behind the curve.”
“We have embarked on several productivity roadmaps to foster such transformation, but the journey has not been easy for many, especially our SMEs. However, we need to press on and stay the course in our restructuring efforts. Senior Minister of State Lee Yi Shyan and Minister of State Teo Ser Luck will elaborate on how MTI will continue to support our businesses in doing so. Mdm Chairperson, the growth areas which I have outlined will provide many jobs with good wage growth potential. MTI, MOM and MOE are working together to prepare Singaporeans for these jobs. We will also enhance Page: 115 upgrading and employment support for Singaporean workers as we continue to restructure the economy. Through these efforts, we will ensure that Singaporeans continue to benefit from our economic growth. The journey ahead will not be easy but we need to stay the course. Our economic growth strategies will enable us to capture the new opportunities in our region and translate them into better jobs for Singaporeans. Minister Iswaran will now respond to the cuts raised on energy, R&D and tourism. The Second Minister for Trade and Industry (Mr S Iswaran): Mdm Chair, may I have your permission to use some slides in the course of my speech?”
“For example, IE Singapore is working with our tertiary institutions to initiate an Infrastructure Development Programme to equip our undergraduates with the inter-disciplinary skills needed by the industry. As a first step, IE has also launched an Infrastructure Development Internship programme in collaboration with NUS and nine industry partners. EDB will also be helping Singaporean professionals develop deep expertise in project development through an executive education programme known as ALPINE – the Asia Leaders Programme in Infrastructure Excellence. This course will be conducted by SMU and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. EDB will announce the details soon. Another exportable service sector that we are developing is in the information and communications cluster. We will capitalise on our established base of business HQs, infocomm infrastructure and research capabilities to grow this sector and, in particular, the data analytics segment. With falling costs of collecting and analysing data, companies across a range of industries are increasingly looking to use "big data" to improve on how they serve their customers and, indeed, anticipate their needs. We will build up a pipeline of talent to support the growth of this sector. EDB, for example, is working with stakeholders to grow a pool of 2,500 data analysts by 2017. The last economic cluster that we are continuing to support is the domestic services sector. The demand for domestic services, such as healthcare, F&B and retail, will increase in tandem with the increase in our population. The key to sustainable growth in these clusters is to raise productivity and innovate our product offerings.”
“In 2012, the trading community here generated about $16 billion in local business spending which, in turn, yielded spillover benefits to the rest of our economy, especially in business services. We will continue to build on our solid foundation and pursue new sectors with strategic growth potential, such as the precious metals cluster. However, we will need to move quickly, as competition in exportable services is growing. Shanghai, for example, has established a Free Trade Zone which attracted over $140 billion in trade in 2013 – the first year of its initiation. We are working with businesses to enter new, higher value services clusters that play to the strengths of our workforce. One example is infrastructure services. Asia alone will need more than $10 trillion of infrastructure investments between 2010 and 2020. Singapore is well-positioned to serve the strong demand in Asia with our strengths in urban solutions. Hyflux, for example, has signed a deal valued at over $500 million to build a sea-water desalination plant in the Dahej Special Economic Zone in Gujarat, India. We will help our businesses access opportunities in this sector by increasing the number of bankable infrastructure projects, through collaboration with multilateral agencies like the Asian Development Bank and World Bank. We will also catalyse deal-making for Singapore companies by organising roundtables where industry stakeholders can discuss infrastructure projects in detail, such as the inaugural Asia Singapore Infrastructure Roundtable held in October last year. Page: 114 4.45 pm We will help Singaporeans embark on careers in infrastructure services.”
“MTI will complement MAS' effort by growing our business services sector. The sector has seen strong growth over the past few years, with the likes of Proctor and Gamble, IBM and other multinationals setting up their regional and even global HQs here. Ms Jessica Tan asked if Singapore remains an attractive location for MNCs in view of our rising cost. Multinationals sink roots here because we are an attractive Global-Asia Hub for their industry leaders. We are a leading global city with a solid foundation in connectivity, skilled labour, sound governance and liveability, and these help us to compete for new investments. We will build on these strengths to continue growing our business services cluster. We will also work with MNCs to groom Singaporean leaders from within their ranks, in functions such as business development, sales and marketing, brand management, talent management and supply chain management. Page: 113 At the same time, we need to remain open to global talent as they bring perspectives and deep in-market knowledge that are necessary for keeping our cluster innovative and relevant to global markets. I will now turn to our exportable services cluster, which covers wholesale trade, transportation and storage, and information and communications. Together, these provide about 650,000 jobs and contributed about a quarter of our GDP last year. We will continue to strengthen existing clusters, such as commodities trading. Singapore is now one of the top commodities trading hub in Asia, with over 400 global trading companies across the energy, metals, minerals and agri-commodities clusters.”
“Through initiatives like the Precision Engineering Vocational Continuing Education and Training programme, EDB is grooming a pool of 2,800 master craftsmen to take on higher value, more complex manufacturing operations and leadership responsibilities. This will help the industry recognise Page: 112 and reward craftsmen who build up their skills and experience. Mdm Chairperson, the profile and nature of jobs in manufacturing will change as we restructure and upgrade. Future manufacturing jobs will be highly skilled, multidisciplinary and have high potential for career growth. They will be different from the jobs today. There will be a need for data analytics professionals, supply chain experts, industrial engineers, designers, business managers, and software programmers. In addition, future jobs will require individuals who can integrate multiple skillsets, such as technical knowledge, systems thinking and industry application. Therefore, I strongly urge Singaporeans to look at the prospects of our manufacturing scene. Good jobs are being created and they should take full advantage of these jobs. Ms Jessica Tan asked about the services clusters with the highest potential for growth and our plans to help companies leverage on these opportunities. Let me address her questions as I go through our strategies for the various service clusters. I will begin with financial and business services, which provide close to 700,000 jobs and accounted for 28% of our GDP last year. MAS is developing the financial sector by enhancing our strengths in areas, such as trade finance, foreign exchange trading and wealth management. MAS is also working with the industry to build capabilities that facilitate trade and investment in renminbi.”
“We are already tapping on cutting-edge technologies to upgrade existing activities and open up new growth opportunities in manufacturing. Through the $500 million Future of Manufacturing initiative, EDB and A*STAR are helping businesses to develop and adopt such technologies. For example, EDB has worked with GlaxoSmithKline to pilot new technologies like enzymatic and continuous processing techniques. These have enabled the company to reduce its resource requirements, lower its physical footprint and shorten its manufacturing lead time. Third, we will build up industry capabilities by leveraging on our Institutes of Higher Learning. For example, EDB is supporting the Nanyang Additive Manufacturing Centre, which is a $30 million research facility at NTU equipped with the latest 3D printers capable of printing metal objects and even human tissue. The centre will work closely with businesses through R&D projects to develop new commercial applications for additive manufacturing. SPRING is also supporting our SMEs to adopt new technologies. Take Lintech Engineering, for example, it has implemented a robotic welding system to automate its oil and gas repair jobs. The effect has been quite dramatic – Lintech has increased its productivity by up to three times and is now better equipped to expand its business. MTI will develop more of such partnerships to build up industry capabilities and expand our talent pool. Ms Jessica Tan has highlighted manpower constraints as a key issue for the manufacturing sector. EDB is working with industries' stakeholders to develop a pipeline of multi-skilled engineering talent to support the growth of manufacturing.”
“Deputy Prime Minister Tharman outlined how we can keep our economy vibrant and create good jobs for Singaporeans. Let me delve one level deeper and explain our specific strategies for the four broad clusters of our economy, namely, the manufacturing, financial and business services, exportable services and domestic services sectors. First, let me talk about manufacturing. This sector remains a key growth engine for our economy, providing more than half a million jobs and contributing about a fifth of our GDP last year. In recent years, key manufacturing sectors continued to deliver topline growth even as our cost base increased. Ms Jessica Tan asked if we remain attractive as a manufacturing hub, given keen regional competition. The prospects for our manufacturing sector remain bright. Singapore is plugged into the regional manufacturing supply chain and our companies stand to benefit from the growth of manufacturing in China, India and ASEAN. This is only possible because we are continually moving existing clusters up the value chain and have established a competitive niche at the higher end of this value Page: 111 chain. To maintain our competitive advantage in manufacturing, we will continue to sharpen our industry development strategies. First, we will leverage on the strengths that we have built up in traditional sectors, like Precision Engineering, to upgrade and move into adjacent industries, such as Aerospace and Medical Technology (Medtech). In a similar way, in the petrochemicals sector, we have moved into specialty chemicals; in the biomedical sciences sector, into biologics; and in the electronics semiconductor sector, into the fabless segment. Second, we will invest in R&D to deepen our manufacturing capabilities.”
“Our approach to FTAs has been explained several times. We are committed to multilateral trading systems like the World Trade Organization (WTO). But at the same time, we see regional and bilateral FTAs as being important because they complement the multilateral approach. They allow like-minded and progressive trade partners to move ahead and liberalise earlier. Mrs Chiam refers to the EU-ASEAN bloc-to-bloc FTA negotiations. As she mentioned in her speech "this negotiation was initiated in 2007, and after two Page: 110 to three years did not get anywhere". That is the reason why the EU decided to change tack and reverted to a EU-Singapore FTA, and we successfully concluded that in December 2012. The EU is now in the process of negotiating with Vietnam and Malaysia. This approach of EU negotiating with individual ASEAN countries and then, later, putting it together into a regional agreement is very similar to the process that Japan undertook in negotiating with ASEAN. So, it is not unusual for countries, regional blocs like EU, to do so on a country-to-country basis and then put it together later on in a regional bloc. But the key point I want to make is that in our FTAs, we try to open market access for our companies. Overall, Singapore benefits from the network of FTAs that we have negotiated. We have, indeed, capitalised on these FTA agreements to strengthen our position as a key trading, investment and services hub. Our companies appreciate this and are working with IE Singapore, as well as our trade associations and chambers, to fully utilise our extensive FTA network for preferential market access. Mdm Chair, in addition to strengthening our trade linkages, we will continue to restructure our economy and to help companies transform the way they operate.”
“We have to cope with this adjustment, as we cannot expect to have a First-World economy with Page: 109 Third-World costs. To grow sustainably, we need to improve productivity by growing our topline and managing costs. Many of our companies understand this and are already transforming to respond to this new reality. We will support our companies by continuing to expand our economic space overseas. Our companies can capitalise on growth opportunities overseas, particularly in our neighbourhood in the ASEAN region, by leveraging on our network of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). Mr Gerald Giam is concerned that Singapore's interests may not be adequately protected as we negotiate with other countries participating in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Let me assure Mr Giam that Singapore and Singaporeans are at the heart of our FTA negotiations. We proactively consult other Government agencies as well as relevant stakeholders to ensure that Singaporeans benefit from our FTAs with other countries. Our approach to the TPP is no different. 4.30 pm More specifically, Mr Gerald Giam also asked about the trade-off between a strong Intellectual Property (IP) regime versus healthcare cost through generic drugs. A strong IP regime is a critical enabler for Research and Development, and, in fact, our strong IP regime is an important factor why we have succeeded in building up a significant biomedical sciences sector over the last 15 years. At the same time, keeping drugs affordable for Singaporeans is a very important consideration. Therefore, MTI will work with MOH and other Government agencies to make sure we are able to strike the right balance in our TPP negotiations. Mrs Lina Chiam alluded to a "spaghetti bowl" problem created by overlapping FTAs.”
“Mdm Chairperson, first, let me thank Members for their comments and for raising very pertinent issues. First, let me set out the backdrop. The Singapore economy has performed well despite the very recent global financial crisis. If you look at the last five years, between 2008 and 2013, our economy grew by 5.2% annually. This economic growth has lifted the incomes of Singaporeans. Real median wages among citizens have increased by about 9% in the five years to 2013. This is higher than the income growth in a number of countries, such as Switzerland, Germany and the UK. This tells us that our efforts to restructure the economy, by moving up the value chain and into new growth sectors, are benefiting Singaporeans. Our economy grew 4.1% in 2013, supported by strong growth in finance, insurance, and wholesale and retail trade. Our manufacturing sector also expanded at a faster pace, on the back of strong growth in transport engineering and electronics. Ms Jessica Tan asked how our economy would perform this year. She is right in pointing out the downside risks from monetary tightening in the US, and the economic restructuring in China. The persistent tightness in Singapore's labour market could also weigh on growth in some labour-intensive, domestically-oriented sectors. Nonetheless, we expect the global economic outlook to improve modestly, supported by the gradual recovery of the US and the Eurozone markets, as well as continued resilience in key ASEAN economies. Against this backdrop, we expect Singapore's economy to grow steadily by 2% to 4% this year. Ms Jessica Tan also asked about MTI's measures to help businesses cope with rising costs. Our economy is now entering a new phase of development, where our cost structure is higher as our economy matures.”
“Speaking from Singapore's economic interests' point of view, we have already bilateral FTAs with China, Korea and Taiwan. As part of ASEAN, we also have FTAs with Korea and China. So, it is not that we do not have preferential trade access to these countries. Similarly, for RCEP, China is in it. The US, so far, has not expressed interest in it. So, we must look at RCEP and TPP as separate but sometimes overlapping plurilateral agreements.”
“The second question is, will the TPP and RCEP be successful if there is the Page: 14 mutual exclusion of China and the US respectively? I know there is avenue for them to join at the later stage but, given that the rules would have been set by the founding members, would that make admission difficult for these two major economic powers?”
“As for RCEP, negotiations currently involve ASEAN and its FTA partners – namely China, South Korea, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand – in the first instance. Other interested economic partners will be able to join the RCEP following the conclusion of negotiations. Singapore plays an active role in the negotiations to secure our economic interests. We also contribute where we can to facilitate the process. For example, Singapore hosted the TPP Ministerial Meeting in December 2013, and over the next four days. We also hosted some of the earlier negotiating Rounds – Round 16 in March 2013 and Round 6 in March 2010. Singapore meets with interested countries to share about the TPP and RCEP process. Indeed, the TPP started out as the P4 FTA, otherwise known as the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (TPSEP), comprising Singapore, Brunei, Chile and New Zealand. Singapore, together with the founding members, actively brought onboard other like-minded countries, starting with the USA in 2008. Today, there are 12 members in the TPP. Both the TPP and RCEP are important agreements that will further liberalise trade and facilitate regional economic integration, promote growth and create jobs. As we work expeditiously towards their conclusion, Singapore remains firmly guided by the need to ensure that these plurilateral FTAs contribute towards strengthening the multilateral trading system. In this way, we reaffirm rather than detract from the primacy of global free trade. Assoc Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene (Nominated Member): Mdm Speaker, I thank the Minister for his reply. Could the Minister elaborate on how relevant TPP is given that you have the absence of Korea, Taiwan, and China?”
“Mdm Speaker, both the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are envisioned as high-quality agreements to deepen regional economic integration. They serve as possible pathways to an eventual Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). TPP negotiations started in March 2010 and there have been 19 formal negotiating rounds to-date. The last TPP Ministerial Meeting was held in Singapore in December 2013. The Ministers had a good discussion on the potential way forward for many outstanding issues in the text. TPP ministers will be meeting again this month from 22 to 25 February 2014 and we expect further progress to be made. The RCEP negotiations only commenced in May 2013. The third round of negotiations was recently held in Kuala Lumpur from 20 to 24 January 2014. Negotiations on a broad range of issues under the scope of the proposed agreement are thus still at a relatively early stage. The fourth negotiating round Page: 13 will be held in China in April 2014. Both the TPP and RCEP are designed to be open and inclusive agreements. Any APEC economy interested to join the TPP, including China, will have to initiate and complete bilateral consultations with existing TPP Parties and secure a consensus agreement for its membership. However, as negotiations intensify and TPP Parties focus on finalising the agreement, prospective members will have less time to conclude those consultations. Nonetheless, as the world's second largest economy and a key link in the Asia Pacific's supply chains, China can contribute to regional economic integration should it decide to join the TPP.”
“Every request for such information will be considered carefully, and Page: 68 will be granted only when there is a strong justification to do so. Any information disclosed to the domestic public agencies will also be governed by the Official Secrets Act. Clause 3 of the Bill provides for this change. Mdm Speaker, the remaining legislative changes in the Bill are technical in nature. They either provide greater legal clarity on the application of specific provisions under the RIEA, or allow for closer alignment in the legal texts in the RIEA and Customs Act. Overall, the amendments in this Bill preserve the fundamental principles of the RIEA, which is to regulate imports and exports for the purpose of upholding our national security and economic well-being. In our public consultations, we have not received any objections to the proposed amendments from business communities or the general public. To conclude, the RIEA will be amended primarily to facilitate the disclosure of traders' declared information with domestic public agencies for the fulfilment of public duties and safeguarding of public interests. Such data sharing will be subject to safeguards, to protect sensitive commercial data and uphold our integrity as a trading hub. Mdm Speaker, I beg to move. [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. (proc text)] [(proc text) The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Mr Lim Hng Kiang]. (proc text)] [(proc text) Bill considered in Committee. (proc text)] [Mdm Speaker in the Chair]”
“Mdm Speaker, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." The Regulation of Imports and Exports Act (RIEA) requires all traders to apply for a permit to bring goods in and out of Singapore. Apart from ensuring that only legitimate trade passes Singapore, the RIEA provides Singapore Customs with the authority to collect import and export information through the traders' declarations. This Bill proposes amendments to the RIEA to allow Singapore Customs to share traders' declared information with other domestic public agencies to enable them to fulfil public duties and safeguard public interests. The Bill also contains technical amendments to the RIEA and the Customs Act to ensure effective administration of the legislations. Currently, information declared by traders is strictly confidential and can only be disclosed with traders' consent, or if the information is needed for investigation, enforcement or prosecution purposes under the RIEA, or if it is intended to comply with a prescribed trade agreement. The proposed amendments will allow Singapore Customs to disclose information declared by traders to other domestic public agencies under specific circumstances. With the amendments, Singapore Customs will be allowed to disclose such information to safeguard national security, public health and safety, for investigation and prosecution of offences under domestic laws other than the RIEA, or for the analysis of trade trends and formulation of trade policies that will help safeguard or advance Singapore's economic interests. Safeguards will be put in place to protect the confidentiality of trader-specific trade data. The Minister for Trade and Industry's approval will have to be sought for each request for trader-specific information by Government agencies.”
“Based on the latest 2013 SME Development Survey, about half of local SMEs reported overseas revenue in 2013. Of these, about 60% generate at least a third of their revenue from abroad. Wholesale, transportation and storage, and manufacturing are the top three sectors where SMEs have internationalised. Malaysia is their biggest market, followed by China and Indonesia. Our SMEs are also starting to enter new markets, such as the Philippines, Myanmar and Brunei. In 2013, close to 24,000 companies, mostly SMEs, approached IE Singapore for help in understanding overseas markets, connecting to the right business partners and developing capabilities. This was an increase of approximately 60%, compared to 2012, and reflected a strong and growing interest in internationalisation. These companies received help under two key assistance frameworks – the Global Company Partnership (GCP) and the Market Readiness Assistance (MRA). The GCP is tailored for businesses with existing overseas presence and looking to deepen it, while the MRA is a broad-based framework for businesses new to internationalisation. While IE Singapore tracks companies which establish overseas presence, it does not have comprehensive data on which parts of their operations are being moved offshore. However, we understand through feedback that many companies are considering regional production models. This enables them to benefit from lower-cost manufacturing locations, while retaining key management and business functions out of Singapore. The Government will continue to support the overseas growth of Singapore-based enterprises. Page: 127”
“Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (NODX) have been weak largely due to challenging economic conditions in the advanced economies, which have similarly affected the exports of other regional economies such as China, South Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia. Barring downside risks to the global economic outlook, Singapore's NODX is expected to pick up modestly in tandem with a gradual recovery in global demand. There are early signs that our NODX may improve in the coming months. For instance, since July, the new export orders sub-index of Singapore's purchasing managers’ index has been on the rise. Over the longer term, economic restructuring efforts are necessary to raise productivity so that Singapore's exports can remain competitive. Nevertheless, the Government is mindful of the challenges that businesses face in the interim, and has phased in the increase of foreign worker levies and the new Dependency Ratio Ceiling requirements so that businesses have time to adjust. To help businesses cope with rising costs, we have rolled out schemes such as tax credits and funding support for employee training to help businesses, especially SMEs, raise their productivity. We will also continue to improve our export competitiveness through good-quality Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). Our 20 FTAs in force today with 31 trading partners allow Singapore-based exporters to enjoy competitive advantage through tariff concessions, preferential access to certain sectors and faster entry to markets. Page: 181”
“On a per capita basis, based on Citizens and Permanent Residents as at end-June of the reference year, the cost of conducting the Census of Population was $4.99 in 2000 and $4.77 in 2010. The purpose of conducting the Census is to collect and compile benchmark information on key socio-demographic and economic characteristics of Singapore's population and households. It is conducted once every 10 years, in line with the recommendation of the United Nations Statistics Division. The statistics compiled are widely used by the Government for policy planning purpose. Academics and the general public also rely on it for a comprehensive analysis of the profile of Singapore's population. Smaller scale surveys are unable to provide the detailed geographic coverage and fine cross-tabulations required by the Government, academia, businesses and members of the public. In conducting the Census, the Department of Statistics (DOS) leverages on routine statistical data collected by Government agencies (administrative data) to minimise survey burden on respondents. For instance, population characteristics, such as age, sex, ethnic group and residential status, are obtained from administrative sources. Key information that is not available through administrative sources, such as relationships within the household and the religion of individuals, are gathered from surveying a representative sample of about 20% of households in Singapore. This approach taken by DOS is more efficient than the traditional approach adopted by other countries for their Censuses which enumerate every individual in the country. Page: 180”
“Through its FTA Certificate Programme, IE Singapore also provides structured training to companies and consultants to help them build in-depth FTA expertise and capabilities. For companies which need customised advice on how to take advantage of FTAs or overcome implementation problems, IE Singapore provides free one-to-one consultations. MTI and IE Singapore also continually seek company feedback on FTA-related issues, with a view of including these in subsequent reviews and negotiations, to ensure that Singapore's FTAs remain relevant and useful for business communities. Page: 155”
“The WTO is active in trade negotiations, although the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) faces challenges. Several attempts have been made since the DDA's near successful conclusion in 2008 to try to take the negotiations forward. WTO Members are currently working intensively on three of the DDA issues, namely: (a) Trade Facilitation; (b) Agriculture; and (c) Development. If these efforts yield good outcomes at the WTO's Ninth Ministerial Conference (MC9) in Bali from 3 to 6 December 2013, there could be renewed momentum on other DDA issues in the future. Notwithstanding the progress of negotiations, the WTO is more than just the DDA. The WTO also provides a predictable, transparent, and rules-based global trading environment. The regular work of the WTO prevents trade protectionism through vigilant monitoring of WTO members' trade protectionist measures and by enforcing trade rules via the WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism. Such work is significant in contributing to global trade liberalisation. FTAs can complement and support the WTO. They are building blocks to the multilateral trading system. The benefits of economic openness through the various FTAs and regional links contribute to maintaining momentum for global trade liberalisation. With this in mind, Singapore has 20 bilateral and plurilateral FTAs with our trading partners in force. IE Singapore undertakes a number of initiatives to create awareness and promote the use of FTAs to our business communities. For example, IE Singapore works closely with Trade Associations and Chambers such as the Singapore Business Federation to conduct FTA seminars and workshops.”
“To enhance Singapore's competitiveness over the longer term, the Government will press on with ongoing efforts to restructure the economy, and help firms improve productivity and build up innovative capacity. This will, in turn, ensure healthy job creation and wage growth for Singaporeans over the long term. On balance, our assessment is that notwithstanding the volatility in the markets, the eventual QE tapering is likely to have a limited impact on the Singapore economy, including our unemployment rate. However, the Government is mindful of the risks of a more disorderly process of QE tapering. In particular, if the QE tapering is done prematurely or if financial markets overreact to the QE tapering leading to a sharp spike in interest rates, the US economy could stall. This could adversely affect our exports to the US. The sharp pullback in financial market will also affect the sentiment-sensitive cluster Page: 136 of our finance sector, including stock broking and fund management activities. At this juncture, however, the risk of such a scenario is low.”
“The prospect of a tapering of the quantitative easing (QE) programme in the US has led to volatility in financial and currency markets in recent months. Part of the liquidity arising from QE in the advanced economies has come to the region in the form of short-term capital flows. In anticipation of the tapering of the QE programme in the US, such capital flows have reversed, resulting in a depreciation of regional currencies. While Singapore's trade-weighted exchange rate has also experienced some volatility, it remains comfortably within the policy band. Our foreign exchange and domestic money markets have continued to function well, and the MAS has not had to take extraordinary measures in the implementation of monetary policy. Looking ahead, the actual tapering of the QE programme is likely to take place gradually, in tandem with a strengthening of underlying economic conditions in the US. As a result, financial and currency markets are likely to adjust to the QE tapering in an orderly manner, although we could continue to see some volatility in the markets in the run-up to the Federal Reserve's decision. The impact on our exports to the US and other markets will also be small, as global growth is not expected to be significantly affected by the tapering. Mr Gan has expressed concerns that the depreciation of regional currencies against the Singapore dollar could affect our competitiveness. In this regard, it is important to note that the exchange rate is only one of a number of factors affecting our exporters' ability to secure orders and gain market share. Singapore's trade-weighted exchange rate is the instrument of monetary policy to secure price stability. It cannot be used as a tool to gain export competitiveness.”
“This is especially useful for start-ups whose innovations can benefit from the mass market in China. Details are being worked out. Third, urbanisation is another key priority for the Chinese government, and, hence, smart city solutions will grow in demand. In this area, IE Singapore, IDA and SIPAC will collaborate in Smart Transportation, Smart Education and Smart Environment. SMEs can offer their expertise and solutions in info-communications, environment, urban planning and transport solutions in SIP, which has been designated as one of the pilot smart cities in China. Page: 134 Our cooperation in the Tianjin Eco-City (TEC) can also serve as the template for sustainable development as China develops. The Singapore-Tianjin Economic and Trade Council (STETC), IE Singapore and trade associations have introduced opportunities to over 300 SMEs in the past year through missions, seminars and business matching, with more and more SMEs seizing the opportunities2. The track records gained in SIP and TEC can translate to increased business opportunities for our SMEs in other cities in China over the longer term. Finally, riding on the rapid growth of developing economies in Africa and Southeast Asia, IE and the China Development Bank (CDB) will work together to foster partnerships between Singapore and Chinese companies, such as joint infrastructure ventures, in these third markets. The collaboration will include facilitating co-development of industrial parks in third countries and exploring the provision of special financing facilities. Singapore companies in growth sectors like infrastructure planning and development, environmental services, business services and energy and mineral resources can tap on these opportunities.”
“The agreements signed at the sidelines of the 10th JCBC meeting aim to strengthen bilateral cooperation with China and enable greater access for Singapore businesses in China's key growth areas. Singapore and China also agreed to explore further collaboration in third countries, which will also benefit companies from both sides, including SMEs. I will elaborate on some of the key opportunities for Singapore businesses, especially our SMEs. First, the Chinese services market is large and has strong growth, supported by the Chinese government's 12th 5-Year Plan. China is now the third largest services trading nation, and in 2012, the value of China's services imports grew 18% to reach US$280 billion1. MTI, International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and other agencies will continue to support Singapore companies which are interested to expand into China's services market. Our efforts include organising business missions, facilitating business matching with Chinese partners and providing grants. Since 2012, MTI and IE Singapore, together with the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), have also been supporting our companies' participation in the annual China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS). SMEs looking to profile themselves in China through this platform can approach SBF. Second, China is devoting more resources and increasing its support for Science and Technology (S&T) to grow its innovation capabilities. The PRC Ministry of Science and Technology and Suzhou Industrial Park Administrative Committee (SIPAC) have committed to increase their support for our S&T entities based in the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP). Our S&T entities will enjoy stronger support to commercialise their technologies.”
“As part of the national productivity drive, we have a wide range of programmes to help businesses in every sector re-tool their businesses, reduce reliance on manpower, and raise productivity. Hawkers who are keen to upgrade their business operations and improve productivity may approach any of the SME centres for free advice on how they can better utilise their existing resources and re-look some of their work processes. Satellite SME centres, situated at Community Development Councils (CDCs), make it even easier for hawkers in the heartlands to access help. In addition, NEA will continue to explore the potential for central dishwashing to improve productivity of hawkers and public hygiene.”
“We are closely monitoring the status of our SMEs and their productivity progress. The SME Workgroup brings together grassroots Advisors, business leaders, and Government agencies in a coordinated effort to address SME concerns. The Workgroup has started to engage SMEs to promote greater awareness of Governmental schemes and obtain feedback on how Government assistance to SMEs can be enhanced.”
“To remain competitive in the new global economy, Singapore businesses need to transform and move up the value-chain, towards productivity-driven growth. Businesses, including SMEs, understand this, and many are taking steps to improve their productivity. The Government is actively supporting our SMEs in this effort. We have introduced a range of grants and schemes to help companies upgrade. The National Productivity and Continuing Education Council (NPCEC) has launched productivity roadmaps for 16 sectors, and as of June this year, 13,000 companies have received assistance under these roadmaps. At Budget this year, the Government further enhanced schemes to help SMEs improve productivity, attract local manpower, develop capabilities and tap innovation to achieve quality growth. We have also expanded the Enterprise Development Centres (EDCs) into full-fledged SME Centres which offer comprehensive advisory services to SMEs, and added five satellite SME Centres at the Community Development Councils. These centres reach out to SMEs to explain and promote Government help to raise their productivity. In addition, the Government has set up three productivity centres to provide customised advice Page: 102 and assistance to SMEs. These are the Singapore Innovation and Productivity Institute for manufacturing, the Construction Productivity Centre for construction, and the Singapore Productivity Centre for retail and food services. Indicators of entrepreneurial activity have remained healthy, with about 38,500 active start-ups as of 2012, up from 37,500 active start-ups in 2010. Nevertheless, the Entrepreneurship Review Committee, which I am chairing, is reviewing the entrepreneurship environment, and will make its recommendations early next year.”
“In this way, we hope to be able to maximise the use of industrial space and also accommodate the needs of the religious organisations. These are the key points that Mr Gan Thiam Poh has raised. I want to assure him that our mission, the mission of JTC, remains to make sure that we have a steady supply of industrial property at competitive rates. [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. (proc text)] [(proc text) The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Mr Lim Hng Kiang]. (proc text)] [(proc text) Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. (proc text)]”
“And that is the time when we decide to divest JTC's share because it is no longer providing a level-playing field, because tenants in JTC's premises are getting subsidised rent whereas the other tenants in private multi-user, multi-storey factories have to pay market rent. And that is the reason why we divest: to ensure a level-playing field. So, today, if we look at the industrial property market, JTC continues to provide land for industrialists to build their own factories. For warehousing, this is entirely provided by the private sector. And, similarly, for the multi-user, multi-storey factory, we are also proceeding towards the stage where the private sector will provide this space in an open and transparent competitive field. Page: 86 The job of JTC then will be to collect this data and make the industrial property market more efficient through proper disclosure, transparency of the data and through timely availability of the factory space. Through this, we hope to make the industrial property market more efficient and more competitive. On the specific point about the use of industrial properties by religious organisations, this is a flexibility that we adopted. Ideally, we all know that we should have dedicated places of worship for religious organisations. But at the same time, to maximise the use of space, we do recognise for some of the religious organisations, they use the premises only for limited periods of the week. Therefore, we think they can co-exist, provided the use of such spaces cannot exceed two days a week, and the use is only part of the industrial premises within the ancillary use quantum of 40% of the total space.”
“Mdm Speaker, I would like to thank both Mr Gan Thiam Poh and Mr Teo Siong Seng for their support of the amendments of the Bill. First, I would like to assure Mr Gan Thiam Poh that there is no change in JTC's role. JTC remains committed to supplying sufficient industrial land for the economic development of Singapore. What has changed over the years is the way we go about doing it. Mr Gan also asked about the ratio of public provision versus private provision. As we all know, in the early years, JTC was the primary or practically the main provider of industrial properties. But in 1992, the Government decided to release industrial land for sale through the Government Land Sales Programme. And this is now 20 years. The private sector has now participated actively in the Industrial Government Land Sales Programme, and their market share is increasingly increased. There are three segments of industrial properties: first, where manufacturers or owners undertake development of factories on land provided by JTC. That still remains the primary core of JTC's mission. The second category is warehouse space and, there, the private sector has been very active. And, in fact, today, the bulk of warehousing space is provided by the private sector. JTC is no longer a major player in the warehousing space. And then in the third area in the multi-purpose, multi-user factories, this is where because of the Industrial Government Land Sales Programme, JTC's share of the market has dropped from 50%-60% in the 1970s and 1980s down to around 20% in 2009.”
“Consequential amendments to the Urban Redevelopment Authority Act (URA Act) will be made to align the provisions on collection of statistical information in the URA Act with those in the JTC Act. Mdm Speaker, the remaining two sets of amendments to the JTC Act are administrative in nature. The maximum membership size of the JTC Board will be increased from 11 to 14, excluding the Chairman, and the quorum, increased correspondingly. In the last 10 years, there have been significant changes to JTC's operating environment. Industrial needs have become more complex and fast-changing. JTC will benefit from the broader and greater expertise that the additional members can bring, in strategic thinking, financial management and property market expertise. The final amendment is JTC's land acquisition powers will be removed as all land acquisitions are now conducted through SLA under the Land Page: 82 Acquisition Act (Cap 152). Mdm Speaker, I beg to move. [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)] 5.11 pm”
“To minimise the burden on respondents, JTC will continue URA's current practice of using administrative data provided by IRAS in its compilation of statistics, instead of expending duplicative efforts to collect the same information from the public. The amendment will explicitly allow JTC to obtain property tax and stamp duty data from IRAS for such statistical purposes. Page: 81 In addition, JTC will obtain additional industrial property data from URA, which will continue to collect data from mixed-use developments that are predominantly commercial but do contain some industrial components. Mdm Speaker, I will now describe the various safeguards to protect the confidentiality of the data collected and the integrity of the datasets. Internally, JTC will separate its industrial property developer and statistics collection functions. A Research & Statistics Department (RSD) has been set up in JTC to undertake the statistics collection function. To prevent unauthorised access and misuse of data, the RSD will be physically and electronically ring-fenced from all other JTC departments. Data collected under the Act will be stored and handled within the RSD office and accessible only to RSD officers. Externally, to both the public and other Government agencies, JTC will only publish data obtained under the JTC Act in the form of aggregated statistics, or share individual data under the exceptions explicitly set out within the Act. To guard against any leaks, the proposed amendment also includes a maximum fine of $2,000, or imprisonment for a term of up to 12 months, or both, as punishment for unpermitted disclosure.”