Building a future-ready Singapore Inc

"BEING innovative" has moved to an essential rather than a vantage point. However, Singapore and Singapore businesses are not novices at innovation. Since its independence, which witnessed the start of its industrialisation, the nation-state has always successfully punched above its weight.

Having started by choosing the less conventional route of attracting investments from MNCs instead of import substitution to promote manufacturing, Singapore has steadily moved up the value chain.

Today, Singapore organisations have made substantial headway in being innovative. We are the fourth-largest exporter of high-tech products as defined by the World Bank. And in this year's Bloomberg Innovation Index, Singapore ranked third.