Economic Promotion Agencies Merge to Support Companies' Growth

Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) how can the various economic promotion agencies work closer together to support companies to grow and meet the challenges in this rapidly changing economic environment.

Thank you, Mr Speaker, and may I add my congratulations on your election as Speaker.

Over the years, the Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board (SPRING) Singapore and International Enterprise (IE) Singapore have been the key economic agencies supporting Singapore companies' efforts to build up their capabilities and expand into international markets. Both agencies also work closely with other Government agencies, such as the Economic Development Board (EDB), Info-comms Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Workforce Singapore (WSG), and this is to ensure that they meet companies' specific needs. In addition, we have 23 Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) which bring together Government agencies and non-Government stakeholders, such as Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs), Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) and training providers, to deliver integrated planning and implementation efforts to address the specific needs of each industry vertical.

But as we have all acknowledged, the economic environment is changing quite rapidly because of global digital connectivity, technological shifts and new business models. That, coupled with our tighter domestic constraints, means that external demand will be an even more important driver of growth. Our companies must be able to respond nimbly to geopolitical and economic shifts, shorter technology cycles, and business model disruptions to tap on these opportunities.

The Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) has emphasised this and also the importance of the capacity to innovate, harness new technologies, scale up and internationalise, which are increasingly intertwined for all companies. Hence, we have urged our companies and industries to transform themselves. And this is a message which must equally apply to Government agencies so that they adapt their programmes and, when necessary, restructure to better serve Singaporeans and our enterprises.

Last week, I announced the merger of SPRING and IE to form a new Government agency, Enterprise Singapore, which aims to better meet the needs of companies in this dynamic economic environment. We will be able to do more for and with our enterprises by leveraging the combined resources and levers of both SPRING and IE Singapore. In arriving at this decision, we have also studied the feedback from various parties, including our TACs, as well as Members of Parliament (MPs) past and present, for a consolidated Government agency to champion the growth and development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Enterprise Singapore will integrate its knowledge of industries and its network of local and overseas partners to comprehensively support our enterprises, regardless of their size or stage of growth. Through Enterprise Singapore, startups will not only benefit from the capability development support that SPRING has been providing but also be plugged into IE's international networks. SMEs will receive assistance to build their capabilities and seize opportunities in overseas markets to take their growth to the next level. Large local enterprises can work with Enterprise Singapore to strengthen collaboration within their industry clusters and enhance the capabilities of the SMEs that support them.

In addition, Enterprise Singapore will deepen its partnerships with industry stakeholders, TACs, educational institutions and unions, to build strong local enterprises and create exciting new jobs for Singaporeans. Enterprise Singapore and EDB will form two critical and complementary Government agencies that will help formulate and implement strategies for the development of industry clusters and enterprises. Enterprise Singapore will also work closely with EDB to drive collaboration between multinational corporations, innovative startups and enterprises of all sizes.

We believe that Enterprise Singapore will be well-positioned to build globally competitive local enterprises with deep capabilities and the ability to create good jobs for Singaporeans. We look forward to working closely with all stakeholders to fulfil this important mission.

Mr Speaker, I fully support the merger of the two agencies and I have two further questions for the Minister.

SPRING assisted about 22,000 companies a year and IE Singapore about 34,000 a year. These are very impressive numbers and credit to the two organisations for helping out the SMEs. So, I would like to ask the Minister: following the merger of the two agencies, whether the focus will continue to be to grow the number of companies assisted, or that the merged entity will dedicate more resources and support to high-growth enterprises which are scaling up or internationalising and will tend to create more jobs, better jobs.

The second question is: how would the new Enterprise Singapore develop the ethos and the culture that are in keeping with its mission to transform Singapore's economy? And the merged entity would also need to regularly recruit people from the industry with experience to strengthen its business enabling capabilities.

Mr Speaker, I thank the Member for his supplementary questions. On the first, I want to emphasise, first and foremost, the highest priority in this process is to ensure a smooth transition. And that means no dilution or diminution in terms of the services rendered to the wide swathe of SMEs that we have in our ecosystem. I note that there may be some concerns about this. But in fact, the objective of the exercise is to strengthen the way we are able to work with enterprises and to afford them a greater continuum of support across different stages of their evolution. So, that being the case, I fully expect that with the merger and creation of Enterprise Singapore, we will have a stronger hand in the way we are able to work with enterprises and through TACs to enable their growth and competitiveness to be strengthened.

The second point on the ethos and culture, that is an important point to be emphasised. In any merger, that is one of the first questions that arises anyway because you are bringing in two organisations together. You are trying to synthesis their missions and, as a result, there will always be questions about how one will prevail over the other, or will we be able to bring about a merger that actually results in one plus one being three, or more than two anyway.

So, this is where the focus is on getting the mission and leadership right in the first instance because, if we cannot get that clear, then it will be much harder to follow through. I have already stated what the mission is, and to restate it, it is really to create globally competitive Singapore enterprises which have deep capabilities, and that applies to the whole range of enterprises from startups to scale-ups and large local enterprises. As we bring them together, we think we can create a more durable economic model, complemented by what we have in terms of foreign investments. This will guide the ethos and culture in their work and the programmes.

The second point is on the leadership. This is why we have been very deliberate in the choice of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)-designate who is the current Second Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry but he has also got extensive experience through SPRING Singapore where he was CEO previously and also JTC, and he was CEO there as well. In that capacity and in some of his earlier work, he has worked extensively with the business community. Therefore, he understands the requirements and so is also empathetic to the needs of the SME community. So, that is another important consideration.

Having said all that, the next six months or so are going to be important. There have been numerous exercises already in terms of town halls and engagements with senior management. The senior officers will be deeply engaged, not only to bring the two organisations together, but to enhance their capacity to work with the industry going forward and to build a vibrant culture in the organisation as well.