BT Explains: What does the Singapore Manufacturing Federation do, and why is it important?

THE Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) recently made headlines with the unexplained stepping-down of Douglas Foo, who had been president since 2014. Members told The Business Times that in the lead up to his departure, there had been concerns over a planned extraordinary general meeting that included a resolution to remove its Board of Governors.

The SMF is a major trade association, and is among the 12 constituent members of the Singapore Business Federation.

Since 1932, it has represented the interests of Singapore's manufacturing and manufacturing-related industries - one of the Republic's key economic engines.

Manufacturing accounts for anywhere between 20 and 25 per cent of Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) every year and is the largest single industry in the city-state by far.

According to the Department of Statistics, manufacturing accounted for 22.3 per cent or around S$119 billion of Singapore's nominal GDP in 2021. There were 9,175 manufacturing firms in 2021, employing over 370,000 workers.

Last year, the Ministry of Trade and Industry announced a 10-year plan to grow Singapore's manufacturing sector by 50 per cent as well as maintain its share of about 20 per cent of GDP.

According to SMF's website, the federation has about 5,000 corporate members, consisting of small and medium-sized enterprises, multinational corporations and affiliate members.

As a not-for-profit organisation, SMF's stated purpose is to drive "digitalisation, innovation-led productivity, business transformation and internationalisation towards enhancing the competitiveness of its member companies".

In addition, it collaborates with local and overseas government agencies, industry partners and enterprises to provide key services.

For instance, it represents the views of members at formal dialogues with the authorities, and also organises trade fairs, forums, conferences, seminars and workshops that help members build capabilities.

"SMF is an important node for the government and Singapore manufacturing industries to come together to execute policies and to deliver the national manufacturing goals," said former SMF deputy president Sunny Koh.

Under SMF's council, there are 10 industry groups, centres of excellence and various function committees.

Food and beverage (F&B), building products and construction materials, and medical technology are some of the industry groups.

Each industry group can range from 2 to 300 members, and there is no limit to the number of members, said Koh, who left SMF in 2018.

While Koh was in SMF, he was also chairman of the F&B industry group, and led a committee of 30 members. Within this, there were 5 or 6 sub-committees covering areas such as compliance and regulation, health and nutrition claims, and networking with partners such as the Health Promotion Board, Koh noted.

As for function committees, they oversee areas such as global business; health, safety, security and environment; and youth network.

The global business group, for instance, provides members opportunities and assistance to internationalise their business via trade fairs and missions.

SMF Centre for Corporate Learning and SME Centre@SMF are some of the excellence centres managed by SMF.

Read more:

• MTI and ESG 'aware of recent developments' at Singapore Manufacturing Federation
• Douglas Foo steps down from SMF presidency
• SMF leadership had planned to remove Board of Governors: sources