Singapore must stick to tech push to stay ahead: Swee Keat

Singapore

THE tightening of foreign labour in Singapore is consistent with structural reforms to reach for higher value, at a time when China, despite its large workforce, is investing heavily in robotics to raise efficiency, said Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat.

Speaking at a UBS conference on Tuesday, Mr Heng would not be drawn into a question of whether quotas would be adjusted - a nagging question for businesses in Singapore - but noted that if Singapore does not adopt technology in the same spirit as China and Japan, and adapt to new economic realities in tandem with the rest of Asia, it will be left behind.

FoxConn Technology, for example, has invested heavily in the use of robots, because they expect labour costs to go up, and deem robots to be a lot more efficient, Mr Heng said. Also, Japan plans to nearly double its budget allocation for robot-related investment in the coming fiscal year, to boos…