SINGAPORE – Singapore will not return to a world prior to Covid 19 and will have to chart a new course by building a new economy now, said Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing.
He said recurring waves of infection and disruption mean recovery will take time. “Recovery will be asymmetric across all sectors. Some sectors will recover, while others will be permanently modified.
“If we wait until the end, we’ll probably be in a worst-case scenario than the current one,” he said, adding that the Republic will have to start building a new economy and create more and more job opportunities for people. “We can’t wait for Covid to explode.”
The global has replaced in 4 irrevocable ways, Chan said.
First, the geopolitics that has allowed Singapore to prosper for more than 50 years has changed.
Competition and tensions between primary powers now permeate only politics, but also trade, generation and security, he said.
Citing the example of messaging platforms, he said that when Singaporeans do business in China, they communicate with their Chinese counterparts by WeChat and cannot access WhatsApp. The converse could be true in the United States.
“Frictions like these will be inevitable in a more complicated world,” he said. “We must avoid being caught in between the conflicts of the major powers, or be stranded in a fragmenting world of trade relations and technological standards.”
“They want to diversify… so that they are not dependent on any one site,” he said, adding that for some manufacturers, this means a “China plus one” strategy with an active focus on Asean.
This means that while some new investments may come Singapore’s way, existing ones may also diversify to other countries.
“If we don’t adapt quickly, we’ll be evaded,” Chan warned, emphasizing that the country will have critical advantages, such as high-level asset coverage and legal certainty.
The nature of tax conversion, whether taxing virtual activity or putting pressure on corporations to do more in their home countries, may also be the decision of corporations to invest in Singapore, he added.
Thirdly, he said, the works have been replaced and the remote paintings mean that other people in other countries can make the paintings of the Singaporeans from home.
For this purpose, many SMEs or professionals, managers, executives and technicians whose paintings can be made in a practical way or through automation and synthetic intelligence.
Fourth, the relief of the economic cake will produce more social friction, between those who have more and those who have less; and between foreigners and locals, including citizens and permanent residents, he said.
Even when there are calls for greater coverage and redistribution, he suggested Singaporeans isolate themselves from the world.
“Without the global as a territory and market, we will reduce Singapore’s economic area and restrict that we will expand opportunities for our people,” he said.
“We want to chart a new direction now for a very different and dubious future.”
Singapore will have to retain 3 principles to chart this new course, he said.
First, it will be open to business in a sustainable way.
It will temporarily and largely isolate the affected groups and report on the joy of others.
The control of activities will be proportionate, with stricter measures for high-risk activities.
“Above all, if we each exercise social responsibility, we can permit more activities with less risk,” he said.
Second, the Government will help businesses and workers make sense of, and adjust to, the new world.
Firms with good opportunities in areas such as biopharma, supply chains and precision engineering will be given a boost. There will be a conducive and attractive environment for new businesses to start up and plant their investments here for the long term, he said.
Beyond the captured aggregates, these efforts fear the structure of resilient and sustainable systems for the future, he said.
The measures now come with the employment program, wage subsidies and income relief programs, he said, but this deserves to be refocused to help them generate a new source of income and be more profitable.
For industries that are permanently changed – such as tourism and entertainment – there will be help to reinvent themselves, and pivot into new markets and products, said Mr Chan. “We know that these are tough decisions to make. But the faster we adapt and change, the faster our recovery.”
Third, the Government will identify “appropriate macroeconomic conditions”, strengthening Singapore’s links with global supply, generation and talent markets.
The Republic’s aviation and port thing can never be taken for granted, and additional data will be revealed in the coming weeks, he said.
He added that Singapore’s flexible virtual industrial agreements will open up more markets for its business, while preserving existing versus traditional markets.
The government will also employ Singaporeans in jobs and strengthen efforts to adapt to jobs.
Chan is confident that, despite the crisis of a generation, Singapore is starting from a much more powerful position than the Pioneer and Merdeka generations, given its reputation for strong tripartite relations and the rule of law, a highly professional and knowledgeable workforce, and connectivity.
He promised that, despite the challenges, the Government’s commitment to all Singaporeans remained the same.
“We will do everything we can to prepare our other people for the difficult situations ahead, not only to survive, but to thrive in the new environment,” he said.
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