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

Ministers

Excellencies

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen

Tonight’s function commemorates 40 years of EDB. I am happy to be here to pay tribute to EDB – an organisation synonymous with Singapore’s economic transformation from a Third World to First World economy.

When established in 1961, Singapore was still a British Colony with limited self-government. Under conditions then prevailing, Singapore’s many problems, both economic and social, appeared insurmountable. It was under such inauspicious circumstances that EDB came into being, with a desperate task of attracting investments and creating jobs for the many unemployed and new entrants to the job market.

In my career in the public service, I had many opportunities to work with EDB officers in pursuing our respective missions. Among the many EDB officers with whom I worked, I would like to recall two. First, Mr Lee Ong Pong, in the early 1960s. Second, the indefatigable Mr Philip Yeo, my old colleague from the Ministry of Defence.

Mr Lee Ong Pong then had the unenviable task of keeping investors happy with a peaceful industrial relations climate in their respective factories. The 1960’s were a time when workers were paid pittance, and working conditions depressing, by today’s standards. Some employers regarded their workers as commodities and demanded subservience to their every little diktat. They would, at the drop of a hat, threaten to take up every little grievance as a threat to their investments and demand the Minister’s intervention. Lee Ong Pong’s job was to prevent such escalation.

My role then in the Labour Research Unit and later the NTUC was to press the workers’ case for fairness and justice. This was in a climate when militant left wing unions sought, in every worker dispute, a political opportunity to disrupt harmony in the work place and create what they called "revolutionary conditions". Working together with Lee Ong Pong, and using reason and even firmness, with both the workers and the employers, we prevented deterioration in the industrial relations climate in these new factories. This exemplified the spirit of EDB – a skilful interlocutor able to find persuasive arguments and sufficient common grounds to entrench investors, but also able to extract sufficient concessions to benefit the nation. Like Lee Ong Pong, there were many others in the EDB fraternity in those difficult early days who exemplified this same spirit and drive and helped to lay the foundations for EDB’s success.

Next, Philip Yeo. I have seen Philip work literally day and night, and all round the world, in pursuit of EDB’s objectives and his vision of how to attain it. Armed with his laptop, distance is no hindrance to Philip. He would keep his officers on their toes with e-mails from the four corners of the world – egging them on with one task after another. Yet, despite this demanding pace, he would be totally relaxed when engaging the principal of a major industrial enterprise, whether to make a compelling pitch for a new investment into Singapore, or to pacify the rare aggrieved investor hurt by some decisions or difficulties imposed by some other Government agencies. I have personally witnessed, on more than one occasion, Philip’s energy, drive and devotion to the EDB cause, whether in dealing with foreign investors or in taking on other Ministries and Government agencies. He is truly Mr EDB personified.

It is probably difficult for the younger EDB officers to relate to the difficult experiences of EDB in its early years when it ventured into overseas investment promotion efforts in the industrialised countries. The question that EDB pioneers faced was "Tell me why we should invest in Singapore?" Despite all the attractive incentives that Singapore offered, Singapore was still in turbulent times, with Communist United Front activities and labour unrest. A lot of energies were expended just knocking on doors of large manufacturing enterprises abroad to get them to at least visit Singapore and see for themselves the advantage of using Singapore to locate their production facilities. It was the effort of the pioneers of EDB, like Mr Chan Chin Bock and others, that foreign MNCs started to recognise Singapore as a possible investment destination, and gradually, as an investment destination of choice.

Today, Singapore is applauded as an economic success story. Our GDP per capita at current market prices has grown 30 times from S$1,306 in 1961 to S$39,585 in 2000. The growth of Singapore over the last 40 years is in many ways a testament to the role that EDB has played in this success story. Many of our economic achievements came about through EDB initiatives, under the direction of its various Chairmen over these past 40 years.

Take employment and job creation, for example, which was the main purpose for establishing EDB in the 1960s. Over the last four decades, Singapore has moved from a situation of 14 per cent unemployed in 1961 to full employment by the mid-1970s. EDB’s pre-occupation has also shifted from attracting investors, all and sundry, in the 1960’s, to attracting investors able to generate higher value-added and better-paying jobs. Real wages have gone up many times in the last 40 years. Our workforce has also gained international recognition as one of the best and most productive. By the mid-1990s, the Singapore economy had gained worldwide standing as one of the world’s most competitive economies over a 30-year period. All this, despite starting from a low-skill and low technology base in the 1960s.

The pursuit by EDB of quality investments helped radically transform the landscape of Jurong, a once crocodile-infested swampland, into a world-renowned thriving industrial township. That same drive and strategy was again manifested in what is now Jurong Island, a massive reclamation project to amalgamate seven small islands to create a world-class chemical industry cluster. EDB was audacious enough to sell this project to investors with nothing more than an idea and its reputation. And it is to EDB’s credit that it found ready takers for what was basically just land still under the sea.

While EDB’s strategies and programmes have evolved over the 40 years, its raison d’etre remains creating meaningful jobs and generating wealth. Chairman EDB has mentioned in his speech that the Board is mapping out new initiatives to make Singapore an even more compelling hub for global business and investment. These measures will go beyond helping us to take advantage of the upswing once the current economic slowdown turns around. They are necessary to lay a solid foundation for many years of economic growth ahead as the world restructures and evolves into a knowledge-driven globalised economy.

Growing our economy from what it was in 1961 to what it is today has not been easy. The environment in which EDB is operating now is very different from 40 years ago, and equally challenging, if not more difficult. Today, EDB faces intense competition on a global basis. The rise of China as an economic giant, and the advent of digital technology are two recent phenomena which have created numerous opportunities, as well as threats, for Singapore.

We are now competing in a new dimension – the Premier League among the developed economies. I have confidence that EDB is equipped for this challenging task because the basic fabric of the EDB organisation – its visionary leadership, its "dare to dream" attitude in strategy formulation and its "can-do" spirit in execution – will put it in good stead as it embarks on the next phase of Singapore’s economic development. This occasion tonight is to celebrate this EDB spirit and ethos, as much as it is a celebration of EDB’s achievements.

Singapore’s success in economic development is unquestionably built on the foundation of confidence that our partners and investors had found in Singapore. They not only appreciated what we were able to offer but, more importantly, in what we were able to deliver after we had made a promise. We certainly could not have come this far without the continued support and commitment from our many international friends and local partners, and the partnerships we have built up over these 40 years.

I am told that many of these companies have also come to make Singapore their home. We grew up with the likes of Philips, Shell, HP, Matsushita and many others who have been here for more than 20 years. These companies have become more than a familiar landmark; they have become part of Singapore.

I am delighted tonight to honour and extend my appreciation to five individuals for their significant contributions to Singapore’s economic development under EDB’s Business Friends of Singapore programme. They join many others whom Singapore is most fortunate to count as our friends and partners.

I look forward to the continued support of all our many business friends and public sector agencies here tonight and others around the world. Together, we look forward to develop Singapore and make all our companies here achieve even greater success in the future.

Thank you.