Government out to help SMEs develop innovations

Singapore

THE government has made it a "clear priority" to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop innovations and commercialise them, said Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Wednesday.

"We are helping our companies retool and develop strong capabilities, even in the midst of a tough economic climate. We want to help SMEs commercialise their capabilities beyond Singapore, to take advantage of the growing regional opportunities," he said at the opening of Wong Fong Industries' revamped S$30 million headquarters in Joo Koon Circle.

The homegrown provider of land transport engineering solutions and systems, which has a 52-year history, made its debut on the Singapore Exchange's Catalist board in July.

Mr Tharman, who is also Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies, hailed Wong Fong as an example of a local firm that has developed its capabilities with the help of government schemes.

Enterprise agency Spring Singapore has supported the company in the development of engineering know-how and manufacturing capabilities for electric vehicles.

Spring has also aided the company in its branding and marketing strategy development projects, and in developing its human resources capability.

International Enterprise Singapore, meanwhile, facilitated its entry into the Myanmar market, with the trade promotion agency helping the company to set up a marketing office there.

In his speech to more than 300 guests, Mr Tharman stressed the importance of a "closer nexus" between Singapore's research institutes and companies in a way that enriches both. He also spoke of the need to help firms scale their innovations for larger markets.

There are also ongoing efforts to develop people with the right skills sets, he said, citing a programme by the Singapore Institute of Technology that puts its students through multi-disciplinary training in engineering and immerses them in the land transport industry.

Mr Tharman also spoke about the aim of achieving a "step transformation" of Singapore's companies, and a transformation of jobs through greater use of technology and more autonomy on the job.

"The government is approaching this in an integrated way. We are linking up our support for innovation, skills and productivity under each sector's Industry Transformation Map. I urge more SMEs to take advantage of our schemes, like Wong Fong has done," he said.

Also speaking at the event, Wong Fong's executive director Eric Lew said the rejuvenation of the company's headquarters - it now has double the built-up area at 128,000 sq ft - shows its spirit of constant innovation and renewal.

Even as he described the next 50 years as "challenging", he said Wong Fong would press on and stay guided by four principles: Having a diverse and talented workforce, avoiding being over-leveraged and maintaining strong financial reserves, building partnerships with other companies, and remaining focused on R&D.

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