Ladies and Gentlemen

I am very pleased to be here today to officiate at this special event. Far East Organization (FEO), Orchard Parade Holdings Limited (OPH) and PLAN-B Technologies Pte Ltd (PLAN-B) have demonstrated their far-sighted vision with the setting up of one of Singapore’s first IT Incubation Centres, the OPH-POInT.ic. It reflects their confidence in the potential of Singapore’s rising pool of high-tech start-up companies.

In showing their commitment to help start-up companies accelerate the transformation of their innovation and ideas into commercially viable business ventures, they are in fact investing in the future of our dynamic info-communications industry.

The landscape for Singapore’s high-tech development is indeed becoming very exciting. Our strong foundation in science and technology has not only resulted in large corporate R&D activities operating from Singapore, but also enabled new and promising companies with innovative technologies to emerge.

The government launched the Technopreneurship 21 drive with the aim to create a holistic, sustainable long-term environment for technopreneurs to succeed. Our US$1 billion Technopreneurship Investment Fund has attracted smart venture capitalists from the Silicon Valley and resulted in the creation of many local venture funds. This has spurred more and more high tech entrepreneurs to start their dot.com companies here. Start-ups from Asia and the US, attracted by this conducive environment for technopreneurship, have also started to gravitate towards Singapore, making it an ideal gateway for the Asian market.

The government, through the National Science and Technology Board (NSTB), has also put in place many measures and programmes to seed and grow technology enterprises in Singapore. These assistance programmes include the Business Angel Fund (BAF), Technology Incubator Programme (TIP), Technology Development Fund (TDF), Incubation Support, Technopreneur Investment Incentive Scheme, and Intellectual Property Framework, among others.

Following the various IT promotion plans and programmes by the public sector, I am pleased to note that in response there is a growing excitement and vibrancy in the industry as new ideas are created by the private sector. These ideas feed on one another, and in turn generate even more ideas. Increasingly, more and more of these ideas are turning into promising business ventures, with many people launching and investing in new high growth start-ups.

We want to continue to nurture a critical mass of technopreneurs that drives the digital economy by innovating cutting edge technology and new business models. We want to encourage creativity and innovation to blossom. To do so, we need the right supporting structures and culture. The Technopreneurship 21 initiative is the government’s contribution to jumpstart this process.

I believe that the success of the Government initiatives, however, lies in the participation of the private sector, which will create the buzz and the activity. The complementary efforts of both the public and private sectors will ensure that we have a sustained high growth technopreneurship sector in Singapore. The private sector can contribute to the success in the following areas.

1. In this regard, I am very pleased that FEO & OPHL, in partnership with PLAN-B, have set up the OPH-POInT.ic, as a one-stop facility for new start-up companies. Housed within this newly completed high tech industrial development, Eunos Techpark, OPH-POInT.ic will serve as the point providing budding dot.com ventures with the full suite of business support and facilitation services. Technopreneurs can literally walk in with only their expertise and start operations right away.

 

2. The opportunities in the new economy are vast and numerous. Speed is of great essence if our new age companies are to capture a slice of the fast-growing high tech info-communications industry in Asia. OPH-POInT.ic’s initiative to nurture promising start-up companies and help them kick-start their operations is a step in the right direction.

 

3. I hope that the success of the OPH-POInT.ic incubation centre will spur other developers and building owners to devise similar innovative programmes to unleash the potential of the gems in our start-up industry and translate their creative talents and innovative ideas into tangible business value.

a. I hope also to see more angels and private corporations setting aside seed venture funds to support start-ups and technopreneurs. I am pleased to note that FEO & OPHL, together with PLAN-B, has established the S$3 million OPH Technology Fund to co-invest in start-ups that have been selected for the POInT incubation programme and other high-tech companies. OPHL’s Hong Kong-based sister company, Sino Technology Corporation Ltd (SinoTech), has also announced its plan to set up an incubation fund in Singapore with the help of the NSTB, to invest in technology-oriented start-up companies in Singapore, other parts of Asia and the USA. SinoTech and its investors will be investing up to US$40 million and NSTB will invest up to US$10 million in the Fund through the Technopreneurship Investment Fund (TIF).

a. With a well-established infrastructure and strong capital market support, we are well placed to attract even more individuals with the requisite inclination, expertise and potential to come forward to embrace technopreneurship. I hope to see more of the younger generation joining e-commerce startup companies. Following the latest plunge in share prices of the new economy companies worldwide, there have been talks that those who were planning to join start-ups are now getting cold feet; that they may change their mind and prefer to take cover in the security of the old economy. I hope this would not be the case. The recent shakeout in the new economy can be viewed positively. It means differentiating those with really good ideas from those without. It means more stringent criteria will be applied by venture cap funds in selecting projects. It means more funds will be available to those who really deserve them. I would therefore encourage our budding technopreneurs not to lose heart but to put their ideas to the test.

a. Professional groupings such as lawyers and management consultants can also play a role by lending their expertise to start-up companies. IT hardware and software companies can similarly increase their focus in the technopreneurship sector. For example, today we are witnessing the strategic partnerships between OPH-POInT.ic and Arthur Andersen, Oracle Systems South East Asia (S) Pte Ltd and Raja & Tann Advocates & Solicitors, to allow incubatees at OPH-POInT.ic to access their rich pool of management and business consultancy services, technology solutions, and legal advisory services respectively.

In conclusion, the provision of a full slew of infrastructure support and business facilitation services, such as those offered by high-tech incubation centres, more investment funds, increase in individuals joining e-commerce startups, and professional groups offering support, are important ingredients which the private sector must develop in order to create and sustain a vibrant entrepreneurial environment in Singapore.

On this note, it leaves me now to wish OPH-POInT.ic and its strategic partners every success in their undertaking. It is now my pleasure to declare OPH-POInT.ic officially open.

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