Drifting away from his usual call for more government subsidies for small and medium-sized enterprises, long-time SME champion Inderjit Singh said yesterday that the government should not keep pumping in resources to finance them.
Speaking during a panel discussion at the Singapore Brand Conference 2010, the Member of Parliament for Ang Mo Kio GRC and deputy chairman of the Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE) said that the time has come for SMEs to strengthen themselves and not rely overly on government support.
However, Mr Singh later clarified his comments over a phone interview with BT, saying that he is still very much a champion of SMEs. But he felt that these companies cannot rely on artificial help forever. He then cited Malaysia's New Economic Policy as a negative example of government support.
According to Mr Singh, Singapore, as an open economy, faces competition from foreign companies which often do not have the luxury of government funding. Hence, local companies must innovate and brand themselves, or risk losing their competitive edge.
Other issues raised during the panel discussion included the future of Singapore as a city of innovation and invention and the reliability of the Singapore brand name.
Panellists were also asked what would be the most important factor in branding for SMEs with limited resources.
In response, Wilson Chew, CEO of StrategiCom, replied that the quickest way to do so would be to specialise and find an area in which the company is superior over its competitors. Teo Theng Dar, CEO of Singapore Business Federation, then added that branding is not just about a company's logo and advertisements, but rather, 'what the company believes in' and is reflected in its people.
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