SINGAPORE (18 Sep) : Singapore can serve as a bridge between the US and Asean as the city-state makes headway in becoming a Smart Nation and the region’s digital capital, says Minister for Communications and Information S Iswaran.
Speaking at a luncheon hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) on Tuesday, Iswaran says that such partnerships are critical given the complexities of today’s economic environment.
This is especially so amid challenges brought about by trade tensions and populist sentiments, as well as a rising rhetoric against globalisation and a rules-based multilateral trading system.
“Cross-pollination [of ideas], technological advancements and innovation has posed challenges in the form compressed product cycles, disruptions to industries and business models and changes to the fundamental nature of jobs and work,” says Iswaran, who is also Minister in-charge of trade relations.
What is apparent, he notes, is that businesses and individuals “have not been able to adapt to the changes that are brought by globalisation and free trade”.
Iswaran opines that both the US and Asean can circumvent – or, at least, curtail – this through collaborations, especially as Asean is poised to be among the top four aggregate economies in the world by 2030.
"This region has burgeoning needs that can be met by American companies. Singapore is not only a gateway to other Asean countries, but can also provide companies with a more nuanced understanding of the various Asean markets through deeper partnerships," he says.
Presently, the government has been encouraging local technology companies to leverage on their digitalisation capabilities to partner with their regional counterparts through showcases. These include an event in Jakarta earlier this year, which connected 10 Singapore tech firms with Indonesian logistics companies.
Adding to this, Iswaran says Digital Industry Singapore – a joint office of the Economic Development Board, Enterprise Singapore and the Infocomm Media Development Authority – will be looking to help American companies here to expand regionally.
However, he stresses that trust between governments, businesses and consumers will be crucial for these collaborations to bear fruit.
To help strengthen the collaborations, Singapore is also looking to establish international frameworks to guide behavior in cyberspace. These include the development of an Asean Framework on Digital Data Governance.
“Companies also have a very big role as part of the solution. You have to show that you are worthy of [consumers'] trust when it comes to their data, and this is even more important for cross-border data flows in e-commerce and digital payments,” Iswaran says.
Such business transformations, he adds, will continue to help companies cope with global economic disruptions.
“Domestically, an important area is how we digitally transform the various sectors of the economy. And that involves upgrading the capabilities of both our companies and our workers,” he says.