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.
At a news conference on Tuesday (August 11) where he announced that Singapore’s economy had contracted 6.7 percent in the first part of this year and is expected to shrink by 5% to 7% this year, Chan said the “painful truth” “is that the country will not return to a world before Covid 19.
He said recurring waves of infection and disruption mean recovery will take time. “The recovery will be asymmetrical from one sector to another. Some sectors will recover, while others will be permanently modified.”
He also warned that the existing crisis is different from the 1998 Asian currency crisis or the 2009 global monetary crisis, where “if we stop, things will happen in a few months.”
“If we wait until the end, we’ll probably be in a worse scenario than today,” he said, adding that the Republic will have to start building a new economy now 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.
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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 talk to their opposing Chinese numbers through WeChat and cannot use WhatsApp. The opposite may be true in the United States.
“Frictions like this will be inevitable in a more confusing world,” he said. “We will have to avoid getting stuck between the conflicts of the wonderful powers, or get stuck in a fragmented world of industrial relations and technological standards.”
Second, global corporations are reorganizing their production and source chains, examining the need for regional headquarters and the location of their plants. Many move from efficiency, or “just in time,” to resilience, or “just in case.”
“They need to diversifyArray … not having a singles site,” he said, adding that for some manufacturers, this means a “China plus one” strategy with an active one in Asean.
This means that while some new investments may come from Singapore, existing investments can also diversify into 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, from taxing virtual activities to pressuring 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 living in other countries can make the paintings of 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.
Instead, he added, others affected by loss of tasks and businesses should be better served in a sustainable way that “does not divide, affirms the dignity of paintings and strengthens our social fabric.”
“We will have 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 have a social responsibility, we can allow more activities with less risk,” he said.
Companies with opportunities in spaces such as biopharmaceuticals, chains of origin and precision engineering will benefit from a boost. PHOTOS: ST FILE
Second, the government will make businesses and staff perceive and adapt to the new world.
Companies with opportunities in spaces such as biopharmaceuticals, chains of origin and precision engineering will benefit from a boost. “There will be a favorable and exciting environment for new businesses to start and invest here in the long run,” he said.
Beyond the captured aggregates, these efforts fear the structure of resilient and sustainable systems for the future, he said.
Companies that have experienced a drop in demand, but will eventually get assistance in maintaining their core capacity so that they can emerge stronger.
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 becoming, such as tourism and entertainment, there will be help to reinvent themselves and turn to new markets and products, Chan said. “We know these are difficult decisions to make. But the faster we adapt and change, the faster our recovery will be.”
Third, the government will identify “appropriate macroeconomic conditions,” strengthening Singapore’s ties 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 remains the same.
“We will do everything we can to prepare our other people for the difficult situations ahead, not only to survive, but also to thrive in the new environment,” he said.
“We might not wait for Covid to explode, but we will start now, to refresh our economy and create those new opportunities for our other people and the next generation.”
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission is required for playback.
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