The strategists shaping Singapore of the future have to focus on one central question. How do we play up our geopolitical convenience and centrality within Asia and to capitalize on our stable infrastructure to become hubs for education, healthcare, pharmaceutical, clean-energy and technology innovation or any innovations that can become our core economic pillars?
Our small physical size belies our great economic strength and resilience. We can be that small heart connected to all parts of Asia through different veins and arteries forming different supplies chains for critical industries.
I think our approaches to go China whether is it the Suzhou Industrial Park, Tianjin Eco-city or Nanjing Eco-Island or the Indonesia-Malaysia-Singapore growth triangle or the Singapore-Johor Iskandar Development Region, they are all part of our hub-hinterland growth strategy. We go the hinterlands to enhance economic competitiveness with exploitation of comparative advantage, economics of scale and clustering. We exploit synergies with the different countries from geographical proximity and economic complementarities.
Forming transnational economic zones and regions will extend Singapore’s physical space and resources so that we can grow beyond Singapore. Collectively the whole of Asia will give us a larger market and consumer access.
The push for a larger hub-hinterland framework must be hinged on Singapore playing a lead in the supply chains- be they in pharmaceutical research and development or in cleantech innovations.
To be credible, Singapore should be a living demonstration and test-beds and be the vanguard of knowledge creation for example in cleantech solutions. The world is moving into the cleantech space, including cleantech clusters and industries. Singapore should quickly leverage our strengths in systems integration and implementation. With governmental leadership we can differentiate ourselves, including developing globally distinctive cleantech parks.
China and India are giants and they are already among the world’s top carbon emitters. They need clean technologies – energy-efficient buildings, renewable energy sources, alternative energy, clean water and waste management and recycling. They are our hinterlands of opportunities.
Combining capital, people, technology with a supportive government, I am sure we can work towards a successful hub-hinterland framework. With China and Indonesia or even Malaysia, we are standing on the shoulders of giants to win in this world.
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