Building the economy

IN THE early 1960s, Singapore had only a small manufacturing base with very mediocre infrastructure, minimal domestic capital and scant foreign investment. Post-independence, the Republic lost its source of raw materials - which came mainly from Malaysia - as well as a domestic market for its goods.

To strengthen the economy, the government shifted its focus towards export-oriented industries by attracting foreign investors to Singapore to develop both the manufacturing and financial sectors. Fast forward five decades and manufacturing is now one of the key growth drivers of the Singapore economy, accounting for about a fifth of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

Pick up any IT gadget such as a mobile phone, laptop or vehicle navigation system and chances are that parts of it were designed or made in Singapore. About one in six people in the Republic's labour force work in the manufacturing sector which is now broad-based and cuts across many different industries.

According to the Economic Survey of Singapore 2014 report, the manufacturing sector improved from 1.7 per cent in 2013 to 2.6 per cent in 2014, on the back of healthy growth in the biomedical manufacturing and chemicals clusters.

The Economic Development Board (EDB) played a crucial role in the country's success. It helped to establish Jurong Industrial Estate, transforming the area as factories sprouted up to produce everything from garments, textiles and toys to wood products and even hair wigs. Singapore's strong manufacturing base and the development of Jurong

Industrial Estate spawned many opportunities for local companies and led to the growth of other related businesses. In the third part of BT's CEO Conversations Golden Jubilee supplement, we speak to some of the companies that grew with Singapore as it embarked on its rapid industrialisation programme.

One example is a logistics and warehousing player called Vibrant Group, previously known as Freight Links Express Holdings. Its CEO Eric Khua said that in the early years, the group was doing imports and exports. "When companies import raw materials, we took care of delivery and transportation to the end customer," he says, "For exports, Singapore used to be very strong in garments, we were doing textiles. Subsequently we were doing electronics."

Heavy equipment supplier Tat Hong Holdings started out as a tyre and battery shop but later moved into the import and export of heavy equipment. The company provided the earth-moving equipment for Jurong Industrial Estate, a pioneering project in the country's industrialisation efforts.

As Tat Hong approaches its 60th anniversary, its managing director and group CEO Roland Ng says his vision is to professionalise the organisation to ensure its continued success.