不靠石油不靠地！新加坡如何用“全球節點”戰略躺賺？

▲ 新加坡眼，點選卡片關注，加星標，以防失聯

2025年3月21日，新加坡副總理在新加坡國際商會（SICC）表揚合作創新的第九屆頒獎典禮和晚宴上發表演講，表示新加坡未來經濟戰略的核心支柱，是將自身定位為全球和亞洲的節點（Global-Asia node），以科技和創新為重點，將世界與亞洲連線起來。

以下內容為新加坡眼根據英文翻譯整理：

新加坡國際商會主席陳女士（Ms Dawn Tan），

副主席黃先生（Mr Wong Joo Seng），

商會的各位理事，

女士們、先生們：

晚上好！

首先感謝邀請。我研讀過入圍企業資料並與諸位交流，深感各位的創新實踐令人振奮——每位入圍者已是贏家，衷心祝賀！

我很高興地得知，自2018年起，獲獎案例就透過亞洲新聞臺傳播以激勵大眾，此舉極具意義。正如陳主席所言，該獎項誕生於2015年新加坡建國50週年之際，呼應政府“企業能力合作計劃”（PACT）。十年來，SICC推動創新尤其是協作創新的努力值得讚許——獎項從2個擴充套件至5個，對映創新生態的動態演進。

今年恰逢SICC成立188週年，堪稱“長青典範”！

商會1830年代創立時，正值第一次工業革命巔峰，其堅守自由貿易港定位，促進東西方貿易，推動開放互聯的全球經濟——這與經濟學家亞當·斯密提出的分工理論一脈相承。

資料顯示，1970至2023年，全球商品服務出口佔GDP比重從12.8%升至29.3%。

同一時期，全球人均GDP增長約16倍，從約816 美元增至 13 000 多美元。

中低收入國家，人均GDP增長更為顯著。躍升至29倍，從 1970 年的 196 美元增至 2023 年的 5600 多美元。

這些，都印證全了球分工體系對各國發展的關鍵作用。

然而，2001年啟動的WTO多哈回合談判24年停滯不前，貿易戰卻在自由貿易協定夥伴間愈演愈烈。關稅被政治化，經貿協議遭顛覆——貿易邏輯雖清晰，政治博弈卻主導現實。

對新加坡而言，開放始終是命脈：今天，我們的貿易額仍佔GDP三倍以上；我們的27項自貿協定助企業融入東盟、亞洲乃至拉美供應鏈。正如管理大師德魯克（Peter Drucker ）所言，組織應放大優勢、弱化短板——小國更需借全球協作補足資源限制。

他的基本觀點是，每個人都有長處和短處。

透過合作，管理人員可以優勢互補，從而使組織更加強大。

企業、經濟和國家也是如此。

鑑於新加坡的土地和人口規模有限，我們不可能獨立生產我們所需的一切。

透過與世界各地的夥伴合作，我們的企業可以利用更廣泛的專業知識，發揮集體優勢，實現增長。

新加坡經濟要保持競爭力，就必須保持開放。

SICC 和其他商會在外國企業和本地企業之間架起橋樑，為自由貿易和投資提供持續支援，這些工作非常有價值。

188 年前，你們就是這樣起步的。隨著我們邁入工業 4.0，你們對協同創新的關注將大有裨益。

未來幾年，我相信科技和創新驅動將推動經濟增長。原因有幾個。

1. 人口結構劇變：首先是人口結構–由於人口老齡化和出生率下降，全球勞動力正在萎縮。聯合國預計，2030年代中期全球80歲以上人口將超過嬰兒；2080年65歲以上群體超越18歲以下。新加坡2030年約25%人口超65歲（2010年僅10%）。

2. 技術飛速加速：尤其是人工智慧的進步正在重塑商業模式、企業甚至整個行業。由於人工智慧具有放大和鞏固競爭優勢的潛力，技術競爭也越來越多地涉及地緣政治層面。

3. 氣候行動緊迫：對於我們新加坡這個低地島國來說，氣候變化關係到我們的生存。一些研究預測，如果不緊急採取大規模的全球氣候行動，2070 年至 2090 年間，全球經濟的國內生產總值可能會損失 50%。

對於企業來說，可持續發展不僅是對社會的責任，還關係到企業的長期生存能力、供應鏈的穩定性和消費模式。

利用技術和創新，打造新產品、解決方案和系統，並大規模地開展這些工作，將是至關重要的。

因此，SICC新增“最佳技術協作”“最可持續協作”“最具規模協作”獎項極具前瞻性。獎項不僅是競技場，更是創新理念的“社交平臺”——如陳主席所言，其“學習屬性”能讓協作精神在商界“病毒式傳播”。

我已經談到了對全球化保持開放以及利用技術和創新的重要性。

將這些結合在一起，就意味著我們需要達到一定的規模才能產生影響。

在新加坡國際商會認可和促進合作創新的倡議基礎上，為了產生更大的影響，我們必須在新加坡國內和跨國界進一步擴大規模。

我相信，新加坡未來經濟戰略的核心支柱，以及我們未來的經濟價值，就是把新加坡定位為全球-亞洲節點，以科技和創新為核心，連線世界和亞洲。

我們必須繼續與世界各地的創新節點合作，深化創新，尋找新的增長領域，應對共同的挑戰。

在這一領域，各種規模的外國和本地企業都可以做出有益的貢獻。

政府已啟動多項計劃，鼓勵跨部門、跨國界甚至跨地區的合作。

– 政企研協同：在企業與我們的研究、創新和企業（RIE）生態系統之間建立有目的的合作關係，以利用創新和解決目標問題。我很高興地看到，今年的一些決賽入圍者都具有這種跨部門合作的特點！

國立研究基金會（National Research Foundation）、經濟發展局（EDB）、A*STAR和其他機構一直支援在行業參與者與我們的大學和研究機構之間建立各種企業實驗室。

多年來，我們已經建立了 20 多個這樣的企業實驗室，包括與意法半導體和埃克森美孚等 SICC 成員公司建立的實驗室。我邀請其他熱衷於此的公司也考慮建立類似的合作關係。

幾周前，在今年的預算案辯論中，我宣佈我們正在開發新的研究與創新旗艦專案和大挑戰，作為建設研究生態系統和推動新加坡未來增長的下一個環節。

這些平臺將匯聚我國大學、研究機構、公共機構和私營部門的研究和轉化能力，為新的經濟領域創造價值，解決現實世界的問題和需求。

第一個旗艦專案將重點關注半導體和微電子研發，第一個大挑戰專案將關注健康和成功的長壽。

我們歡迎從事這些領域工作的 SICC 成員與我們在這些平臺上開展合作。在未來幾年，我們將宣佈更多的大挑戰和旗艦專案。

– 大小企業聯動：我們促進合作的另一種方式是加強大型企業、中小企業和初創企業之間的聯絡。自2017年以來，新加坡企業發展局透過 “開放式創新 ”支援大型企業與小型企業建立創新夥伴關係。一年來，透過這一平臺促成了350餘起大企業與中小企業的創新合作。例如，奧蘭國際與（Olam）和殼牌石油公司（Shell）等新加坡國際商會成員與新加坡和海外的中小型企業和初創企業牽線搭橋，在可持續農業和清潔能源分配領域開發新的解決方案。

– 全球網路織就：將創新者彼此以及與投資者和合作夥伴更緊密地跨界聯絡起來，以啟動合作。與其他生態系統的強大網路可為企業提供本地見解和合作夥伴關係，從而充分利用新機遇。

在這方面，新加坡企業發展局的全球創新聯盟（GIA）將新加坡的初創企業和企業與世界各地的成熟創新中心聯絡起來，促進市場準入和跨境研發合作。

迄今為止，全球創新聯盟已為 24 個城市的 600 多家初創企業提供了市場準入機會，並促進了與 40 多個國家的跨境研究。

我們還舉辦了新加坡科技創新周（SWITCH），以加強我國企業與全球企業之間的聯絡，深化我國的創新能力，特別是在深度科技領域。

SWITCH為包括新加坡國際商會（SICC）成員在內的企業提供了良好的交流機會，讓他們更好地瞭解氣候科技、先進製造和人工智慧等新興技術的最新發展。

我鼓勵SICC會員參加今年10月舉行的第10屆SWITCH。

像新加坡國際商會這樣的商會，憑藉其多元化的會員和網路，在加強新加坡作為全球-亞洲節點的地位方面，也發揮著重要作用。

在這方面，請允許我向 SICC 提出一個建議–考慮在你們的獎項中增設第六個類別，以表彰 “最佳跨境創新 ”合作。

結語：

最後，讓我總結一下今晚我想留給大家的三個要點：

第一，新加坡須在割裂世界中堅持開放，深化全球供應鏈價值。新加坡必須繼續保持開放，繼續在全球經濟中尋找新的互補點，以保持和提升我們的價值主張。在一個競爭更激烈、更分散的世界，這將是我們的價值所在。

早在 SICC 成立之初，我們的成功就建立在開放、互聯的經商環境之上。我們的繁榮將繼續與我們積極參與全球經濟息息相關。

其次，科技與創新是增長核心引擎。科學、技術和創新將是未來幾年經濟增長的關鍵驅動力，我們必須學會以最佳方式加以利用。當然，我這樣說有些偏頗，因為我也是我們國立研究基金會的主席。

第三，政企學界協作催化創新，鞏固“全球-亞洲節點”地位。透過政府、學術界和企業界的共同努力，我們可以成為一個全球-亞洲節點，以有影響力的方式催化合作創新。

我再次讚賞SICC為表彰和鼓勵協同創新所做的不懈努力。請允許我感謝評審團的貢獻和服務。我也要和陳主席一起，鼓勵更多新加坡國際商會的會員公司參與和提名未來的獎項。

在慶祝新加坡獨立60週年之際，讓我們齊心協力，在前人的基礎上再接再厲，為子孫後代留下一個更美好、更光明的新加坡。

我剛才向一些決賽選手提到，當我在COVID大流行期間擔任財政部長時，我很高興能夠用五份財政預算案來支援我們的人民和企業。

作為其中的一部分，我不得不去見我國總理，徵得他的同意，動用我們過去的儲備金。

世界上幾乎所有國家最終都花費了大量資源用於支援 COVID，而我敢說，我可能是唯一不用借一分錢的財政部長。

我總是對年輕人說，新加坡未舉債一分錢，全憑儲備金渡過危機，這得益於建國一代的遠見。他們明智地儲蓄和投資，以備不時之需。正是這種謹慎和紀律使我們能夠在危機時期動用儲備金，而不給子孫後代帶來債務負擔。

我希望我們能保持這種精神–從長遠考慮，以拯救後代而不是給他們造成負擔的方式行事。

本著繼往開來的精神，讓我也向新加坡國際商會前行政總裁Victor Mills致敬。

今天，Victor完成了他在商會的最後一天，他多年來為總商會提供了卓越的領導和服務。非常感謝Victor！

也祝願新任行政總裁 Bita Seow女士和您的團隊一切順利。Victor已經樹立了很高的標準，你們的挑戰就是要更上一層樓！衷心祝賀所有決賽選手和獲獎者。

祝大家度過一個愉快的慶祝和交流之夜。

謝謝大家！

以下內容為英文原稿：

Speech by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat at the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce (SICC) Awards on 21 March 2025.

Ms Dawn Tan, Chairwoman, Singapore International Chamber of Commerce or SICC,

Mr Wong Joo Seng, Deputy Chairman, SICC

Board Members of SICC,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good evening!

First, thank you for inviting me.

I have read and interacted with our finalists to learn about your interesting and innovative work.

Each of you is already a winner – my heartiest congratulations to all the finalists! Your effort is inspiring and exemplary.

I am glad to hear that since 2018, the winners have been featured on a Channel NewsAsia programme to inspire a wider audience. I think this is an excellent move.

As Dawn mentioned earlier, these awards were first launched in 2015, during SG50, in support of the Government’s Partnerships for Capability Transformation, or PACT, programme.

I commend SICC for promoting innovation, particularly collaborative innovation, over this past decade.

Starting out with two categories, you now have expanded to five, reflecting the evolving and dynamic nature of innovation.

SICC’s commitment to bringing businesses together, and connecting local and foreign enterprises, has been longstanding.

SICC has just turned 188 – what a role model for active ageing and healthy longevity!

The Chamber was founded in the 1830s to advocate for Singapore to remain a free port, facilitating trade flows between East and West and supporting the development of an open, inter-connected global economy.

This was around the peak of the first Industrial Revolution, when a proliferation of new technologies led to a surge in manufacturing output, particularly in Western economies.

The economist Adam Smith’s insight on the division of labour, specialisation and free markets laid the foundations for what we know today as modern industry, supply chains and globalised trade.

The division of labour, leveraging on economic complementarities and global competitive forces that drive efficiency and innovation, has spurred higher growth in trade and economic growth, especially in developing economies.

For example, between 1970 and 2023, the exports of goods and services worldwide grew from 12.8% to 29.3% of global GDP.

In that same time period, global GDP per capita rose about 16 times from roughly US$816 to more than US$13,000.

In low and middle-income countries, the improvement was even more impressive.

GDP per capita grew almost 29 times – from US$196 in 1970 to more than US$5,600 in 2023.

Now, the brief facts and figures that I have just outlined show that the global division of labour has been a key driver of progress for all countries.

I was in Doha back in 2001 for the launch of the WTO’s Doha Round of trade negotiations.

Unfortunately, in these 24 years, the Doha Round has made no progress.

Instead, we are regressing – with trade wars growing in intensity, even among countries with Free Trade Agreements.

Tariffs are being weaponised to pursue non-economic objectives, and trade and other economic agreements are being upended abruptly.

While the logic and evidence of free trade is clear, the politics of trade dominate policy direction.

In fact, at the university where I studied economics, the Economics Faculty was referred to as the Department of Political Economy.

It is a fitting recognition that economic rationality is circumscribed by political calculations.

For Singapore to maintain our success and prosperity, we must stay open and carve a role for ourselves in global supply chains, including in new and emerging areas.

Today, trade remains at over three times our GDP.

Our network of 27 Free Trade Agreements enables our businesses to enter markets far larger than Singapore’s domestic market. I am glad that we had the foresight to pursue this policy.

For our SMEs, in particular, these FTAs help to unlock opportunities for them to be part of foreign companies’ supply chains, and in growth regions like ASEAN, Asia and even Latin America.

We continue to grow by establishing collaborations and complementarities with businesses around the world.

Management guru Peter Drucker once wrote that organisations make strengths productive and weaknesses irrelevant.

His basic point is each individual has strengths and weaknesses.

Through collaboration, executives could build complementary strengths for stronger organisations.

And the same can be said for businesses, economies and countries.

Given Singapore’s limitations in land and population size, we cannot realistically produce everything we need on our own.

By working with partners from around the world, our enterprises can tap on a broader bench of expertise, and tap on collective strengths, to unlock growth.

For the Singapore economy to stay competitive, we must stay open.

The work of SICC and other chambers – in building bridges between foreign and local enterprises and sustaining support for free trade and investment is very valuable.

That was how you started in the first place 188 years ago. And as we go forward into Industry 4.0, your focus on collaborative innovation will be most useful.

In the coming years, I believe science, technology and innovation will drive the future of economic growth. There are several reasons.

The first is demographics – the global workforce is shrinking – due both to ageing populations and declining birthrates.

The UN projects that by the mid-2030s, people aged 80 and above globally will outnumber infants.

By 2080, 55 years from now, the number of people aged 65 and above globally will outnumber those aged below 18.

In Singapore, around one in four Singaporeans is expected to be 65 years or older by 2030 –25% of our population. Just 15 years ago when I was still young in 2010, the figure was around 10%.

Now the second is rapid technological advancements.

In particular, advances in AI are disrupting business models, companies and even entire industries.

With AI’s potential to magnify and entrench competitive advantage, competition over technology is also increasingly taking on geopolitical dimensions.

The third reason for the importance of technology and innovation is the need for businesses to address climate change.

For us in Singapore, a low-lying island state, climate change is existential.

Some studies project that the global economy could face 50% loss in GDP between 2070 and 2090, unless global climate action is stepped up urgently and at scale.

For enterprises, sustainability is not just about a responsibility to society, but about the long-term viability of your business, the stability of your supply chains, and consumption patterns.

Harnessing technology and innovation, to build new products, solutions and systems, and to do it at scale will be critical.

So let me take this opportunity to commend SICC for expanding the SICC Awards to new categories like “Best Technological Collaboration”, “Most Sustainable Collaboration” and “Most Scalable Collaboration”.

I also appreciate that the SICC Awards provides not only a platform to compete, but also to share their ideas with one another, and with others.

Dawn earlier mentioned about building a “learning component” to these awards.

Doing so enables the spirit of innovation behind the collaborations we recognise this evening to also inspire others in the business community.

To borrow a social media term, let us make innovation viral.

I have spoken on the importance of staying open to globalisation, and harnessing technology and innovation.

Putting these together, it means we need to achieve scale to make an impact.

Building on SICC’s initiative in recognising and promoting collaborative innovation, to achieve greater impact, we must scale this further – within Singapore, and across borders.

I believe that a central pillar of Singapore’s future economic strategy, and our future economic value, is to position Singapore as a Global-Asia node, connecting the world to Asia with a very clear focus on technology and innovation.

We must continue to work with innovation nodes around the world to deepen innovation, to find new growth sectors and tackle common challenges.

Businesses, both foreign and local, and across all sizes and scales, can make useful contributions in this area.

The Government has initiated several schemes to encourage collaboration across sectors, borders and even regions.

One way is by building purposeful partnerships between businesses and our Research, Innovation and Enterprise or RIE ecosystem to harness innovation and solve targeted problems. I am glad to see a few of this year’s finalists featuring such cross-sector collaborations!

The National Research Foundation, EDB, and A*STAR and other agencies have supported the establishment of various Corporate Labs between industry players and our universities and research institutes.

Over the years, we have set up more than 20 such corporate labs including with SICC member companies like ST Microelectronics and ExxonMobil. I invite others who are keen to also consider a similar tie-ups.

During this year’s Budget Debate a few weeks ago, I announced that we are developing new RIE Flagships and Grand Challenges as part of the next bound of building our research ecosystem and driving Singapore’s future growth.

These platforms will pull together research and translational capabilities across our universities, research institutes, public agencies and the private sector to create value in new economic sectors and to address real-world problems and needs.

The first Flagship will focus on semiconductor and microelectronics R&D and the first Grand Challenge will look at healthy and successful longevity.

We welcome SICC members who are engaged in these domains to work with us on these platforms. We will be announcing more Grand Challenges and Flagships in the years to come.

Another way that we are fostering collaboration is by facilitating stronger connectivity between larger firms, SMEs and startups.

Since 2017, Enterprise Singapore has supported innovation partnerships between large corporates and smaller enterprises through Open Innovation. Over the year, more than 350 matches have been catalysed through this platform.

SICC members like Olam and Shell, for example, have been matched with SMEs and startups from Singapore and overseas to develop new solution in sustainable agriculture and clean energy distribution.

A third way is by connecting innovators more closely across borders, with one another as well as with investors and partners, to jumpstart collaborations.

Strong networks with other ecosystems provide enterprises with local insights and partnerships to make the most of new opportunities.

In this regard, Enterprise Singapore’s Global Innovation Alliance or GIA connects Singapore startups and enterprises with established innovation hubs worldwide, facilitating market access and cross-border R&D collaborations.

So far, the GIA has empowered more than 600 startups with market access across 24 cities, and catalysed cross-border research with over 40 countries.

We also host the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology or SWITCH to strengthen linkages between our enterprises and those globally and to deepen our innovation capabilities, particularly in deep tech.

SWITCH offers good opportunities for enterprises, including SICC members, to network and better understand the latest developments in emerging technologies like climate tech, advanced manufacturing, and AI.

I encourage SICC members to attend the 10th edition of SWITCH taking place this October.

And Chambers like SICC, with your diverse membership and networks, also play a role in strengthening Singapore’s position as a Global-Asia node.

In this regard, let me make a suggestion to SICC – to consider introducing a new, sixth category to your awards to recognise collaborations that are “Best Cross-Border Innovations”.

So in conclusion, let me sum up the three main points I wish to leave you with this evening.

First, Singapore must continue to stay open and continue to find new complementarities with partners in the global economy to preserve and enhance our value proposition going forward. In a world that is more contested, more fragmented, that will be our value.

Our success has been built on being an open and interconnected place to do business, going back to when SICC was founded. And our prosperity will continue to be intertwined with our active engagement with the global economy.

Second, science, technology and innovation will be critical drivers of economic growth in the years ahead, and we must learn to harness these optimally. I say this with some bias, of course, because I am also Chairman of our National Research Foundation.

And third, by working together among Government, academia and businesses, we can serve as a Global-Asia node catalysing collaborative innovation in impactful ways.

I commend SICC once again for your dedicated effort to recognise and encourage collaborative innovation.

Let me thank the panel of judges for your contributions and service.

And I also join Dawn in encouraging more SICC member companies to take part and submit nominations for future rounds of these awards.

As we celebrate 60 years of Singapore’s independence, let us all work together to build further on the good work of those who came before us – to leave a better, brighter Singapore for the generations who follow.

I mentioned to some of the finalists earlier that when I was Finance Minister during the COVID pandemic, I was glad to be able to support our people and our businesses with five Budgets.

As part of this, I had to see our President and seek her approval to draw on our past reserves.

Almost every country in the world ended up spending considerable resources on COVID support, and I dare say that I was probably the only Finance Minister who did not have to borrow a single cent.

I always tell young people that this is legacy of our founding generation, who saved and invested wisely for a rainy day. It was this prudence and discipline that allowed us to draw on our reserves during a period of crisis, without burdening future generations with debt.

This spirit – of thinking long-term and acting in a way to save future generations rather than to burden them – is something I hope we maintain.

In the spirit of building on the work of those before us, let me also recognise former SICC Chief Executive Victor Mills.

Victor, who completes his last day with the Chamber today, gave many years of distinguished leadership and service to the Chamber. So thank you very much Victor!

And I wish incoming Chief Executive Bita Seow and your team all the very best. Victor has set a high standard – so your challenge is to climb even higher! And heartiest congratulations to all finalists and winners.

And I wish everyone a pleasant evening of celebration and exchanges.

Thank you.