MFA Press Statement: Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman's Visit to Tokyo, Japan to Attend the OECD Southeast Asian Regional Programme Ministerial Conference, 7 - 8 March 2018

At the Ministerial Conference on 8 March 2018, SMS Maliki spoke on ways to promote inclusiveness in ASEAN through greater connectivity

and participation. [Photo Credit: MFA Singapore]

SMS Maliki speaking to Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono. [Photo Credit: MFA Singapore]

Japanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kazuyuki Nakane hosted SMS Maliki to dinner on 8 March 2018. [Photo Credit: MFA Singapore]

SMS Maliki met OECD Deputy Secretary-General Masamichi Kono on 8 March 2018. [Photo Credit: MFA Singapore]

  Senior Minister of State (SMS), Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman visited Tokyo, Japan from 7 to 8 March 2018 to attend the OECD Southeast Asian Regional Programme (SEARP) Ministerial Conference.

Given the theme of “Inclusive ASEAN”, participants at the Ministerial Conference discussed ways to promote inclusiveness in Southeast Asia through greater connectivity and participation.  SMS Maliki spoke at two sessions to an audience comprising Ministers and high-level representatives of ASEAN and OECD countries.  

At the first session on promoting “Inclusiveness in ASEAN through Connectivity”, SMS Maliki shared about the priorities of Singapore’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2018, which included promoting connectivity in ASEAN, in the context of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025.  He also explained how the ASEAN Smart Cities Network would bolster efforts to enhance digital connectivity.

At the second session on promoting “Inclusiveness in ASEAN through Participation”, SMS Maliki spoke about Singapore’s Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) development policy, including the multiple schemes that help SMEs grow, innovate, develop capabilities and internationalise.  SMS also detailed how the newly formed Enterprise Singapore would further help SMEs build business capabilities and access overseas markets.  In addition, SMS Maliki shared on Singapore’s plans to use our ASEAN Chairmanship to boost regional economic integration efforts, and how that would enable SMEs in Southeast Asia to thrive.

During his visit to Tokyo, SMS Maliki was hosted to dinner by Japanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kazuyuki Nakane.  They reaffirmed warm bilateral ties, and discussed ways to further strengthen our bilateral relations.  On the sidelines of the Ministerial Conference, SMS Maliki also met the OECD Deputy Secretary-General Masamichi Kono, at the latter’s request, to explore how the OECD could support ASEAN’s initiatives in the region.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE 

9 MARCH 2018

Transcripts 

OECD Southeast Asian Regional Programme Ministerial Conference, Session 1

ASEAN Inclusiveness through Connectivity

1 Thank you for this opportunity to speak on the subject of “ASEAN Inclusiveness through Connectivity”.  Before I start, let me first share with you Singapore’s priorities as ASEAN Chair this year. 

2 Singapore’s Chairmanship tagline is “Resilient and Innovative”.  

3 As ASEAN faces an increasingly complex global geopolitical landscape, it is important to keep ASEAN resilient to challenges such as terrorism, cyber-threats and natural disasters, and by promoting and upholding a rules-based regional order.

4 In addition to these threats, disruptive technology is changing our lives, and there is a need to innovate and adapt to the changing needs of industry.

5 As Chair, Singapore will strive to strengthen ASEAN’s resilience and innovative capacity in the following areas: 

6 First, we will focus on innovation to keep ASEAN forward-looking and prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the digital revolution.  To this end, we are looking to advance e-commerce, and to develop an ASEAN Smart Cities Network.  

7 Second, we will enhance resilience against transboundary and emerging threats such as terrorism, violent extremism, and transnational crimes.  

8 Third, we will continue to invest in our people, especially ASEAN’s youths.  We must equip our people with relevant skills for the new economy; and ensure that our social, political and economic systems give everyone an opportunity to succeed.

9 Fourth, we will continue to strengthen economic and financial resilience, while deepening our ties with external partners.  We will press on with regional economic integration and enhance regional connectivity during our Chairmanship, so that ASEAN can remain competitive and prosperous. 

10 On promoting Connectivity in ASEAN, Singapore has identified three modest and realistic deliverables, namely: 

(i) the launch of potential priority infrastructure projects; 

(ii) a study to advance sustainable urbanisation in ASEAN; and 

(iii) a study of MSME participation in the digital economy.

11 These initiatives serve to implement the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025, which is ASEAN’s flagship multi-year road-map to realise a closer and more integrated ASEAN region.  

12 In particular, digital connectivity has increasingly taken centre stage as we grapple with the multitude of technological disruptions.  We have good reasons to be optimistic about ASEAN’s ability to ride the wave of the ongoing digital revolution.  

13 We have a fast-growing internet user base – nearly four million new users coming online every month.  Studies also project that ASEAN’s digital economy will grow by a whopping 500% to US$200 billion in 2025. 

14 At the same time, we face real challenges in ensuring that our people have the right skills for the right jobs, that a new middle class can rise, and that no one is left behind.  To do so, we would need to create new partnerships, networks, and ecosystems, where our people, businesses and governments can come together to exchange ideas and best practices.  In this context, we conceptualised the ASEAN Smart Cities Network, a key deliverable of our ASEAN Chairmanship.  

15 The ASEAN Smart Cities Network is envisioned as an inclusive and collaborative platform where designated cities across ASEAN work together to: 

  (i) develop individualised action plans and jointly craft a  framework for smart city development that is unique to ASEAN;

(ii)  catalyse bankable projects in collaboration with the private sector; and

(iii)form mutually beneficial partnerships with ASEAN’s external partners to drive these developmental efforts.  

16 Ultimately, the core goal of the ASEAN Smart Cities Network is to leverage innovative technological solutions to improve the lives and livelihood of our people. 

17 Air and land connectivity in ASEAN have also been experiencing exponential growth.  Between 2000 and 2015, the number of intra-ASEAN international passengers have risen sharply in the region – 490% increase in Myanmar, 326% increase in Cambodia, and 220% increase in Laos.  In addition, road and rail development in ASEAN have improved significantly.  Efforts to expand cross-border linkages by railway have been underway, including the rail linkages between Singapore and Malaysia, Malaysia and Thailand, and Thailand and Laos.     

18 We applaud the OECD’s efforts through the SEARP in supporting ASEAN’s many connectivity-related initiatives.  This fruitful collaboration will go a long way towards improving the connectivity and inclusiveness of the ASEAN region for the benefit of our people.

19 Thank you. 

OECD Southeast Asian Regional Programme Ministerial Conference, Session 2

ASEAN Inclusiveness through Participation

1 Thank you for this opportunity to speak on the theme of “ASEAN Inclusiveness through Participation” from the SMEs perspective.    

2 I will first speak on what Singapore has been doing to help our SMEs.  Like other ASEAN member states, SMEs are the backbone of Singapore’s economy.  SMEs comprise 99% of our companies, hire two-thirds of our workers, and contribute about 50% of our GDP.  The government has multiple schemes available to help SMEs grow, innovate, develop capabilities, and internationalise.  

3 To help SMEs grow, there are multiple streams of financing for SMEs to access at any stage of development.  The Government has various schemes to co-share up to 50% or 70% of the default risk of loans.  These include offering SMEs access to unsecured working capital financing in a period of slow economic growth. 

4 To help our SMEs innovate, we provide SMEs with access to research expertise, and platforms for collaboration with other enterprises and institutions.  For instance, we launched a “SMEs Go Digital programme”, which makes technological solutions available to SMEs, and supports them in building their digital capabilities in areas such as cybersecurity, data protection and data analytics.  

5 To help SMEs develop capabilities, there are grants, loans, financing and a raft of other incentives to support companies to automate, drive productivity and scale up.  For example, we grant companies tax allowances to help them defray the cost of large-scale deployment of automation solutions.  

6 To help SMEs internationalise, we provide a wide spectrum of support, both financial and non-financial, for companies looking to expand overseas.  This includes the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA), a network of overseas launch pads for Singapore SMEs to connect with the business and innovation community in major innovation hubs.  

7 We are heartened at the rapid growth in the internationalisation efforts of our companies.  In 2017, we supported more than 45,000 companies, 90% of which were SMEs, in their overseas ventures.  This is more than double the number five years ago (2012).

8 To further enable our SMEs grow, we recently decided to merge our enterprise development agency SPRING with our internationalisation and trade promotion agency International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore), to form a single integrated agency Enterprise Singapore.

9 Previously, a company had to go to SPRING to apply for productivity schemes, and then to IE Singapore for help in venturing abroad.  However, the capacity to innovate, harness new technologies, scale up and internationalise are deeply intertwined processes.  Enterprise Singapore will enable the growth of Singapore companies through an integrated support network to build business capabilities and access overseas markets.

10 At our 2018 Budget just last week, we announced further tax measures to support our SMEs.  To ease business costs, they will enjoy a 40% increase in corporate income tax rebate.  To bolster their research and development (R&D) efforts, the tax deductions relating to qualifying R&D expenditure will increase from 150% to 250%. 

11 I will next speak about key economic initiatives on the ASEAN front.  The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) has built strong trade connectivity and successfully eliminated many barriers that hindered trade and investment in our region. Our Blueprint 2025 is aimed at achieving an ASEAN Economic Community by 2025 that is highly integrated and cohesive; competitive, innovative and dynamic; with enhanced connectivity and sectoral cooperation; and a more resilient, inclusive, and people-oriented, people-centred community, integrated with the global economy.

12 One of our priorities as ASEAN Chair is to develop the ASEAN Agreement on e-Commerce, which will advance trade rules in e-Commerce, lower businesses’ operating barriers to entry, and improve digital connectivity.  We are also working to progress ASEAN’s digital integration, and strengthen linkages between our innovation ecosystems.

13 Another priority is to improve trade facilitation and expedite the seamless movement of goods within ASEAN by advancing the ASEAN Single Window and ASEAN-wide Self-Certification regime.  These initiatives will lower transaction costs and reduce processing time for exports for the benefit of ASEAN businesses.  

14 We will also continue efforts to deepen services integration through concluding the ASEAN Trade in Services Agreement and reducing impediments to investment by enhancing the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement.  

15 Finally, we will work to create an effective regulatory environment to support the growth of a competitive, dynamic and innovative ASEAN, and deepen ASEAN’s economic linkages with external partners.  

16 Before I conclude, I would like to commend the OECD’s efforts in supporting SME policy development in the ASEAN region.  The OECD, through the development experiences of its member states, has much to offer to the developing member states of ASEAN.  

17 For instance, the OECD’s flagship SME Policy Index is a very useful benchmarking tool to support the governments of ASEAN member states in the development of their SMEs through policy dialogue and exchange of good practices.

18 We look forward to the OECD’s continued support to ASEAN’s efforts to pursue regional economic integration, and support our SMEs to improve the lives and livelihood of our people.

19 Thank you.