Dialogue with Minister for Trade and Industry Mr Chan Chun Sing

The Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) was honoured to have our members take part in a candid closed-door dialogue with Minister for Trade and Industry Mr Chan Chun Sing.

Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Trade and Industry (Left) with Mr Douglas Foo, President of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (Right) at the Dialogue Session

Members fielded a wide range of questions ranging from challenges in internationalisation, concerns of remaining competitive amid rising costs, adoption of digitalisation, resumption of business travel, reskilling and upskilling challenges and many more.

Minister Chan set the stage for the dialogue by stating that the world as we know has been fundamentally transformed by the pandemic. He went on to identify three key changes that were affecting the business landscape. First, geopolitics has significantly changed and would alter the way we continue to trade in a globalised world. Second, digitalisation has significantly accelerated during the pandemic. Some solution providers had seen higher levels of adoption in three months than in the last three years. If Singapore companies had not made similar progress in the last three months, then they would be left behind. Third, the Work from Home phenomenon affects how we view the workforce, where we are able to source our labour and where we seek employment. The nature of work has also fundamentally changed, which impacts the demand for office space and housing. The competition for talent is now truly global especially for PMET jobs.

The hybrid meeting, organised with adherence to safe management measures, saw less than 50 physical attendees at the SMF with Minister Chan but more than 400 members of the business community tuning in through the SMF Zoom webinar platform. Minister Chan fielded a wide range of questions from physical and online attendees on the economic recovery outlook, role of the manufacturing sector, Singapore’s workforce in manufacturing and trade competitiveness among others. Minister Chan also actively engaged the online audience with a series of quick digital polls that got the audience thinking and gave all attendees an insight on the views of their peers.

The hybrid meeting, organised with adherence to safe management measures, saw less than 50 physical attendees at the SMF with Minister Chan

The SMF president, Mr Douglas Foo (Right) presented a token of appreciation for the Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr Chan Chun Sing (Left) at the end of the dialogue session.

Group photo at end of dialogue session.
Mr Chan Chun Sing - Minister for Trade and Industry (First row - Left), Mr Douglas Foo - President of the SMF (First row - Right) and Secretary General - Mr Lawrence Pek (Third row - Right) together with some of the Council Members