Committee needs to look at strengthening Singapore's comparative advantages: Iswaran

SINGAPORE will need to deepen its comparative advantages in three areas so as to compete globally, and these are key issues for the Committee on the Future Economy to look into.

The three areas are the ability to coordinate internally, the collaboration between the public and private sectors, and the nurturing of new capabilities to compete globally, according to Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry), S Iswaran.

In his opening speech at the Economic Society of Singapore Economic Policy Forum, Mr Iswaran said that these areas are important sources of comparative advantage for Singapore, and "the Government is committed to building on them for the future."

"These are some of the issues that the Committee on the Future Economy will need to address," he said. Mr Iswaran is also deputy chair of the Committee, one that is chaired by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat.

Mr Iswaran said that the Committee will canvass widely for views and will welcome all perspectives from academics, businessmen and unionists on how to best position Singapore's economy for the future.

On Wednesday, Mr Heng shared that the Committee's focus would be on keeping Singapore competitive in a rapidly-changing and technology-intensive world.