For Singapore to succeed in the coming decades, we cannot be complacent. Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong surmised why in a perfect quote during his National Day Rally 2022 speech, “A small country like Singapore has zero margin for error”.
While he spoke on many national issues, we look at six industries that he singled out – underscoring their importance to the Singapore economy. Of greater note, he elaborated on projects within these industries that will spearhead their growth into the next few decades.
#1 Defence
PM Lee highlighted the fragile geopolitical landscape today. There is already ongoing war in Europe – as Russia invaded Ukraine unprovoked. This can be significant for Singapore, as we are only a very young nation – with a history that can be challenged.
There is also heightening tensions between the two superpowers in the world – the U.S. and China, with the spotlight potentially on Taiwan.
Since independence, Singapore has prioritised our defence. With the geopolitical situation today, it continues to look as relevant as the day we began our conscript army in 1967. In 2022, the government expects to spend $16.4 billion on the Ministry of Defence, an increase of 6.5% from 2021.
Apart from a large government spending, the sector may benefit with ST Engineering forming the major company within the industry.
#2 AgriTech
PM Lee also noted that Singapore depends on imports for its sustenance. Supply chains were disrupted globally due to COVID-19. This became a national issue, as supermarkets had their shelves emptied on several occasions.
Moreover, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has further pressured grain exports. Closer to home, Malaysia had banned the export of its fresh chickens into Singapore as well.
This is why our 30 by 30 (to produce 30% of our local nutritional needs by 2030) is so important. Given the importance of self-sustenance, it feels unlikely that Singapore will stop, to rest on its laurels, even after achieving the 30% target.
#3 Aviation
Changi Airport is one of Singapore’s jewels (pun intended). During the National Day Rally speech, PM Lee confirmed that Singapore would restart construction of Terminal 5.
The project had been abruptly halted due to COVID-19 – which disrupted air travel globally. However, with air travel gradually returning to normal, Singapore can leverage on the opportunity to stay at the forefront of the aviation industry with Terminal 5.
The close to two years of downtime has also enabled the design of Terminal 5 to be future-ready and more energy efficient. T5 is expected to meet the anticipated demand around the mid-2030s.
#4 Port (and Transshipment)
In his National Day Rally speech, PM Lee reiterated that Tuas Port would only be fully completed in 20 years. This highlights the long-term significance of the project – and the fact that the port is expected to continue playing an integral role in Singapore’s economy.
PM Lee also touched on the fact that Singapore’s ports were able to act as a “catch-up” port during the pandemic – helping vessels make up for delays elsewhere. Partly, this is because of its efficiency, and also because plans were already underway to relocate to Tuas.
This has helped Singapore uphold its status as the busiest transhipment hub in the world, handling record capacity in 2021. In fact, we can see this within the OCBC SME Index – which measures the business health and performance of SMEs in Singapore. According to its latest figures, SMEs in the Sea Transport sector registered six consecutive quarters of growth since Q3 2020.
#5 Construction
Construction is a clear winner, with long-term projects such as the Changi Terminal 5 and Tuas Port expected to take several decades to complete. With the port moving, the Greater Southern Waterfront will be take shape in the coming decades.
Other notable projects that PM Lee mentioned includes the relocation of Paya Lebar Airbase in the 2030s. This will make way for around 150,000 new homes to be built (roughly the size of Punggol and Sengkang). Amenities, recreational areas and commercial areas will also be built alongside the new town.
In addition, with the relocation of Paya Lebar Airbase, towns that skirt it could also be primed for redevelopment – PM Lee mentioned Marine Parade, Hougang and Punggol, where height restrictions may be lifted.
In a clip, PM Lee also detailed other projects of note – the Jurong Lake District, Jurong Innovation District, Tengah, and Punggol Digital District.
The construction sector is also a bright spark in today’s context, despite grappling with constraints on manpower and rising material costs. Again, if we look at the OCBC SME Index, the construction sector has typically been improving quarter on quarter since the end of 2020.
#6 Pharmaceutical (Biomedical Science)
Another sector that PM Lee shone the spotlight on was the biomedical science industry. Today the sector employs over 25,000 people and contributes about 20% of Singapore’s manufacturing GDP.
PM Lee highlighted that Sanofi and BioNTech coming here to build vaccine manufacturing facilities. This is extremely relevant in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and new health scares we continue to read about in the news.
New Initiative To Attract Global Talent
The future continues to shine bright. Nevertheless, PM Lee did surface one challenge – in an admittedly unrelated portion of his speech – the need for Singaporean babies to fulfil our potential.
One of the other significant job-related aspects of PM Lee’s speech is the introduction of a new initiatives to attract world-class talent pool. He cited examples of Germany and UK fighting for talent, and hinted that Singapore needs do the same.
* This post originally appeared on dollarandsense.sg