Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good evening.

I am very pleased to join you tonight to celebrate World Standards Day. This event marks the 56^th year of the founding of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO).

SPRING and our counterparts around the world use this occasion to highlight the importance of standards and their impact on improving trade, productivity, safety and health as well as protecting the environment. The occasion is also used to pay tribute to those who have supported and contributed to the national standardisation programmes in their own countries.

Today, a growing number of countries have introduced new product standards in response to consumer demands for better health, safety and environmental protection. Notwithstanding the intent, many of these standards have turned into technical barriers to trade. This is because they impose mandatory testing and certification requirements on manufacturers and traders. Such requirements not only add to business costs, they also hinder global trade of goods and services.

A study by the International Trade Centre shows that some 40% of exports from less-developed countries and 15% from developing and developed countries are subject to such barriers. The Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates that non-tariff barriers contribute between 2 and 10% of the overall production costs or a staggering US$300-480 billion a year.

As the national standards body for Singapore, SPRING focuses on ensuring that Singapore Standards are used to benefit industry and to help local enterprises improve their competitive advantage. SPRING has adopted three key strategies to ensure that our national standardisation programme supports economic growth and helps to eliminate technical barriers to trade.

Firstly, whenever feasible, Singapore Standards are aligned with international and regional standards. This makes it easier for Singapore-made good and services to gain access and entry into overseas markets.

Secondly, Singapore, through SPRING, actively participates in international and regional standardisation activities. The aim is to influence the development of new standards particularly in areas that are important to our industry and economy. Singapore is represented in more than 30 ISO and IEC committees. They include the ISO Council, the highest policy-making body, of which SPRING's Chief Executive, Mr Lee Suan Hiang, is a member.

Thirdly, SPRING supports government initiatives to forge mutual recognition agreements, or MRAs, with overseas partners. Singapore has signed Government-to-Government and multi-lateral MRAs with Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and the APEC and Asean economies. MRAs are strategically important as they enable manufacturers to gain greater access to overseas markets, achieve quicker time to market and reduce cost by doing away with duplicative testing and certification requirements.

In addition to eliminating technical barriers to trade, SPRING also has a focused programme to use standards to improve productivity. In what other standards bodies regard as breaking new ground, SPRING has been working with key players of industry to implement standardisation within an industrial sector or value chain. To date, there are 30 projects under the Standards Implementation for Productivity (SIP) initiative.

They include three new projects that focus on improving the efficiency of Singapore's major supply chains. The first project focuses on implementing an e-business messaging standards that is aligned with international standards to expedite procurement within the fast moving consumer goods industry. With 3 major supermarkets and many of their suppliers taking part, this is believed to be the largest-ever standardisation project on e-business messaging standards. The experience overseas has shown that savings equivalent to 2% revenue for retailers is possible. Less inventory, less disputes and less errors from data reconciliation are some examples of cost savings possible with this standard. Better connectivity will be possible for all parties in the supply chain whether supplier or retailer.

The second project focuses on helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) adopt RosettaNet electronic business standards that are aligned internationally with global high tech companies so that all companies use same data content, connectivity and sequence of info exchange through the internet. This will soon be applicable to not only the high tech industry but to all industry sectors given RosettaNet Global's recent merger with the Universal Code Council which services all industry sectors. The aim is to enable more SMEs to transact business via the Internet and to be plugged into global markets.

The third project focuses on the development and adoption of an e-supply chain assessment standard and framework. This will enable Singapore companies, particularly SMEs, to assess the maturity of their e-supply chain management (e SCM) systems and help them adopt best practices in the supply chain management of their planning, sourcing, manufacturing, delivery and return logistics activities that will enhance their global connectivity and competitiveness. A well managed eSCM system will help companies supply their customers not only in Singapore but globally and enhance Singapore's profile as a manufacturing hub.

I am also happy to note that two technical references, the first of their kind, were developed in the medical area this year. The urgent need for fever screening arising from SARS prompted SPRING to develop, in a recording-breaking time of three months, a standard on performance of thermal imagers for human temperature screening. Experts from foreign standards bodies, such as ASTM International and our standards counterpart in Malaysia, participated in the development of this standard.

We are working towards making this the international standard. Work is also in progress to develop a standard that will provide guidelines for the use of these thermal imagers in anticipation of new outbreaks. The other first was the development of a standard for the quality management system for medical device components. This standard will help SMEs grow in the strategic biomedical science cluster.

Although Singapore is a small country, we are one of the top trading nations in the world. Our international trade is three times our GDP, the highest trade to GDP ratio in the world. We are well-regarded by international standards bodies and accreditation bodies. Our favourable international standing was reinforced at the recent ISO General Assembly when the venues of future ISO General Assemblies were decided.

I am pleased to announce that the 28^th ISO General Assembly in 2005 will be held in Singapore. This is the first time that the ISO General Assembly will be held in Singapore. In fact, it is the first time that the General Assembly will be held in Southeast Asia. The heads and senior representatives of national standards bodies from 147 member countries participate in the General Assembly annually. .

All these achievements would not have been possible without the efforts of our partners and volunteers. We thank you for the support and contributions that you have made to the success of the national standardisation and accreditation programmes.

Before I end my speech, I would like to thank Mr Lee Suan Hiang, who has made significant contributions in the eight years he has been with SPRING Singapore and its predecessor organisations. Under his capable leadership, SPRING has made its mark not only locally but overseas. As he leaves SPRING next week to head the National Arts Council, I am sure he will bring with him the same dedication, if not even more passion, as he told me that the arts has always been close to his heart.

In conclusion, I wish you a pleasant evening.

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