SINGAPORE – The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued a 10-year prohibition order on Monday against Tim Leissner, a former director of Goldman Sachs (Singapore) Pte, who it said had made false statements on behalf of his bank without its knowledge or consent.

Banker Leissner was responsible for managing the relationship with Malaysia’s 1MDB fund when Goldman Sachs was engaged by the fund to arrange three bond issues from 2012 to 2013.

In December 2016, MAS had flagged its intention to issue a prohibition order against Leissner.

Read also: Ex-Goldman banker linked to 1MDB scandal had jet-set lifestyle with glamorous wife

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2016-12-03 10:08:51

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Ex-Goldman banker had jet-set lifestyle with glamorous wife

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In a statement on Monday, MAS said Leissner will be prohibited for 10 years from performing any regulated activity under the Securities and Futures Act and taking part, directly or indirectly, in the management of any capital market services firm in Singapore.

In December, Leissner’s lawyer Marc Harris from Scheper Kim & Harris LLP had said in a statement that Leissner will accede to a request by MAS to respond to the allegations.

MAS said it also served notice of its intention to file prohibition orders against three individuals who were convicted by the city-state’s courts for their involvement in 1MDB-related breaches.

Read also: Ex-BSI banker Yeo Jiawei jailed 30 months in 1MDB-linked witness tampering case

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2015-04-15 10:38:59

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The case that rocked Malaysia: 1MDB

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Tomorrow marks the date Singapore took a big step towards making national service a reality with the passage of the National Service (Amendment) Act in 1967.

Since then, more than one million Singaporeans have served NS in the Singapore Armed Forces as well as in the police and civil defence forces, as part of the Home Team.

As Singapore marks 50 years of NS, The Straits Times examines key milestones and the future of NS policy, and speaks to NSmen and five Home Team officers, each representing one of the past five decades.

When Mr Glenn Lim completed his full-time national service (NS) as a third sergeant in November 2006, he had more than eight months to wait before entering university.

He got busy by taking on two part-time jobs.

He also began student life early by taking a special class at the Singapore Management University, where he started school proper in August 2007 as an economics and accounting major.

“It eased my transition back into studies after more than two years of not hitting the books,” says Mr Lim, 30, an insurance firm analyst.

But this industrious period would not have been possible without a key change to NS policy just before he entered the military.

In June 2004, the Government announced that NS duration would be cut to a maximum of two years.

The change affected those ranked corporal and above who had to serve 2½ years before the adjustment. It shortened their NS to the same two years served by those below the rank of corporal.

The reduction was phased in gradually throughout the rest of the year.

Mr Lim, who enlisted in the army in January 2005 and served in a signals company, was one of the first national servicemen to benefit fully from the reduction in NS duration.

“I was just lucky, I guess, but it spurred me to make full use of the time given to me,” he says.

REASONS FOR THE CUT

Then Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean gave two reasons for the NS duration cut in Parliament in 2004.

One, the military was evolving over the next decade into a high-tech fighting force that would rely less on the number of boots on the ground, and more on the edge given by technology. Two, there was a projected surge of recruits due to more births starting from the 1988 Dragon Year till around 1997.

This meant there were 24,300 enlistees a year from 2006 to 2015, a 15 to 20 per cent increase from the 19,100 a year from 1990 to 2005.

The first reason also allowed the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) to cut reservist cycles from 13 to 10 – a move introduced in 2005 and implemented in 2006.

Since then, the SAF has kept up its pace of modernisation. For instance, it has put more of its infantry troops on wheels to improve their effectiveness in combat.

Today, the SAF is the best- equipped military in South-east Asia, according to this year’s issue of Military Balance, an annual assessment of worldwide defence capabilities by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

More than 300,000 full-time national servicemen (NSFs) have done their duty since 2004.

Defence analyst Ho Shu Huang from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) says one possible benefit from cutting the full-time NS stint is the streamlined deployment of NSFs.

Before the change, a common situation in a unit saw rank-and-file soldiers completing their NS a few months ahead of their commanders, leaving the sergeants and officers to linger around the camp.

“Above all, by having all NSFs serve two years, parity in NS was more apparent,” he adds.

END OF THE SURGE

With the 10-year surge in enlistees ending two years ago, does this mean that NS duration will eventually have to go up again?

This question was already raised by MPs in Parliament in 2004 when Mr Teo announced the cut.

Responding then, he said Mindef had done a careful study and concluded the two-year NS duration could be sustained over the long term, even after the 10-year surge.

“What this 10-year surge provides us with is the ability to do this transformation and maintain our operational readiness at the same time,” he said.

Mindef’s manpower director Lee Chung Wei tells The Straits Times that while enlistment cohort numbers have begun to decline, efforts are afoot to develop the Next Generation SAF that will leverage new technologies and optimise the contribution of national servicemen.

“This serves to maintain the SAF’s operational capabilities, even as we build up new ones such as cyber defence, to remain effective against future threats.”

Mindef and SAF periodically review training methods and operational deployment requirements, he adds, “to keep the period of full-time NS not longer than what is necessary for our defence needs”.

Second Defence Minister Ong Ye Kung, speaking during the debate on Mindef’s budget on March 3, cited how combat engineers in the past lifted heavy loads to assemble a bridge but their counterparts today can do so with the push of a few buttons, thanks to new hardware that makes use of a hydraulic arm.

Dr Tim Huxley, executive director of IISS (Asia), says it has been 13 years since the NS duration cut and the SAF would have adjusted by making its training programmes fit a two-year timeframe.

He and Mr Ho point out that it would be politically challenging to increase NS duration. “It’s very difficult to do a U-turn on such policies. It’s neither necessary nor politically realistic,” says Dr Huxley.

THE ROAD AHEAD

But will the SAF’s success in embracing technology lead to a further cut in NS duration down the road?

Mr Lee says the two-year duration will be maintained “so that there is sufficient time to train our soldiers to be operationally proficient, and maintain an appropriate standing force for defence and peacetime contingency purposes”.

With NS a core part of Singapore’s identity, security and nation building, it also means there should be a minimum duration to instill these values in NSmen.

On Feb 7, when he launched the NS50 celebrations this year, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen reiterated that a strong defence is always needed even in times of peace.

He cited countries such as Lithuania that had abolished conscription and found it hard to reinstate it when the need arose.

Dr Huxley points out that troops are also at their peak of military capability during full-time service so it makes sense to keep them in uniform for some time to maximise the investment in training them.

Mr Ho says combat units need to have extra manpower because “in battle, soldiers unfortunately become casualties and are rendered combat ineffective”.

Moving forward, Dr Huxley says, it is likely that NS policy will focus on maximising the contribution of every serviceman by keeping him motivated. The Government is moving in the right direction, he adds, by allowing NSFs, who enlist from November this year, to indicate their preferences in vocations.

NSmen are also getting a leg up in their careers starting this year, with 23 SAF courses – including Basic Military Training (BMT) – coming under a national skills certification scheme recognised by employers.

But some, like staff nurse Huang Yingrui, have extended service.

Mr Huang, 28, enlisted in April 2010 as an army clerk as he had injured his elbow. Hewanted to serve in a combat role and got his wish when he started BMT in 2011.

He entered Officer Cadet School and extended service by nine months to complete his training.

Although he delayed his studies in NUS for a degree in nursing by a year, he says: “I always believe in the saying: ‘If you serve NS, you regret for two years. But if you don’t serve, you regret for life.'”

ziliang@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Mar 13, 2017.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

When students sit one of the papers in next year’s A-level Literature in English examination, they may find themselves dissecting poems not just from foreign lands, but closer to home – verses on chopstick superstitions, perhaps, or the brief history of Toa Payoh.

The syllabus has been revised to expose students to more Singapore literature, said the Ministry of Education (MOE).

At least one question in the poetry section of the exam, which Junior College (JC) 2 students will sit from next year, has a new requirement for them to respond to a Singapore poem.

To spark students’ interest in local literature, MOE has also commissioned a collection of poetry by local writers, which schools can use to teach practical criticism skills for that section of the paper.

This is the first such anthology that will be published for A-level study.

Tentatively titled Lines Spark Code, it will feature works by about 40 poets, including literary pioneers like Edwin Thumboo and Lee Tzu Pheng, as well as newer voices like Singapore Literature Prize-winning author Joshua Ip, Tania De Rozario and Theophilus Kwek.

Edited by poet Aaron Lee, 44, and writer and teacher Christine Chia, 38, the collection will be published by Ethos Books.

This comes on the back of concerns about declining literature enrolment in recent years. The number of students taking O-level literature has dropped from close to 17,000 in 1992 to 5,500 in 2014.

In 2015, two National Institute of Education professors said part of the problem is that parents and students think the subject is difficult to score highly in, and that it has little practical value.

Currently, the A-level syllabus mostly features works by international writers. But works by home- grown authors such as Boey Kim Cheng and the late theatre doyen Kuo Pao Kun have also been studied in the past, said MOE.

The 20 junior colleges and Millennia Institute, a centralised institute, all offer Literature in English as an A-level subject. Enrolment usually hovers at around 15 per cent of the JC cohort, said MOE, though precise figures are unavailable.

Ms Chia said that the new syllabus can raise students’ awareness of the variety of local works, as they would study more local poetry.

But she also acknowledged that there could be resistance from some teachers who have had limited exposure to local texts.

She added that as the unseen poetry part of the paper requires students to compare a local poem with one by another writer, teachers who are unfamiliar with local writers may struggle to find suitable texts thematically related to other poems when they set internal tests.

Megan Mah, 17, a JC1 student at Victoria JC, welcomed the opportunity to study poetry by local writers, as “a local text resonates more”.

The Lines Spark Code anthology is not compulsory for schools. But Ethos associate publisher Ng Kah Gay said that there have been “very encouraging” responses from several JCs.

Mr Marc Lim, 33, who teaches Literature in English at Eunoia JC, said that many teachers were initially apprehensive about teaching students how to compare local poetry with other texts.

“But the study of Singaporean poetry is not meant to be parochial… We can try to see the familiar in the foreign, and vice versa. Doing such a comparison helps us reach deeper, and see the themes in local writing as universal.”

Poet Cyril Wong, whose work will be included in the anthology, said that it is rewarding to see how perceptions of local literature have improved, with more people recognising that local poets do not just write about “boring Merlions and HDB void decks”.

“Local poems teach our students that Singaporeans have lives worth discussing and recording,” he said.

yuensin@sph.com.sg and oliviaho@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Mar 13, 2017.
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In search of a greater “kick” to satiate his appetite for marijuana, Jack (not his real name) went online. But the websites he visited are not easily found by the average netizen.

Instead, these are online marketplaces on the “Dark Web” – a hard-to-access part of the Internet often used for illegal activity – that allow users to buy not only marijuana, but also substances such as cocaine, methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs.

On these sites, drugs are shipped globally and payment can be done through an escrow account – meaning money is transferred after the transaction is fulfilled.

Buyers also use bitcoins.

Jack, now a 23-year-old polytechnic student, said he was given website links by his friends, who told him that he could find better-quality drugs online.

“People go online because they think it is safer, and that they can try to hide their IP (Internet Protocol) address. They get the drugs straight in their mailbox,” he told The Straits Times.

Read also: ‘Fake drugs’ made with ingredients from China: Taiwan authorities

Jack bought 25g to 50g of marijuana “once or twice” in two months, about two years ago he said.

But he has been caught for consumption and possession of paraphernalia, and is undergoing counselling at the Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association.

Like him, more young drug abusers have been found turning to the Internet for their purchases.

The latest Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) figures showed close to a sevenfold increase in the number of people arrested for buying drugs or related paraphernalia online.

Numbers soared from 30 in 2015 to 201 last year, with most of those arrested aged between 20 and 39.

Read also: Man given life sentence for drug trafficking is acquitted

The number of online drug buyers accounts for a fraction of the total of 3,245 drug abusers arrested last year, with offenders under 30 making up about 41 per cent.

In a recent case on March 3, a student aged 26 was arrested for buying drugs online, after the CNB was alerted to a parcel suspected of containing 136g of cannabis.

Former drug abusers tell ST that online black markets are channels for purchases, apart from private messaging groups or online forums.

ST recently saw one of the sites on the Dark Web which showed listings for sellers of “benzos”, “opioids” and “psychedelics”, among other substances.

Sellers are rated on their “stealth” and quality of products.

A listing for heroin, based abroad, for example, offered “free samples” of its “high-quality” product as well.

Read also: Indonesian court jails former Reuters journalist 7 months for drug possession

There are also listings under “Singapore”, where people here inquire about purchases, with some sellers assuring potential customers of drug deliveries. Others use the platform to look for fraudsters.

A former drug user in his 40s who declined to be identified said that besides such marketplaces, some sellers route their payments through legitimate businesses in an attempt to evade detection.

He called the online buying process “no different from (using) any online blogshops, supplement stores and legitimate businesses”.

He said buyers, who include university and junior college students, arrange for a “drop-off” or have the substances delivered through the postal system if they do not meet the seller.

Mr Ang Thiam Hock, 53, a former sales consultant who spends time with at-risk youth in his personal capacity, said though youth are more tech-savvy these days, not all may know how to buy drugs online.

“Some buy in small quantities as and when they have the money, while others do not have access to Web payment methods, making online buying an unlikely option,” he noted.

Read also: ‘Buyer-seller’ relationship with Metro founder’s grandson: Convicted drug trafficker

Another former drug abuser, Joe (not his real name), who used to buy drug paraphernalia online, said it is common for people to tout drugs on private social media groups, or forums.

“While people may try to quit drugs and share their personal experiences on forums online, pushers sometimes take advantage of the situation,” said the 33-year-old operations manager, who is currently a resident at Pertapis Halfway House.

“If they know that you’re trying to detox and cannot cope, they will start to give you more information, and say that they are willing to send the drugs to you,” he added.

“If your willpower is not strong, you just give in to whatever they are trying to sell you,” he said.

Read also: Two Singaporeans jailed overseas for drug offences

He added that while such “pushers” may be based overseas, they often have accomplices in Singapore who can reach out to users here.

The temptation is a lot stronger for youth today, as many of them have ready access to the Internet via their phones and computers, unlike in the past, said Joe.

He was caught in 2015 for buying smoking apparatus for methamphetamine at $15 apiece on a mobile-marketplace app – which he had done six to seven times during that year.

When he met sellers to collect the goods, they asked him no questions, he said, and sometimes told him in advance about new products or code words they were using. “It used to be quite hard to get these instruments; usually you’d be able to get them only overseas,” he said. “But, through these platforms, it becomes quite easy.”

This article was first published on Mar 13, 2017.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

The sky was overcast, so plumber Lau Kam Pong, 53, pulled over on the road shoulder on the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) last Saturday, along with several other motorcyclists, to put on a raincoat.

An instant later, he was lying on the ground in pain. “It came from behind. I didn’t see what happened. I didn’t even know if I was hit by a motorbike or a car,” Mr Lau, who broke his left leg and hurt his right shoulder, told The Straits Times yesterday at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

Mr Lau, who was on his way home to Johor Baru, was one of six Malaysian men hurt when a van drove into the motorcyclists sheltering under a flyover on the BKE, after the Seletar Expressway exit.

The accident killed two other Malaysian men – Mr Loke Whay Nam, 50, and Mr Lim Chun Hong, 34. Yesterday, their family members were at the mortuary to identify their bodies.

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2017-03-12 11:40:29

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Fatal BKE crash leaves 6 hospitalised and 2 motorcyclists dead

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The Straits Times

Lianhe Wanbao

Stomp

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The Singaporean van driver Koh Boon Ping, 25, has been arrested for a rash act causing death.

Recalling the accident, which took place at around 3.50pm, Mr Lau said: “I was still awake (after the crash). People around me kept talking to me to ensure I didn’t lose consciousness.”

The Straits Times understands that he and another of the victims, Mr Lau Kam Long, also 53, were to undergo surgery yesterday. The two men are unrelated.

The other injured are: Mr Chin Boh Fatt, 54; Mr Mohd Zahir, 41; Mr Suriakumaran, 36, who goes by one name; and Mr Muhammad Rafie, 31.

Read Also: Family thought news of motorcyclist killed in BKE accident was a scam

“I told my family not to come to see me, because my children are still schooling,” said Mr Lau the plumber, who has two children aged 17 and 18. The sole breadwinner has been commuting to Singapore for work for more than 20 years.

Mr Lau, who had hopes of sending his children to Singapore for their tertiary education, said that he now worries about the cost, as he might not be able to work for half a year.

His operation alone is expected to come up to $14,000, said his sister-in-law, who was at the hospital with his elder brother yesterday morning. She declined to be named.

Singapore Road Safety Council chairman Bernard Tay said that to avoid such accidents, motorists should not expose themselves along the road, even if there is a shelter. He added: “If it is along a stretch where vehicles are moving, there are not many precautions that you can take.”

Read Also: Driver arrested after BKE collision leaves two motorcyclists dead and six hospitalised

byseow@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on March 13, 2017.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Singapore – Significant changes to the law governing companies will come into effect in just a matter of weeks.

Singapore will be implementing changes to its Companies Act – which will include making the beneficial ownership of business entities more transparent – come March 31.

Senior Minister of State for Finance and Law Indranee Rajah announced this in her speech on the second reading of the Companies (Amendment) Bill to Parliament last Friday. The Bill was passed on the same day.

Among the key changes are a set of amendments “to make the ownership and control of business entities more transparent and thus reduce opportunities for the misuse of corporate entities for illicit purposes,” she said.

Locally incorporated companies and foreign companies registered in Singapore will be required to maintain registers of controllers at prescribed places.

A controller, or beneficial owner, is the individual or legal entity that has more than 25 per cent interest in or control over a company.

“Companies will be required to take reasonable steps to identify and obtain information on their controllers, including sending notices to potential controllers or persons who have information about the controllers,” said Ms Indranee.

The amendments will also compel beneficial owners or controllers to provide and update their particulars to the company.

Foreign companies registered in Singapore will also have to maintain public registers of their members.

And lastly, locally incorporated companies will be required to maintain a register of their nominee directors. “This mitigates the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing being done through nominees,” said Ms Indranee.

The changes follow from the Financial Action Task Force’s recommendation that Singapore enhance the accessibility of information on beneficial ownership of legal persons to law enforcement agencies.

Singapore is also hoping that, as a member of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, these changes will enable it to better implement international standards on tax transparency.

Another key change to the Companies Act pertains to record-keeping. The liquidator of a wound-up company will have to retain the company’s records for at least five years, instead of the current two. A company wound up by its members or creditors will have to retain its records for at least five years.

The former officers of a company that has been struck off and dissolved will have to similarly retain all books and papers of the company for at least five years, including its accounting records and registers.

“These amendments will boost Singapore’s ongoing efforts to maintain its strong reputation as a trusted and clean financial hub,” said Ms Indranee.

While the amendments are intended to come into effect at month’s end, existing companies will have a transitional period of 60 days from March 31 to maintain the registers of controllers. This is to help them prepare to comply with these new requirements.

“Acra (Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority) will also issue further guidance to companies. This includes samples of the notice that companies can use to send to their shareholders, directors and any other relevant persons to assist them in obtaining the information required for their register of controllers.”

Other amendments that will come into effect later seek to reduce the regulatory burden on companies and improve the ease of doing business here.

The timelines for holding annual general meetings (AGMs) and filing annual returns will be aligned with the companies’ financial year-end.

The amendments will require listed companies to hold AGMs within four months and file annual returns within five months after their financial year-end. Non-listed companies must hold AGMs within six months and file annual returns within seven months after their financial year-end.

All private companies will be exempted from AGMs, subject to safeguards. This is in addition to the current regime where private companies can dispense with the holding of AGMs if all shareholders approve.

The Bill will also introduce an inward re-domiciliation regime in Singapore. Foreign corporate entities will be allowed to transfer their registration to Singapore, besides the current options of setting up a subsidiary or branch in Singapore.

Ms Indranee also detailed changes in the Companies Act that aim to enhance Singapore’s corporate rescue and restructuring processes. “The proposed changes will further enhance our legal framework and status as a centre for international debt restructuring,” she said.

These amendments will strengthen the scheme of arrangement and judicial management regimes, which are the procedures used for corporate rescue and restructuring in Singapore.

Additionally, amendments will also be made to enhance Singapore’s capability in dealing with cross-border insolvencies.

michquah@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Mar 13, 2017.
Get The Business Times for more stories.

A new scheme allowing young suspects to be accompanied by an independent party during police interviews will be administered by the Singapore Children’s Society (SCS), sources told The Straits Times.

On track to be rolled out in stages from next month, the Appropriate Adult (AA) Scheme for Young Suspects will benefit those under 16.

When minors have to be taken to a police station for an interview, the authorities will call upon its pool of trained volunteers, who must arrive within 11/2 hours of being activated.

These volunteers, or AAs, will help to look for signs of distress in the young suspects and provide them with emotional support.

They may take notes of the interview process and intervene if necessary, such as to request a break or ask officers to rephrase a question, if they notice that a young suspect may have trouble understanding it. But they must remain neutral.

Volunteers may not provide legal advice or disrupt the course of justice in any way.

The Straits Times understands that about 180 members of the public have indicated their interest to the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) in becoming a volunteer.

Close to 100 have been through a training session on working with youth, and basic police procedures.

Among them are retired educators. ST understands that the Education Ministry had reached out to them about the new programme.

NCSS, which is appointing SCS as the service provider, is expected to reveal more details about the roll-out soon.

The AA scheme for minors, similar to an existing one for offenders with intellectual or mental disabilities, was announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs in January.

It followed an inter-agency review of investigation processes after a 14-year-old schoolboy, Benjamin Lim, fell to his death on Jan 26 last year, hours after being questioned by the police.

No other adult, such as Benjamin’s parents, was present during his interview at the police station, and it sparked a discussion on whether officers should be able to interview minors alone.

The new AA pilot is expected to start at the Bedok Division, the Criminal Investigation Department of the police as well as the investigation division of the Central Narcotics Bureau.

A recently confirmed volunteer, Mr Henry Wang, 45, has a child who was diagnosed with mild autism six years ago.

He hopes that his knowledge and experience in handling a young child in stressful situations will come in useful.

Mr Wang recalled how his son, now eight years old, would scream in public if he was uncomfortable with the environment.

“Initially, I felt quite embarrassed, could not control my own anger and shouted back at him,” said the director of a business consultancy.

But through his own research, Mr Wang learnt to change his attitude and consider how his actions affected his son, who has begun to open up to him, and is doing well in school after getting professional help from therapists, he said.

“I felt that since I learnt a lot, I wanted to volunteer and give back to society,” he added.

Others, like civil servant Vincent Tan, 46, decided to join the scheme after learning of Benjamin’s death in order to help young people who may find themselves in a similar situation.

“I feel for (Benjamin) and his family, and I think that this scheme can help to minimise such incidents,” he said.

An AA can look out for young persons so they are not left to “fend for themselves during the interview”.

“As a father, I definitely would want the well-being of my children to be taken care of, if they have any brushes with the law,” added Mr Tan, who has three children aged 18 to 21.

“Everyone makes mistakes. My belief is that we should not allow such mistakes to cost a life.”

byseow@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on March 13, 2017.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Singapore – Depsite a commonly held view that Singapore could aspire to be a test-bed for global innovation, some veteran entrepreneurs say local companies would do better to focus instead on global markets, or internationalisation, from the get-go.

Tan Min-Liang, chief executive officer of Razer, a San Francisco-based gaming hardware company, said: “While it might seem like common wisdom to first test (an idea) in Singapore, and then take it regionally and to the world, with all due respect to the government, I think it doesn’t make sense in today’s world.”

The Singaporean, who founded Razer in 2005, said the domestic market is fundamentally too small and the rewards from test-bedding here are rarely worth the same effort spent to test-bed outside of Singapore.

“Furthermore, by the time you’re done with test-bedding in Singapore, somebody’s already tested the same (idea) in China, or in California, reaching out to North America and so forth. You’re better off starting in the US and China from the get-go.”

Isaac Ho, CEO of venture capital firm Venturecraft, which operates an incubator in Hangzhou, shares the same sentiment. “Even if you successfully test-bed a product here, the small population means you will not be prepared for large volume transactions. This could result in under-building a product.”

Notably, Uber, whose headquarters is in San Francisco, is trialing self-driving cars in Pittsburg. It deliberately chose the industrial city because of its erratic weather and winding roads. An Uber director was quoted in Fast Company as saying: “If we can drive in Pittsburgh, we have what it takes to drive in other cities.”

In a similar vein, Mr Ho noted that the environment in Singapore is not a true test of the actual global market – test-bedding here is akin to drafting a business plan based on theory, and not experience.

“If startups test-bed here, they will need to expend effort to undo what they’ve built for use in other markets, increasing business expenditure. Instead, they should go quickly into the global markets where they want to be anchored.”

Mr Ho also said the government’s efforts to promote entrepreneurship may be counter-intuitive. “Singaporeans are well taken care of by the government. Every young person I’ve spoken to acknowledged they will not have an issue owning an HDB. The hunger level is not the same. Most entrepreneurs know there is always another job for them.”

He suggested that the government do less to promote entrepreneurship (“it’s not for everyone”) but do more to expose youths to technology and innovation from a young age, such as through overseas attachments. “The students will be exposed to real hunger and passion, and see how fast the other countries are racing ahead.”

Mr Tan said the Republic should focus less on bringing in foreign talent and companies, and more on investing in Singaporeans who are prepared to go global but who will bring employment, innovation and profit back to the country.

“As for companies, what they need to do today is be incredibly nimble, take advantage the best talent found in Singapore, but ensure that they are always looking global at the same time.”

International Enterprise Singapore (IES) is helping enterprises do that by looking for tech co-creation opportunities and business ideas from key markets such as the US. Natalie Choo, group director for North America and Europe at IES, said: “The goal is to help them identify innovations, businesses or solutions that can be deployed and scaled up overseas.”

For instance, IES facilitated a partnership between CapitaLand and Chinese co-working operator UrWork to create a co-working solution in China. Co-working is a concept popularised in the US.

“In this regard, we are helping CapitaLand source new innovative business models in the US to be deployed across their assets around the world.”

Cap Vista Singapore, the VC arm of the Defence Science and Technology Agency, has also set its sights abroad. It recently invested in Canadian accelerator TandemLaunch, citing complementary focus areas, such as cognitive performance, human-machine interaction and data analytics, that can translate into products beneficial to Singapore’s defence.

Kevin Foo, head of investment at Cap Vista, told The Business Times: “With the rate of technological disruption happening in the world, stakeholders more than ever expect quick deployments of chosen products before the next wave of competing technologies come around.”

That said, Mr Foo believes that Singapore is an exemplary test-bed for innovation and technologies benefiting the global market. “The level of infrastructure development within our small cityscape allows for close co-operation between different organisations, public or private, to co-develop and test technologies.”

Mr Tan urges Singapore to take a longer-term approach to innovation. He said: “It’s not going to happen overnight, we need to be prepared to be investing heavily in the long term without seeing any short-term rewards.”

jaccheok@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Mar 13, 2017.
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