Singapore Government Press Release
Media Division, Ministry of Information and The Arts,
MITA Building, 140 Hill Street, 2^nd Storey, Singapore 179369
Tel: 837-9666

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen

A very good morning.

I am happy to be here today to share with you yet another step taken by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) to gear up towards e-Commerce. Today, SLA will launch 8 new services to the existing 5 services through its Integrated Land Information Service or INLIS, in short.

2. The widespread use of electronic commerce is fast becoming an integral part of the business world today. The market for e-Commerce software applications has grown rapidly in recent years. The Government has made tremendous efforts to adapt technology to all areas of business in order to transform Singapore into a full-scale knowledge-based economy and a hub for e-Commerce.

3. SLA embarked on opportunities in e-Business in 1998. INLIS was introduced in October 1998 as SLA’s information service on the Internet. SLA is now proud to bring to you an enhanced version – with more value-added services and higher interactivity.

4. Technology is moving faster than it ever has, weaving its way into our lives. SLA has kept apace with these developments in e-Commerce, especially its impact on its e-commerce initiatives such as INLIS. Having studied the latest technology in the market, together with feedback from consumers, SLA has now developed a wider range of services and implemented a number of service enhancements to INLIS.

5. Real estate agents, lawyers, homebuyers, surveyors, engineers, architects and other professionals will benefit from the 8 additional services on INLIS. As from today, a total of 13 services will be available. For every land parcel, users of INLIS will be able to discover "What’s In and Around There". In "What’s In", they will be able to find out details of the owner, tenure, last transacted prices, survey plans and so on. As for "What’s Around There", they will be able to obtain road line plans, surrounding amenities such as schools, shopping centres and hawker centres and more.

6. Secondly, consumers will have more opportunities to customise the information to suit their needs. For example, consumers can now select their preference on the scale and size of maps to be printed rather than being constrained by default options.

7. Thirdly, we have also introduced the shopping basket concept to allow consumers to pick and choose the items they require and purchase them at one go. INLIS also enables payment with credit cards, on top of the existing payment modes of GIRO and cashcard to give consumers more payment options.

8. Last but not least, INLIS’ objective is to become the gateway to services across various agencies. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is among the first to come onboard INLIS with their Road Line Plans. SLA is working closely with other agencies to extend its range of land related services.

9. I am told that INLIS has made its presence felt in the property related community. The number of transactions made over INLIS has increased 20% since its introduction in 1998. SLA is also encouraged by the number of inquiries received from both the public and private sectors which have indicated their interest to build upon the INLIS system.

10. Currently, SLA is talking with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and Building and Construction Authority (BCA), to channel their services via INLIS.

11. SLA will continue to forge alliances with both the public and private sectors to deliver more useful services through INLIS.

12. With the increasingly pervasive use of the Internet to provide services, a physical service counter would soon be a trend of the past. The e-Commerce world has totally redefined the relationship between consumers and service providers in Cyberspace. As the consumer markets become more intelligent, they require prompt access to more updated online information in coherent and organised manner. A comprehensive selection of information services across agencies, neatly packaged with innovative ways of delivery would be our approach as we work our way towards virtual counter services for a virtual community in the Internet age.

13. Keeping INLIS relevant and competitive is an on-going process. I am glad that we have played our part in keeping INLIS going and growing. Today, I am convinced that INLIS has created an impact on its consumers. The fact that more partners have expressed interest to come onboard INLIS proves that it is an efficient and effective way of delivering our services. With more value-adding services and interactivity, plus working closely with our customers, I am confident that INLIS would become the SLA Information Service bringing to you land information across various agencies.

14. It gives me great pleasure in declaring this event open.

Thank you.

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