Committee of Supply – Head V (Ministry of Trade and Industry)

Resumption of Debate on Question [2 March 2020],

"That the total sum to be allocated for Head V of the Estimates be reduced by $100". – [Mr Liang Eng Hwa].

Question again proposed.

The Chairman: Minister Chan Chun Sing.

The Minister for Trade and Industry (Mr Chan Chun Sing): Mr Chairman, Singapore has faced challenging economic situations triggered by disease outbreaks before – SARS in 2003; H1N1. Through each episode, we internalised important lessons, strengthened our collective resilience and emerged stronger.

Today, COVID-19 is badly hurting our tourism and aviation sectors. International visitor arrivals may fall by more than 25% this year. Retail and food services have also been severely affected. The disruption of supply chains has also slowed the recovery of the manufacturing sector, especially electronics.

The eventual economic impact of COVID-19 could be worse than SARS as China now accounts for more than 19% of global GDP and 27% of global manufacturing value added. The quantitative and qualitative impact of China’s slowdown and the potential of a global pandemic cannot be under-estimated.

Many of us are concerned how the COVID-19 situation will affect our livelihoods. I want to reassure Singaporeans that the Government’s immediate priorities are to help our businesses stay afloat and to help our workers stay employed. To this end, we have introduced a comprehensive set of relief measures in the Stabilisation and Support Package.

Measures like the Enhancement of the Enterprise Financing Scheme – SME Working Capital Loan will support businesses with cash flow issues that may arise in the short term. The $1.3 billion Jobs Support Scheme and the $1.1 billion enhancement of the Wage Credit Scheme will safeguard employment and wage growth.

Mr Chairman, beyond the measures to address the immediate challenges ahead, we must also aspire to emerge stronger, be one of the first to recover and seize the new opportunities. This Government is committed to not just the present, but also our future.

Our most immediate task is to rejuvenate the tourism and related sectors. The Singapore Tourism Board or STB has formed a Tourism Recovery Action Task Force (TRAC), comprising leaders from both the private and public sectors. We will also commit resources to support the upgrade of hotels and attractions during this period of lower activity; we will anchor a strong pipeline of leisure and business events in the recovery; and we will step up marketing efforts to reach new sources of tourists.

International investors remain committed to Singapore as we forge ahead with plans to enhance our attractiveness as a tourism destination. Large-scale tourism projects such as the Integrated Resorts expansion, Sentosa-Brani Masterplan and rejuvenation of the Mandai precinct all continue to make good progress. They will contribute to the growth of our tourism sector in the medium term.

Beyond tourism, we must also press on with our efforts to transform our economy for tomorrow. Mr Teo Ser Luck and Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked about MTI’s plans for the longer term. We must prepare for two sets of long-term driving forces.

First, we must prepare for the reordering of global supply chains. Technology, especially digital technologies; rising trade tensions and protectionism and now domestic resilience to disease outbreaks have all added impetus to the reordering of the global supply chains.

All companies, big and small, local and multinational, have to fundamentally re-examine the resilience of our supply chains. Diversification of supplies, manpower sources and markets are not options – but imperatives.

The ensuing contest to attract top investments and talent will be intense. Developing countries with plentiful land and labour are cutting costs aggressively. More developed countries are poaching top executives and building their very own Smart Cities to rival Singapore. The OECD's Base Erosion and Profit Shifting initiative, or BEPS 2.0, will also impact how countries compete for investments.

To differentiate ourselves, we can no longer rely on tax incentives alone. Instead, Singapore must continually build real and new capabilities, augment our Singapore Core with global talent and find new ways to anchor key economic activities here.

The second driving force, technology. We are undergoing technological advancements in multiple fields – medical, robotics, artificial intelligence and energy. These are not just incremental shifts, but disruptive and discontinuous change.

The emergence of new technology provides us with new economic opportunities and challenges. Sectors in which we did not have a comparative advantage before, like agri-tech and new urban mobility solutions, are now emerging opportunities.

On the flipside, technology is now challenging sectors which are well established in Singapore. Banking is being disrupted by the rise of FinTech. Retail is increasingly displaced by e-commerce. Some legal, consultancy and IT services can now be delivered electronically across borders.

Whether we can win depends on two things. Externally, whether we can extend and enhance our connections; internally, whether we can adapt our environment and businesses to the two forces of global supply chains being reordered and emerging technology.

To emerge stronger globally, Singapore must continually enhance our value as a connectivity hub.

We need to adapt to changing supply chains by expanding and upgrading our network of FTAs. In November last year, we concluded text-based negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). If all goes well, we hope to sign this agreement by the end of this year to deepen connections between ASEAN and other RCEP Participating Countries, which together account for almost 30% of global GDP. We are also making progress in FTA negotiations with the Eurasian Economic Union, MERCOSUR and Pacific Alliance.

Our FTAs have provided our businesses access to billions of consumers beyond Singapore’s shores by reducing tariffs and lowering non-tariff barriers. In response to Mr Teo Ser Luck's question, our 25 FTAs are with economies that represent more than 85% of global GDP. Having FTAs in different regions facilitates diversification and enables our businesses to capitalise on opportunities around the world.

The benefit of each FTA goes far beyond our economic relations with the other party. Our FTAs enhance our ability to compete for investments as a network of 25. Companies which operate in Singapore can use our FTAs to build up supply and value chains which are resilient to single-market disruptions. At the same time, many companies also find it advantageous to access the Southeast Asia region and the world through Singapore. This creates many opportunities for businesses in Singapore and allow them to create good job opportunities for Singaporeans.

Mr Leon Perera asked about the FTA negotiation process. In order to achieve the best outcomes for Singapore, we consult and involve many different stakeholders – including trade associations, unions and business chambers in the lead-up to the negotiations. Post FTA implementation, we continue to engage industry and regularly enhance our trade agreements, where possible. For example, we upgraded our FTA with China to provide our businesses with new benefits like enhanced investment protection and greater access to China's legal, maritime and construction services sectors. We also upgraded our FTA with New Zealand last year, and now businesses can clear their goods through New Zealand Customs much faster.

We also adapt our trade agreements to the emergence of new technologies. For example, we have started work on Digital Economy Agreements, or DEAs as we call them. By guarding against digital barriers and by addressing issues that arise from emerging technology such as Artificial Intelligence, DEA provides a trusted environment for trade in the digital era. I am pleased to note that we have substantially concluded DEA negotiations with Chile and New Zealand. Negotiations with other like-minded partners, including Australia, are also progressing well.

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As we enhance our trade agreements, we must also help our companies to take advantage of them. Mr Douglas Foo , Mr Saktiandi Supaat and Mr Teo Ser Luck asked how we can do more to support businesses in seizing opportunities in the region and beyond. In 2019, Enterprise Singapore supported 2,600 enterprises. Moving ahead, we will significantly strengthen our support to companies that want to go international, in five ways.

First, we will extend the enhanced 70% support under the Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) for another three years, till 31 March 2023. To better support companies who are new to internationalisation or are expanding into new markets, the grant cap will be raised to $100,000 per new market, per company over the enhancement period. We have also expanded the scope of eligible activities to include in-depth FTA consultancy services and support for additional overseas business development activities such as the cost of deploying a staff overseas.

Second, we will extend the Double Tax Deduction Scheme for Internationalisation (DTDi) for another five years, till 31 December 2025. This will encourage more Singapore companies to increase their market development and investment activities overseas. The enhancements will now cover new categories of expenses incurred for third party consultancy and overseas business missions.

Third, we will launch the Grow Digital initiative under the SMEs Go Digital programme to help SMEs grow their business overseas via both B2B and B2C digital channels to access new customers and markets. For a start, the programme will focus on China, India and Southeast Asia. Minister S Iswaran will share more details at MCI's COS debate.

Fourth, we will work with the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) to launch the GlobalConnect@SBF in April. GlobalConnect will be an international advisory centre to provide dedicated market access support for companies new to internationalisation, with a focus on Southeast Asia and the emerging markets.

Fifth, we will increase the support levels for young Singaporeans under the Global Ready Talent (GRT) Programme so that more graduates can take on work opportunities abroad and gain exposure to Southeast Asia, China and India. This will strengthen the pipeline of local talent to support businesses in expanding overseas in the medium to long term.

Mr Teo Ser Luck will also be pleased to note that our suite of internationalisaton support goes beyond providing financial support. We also focus on the facilitation of knowledge transfers to companies, as suggested by Mr Teo.

Through a network of overseas centres, Enterprise Singapore works closely with companies to provide advisory support and in-market assistance. They also run frequent seminars to equip SMEs with essential knowledge to embark on their internationalisation journey.

To better understand the industry, we have been seconding Public Service officers to Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs) through the Local Enterprise and Association Development or LEAD Programme. These officers have been actively involved in helping the TACs spearhead new internationalisation projects for the industries and we will do more where we can to second more officers to the TACs.

These measures will help Singapore compete internationally. But they must be complemented by measures to strengthen ourselves internally, so that we can harness the two global trends to emerge stronger. Specifically, we must emerge stronger through innovation, transformation and doing it together as an entire eco-system.

Let me start with innovation. Public investment in research and innovation has grown over the last 25 years. This puts us in a good position to harness the technological revolution and turn old constraints into new opportunities.

We have a small population, less than 1% of ASEAN. So, we leverage on advanced manufacturing sector to propel ourselves from a labour-intensive industry to one empowered by Industry 4.0 technologies. This has also allowed us to establish our niche in producing "high mix, low volume, high quality and knowledge intensive" products, entrenching our position in the global value chains.

We have limited land. So, we leverage agri-food technologies to transcend both size and geography, producing high-value crops like strawberry and kale on this sunny island.

We have a finite carbon budget. So, we explore innovative solutions to transform waste into value-add products. This has allowed us to couple environmental sustainability with economic prosperity.

Going forward, we must do more to translate Singapore’s research edge into an economic advantage. We have earmarked $300 million to support startups in key emerging technology areas like pharmbio and advanced manufacturing. We will also continue to drive the adoption of technologies through the Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) and to seize new opportunities in emerging sectors especially in the Deep Tech sector. My colleague, Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon, will elaborate.

The use of technology must be complemented by the transformation of business processes. We recognise that not all enterprises are at the same stage of development. But regardless of your stage of growth, you will have a fair chance to succeed. We will customise our assistance to our enterprises' needs and level of ambition.

For local enterprises with high growth potential, we will provide dedicated support to deepen their capabilities, enabling them to become leaders in their respective fields. An example of such dedicated support is the new Enterprise Leadership for Transformation (ELT) Programme.

For smaller enterprises, we will enhance access to the wide array of enterprise-centric enablers, through channels like the SME Centres, the TACs and the GoBusiness platform.

For Heartland Enterprises, we will provide additional assistance, through schemes like Heartland Enterprise Upgrading Programme (HEUP), so that they too can have a good shot at growth and expansion. Our assurance to all Singaporean business is this: so long as you have the drive and you have the ambition, we will partner you, as necessary. My colleague, Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat, will elaborate on these schemes.

Finally, to emerge stronger, we must do so together, as One Team Singapore.

Over the years, we have established a strong tripartite partnership amongst the Government, the TACs and the unions. This partnership is critical. As key touchpoints to businesses and workers, TACs and the unions help provide the Government with crucial ground sensing and feedback on key economic policies.

Moving forward, we will do more to strengthen our partnership with TACs to drive industry transformation efforts. My colleague, Senior Parliamentary Secretary Tan Wu Meng, will elaborate.

Mr Chairman, we are committed to sharing the benefits of economic growth with all Singaporeans and improve their lives.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat and Mr Desmond Choo asked about how efforts to grow the economy have translated into positive workers' outcome.

When we grow the economic pie, we create good jobs. More than half of our local workforce is made up of PMETs. This is one of the highest proportion in the whole world, and the number of PMET jobs continues to rise – from about 1.2 million in 2016 to 1.3 million in 2019.

We also share the fruits of economic growth. Real median income for Singaporeans grew at 3.7% per annum from 2016 to 2019, which is higher than the 3.2% per annum in the preceding three years.

Economic growth is necessary to create good jobs for Singaporeans, but I must say this does not happen naturally. The critical link between growth and jobs is skills. Singaporeans must have the right skills to take on the jobs that growth creates. The Government has put in significant investment in our education and training system over many years.

We now have strong pre-employment training (PET) and continuing education and training (CET) systems, and our SkillsFuture movement, which are all well-regarded globally. There are capability building programmes to transfer overseas capabilities and expertise to our local workforce, such as the Capability Transfer Programme.

We have also placed strong emphasis on grooming local leaders within key sectors. Mr Leon Perera would be pleased to know that the SkillsFuture Leadership Development Initiative or LDI, has supported over 1,000 Singaporeans in acquiring corporate leadership competencies and experiences. In particular, the ASEAN Leadership Programme (ALP) will equip our business leaders with the knowledge and network to ride on the growth of Southeast Asia.

However, as Mr Saktiandi Supaat noted, employers must have the right mindset for these programmes to succeed. They need to start investing in our local workers and to prevent an over-reliance on foreign employees. Only then will we be able to improve the localisation over time.

Indeed, we must not and we must never be complacent. Today, many have jobs that did not exist a mere decade ago. We are preparing for future jobs that do not yet exist now. The rate of technological change will only quicken. If we do not support our workers in refreshing and advancing their skills, not only will they lose employability over time, businesses will suffer, and our economy will lose its competitiveness.

We are particularly aware of the concerns amongst our mid-career workers, those in their 40s and 50s. Job security is of utmost importance to them. They have significant financial commitments as they provide for their families, often with school-going children and retired parents. Many of them have completed their formal education more than 20 years ago and they have moved on in their careers in one company or various, and may not have the opportunity to reskill and upskill.

Those who are employed now are worried if they will still have a job in the near future because of keen job competition and also the technological disruption. Those who have been retrenched are worried if they can re-enter the workforce and find a job that matches their skillsets and pay expectations. In 2018, only 58.6% of resident workers aged 40 and above managed to re-enter the workforce within six months after retrenchment – lower than the 70% for those in their 30s.

Mr Desmond Choo , Mr Henry Kwek and Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked what more can be done to support mid-career workers in their 40s and 50s. This needs to be done at the tripartite level – businesses offering more employment and upgrading opportunities; workers making an effort to re-skill and the Government supporting businesses and workers in their endeavours. So, all three parties must pull our weight together in order to get this done.

I will talk about the support for businesses in general. Minister Iswaran will share more details of mid-career training programmes for the Info-Communications and Technology (ICT) sector at MCI's COS debate later. Minister Josephine Teo and Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat will also elaborate on plans to increase reskilling capacity and to help workers make career transitions at the MOM and MOE's COS debates respectively later today and tomorrow.

Through the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Support Package, we have set ourselves the target to double the annual job placements for locals in their 40s and 50s to 5,500 by 2025. I will now share three key ways in which companies can play an important role in supporting this national effort – redesign, re-skill, and recruit.

First, redesign. Businesses should seek to actively redesign their jobs to create new opportunities for existing and new workers, including those in their 40s and 50s, even as they pursue enterprise transformation. As part of the Next Bound of SkillsFuture, businesses can now tap on the enhanced Productivity Solutions Grant or PSG, which now includes consultancy services for job redesign. We want to make job redesign a key component for enterprise transformation.

Second, re-skill. As Mr Desmond Choo noted, when businesses grow and transform, they have an important role to play in actively re-skilling their workers rather than poaching from others.

The Next Bound of SkillsFuture will also see an enhanced focus on businesses driving enterprise and workforce transformation in tandem. Under the SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit or SFEC, eligible employers will receive a one-off $10,000 credit to cover up to 90% of out-of-pocket expenses for supportable enterprise development and workforce transformation programmes, including re-skilling and job redesign. Three thousand dollars of the SFEC will be reserved for the latter. My colleague, Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat, will elaborate.

This is also why, from 1 April this year, worker outcomes will be included as a mandatory condition for companies that apply for Enterprise Development Grant (EDG) funding. These outcomes may include wage increases, creation of skilled jobs for Singaporeans, job redesign and workers' training.

Third, recruit. Businesses need to offer suitable placement opportunities for our mature workers. The Government will support by giving a Hiring Incentive to employers who hire local jobseekers aged 40 and above through eligible reskilling programmes. Such programmes include Professional Conversion Programmes or PCPs, Place-and-Train (PnT) programmes and career transition programmes by SSG's CET Centres. For each eligible worker, the Government will provide 20% salary support for six months, capped at $6,000 in total.

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I urge all employers to come forward, transform their business, and at the same time create new opportunities for all workers including our older workers. This has always been a critical part of our growth strategy and an important chapter of the Singapore Story.

Mr Chairman, if there is anything we have learnt from past challenges and the current COVID-19 situation, it is that we should never under-estimate the strength and resilience of our people. As we battle COVID-19, we must also strive to emerge stronger.

The journey ahead is full of both opportunities and challenges. But if we stand together – Government, businesses, unions and citizens – I am certain we can overcome any challenge and emerge stronger to chart a better future for all in Singapore. And this year's MTI tagline is: "to emerge stronger".

The Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry (Dr Koh Poh Koon): Mr Chairman, as a small and open economy, Singapore must be nimble and responsive to developments in the global economy, in order to maintain our competitive advantage. Innovation is key to doing this.

We will foster innovation in Singapore by strengthening our innovation eco-system and leveraging innovation to transform our industries and seize new growth opportunities. We will strengthen the innovation eco-system to help companies harness technological change and bring new ideas to market. Ms Foo Mee Har asked about the research landscape in Singapore. As part of the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2020 Plan (RIE2020), we provide strong support to our companies in their innovation activities, including translating research into commercially viable products.

We have established technology consortia, which bring together companies and public sector researchers to collaborate on research projects. Companies can join these consortia to keep up with research trends and tap on the expertise of our many researchers.

Our Centres of Innovation (COIs) that Ms Foo asked about, provide specialised expertise to help companies translate problem statements into technology requirements. This accelerates their product development process. The COIs have supported over 4,200 such projects in areas such as technical consultancy, product development and intellectual property commercialisation.

Mr Lee Yi Shyan asked about our digital eco-system. In addition to our strong research and development capabilities, we are also constantly building up other aspects of our pro-innovation eco-system, including access to skilled global talent and a vibrant startup eco-system. We have also set up the Digital Industry Singapore (DISG) last year to better coordinate Singapore's efforts for the digital industry. Our suite of value propositions has helped us to grow our tech sector, where we have successfully attracted digital giants such as Google, Facebook and Alibaba.

These strong inter-linkages between research, innovation and enterprise do not just serve a pure commercial purpose. In fact, they have been essential to tackling the COVID-19 scourge that we are facing right now too. Take Kronikare, an AI start-up that is based locally. Kronikare has an AI wound monitoring software to help patients take care of their wounds. When COVID-19 struck, Integrated Health System Information (IHiS), the IT arm for our public healthcare sector, partnered Kronikare to quickly re-engineered this core technology to develop an automatic fever detection solution to aid other businesses in the fight against COVID-19.

Start-ups like Kronikare play an important role in the innovation eco-system. They bring new ideas to the table and spur industry to do things differently. Over the past four years, through schemes like Startup SG Equity, the Government has catalysed over $560 million in private sector funding into Singapore-based start-ups, helping them with product development and bringing these products into market.

Mr Teo Ser Luck asked about how we identify which start-ups to invest in. Investing in start-ups is inherently risky and the Government does not possess enough information to make these assessments alone. This is why Enterprise Singapore (ESG) co-invests with private sector investors who have the expertise in assessing the commercial value and viability of start-ups.

For deep-tech start-ups, it is especially important to have access to such funding that is backed by deep industry knowledge. As Mr Liang Eng Hwa and Ms Foo Mee Har noted, such start-ups typically require larger investments and have longer gestation periods, because of the multiple iterations of prototyping and pilot production that are needed. In fact, for medtech and pharmbio products, they would usually require quite a period of time for clinical trials and validation for safety and efficacy, before they can be introduced into the market. Clearly, not all moonshot projects will succeed. But when they do, when these moonshot projects succeed, they break new ground and give fertile foundation for future incremental innovations to succeed thereafter.

We will therefore enhance the Startup SG Equity Scheme to help our deep-tech startups in the areas of pharmaceuticals, biotech and medtech, advanced manufacturing and agri-food tech. To ensure they have the necessary resources to bring their products to market, Deputy Prime Minister Heng shared during Budget that we will be topping up S$300 million to the scheme. We will also enhance the scheme to double the maximum amount each start-up can receive, from S$4 million to S$8 million.

A portion of the S$300 million will be allocated towards investing in a global Venture Capital or VC fund, through a new "fund-of-funds" approach. This not only increases the availability of investment funds, but also attracts experienced VCs into the Singapore eco-system. Our deep-tech start-ups can then tap on their expertise, knowledge and networks to accelerate their growth, such as seeking guidance on commercialisation and business operations, and importantly, meeting new business partners.

To encourage funds and fund managers to invest a larger proportion of their funds into Singapore-based start-ups, we will also extend the relevant tax incentives by five years. This also includes enhancements such as expanding the types of investments and incomes incentivised and streamlining of the requirements to invest in Singapore-based enterprises.

Mr Chairman, innovation is not only about investing in R&D but also about transforming our industries to be relevant for the future. Mr Lee Yi Shyan and Mr Leon Perera have spoken on Industry 4.0 or I4.0. I4.0 will have a deep impact on our industries, particularly in Manufacturing.

Over the years, manufacturing in Singapore has evolved to compete based on the deep skills and capabilities of our companies and our people, and the use of technologies such as robotics and automation. Our initial efforts have allowed us to anchor I4.0 activities from some of the best manufacturers in the world. Two of Singapore's factories, Micron and Infineon, joined the World Economic Forum's Global Lighthouse network as trail blazers earlier this year. This accolade is only offered to advanced manufacturers who show leadership in applying I4.0 technologies to drive change.

We will continue to support companies in their efforts to adopt innovative solutions through a multi-pronged approach. As a start, we launched the Smart Industry Readiness Index (SIRI) and the SIRI Prioritisation Matrix in 2017. Since then, more than 250 companies have undergone the SIRI Assessments and among them, about 30% of them were SMEs. The SIRI Assessments help our companies understand where they are at in their manufacturing transformation journey and to prioritise the improvements they need to make.

Another prong of our strategy is to build platforms that foster interaction and collaboration within the manufacturing ecosystem, to adopt I4.0 technologies. Mr Leon Perera and Ms Foo Mee Har asked about networking platforms and industry collaboration.

To build a regional community, Singapore has been hosting Industry Transformation Asia Pacific (ITAP), the Asian Edition of Hannover Messe, the world's largest industrial trade fair. ITAP has provided a very useful platform to help companies to connect, discover the latest trends in technology and exchange best practices. We introduced a learning element into the 2019 edition, to ensure that our enterprises, workers and even our students were able to learn about I4.0 through guided tours and on-site learning labs.

Beyond single touchpoints and events, we are also developing the Jurong Innovation District (JID) as a dedicated advanced manufacturing campus for different players along the value chain, such as researchers, technology providers and businesses, to work together on new ideas. It will also serve as an area for SMEs to collaborate with our MNCs and larger enterprises. Over the next 20 years, companies in the JID are estimated to create 95,000 new jobs in research and advanced manufacturing activities.

For our next phase of transformation, we will leverage on what we have learnt from our Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) and explore synergies across the different sectors. This will allow us to identify more opportunities within the clusters to promote innovation, to deepen capabilities and importantly, to encourage partnerships.

To build on these efforts and give more local companies a boost in innovation, I am happy to share that we will launch a new SIMTECH Innovation Factory in the JID. This will be a co-working space to help companies ideate and design their own unique products. For a start, there will be a focus on equipment design, medtech devices and electromechanical modules. It will be equipped with the necessary tools for companies to prototype their designs and will have resident design and technology experts to help companies through their innovation journey.

This is very useful for SMEs when they do not have the scale or the necessary technical expertise to do this on their own. So, we hope this will be a real boost to our SMEs to up their innovation capabilities. After successfully designing their own products, companies can then go on to one of two of A*STAR model factory facilities for pilot production of these new products.

To fully seize opportunities in I4.0, companies must also train and upskill their workers. I4.0 is not just about equipment, is not just about technology. Our experience implementing the ITMs has shown that industry transformation is much more effective and pervasive when there is participation and ownership by the workers. The Labour Movement has been advocating that for I4.0 to succeed, there must be Worker 4.0. We will do more to enable this.

We recently launched the SkillsFuture Work-Learn Bootcamp for Engineer 4.0. This is a three-year pilot programme that will train and place up to 200 engineers in areas such as lean manufacturing and the Internet of Things.

We have also introduced the SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit, with a portion reserved for training and job redesign, to encourage companies to invest in their workers.

Sir, innovation is also about turning challenges into economic opportunities. Just as we had turned our vulnerability with water into a strength, we can do likewise with climate change as Miss Cheryl Chan and Ms Anthea Ong have discussed. We can do so in two ways.

First, by reducing our carbon footprint. Last week, Senior Minister Teo announced the Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategy (LEDS) which details Singapore's approach towards a low carbon future, and how our industries and Singaporeans can contribute to this global effort.

The Energy and Chemicals sector is a valued pillar of Singapore's economy, contributing 2.3% of our GDP and employing around 26,000 workers in 2019. We have been working closely with companies in the industry to ensure that new or upgraded facilities meet higher levels and higher standards of efficiency.

Companies, such as ExxonMobil, are also taking active steps to improve their energy efficiency. From 2002 to 2018, ExxonMobil's efforts to reduce their energy consumption in Singapore have led to energy efficiency gains of over 25%. This is equivalent to the removal of more than 550,000 cars from Singapore's roads.

Miss Cheryl Chan would also be pleased to know that there are existing platforms to facilitate exchange of best practices, such as those organised by industry associations like the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS). We also organise the annual Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW), which brings together global policy makers, think tanks, industry experts and leaders to discuss trends and challenges in the energy landscape. We will continue to encourage such exchanges.

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Second, by developing new sustainable solutions. Given the increasing demand globally for sustainable products and services, there are economic spin-offs to be captured here. Today, we ensure resilience in our energy supply by encouraging our natural gas importers to diversify and import from multiple sources. This addresses the energy security concerns that Mr Leon Perera has raised. Our LNG terminal has the capacity to cover all our gas demand even if our piped natural gas supply were to cease today.

On nuclear energy, countries that deploy nuclear energy have to be accountable to their populations and their regions and ensure that high safety and security standards are adhered to. We are working with ASEAN countries to strengthen cooperation on nuclear safety and emergency preparedness as well as response systems.

But security is not just about ensuring the robustness of our current energy supply. It is also about looking at our energy future. Hence, we welcome Ms Anthea Ong's suggestions on studying the potential of renewable and alternative energy options. Such reviews are important because they provide useful insights on how we can work with companies to overcome the growth risks and capture economic opportunities arising from global climate change developments.

One area of growing interest is the idea of a circular economy. A "circular economy" seeks to improve resource efficiency and recycle resources in a loop to maximise their value. JTC is thus partnering with companies on Jurong Island and other Government agencies, such as NEA and PUB, to conduct a Jurong Island Circular Economy Study. The study will map out flows of water, energy and waste on the island and identify system-level gaps. This will allow companies to come together to develop solutions to address these gaps, testbed solutions on Jurong Island and then export these solutions globally.

Individual companies across diverse industries can also benefit from adopting a circular economy concept. In the food manufacturing sector, for example, Enterprise Singapore (ESG) has helped to connect food businesses with tech solution providers to convert food waste into higher value products.

Last week, I visited SinFooTech, a food technology company co-founded by two young entrepreneurs, Jonathan and Jian Yong. When I spoke to Jonathan, he shared how their patented fermentation technology upcycles soy whey, a food waste by-product of tofu manufacturers, into a much higher value-added alcoholic beverage named Sachi.

This is the first alcoholic beverage in the world to be made from soy whey and it was fascinating to understand the science behind how soy whey, a waste product from tofu manufacturing, can be converted into an alcoholic drink with a slight fruity, sweet and floral taste. And if you have a chance to, you should try it when they finally start their commercial production. I am glad to hear that SinFooTech is looking to sell their technology licence overseas and will be setting up a factory to scale up their production of Sachi.

Companies like SinFooTech contribute to Singapore's broader agri-food tech industry. This is a sector of growing importance as the world looks for innovative solutions to feed our growing population amidst climate change and resource constraints.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa and Ms Foo Mee Har asked how the Government will support the development of emerging sectors. Last year, I announced that we will establish an Agri-Food Innovation Park (AFIP) in Sungei Kadut to allow leading high-tech farming operators to testbed and commercialise their technologies. Infrastructure and land preparation works for Phase One of AFIP have started and we will be ready to welcome companies by the first half of next year.

The Government must be prepared to relook at our rules and regulations as we grow new sectors. As with any new sector, there will be a learning curve for both businesses and the regulator. But we must not be afraid to try.

Even before the setting up of AFIP, agencies such as the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and ESG, have already been engaging the Singapore Agro-Food Enterprises Federation and other farm operators to address the issues that they have faced with existing regulations. This includes areas that are important for agri-food tech operations, like building infrastructure, fire safety and other regulatory issues.

So, we will expand these efforts into a new regulatory sandbox for High Tech farms at AFIP. This will allow us to review more regulations for AFIP tenants even more quickly in a more streamlined manner. The lessons learnt from the sandbox will then be extended to benefit the wider farming industry.

As we help our agri-food tech companies to increase their food production capacity through the use of high-tech farming equipment, we must also help them to access new markets and expand their customer base overseas. This is why we have started an inter-agency workgroup, the Food Regulatory Connectivity Initiative, to develop Singapore as a trusted food trading hub.

We will work with trading partners to boost recognition of Singapore’s food regulatory system and improve market access for food produced in or exported through Singapore. We are also partnering accredited private bodies based in Singapore to provide the necessary checks that fulfil foreign import requirements. For example, we are engaging China's regulators on the recognition of meat and seafood products. This will help Singapore companies to export their food products to new markets which previously did not permit this.

As we continue to anchor and seek out new growth areas, new exciting jobs will be created. And I hope to see Singaporeans seizing opportunities to work in these exciting sectors.

To conclude, Mr Chairman, innovation is key to our continued success. Our resilient and agile economy was not built overnight. It is the product of strong and consistent investment over many decades. Not every individual project or enterprise will succeed but, collectively, we will move forward. We must not be afraid to venture into new frontiers to reap undiscovered rewards, for present and future generations.

In the years to come, we will continue to strengthen our innovation ecosystem and transform our industries through innovation so that Singapore and Singaporeans can continue to thrive.

The Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry (Mr Chee Hong Tat): Mr Chairman, last year, I spoke about the three Ups: Level Up – to strengthen enterprise and workforce capabilities; Scale Up – to help enterprises grow locally and abroad; and Team Up – to enable enterprises to achieve better outcomes together. Let me update Members on our progress, beginning with Level Up.

Our enterprise development schemes provide holistic support to firms of different sizes and at different stages of growth. They improve businesses’ and workers’ productivity, and help them to harness technology, innovate, upgrade their skills and internationalise.

Members have highlighted that successful enterprise transformation must go hand-in-hand with skills upgrading and workforce training. I fully agree. The Deputy Prime Minister mentioned in the Budget Statement that we are introducing the SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit. Each eligible employer will be given $10,000 in credits, valid for three years from 1 April 2020, to cover up to 90% of out-of-pocket expenses for enterprise and workforce transformation programmes. This will benefit over 35,000 enterprises, which hire more than 1.5 million local workers.

How can firms benefit from the credit? They can offset out-of-pocket costs for transformation projects. This is over and above the 70% co-funding support under the Enterprise Development Grant and Productivity Solutions Grant. They can also use the credit to help them redesign jobs under the enhanced Productivity Solutions Grant and redeploy workers to more productive and meaningful roles. Third, firms can use the credit to send their workers for approved training courses, including design-related courses.

Sir, good design matters to all businesses and industries. I agree with Mr Henry Kwek that our workers can benefit from these skills. The value of design goes beyond aesthetics. Like technology, design is a critical enabler for innovation and value creation. Design-led approaches can help to solve complex issues and drive business transformation. Companies like Apple and Dyson have pioneered superior technology. But what makes them stand out is their ability to integrate technology with innovative human-centric design.

The DesignSingapore Council (Dsg) is now part of EDB and the MTI family. Dsg launched the Skills Framework for Design last year, together with SSG and WSG. We will form the Design Education Advisory Committee on 1 April to enhance design skills training for our workforce. It will be chaired by Mr Low Cheaw Hwei, Head of Design at Philips. This will complement existing Design courses offered by our IHLs and training providers.

These add to our existing initiatives to help companies. For example, a traditional logistics SME can benefit from free subscription under the Start Digital pack for six months to access more customers through digital marketing and e-commerce; receive up to $30,000 in support from the Productivity Solutions Grant to implement inventory and fleet management solutions; enjoy up to $100,000 from the enhanced Market Readiness Assistance programme for each new market the business is expanding into; and also receive SkillsFuture support for up to 90% of course fees to upskill their employees.

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira asked about the impact of such schemes on productivity. We believe enterprise transformation must start with what the business wants to achieve, what problems it wants to solve and what capabilities it wants to build to reach its goals. The assistance to companies must be enterprise-centric and transformation-focused, based on their needs.

Our approach has achieved good outcomes so far. Enterprise Singapore supported more than 13,000 projects from over 11,000 enterprises last year. These will generate $17.3 billion in value-add and create 21,700 new PMET jobs and also positive outcomes for existing workers. Productivity improvement, innovation and internationalisation remain important pillars of our economy; and we must press on with these efforts. In doing so, we will regularly review our policies and schemes and we will continue to engage economists in the private sector and academia.

Sir, I shall move on to the second "Up" – Scale Up. We will help businesses to expand locally and overseas. Mr Charles Chong asked how SMEs can improve their awareness of the support available and interact easily and efficiently with the Government.

Minister Vivian spoke about the GoBusiness Licensing portal, a collaboration between the Pro-Enterprise Panel, GovTech and SNDGO. It provides a simpler, faster and better way for food services companies to apply for all relevant licences. It is not just about using IT, but as Minister Vivian explained, to re-engineer our rules and procedures, make them more efficient and more pro-business and save businesses time and money.

We are further developing GoBusiness to be the platform for enterprises to transact with the Government. We will include other sectors like retail. For example, applying for change-of-use licence is one challenge faced by many retail businesses. They may not know which agency to approach and the type of business activities already permitted in their existing premises. Through GoBusiness, a company will be able to check such information by entering its postal code. The company need not apply for a licence if the activity is already permitted. This will save time and money. If a licence is required, the company can then proceed to do so through the portal.

The platform will also integrate other transactions beyond licensing, such as helping entrepreneurs to start new businesses and seek Government assistance. We will introduce an e-adviser. This is a joint project by MTI, GovTech and SNDGO, in collaboration with SME Centres and businesses. Instead of going through multiple sources to gather information on different Government schemes, a company can visit the portal and answer a set of questions. The e-adviser will then recommend suitable schemes based on what the company needs.

Those who require further assistance can meet with a Business Advisor at an SME Centre. In 2019, the SME Centres assisted over 28,000 companies. We will enhance our SME Centres as partners for business growth, to provide more in-depth support for promising SMEs. Business Advisors will work with these enterprises to develop long-term business plans and chart the next steps together.

Mr Teo Ser Luck asked about the selection criteria for Scale-up SG. Scale-up SG is for companies of different sizes and industries – we have companies from F&B, cleaning and retail. Besides a high level of commitment from the management team to embark on an ambitious growth plan, ESG will look at the company’s track record, its commitment to grow its presence in Singapore and the potential to create economic spin-offs for Singapore and generate good jobs for Singaporeans.

Learning from the early success of Scale-up SG, ESG will launch a new Enterprise Leadership for Transformation (ELT) programme later this year. The Deputy Prime Minister touched on this as part of Budget 2020. ELT is a three-year pilot programme that supports business leaders of promising SMEs to achieve their next bound of growth. Mr Douglas Foo asked how the participants will be chosen. Companies may apply to the programme. Applicants will be selected based on their demonstration of ambition and commitment and also their growth potential.

ELT will be designed and delivered together with partners such as the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), professional firms and banks. The programme lasts about a year and it will include business coaching and practical learning components. Participating local enterprises will receive up to 90% funding support for their programme fees.

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Mr Foo, who is also President of Singapore Manufacturing Federation, has suggested involving TACs as ELT partners. I welcome his suggestion. Indeed, the business networks of TACs will be very valuable and can support peer learning and collaboration. We look forward to working with our TACs.

This brings me to the third prong of our strategy – Team Up. We want companies to Team Up to build deeper capabilities and accelerate their growth. One area is the review of Government rules and regulations. Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked about our approach in doing so.

Over the years, the PEP has partnered industry, businesses and Government agencies to make close to 1,200 improvements in rules and regulations. These have reduced time, effort and costs for businesses, and improved our overall economic competitiveness. The PEP also partners TACs to organise Pro-Enterprise Clinics to identify regulatory pain points and support innovative ideas from businesses.

Earlier, Senior Minister of State Koh mentioned SinFooTech. It is a food technology company which converts soy whey into alcoholic beverages. The company wanted to set up a research facility to experiment with new products. However, it faced high costs – distillery licence fees and excise duties. PEP and Singapore Customs worked together with the company, and after reviewing its proposal, Customs agreed that SinFooTech need not pay excise duties on its research products, as long as these are not sold commercially. This cost saving will be about $90,000 over six months for the company.

Customs also extended its pro-rated licence fee framework for microbreweries to distilleries like SinFooTech. Instead of paying the annual licence fee of $28,000, it can now pay a pro-rated fee of $7,000 per quarter; quarter by quarter. If it wants to stop after one or two months because the experiment is not going well, it can get a refund for the remaining licence period. These features help to lower the entry cost for companies to try new ideas, and also reduce the exit cost if they decide to end their pilot early.

When we work together with businesses to review our rules and regulations, the improvements will benefit many other enterprises. They can launch innovative ideas more quickly and lower their operating costs. Government agencies also benefit from having more efficient and business-friendly rules.

We see our role as a gate-keeper and not as a goal-keeper. What is the difference? A gate-keeper assesses the risk and decides who to let through and who to turn away. Whereas a goal-keeper's mission is to prevent all balls from getting through. If we block all new ideas that push against our existing regulatory boundaries or have a risk of failing, there will be no innovation.

Listening to feedback and being open to new ideas, feeling comfortable to take calculated risks, and experimenting together with industry partners to turn ideas into reality – these are important aspects of Public Service Transformation; in line with the SG Together Movement.

Sir, Ms Joan Pereira and Mr Teo Ser Luck asked about heartland enterprises, which serve important social and economic roles in our society. In my maiden speech in Parliament, I spoke about how we should work together to rejuvenate our heartland precincts and shops. Sir, please allow me to continue in Mandarin.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Over the years, MTI and ESG have teamed up with industry partners to drive heartland precinct rejuvenation and enterprise transformation. Last June, we set up the Heartland Enterprise Centre Singapore (HECS) and set it three main objectives – to uplift precincts, transform enterprises and upskill workers.

Since then, the HECS has done good work, and helped many heartland enterprises and Merchants' Associations (MAs). For example, it helped:

a) The Ang Mo Kio MA to promote and broadcast its Chinese New Year festivities on social media, increasing footfall to the precinct;

b) The Bedok MA to add vibrancy to the town centre through lighting installations and displays; and

c) The Chong Pang MA to develop a dedicated online marketplace for shops in the precinct, to increase their sales.

For 2020, I have challenged the HECS to achieve a "triple five" stretched target:

a) To partner at least five new precincts, in addition to the three they are supporting currently;

b) Secondly, to help 200 enterprises with their transformation and digitalisation, which is five times more than the 40 last year; and

c) Thirdly, to train 1,000 workers and shop owners, which is five times more than the 200 last year.

We will introduce the Heartland Enterprise Upgrading Programme (HEUP), as a single integrated support package for MAs. Under this programme, MAs can receive dedicated support from ESG, HDB, and HECS to develop and implement 4-year action plans. These plans will cover upgrading of common area infrastructure, organising placemaking activities, and the upgrading of enterprises and workers.

We will also provide enhanced support to MAs through the programme. Firstly, we will increase the support for placemaking activities from 50% to 70% and cover a wider range of activities and costs. We will also increase funding support for the upgrading of common areas from 80% to 90%, reducing the costs for shop owners.

In addition, currently under HDB's Revitalisation of Shops (ROS) scheme, the support of all shop owners is required for upgrading works to commence. We are considering amending the legislation to lower the threshold from 100% to 75%, to allow works to proceed if at least three quarters of the shop owners are supportive. This will allow more precincts to benefit.

(In English): Mr Chairman, the Government will help businesses and workers tide over the immediate challenges due to COVID-19. We are also committed to support businesses at different stages of growth to transform and prepare for the future, so that our companies and our workers will emerge stronger.

Through economic growth, we have achieved employment growth and wage growth for our workers, and improved the lives of Singaporeans. Real wages have grown by 3% per year in the last 10 years and young people are able to secure good jobs. In the 2019 graduate employment survey results for University and Polytechnic students, more than 90% found employment within six months of graduation, with higher median salaries than previous batches.

The outcomes we have achieved are the result of effective policies, hard work and good governance, underpinned by a stable political system and strong tripartite partnerships; as well as a forward-looking Government that plans long term and does not shy away from telling the truth, even if it is unpopular. A Government which places Singaporeans at the heart of everything we do.

This is an important component of our Singapore Story: how we grow as a nation, how every generation builds on the foundations laid by previous generations and takes the country further to benefit future generations.

This is how we must continue to forge ahead – always striving for improvement – Keeping Singapore domestically united and globally connected; and never giving up in the face of adversity. As we say in Hokkien, "pah buay si", and if I may add, "pah si pun boh zao" or to have a never-say-die attitude in Hokkien.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Trade and Industry (Dr Tan Wu Meng): Mr Chairman, Sir, if I may beg your indulgence, in case we overrun by a little bit.

The Chairman: All right.

Dr Tan Wu Meng: Sir, we all play a part in keeping Singapore's economy going. We appreciate the good works of our Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs). They are a store of social capital with their institutional memory, shared experience and industry networks.

I agree with Mr Douglas Foo that our TACs help the Government to better understand the needs of our business community, and partner us to develop industry. Mr Foo, Mr Teo Ser Luck, Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked about the Government's plans to help TACs and companies expand into new markets.

Last year, Enterprise Singapore started developing strategic roadmaps with our TACs, to help them adopt longer-term plans to transform industry. The first roadmap is with the Singapore Business Federation (SBF). As Minister Chan shared earlier, GlobalConnect@SBF will be launched this April. It will scale up SBF's capabilities and resources to help our Singapore-based companies access new markets overseas. To start, SBF will organise seminars, trade fairs and business missions to help businesses grow in Southeast Asia and they will do this for emerging markets as well across the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa.

SBF's international advisory centre will also answer companies' enquiries about internationalisation and the use of Free Trade Agreements. Because when our businesses take flight, it grows our economy's international wing of the economy. It creates more opportunities for fellow Singaporeans at home and abroad and furthermore, COVID-19 has also been a stark reminder of the need to diversify across multiple markets.

The Government will equip TACs with more resources to support companies in their transformation journey. Enterprise Singapore will pilot the two-year Executive-in-Residence programme. This is to help TACs engage experienced executives to guide companies in business transformation and growth. Participating TACs will help to identify, engage and match the executives with companies based on their needs. Our TACs will also need to upgrade their workforce and capabilities, which Mr Douglas Foo asked about. TACs can tap on the Local Enterprise and Association Development (LEAD) programme to strengthen their leadership and secretariats, and improve organisational processes.

Several have done so, such as the Federation of Merchants' Associations Singapore and the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and there will be many more to come. Sir, let me now speak on consumer protection. Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked about errant retailers that attempted to profiteer from the COVID-19 situation.

Let me say this categorically. Profiteering is wrong. We recently exercised our powers under the Price Control Act to ask two retailers, which had received public complaints about profiteering. We asked the two retailers to show us the basis of their prices. The retailers subsequently apologised and reduced their prices. We will continue to monitor the situation.

Mr Lim also suggested ways for the Government to deter unfair practices. We will study his suggestions, but there is also a need to balance between consumers' interests and a pro-business environment, because our fellow Singaporeans include entrepreneurs and business owners as well.

Sir, we will continue to strengthen consumer protection in three ways. First, review our laws on competition and consumer protection, to ensure they continue to be effective in deterring unfair practices. This will help consumers make better decisions and help companies to continue competing on a level playing field. Second, raise industry standards. The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore has developed a set of guidelines on the Dos and Don'ts in price transparency for all consumer-facing industries. This will reduce the risk of consumers being misled. These guidelines will apply to both online and offline transactions and will be published in due course.

Third, promote consumer awareness and empowerment. Mr Lim Biow Chuan had raised the question of charge-back issues. I assure Mr Lim that consumers can seek assistance on charge-back issues through their credit card issuers' hotline. And there are also ongoing efforts to raise awareness on the charge-back process.

The websites of credit card issuers, the Association of Banks in Singapore, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) and MoneySENSE – all these have Frequently Asked Questions on the process of resolving common credit card disputes including charge-backs. Sir, we also believe in empowering consumers with information to make well-informed purchasing decisions, because better information means better choices.

CASE piloted the Price Kaki app featuring crowdsourcing insights on prices at supermarkets and hawker centres across Tampines, Toa Payoh and Jurong West starting from September 2019. What does crowdsourcing mean? It means that people at supermarkets, people looking for cooked food, can share information about prices and bargains, so that other users can share the information from it as well. We could say, "by users", "for users". Since its launch, we have seen 15,000 registered users, more than half a million crowdsourced entries from users. And all this, across just three towns in Singapore. Imagine if we had it across the island. I am pleased to announce that the Price Kaki app will be rolled out across Singapore in the coming months. With this crowdsourcing network, everyone can have a buddy, everyone can be a buddy. You might say, "Long zhong wu kaki, long zhong si kaki" or we all have buddies in Hokkien.

Furthermore, Price Kaki helps people who has less time, who are less aware of market prices, who are less experienced shoppers. It is an app for everyone across all walks of life, but especially people who may be starting with less. It is a progressive move to build a more fair, more equitable society. We hope you can benefit from the app, whether contributing as a kaki or benefiting as a price kaki. Mr Chairman, in Mandarin, please.

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(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] We understand and care for your concerns with regard to cost of living issues. CASE will be launching the Consumer Empowerment Panel (CEP) in April to look into matters on cost of living. The panel will work together with associations, unions and grassroots leaders, to engage and help consumers like you stretch your hard-earned dollar.

(In English): Mr Chairman, in English, please. Sir, we are a small island, a little red dot in a changing world. And sometimes, the world outisde throws challenges at us. And to face these challenges, it takes all of us, because when we pull together, we are stronger. In Mandarin, "众人同心，其利断金"。In Malay, "berat sama dipikul, ringan sama dijinjing".

We have seen this in the fight against COVID-19. Nurses and doctors on the frontlines, working day and night, round the clock, to protect us from the outbreak. Volunteers, at mask distribution centres in the community, delivering masks to the homes of neighbours who are less mobile.

Our Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs) and companies are doing their part too. Last month, when demand surged for essential commodities, the Singapore Food Manufacturers' Association teamed up with six other associations to increase domestic food supply. E-commerce companies, with the help of Enterprise Singapore, shared delivery vans to cope with increased demand for delivery throughout Singapore.

And, Sir, we will continue supporting our TACs and other industry groups to help companies get through today's economic uncertainties and prepare for tomorrow's recovery. We will introduce the SG-Together Enhancing Enterprise Resilience programme, otherwise known as STEER, which will match $1 for every $4 raised by industry-led funds, up to $1 million per fund.

The Singapore Furniture Industries Council will be launching its members' assistance scheme this week as part of this, supported by Enterprise Singapore through STEER, and more than 250 of their members will benefit from the scheme to strengthen business capabilities and market diversification.

Mr Chairman, in conclusion, we are all in this together – you and me, the people around us, our TACs, our fellow Singaporean businesses, Government. All of us in this together. And this is how, as a nation, we can survive and thrive, no matter what odds the world throws at us. This is how we keep on creating new possibilities for a better, brighter Singapore. This is how, together, we can make a difference, because together, we can, and together, we will overcome.

The Chairman: Clarifications. Mr Liang Eng Hwa.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: Sir, two clarifications. Yesterday, the Restaurant Association Singapore issued a statement reminding landlords to pass on the property tax rebates that they will be enjoying to the retailers. There are other retailers who are not happy that the landlords are not making it clear on passing on these rebates. So, can I ask the Minister if he is concerned that the good intention of the Government – which is to help the retailers impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak – is not being followed through by the landlords? And whether any measures can be taken to urge the landlords to pass on the rebates?

Secondly, I appreciate Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat's reassurance that the Government will continue to strengthen our pro-enterprise environment. While stifling regulations can work against the enterprise eco-system and add costs, but we also know that adequate regulations do protect consumers, set high standards, build trust. In our context, regulations can be both a competitive advantage and a competitive disadvantage. Can I ask the Senior Minister of State to share a bit more where we should lean to and where is that sweet spot?

Mr Chan Chun Sing: Mr Chairman, let me take the first question and Senior Minister of State Chee will answer the second one.

Yes, we are aware that there are some issues between the retailers and the landlord. Let me just say this. We are all in this together – the whole Singapore economy depends on businesses – the landlords, the retailers, everyone working together.

Since the Government announced the rebates and the help to the businesses, it has come to our attention that there is an entire spectrum of responses.

On the positive side, we have seen landlords who have proactively gone out of their way to share the rebates with their tenants. And, in fact, a few of them have gone out of their way to take into account the tenants' reduced turnover to help them more, and I applaud these landlords. But on the other hand, it has also come to our attention that there are some landlords that are still taking a bit of time to roll out their packages. To this end, the Enterprise Singapore is in close consultation with both the Restaurant Association of Singapore and also the Singapore Retailers Association (SRA) to help them work with the major landlords. I would like to urge all the major landlords to do our part together to help each other to get through this difficult moment.

And I would say this to the landlord. The relationship between the landlord and the tenant is a long-term relationship. When the tenants do well, the landlords do well; when the landlords do well, they need to share it with the tenants. Only so can we continue to do well as One Team Singapore. It will be very short-sighted for landlords to try to stinge and save a bit here and there, instead of passing on some of the benefits to the tenants. This is a long-term relationship and Singapore is not that a big an economy. I think every one of us will have long memories of who are those who have come forward to do their part for their business partner in this difficult moment and who are those that have taken a very short-term perspective to this.

Enterprise Singapore will continue to work closely to arbitrate between the landlords and also the tenants. In fact, I must thank Enterprise Singapore officers who have been working very hard over the last one week, day and night, trying to urge both sides to come to terms with each other.

At the same time, I must say that, for the tenants who are affected, they are not all affected equally and we should try to give a bit more help to those that are more affected by the downturn caused by the COVID-19. And if we can do this all together, we will go past this stronger together.

Mr Chee Hong Tat: Mr Chairman, I thank Mr Liang Eng Hwa for his supplementary question. Indeed, I think there is a need to strike a balance and that is why I use the analogy of a gatekeeper. Someone needs to watch the risks – what are the downsides. And every proposal that comes needs to be assessed carefully. What are the benefits? What are the downsides? What are the risks involved? What is the impact on stakeholders, consumers and other businesses?

So, this is a process which we do on a case-by-case basis. Whenever we get a proposal from businesses, we will work together with the regulatory agencies to understand what is the rationale for the current rules, can it be improved and enhanced, can the process be better?

The example, I would give Mr Liang is this: you build a ship and the safest place for the ship maybe to park it in the harbour. But we know that is not why we built ships. We built ships because we want the ship to be able to bring us to different places around the world, but the ships need to be safe. So, how do you do it in such a way that will allow us to look for new opportunities and new areas, but still remains safe, the quality must still be maintained. Because that is a very important part of our economic competitiveness.

Our trusted brand name, quality assurance, people think that when they walk into Singapore, they have the confidence that things work well here. And what we want to avoid are the two extremes – free for all; nothing at all. There is a sweet spot, as Mr Liang mentioned, somewhere in the middle. But where that sweet spot is, that one we have to evaluate on a case-by-case basis. We have to look at it.

That is why it is so important for us to do this in partnership because when we understand what the pain points are, based on the feedback from our businesses, and we understand also the rationale for the rules and regulations from our regulatory agencies, then I think there is scope was to see how can we innovate together, how can we improve the rules and processes together.

So, that is where I think we are aiming for. Mr Liang asked me about where is the balance we want to strike. I think that balance is what we want to aim for and the process will be as part of Public Service transformation, as part of engaging our businesses, our Trade Associations and Chambers, to do it together.

The Chairman: Assoc Prof Walter Theseira.

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: Thank you, Mr Chairman. I thank Senior Minister of State Chee for the reply to the cut. I have two clarifications for him.

First, I would like to understand the Ministry's findings on the effect of grant schemes a bit better. Is the claim that the outcomes, such as the $17.3 billion in value-add, is that attributable solely to Enterprise Singapore (ESG) support? In other words, what is the marginal contribution of public funding? Because the concern here is that it could just be a substitute for private funding. In that case, not a good use of taxpayer money.

The second clarification is, what is the extent to which public grant schemes have contributed to recent improvements in total factor productivity (TFP) growth? This was in the cut but not directly addressed just now.

Mr Chee Hong Tat: Sir, first, I think the contributions to our productivity, to our economic growth, I think I will be overstating it if I say it is all due to the grants from ESG. It cannot be. A large part of it, actually, the main part of it is due to the hard work and the entrepreneurial drive of our businesses. The business owners must be, first, at the forefront of this. If they do not have good ideas, they do not know how to transform their business, they do not know what to do with the various resources that they have, I do not think any amount of Government grants will help them.

So, that is why I think we pay a lot of attention to helping businesses with good growth potential, with the commitment and ambition, to see how we can help them to go further. But it has to start with the business owner having that drive, the ideas, the resilience and the resourcefulness to be able to pool these ideas together and produce a service or a product that will meet the needs of its customers.

The issue of TFP, Sir, I must first qualify that even though I did some economics in school, my level of economics is nowhere near Assoc Prof Theseira. But based on my understanding, TFP is a residual indicator, in a sense that you look at what is the change in GDP that is not attributed to changes in capital and labour inputs. So, because it is a residual indicator, the changes in TFP, first, it could be due to a range of different reasons; and second, it is more meaningful to look at it over a longer period of time because of the ups and downs. Because of that, we do not just look at TFP; we also look at other indicators to guide us, in terms of whether our schemes are working, to provide the feedback on whether our schemes are working. These are indicators, such as value added, jobs created – especially jobs for Singaporeans – investments that we could attract and also what is the value added per worker. We use a mixture of indicators to provide a more complete picture.

The Chairman: Ms Anthea Ong.

Ms Anthea Ong (Nominated Member): Thank you, Mr Chairman. I would like to thank Senior Minister of State Koh for addressing my cut, particularly in terms of the economic transition to decarbonisation. I have three clarifications.

Do we know when the risk to economy from high carbon sectors will become pertinent? That is number one.

What are our plans to invest in deep industrial efficiency, CCUS, which is carbon capture storage and utilisation, or low carbon hydrogen to not only just mitigate the risk to our economy, but also to create new jobs? That is number two.

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I think Senior Minister of State Koh mentioned that there are 26,000 workers currently employed in the petrochemical industry. I assume a large number of them are actually locals. I am wondering how are we re-skilling this high carbon industry jobs to prepare for the kind of jobs that we can expect which we do not know now, in the next decade, as Minister Chan mentioned.

Dr Koh Poh Koon: Sir, can I get Ms Anthea Ong to repeat her first question because I did not quite catch that.

Ms Anthea Ong: The risk – when were the risks to our economy from this high carbon sector become pertinent?

Dr Koh Poh Koon: At this moment these situations are still evolving because the technology for many of the low carbon alternatives are still quite nascent. They are still not exactly mainstream. Things like carbon capture, utilisation, carbon storage, hydrogen fuel cell technology, for example. All these things are still technologically undergoing development and they have not gone to mainstream yet. So, I do not think we have reached the inflection point where we need to actually transit aggressively into alternative energy sources.

For new jobs, one of the key things is to make sure that we continue to work on our ITM together with the industry. The ITM for the energy and chemical sector is a tripartite effort between the oil majors or the people owning the refineries in the energy sector, together with the union as well as the workers. The idea is to make sure that we involve these tripartite partners into looking at what their transition plans would be over the longer term. And then working out step-by-step what kind of new jobs would be created in the interim, what kinds of skills are needed and then very, very targetedly training the workers today to continue to take on new skill sets so that as the new jobs come about, whether it is through efficiency measures, putting in new technology that changes the way they work, then the skills of the workers are relevant for these news that come about. So, I hope that gives you a kind of sense of where we are implementing some of this technological change to our workforce. I hope that answers the bulk of the Member's questions.

The Chairman: Mr Liang, would you like to withdraw your amendment?

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: Sir, I would like to thank Minister Chan Chun Sing, Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat, Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon, Senior Parliamentary Secretary Tan Wu Meng for the comprehensive response to our cuts. Indeed, our economy is facing, among the most daunting challenges and circumstances in recent years, with serious implications on jobs and business survivability. So, it is reassuring that MTI as well as the Budget 2020 measures are there to help the businesses to tide through this period. We wish the MTI team every success in steering our economy forward and to emerge stronger. With that, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment, Sir.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $1,316,531,400 for Head V ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $6,541,521,000 for Head V ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.