Thomas Chua Kee Seng
Singapore
“Thank you, Minister. I am very glad to notice that the A*STAR programme has attracted over 700 SMEs in 678 projects. I would like to ask what will happen after the researchers finish their two-year secondment. Will these projects be able to continue after the departure of the researchers?”
“Therefore, I suggest we undertake education with a broader perspective, and give more emphasis to the development of high-quality human resources, so as to promote the future development of our economy and businesses. Funding for Postgraduate Programmes 5.15 pm”
“Even if they do not expand overseas, they have a strong social function in creating employment opportunities, and I hope the Government would not ignore them. The Government can do even more to create a more favourable business environment for micro-enterprises and SMEs.”
“For companies with the intention to upgrade but are not from the ITM sectors, will they be treated differently from those from the key industries?”
“I also urge the Government agencies under the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), namely, the Economic Development Board (EDB) and Enterprise Singapore (ESG), to continue to work closely with local industries.”
“Thank you, Deputy Speaker. I would like to ask: what has been the performance of the GIP funds that are set up to invest in Singapore-based companies so far?”
The complete record
Every one of 159 lines we hold for Thomas Chua Kee Seng, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 4 of 4.
“Since the Municipal Services Office (MSO) has Page: 120 just been set up directly under the supervision of Minister Grace Fu, to coordinate the work of many Government agencies, this has given me confidence to revisit and surface this request once again. At this time, I would also like to urge local enterprises to seize the opportunity to draw up their own marathon strategies, and to optimise all of Government's incentive schemes. We have to realise that even if the Government provides assistance, ultimately, it is the enterprise that has to run the marathon. The enterprise can only achieve a breakthrough and enjoy robust growth if it fully recognises its unique characteristics and leverages on its strengths. When we talk about building world-class Singapore enterprises, it is not only according to size or business performance. Rather, there has to be a unique business model which enables Singapore enterprises to gain more recognition, gain acceptance in more markets and become internationally renowned. Do Singapore SMEs have the chance to become world-class enterprises? A 13-year-old teenager called Jodie Lai provided me with an inspiration. In the Asian Games in Incheon this year, Jodie won a gold medal in sailing. She is a Secondary 1 student in Raffles Girls' Secondary School. Based on Team Singapore's special selection system, Jodie was chosen to represent our country to participate in an international sports competition. Likewise for our local SMEs, if they are able to find their niche in Singapore's open economy and on the international platform, be prepared to work hard and cooperate with industry leaders, and leverage on our excellent infrastructure, SMEs would have the chance to become world-class Singapore enterprises.”
“The Government is preparing the 2015 Budget, and I take this opportunity to convey four appeals on behalf of the business community: firstly, we hope that the Government would not tighten the manpower policy further, and this includes the quota and worker levy; secondly, we hope that prior to the implementation of any new industry-related policies, the Government could engage in sufficient consultation with the business community, to improve effectiveness and lower compliance costs; thirdly, when enterprises recruit workers aged 55 and above, we hope the Government could provide healthcare and insurance benefits; fourthly, we hope that the Government would implement a policy specifying that large companies participating in tenders for large Government projects need to partner local SMEs. There is always a physical threshold in running a marathon; moreover, every person's physical threshold is different. As long as this physical threshold is surpassed, it means entering a whole new realm. In Budget 2015, we hope the Government would draw up its policies taking into consideration the physical thresholds of various types and sizes of enterprises and continue to give impetus to businesses. To achieve this, there should be a dedicated agency with a very thorough understanding of local enterprises, particularly the SMEs, to take charge of coordinating resources and solving problems. I realise this request had already been raised twice by former Nominated Member of Parliament Mr Teo Siong Seng, but nothing has materialised thus far.”
“Hence, I would like to recommend that, in next year's Budget – pity the Finance Minister is not here – the Government should retain the productivity assistance schemes, giving a strong boost to enterprises and enabling them to overcome this period of economic restructuring. Effective measures that had been put in place in the last few years must continue, and the qualifying criteria should not be raised because of the abuse from one or two exceptional cases. Currently, many enterprises have already decided to adopt measures to raise their productivity; we have to give them time and space to do so. Naturally, there are still some enterprises which are unable to adapt quickly to the restructuring of the economy, and we have to think of ways to help them. Even if they need to restructure, they need to do it within their capabilities. If they can only turn 180 degrees, let them do so; do not force them to turn 360 degrees. At the opening ceremony of the "National Productivity Month", Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong likened the productivity drive to "a marathon without a finish line". I totally agree with this viewpoint. The most important part about running a marathon is in the mentality, and the enterprise has to have sufficient endurance, determination and be well prepared, broaden its visions, find an appropriate strategy, be adaptable, and press on steadily! Any ideas done too hastily or with a sprint mentality would not succeed.”
“This phenomenon can be attributed to the internal factors of the enterprise, as well as factors relating to the sudden changes in the external business environment. In 2010, the Government started to tighten its foreign manpower policy, encouraging local enterprises to raise their productivity and reduce their reliance on foreign workers. This is the right direction to take. However, in the process of implementation, we have seen the untimely departure of some well-trained and skilled workers. Enterprises find it difficult to immediately recruit qualified workers, resulting in a decline in productivity as well as disruption to companies' existing business plans. At this juncture of economic restructuring, large enterprises and industry leaders have the ability to make necessary adjustments, and some promising SMEs are also gradually adapting to this new reality. However, majority of smaller enterprises are vulnerable to the challenges of the manpower policy and are particularly prone to changes in business costs. They are having a rather tough time. Last month, the International Monetary Fund's report also indicated that the tightening of Singapore's foreign manpower policy has weakened Singapore's competitiveness and growth potential, but also noted that the measures to improve productivity could eventually help Singapore to achieve sustainable economic growth. Combining the analysis and findings of both IMD and IMF, it is evident that Singapore enterprises are already feeling the pain of economic restructuring. At this crucial time, everyone needs to grit their teeth and work even harder to overcome this most difficult period, before we can usher in a new phase of Page: 119 stable growth.”
“However, in recent years, as Singapore has moved into the restructuring of its economy, the business community has become split and the gaps between large enterprises and SMEs are widening. In May this year, Swiss business school IMD released its World Competitiveness Yearbook Ranking for 2014, and Singapore's overall competitiveness ranking improved from Fifth to Third. This good news was very well covered by the media. However, when I spoke to the business community about this ranking, they seemed Page: 118 confused. Why is there such a disparity between the sentiments of the SMEs and the Yearbook rankings? Hence, I studied the findings of the Yearbook, and discovered that in terms of productivity and efficiency, the world ranking of Singapore's large enterprises was number 17 in 2011, whilst they moved up to number 14 in 2014, up three notches. The SMEs' performance was, on the contrary, the reverse, having fallen in ranking from number 24 in 2011 to number 29 in 2014. In other words, after we embarked on economic restructuring, the productivity and efficiency of Singapore's large enterprises have improved, while those of SMEs have suffered a decline. What causes greatest concern is that Singapore's SMEs' ranking falls far behind that of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia, and SMEs from China are ahead of us by four notches. Our ranking is 29; another country is also ranked 29 and that is Lithuania. At the same time, the adaptability of Singapore companies has plummeted from number 15 in 2011 to number 23 in 2014. These figures are rather sobering and deserve to be carefully examined. Large enterprises are surging forward, while SMEs are faltering. The decline in companies' adaptability is not good for the healthy development of our country.”
“[Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Deputy Speaker, fellow Members of Parliament, good afternoon! Firstly, I would like to declare that I am the President of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and the Chairman and Managing Director of Teckwah Industrial Corporation. Today, the topic of my speech is "Building World-Class Singapore Enterprises." There are three key points: firstly, after undergoing more than two years of economic restructuring, our local business community is clearly divided, with the productivity and business efficiency of large enterprises being on the rise, while that of SMEs is on the decline; secondly, how can the Government tweak its policies, based on the different sizes and capacity of enterprises, to give appropriate remedy to fuel their growth; thirdly, how enterprises should make adjustments and determine their optimum positioning to ultimately become world-class Singapore enterprises. Please allow me to elaborate further. Singapore's corporate landscape is a diversified one, where MNCs and government-linked companies co-exist with local enterprises. Among local enterprises, 99% are SMEs. This diversified corporate structure needs to be a symbiotic one to successfully spur Singapore's economic development. In 1980, Singapore's GDP per capita was US$5,004, and in 2013 our GDP per capita has soared to US$55,183. The growth is ten-fold. It can be said that MNCs, industry leaders and government-linked companies are the locomotive for the Singapore economy, while local enterprises follow closely behind to form the train for economic development. Under the leadership of the Government, all have surged forward to create an admirable economic miracle.”
“I hope the Government could consider rolling out related assistance schemes to ensure that local SMEs do not miss out on the chance to participate. Transforming vocational education is an arduous journey that would benefit both the nation and the people. I believe that under the Government's able leadership and with the hard work of the tripartite partners, we would be assured of creating a career pathway for our young people which will allow them to fulfil their potentials! On this note, I support the Applied Study in Polytechnics and ITE Review report. 3.16 pm”
“When we look at the name list of the Committee members, SMEs begin to worry that in revising the course curriculum, planning for internship and so on, SMEs' needs may not be considered. Young people would only see large corporations in the newspapers' limelight; they will thus be inclined to join these large companies and not be Page: 43 willing to join SMEs. Singapore faces a manpower shortage. The pool of young people is like a cake, which every industry is eyeing. Large corporations and MNCs have big appetite and very strong appeal. Very quickly, this cake would be entirely eaten up by them. In view of this, I urge industry and trade associations to collaborate closely with ASPIRE, and actively inform the Committee of the needs of your industries and manpower requirements, and participate in the process of enhancing vocational education. Only by engaging actively in the process can SMEs receive the attention you need. Looking through the report, with regard to Recommendation 7 on launching the Place-and-Train programme, and under point 4.6 on page 29, it clearly states that Polytechnic and ITE graduates would be matched to progressive employers committed to support the internship programme. Therefore, SMEs and industry associations need to act fast. At the same time, I also urge the Government that when reviewing the vocational education system, it could devote special attention to the SMEs. Implementing the Place-and-Train programme requires companies to make certain adjustments in their human resource management policies. Compared to large corporations, SMEs are considerably weaker in this regard. However, they could integrate resources through their industry and trade associations.”
“[Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mdm Speaker, fellow Members of Parliament, good afternoon! Firstly, I would like to declare that I am the President of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Chairman and Managing Director of Teckwah Industrial Corporation. Today, I would like to speak about improving the technical education from the business viewpoint. Last month, the Applied Study in Polytechnics and ITE Review (ASPIRE) Committee made 10 recommendations to transform our vocational education. I have discussed this with the business community and we are all very pleased to learn about this. The shortage of local skilled workers has been in existence for much too long and this improvement can be said to be a welcome rain after a protracted drought. Many SMEs, especially those in traditional industries, rely on a pool of skilled, experienced and loyal older workers to be responsible for their operations. Although they have tried all means, it is extremely difficult to attract the young generation into their industries. They have no choice but to impart the skills to foreign workers. Once the foreign workers leave, there is a vacuum in the pool of skilled workers. Currently, this is a serious human resource problem confronting our local SMEs. We are thus very supportive that the Government is embarking on improving our vocational education, to help enterprises groom a pool of skilled workers. However, in the composition of the ASPIRE Committee, business representatives practically all come from large corporations and MNCs, and there are no SMEs or traditional industries among them.”