Keynote Address by Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs, Edwin Tong SC, at the Singapore Innovation and Manufacturing Excellence Award (SIMEA) Gala Dinner

Singapore Manufacturing Federation
President Mr Lennon Tan
Vice President Ms Audrey Yap
CEO Mr Dennis Mark

Excellencies

Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

Introduction

1.                 Good evening.

2.                 It is a real pleasure of mine, and a real honour to be able to join you here at the inaugural Singapore Innovation and Manufacturing Excellence Award (SIMEA) gala dinner. I want to welcome all of you to this inaugural awards session.

3.                 Let me start by first congratulating the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF), for creating this new platform, to recognise excellence right across our manufacturing sector. Let me also congratulate all our winners whom you will see on stage a little later this evening.

4.                 But I also believe that this evening should not just be about awards, important as they are, not just about trophies or titles. But it is also about recognising the spirit of innovation, of resilience, of ambition, that has long defined Singapore manufacturing, and that, I believe as the model that will continue to shape its future.

Manufacturing as a Pillar of Singapore’s Success

5.                 Indeed, manufacturing has been a cornerstone of Singapore’s economic story.

6.                 From our early days as a young nation with limited resources, it helped to create good jobs, build skills, and connect Singapore to international trade and supply chains.

7.                 Today, that sector remains a powerhouse, contributing about 20 per cent of our GDP, supporting roughly about 500,000 jobs across a wide range of activities - from electronics, precision engineering, and transport engineering, to chemicals, biomedical, and food and beverages.

8.                 Singapore is also now the 6th largest exporter of high-tech goods in the world, such as aerospace equipment, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and cutting-edge machinery.

9.                 Beyond just numbers alone, manufacturing matters to us because it helps us develop and hone our technical skills; it drives productivity and innovation, and anchors research, engineering and design right here in Singapore.

Importance of SIMEA

10.              That is why this new awards platform is both welcome and also timely.

11.              Excellence in manufacturing today is not just about scale or cost alone, but really about innovation, digitalisation, sustainability, and internationalisation.

12.              These awards also shine a light on companies, especially small and medium enterprises, that often work quietly behind the scenes, but yet form the backbone of our economy.

13.              By celebrating these achievements publicly, SMF does three very important things. First, they affirm the value of manufacturing in our own special Singapore national story. Second, they inspire others in the ecosystem to raise their game, to raise their ambitions, and to match the successes that they receive. Third, they send a signal to younger Singaporeans that manufacturing today is a high-tech global industry, full of opportunity.

14.              For this, I warmly commend SMF for taking this very important step of creating this platform.

A Changing Global Environment

15.              At the same time, we are celebrating excellence at a time of profound global uncertainty.

16.              Around the world, we see rising geopolitical tensions, more fragmented supply chains, and a growing focus on friend-shoring, near-shoring and reshoring.

17.              I was in Davos last week, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, U was involved in many conversations, but they all centred around fundamental shifts that we expect to see for the foreseeable future – shifts in the world order, and what it means for many economies around the world. Some of you may have read or heard the speech by Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney, who spoke of a rupture –  not just a fracture, not just a hiccup – but a rupture in the global order, which means it will be with us to stay for the foreseeable future.

18.              For manufacturers, this foreseeable future with uncertainty is very real. It shows up in volatile costs – it goes up and down – supply disruptions that are unexpected, shifting regulations, and difficult decisions about where to invest, where to expand into, and whether to consolidate.

19.              We understand these pressures that many of our businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises, are facing. Across our Government agencies, including MinLaw, we are mindful that businesses will need more than just funding and support schemes. More than ever, businesses will need a stable and a trusted environment – one that is underpinned by the rule of law, with strong governance, transparent, and most importantly, predictable. One that also keeps Singapore connected to the world, and reinforces our role as a trusted global partner. I believe the more inward other countries are looking, the more outward and open our posture ought to be.

20.              In this regard, the laws play a critical role in creating robust legal frameworks, credible dispute resolution frameworks, and also, underpinned by a strong rule of law. This is something that my Ministry works every day to strengthen, to better support our businesses, and facilitate increased trade and investment.

Singapore Manufacturing Companies on the Global Stage

21.              Singapore’s trusted legal and business frameworks give our companies the confidence to venture out regionally and globally, knowing that contracts are enforceable, their IP rights are protected, and disputes, when they happen, can be resolved fairly.

22.              This confidence has enabled many SMEs and manufacturing companies to grow beyond Singapore with confidence. For example, we have many SMEs that began as contract manufacturers. They invested over time in design and engineering, and today, they serve customers right around the world. We have trusted Singapore brands in food and consumer products, that have successfully entered regional and global markets, meeting international standards and consumer expectations around the world.

Manufacturing and Heritage

23.              But even as we talk about innovation and globalisation, we should also remember that manufacturing is deeply tied to our own heritage. It is what keeps Singapore special, with some of our special brands, special products, that define Singapore and tell a story of who we are as a people.

24.              In fact, some of Singapore’s most familiar and trusted brands are manufacturing brands – companies that have been around for decades, honing their crafts, passing it on from one generation to another.

25.              When I was at the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), we recognised these businesses through The Stewards of Intangible Cultural Heritage Award, and I am very glad to see that still goes on, which honours individuals and groups dedicated to promoting and also taking care to nurture and steward their traditional practices, and this includes, for Singaporeans, very importantly, food heritage as well.

26.              But preservation is only possible if these businesses can survive and thrive, and remain relevant. That means that they must adapt, to some degree, to change – modernising processes, refreshing brands, and finding new markets – all while staying true to their own core values.

27.              These companies remind us that innovation is not only about new technologies. It is also about mindset, mindshare, and reinvention.

The Role of Intellectual Property

28.              Across all these journeys – be it in innovation, internationalisation or in heritage – I believe that intellectual property (IP) rights will be growingly, a critical enabler.

29.              For manufacturing companies, IP is a strategic asset. It protects product designs, proprietary processes, brand identity, and technological know-how. It allows companies to be able to differentiate themselves in competitive markets, and gives them the confidence to collaborate, license, and expand and grow internationally.

30.              That is why the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has put in place a range of initiatives to support businesses, particularly with a focus on the SMEs, in managing their IP and unlocking its value. In recent years, IPOS has stepped up its work on IP valuation and financing. This includes developing frameworks and working with financial institutions and industry partners, to help companies to recognise the value of their own intangible assets, using IP to support access to financing, and commercialising their ideas through licensing and partnerships.

31.              I encourage companies to see IP not as a cost only, but really as an investment, as a lever, for you to grow, in long-term competitiveness and resilience.

Embracing AI

32.              Another major force reshaping manufacturing is artificial intelligence (AI).

33.              Adopting AI is now not just good to have, but I believe, essential and critical for businesses to raise productivity, stay competitive, and unlock new growth opportunities.

34.              AI is already improving how factories operate by optimising production, enhancing quality control, reducing downtime, and also improving supply chain visibility.

35.              We recognise, in Government, that adoption can be challenging, especially for smaller companies managing costs and manpower pressures. Sometimes, the access, being able to overcome the barrier to entry, with the economies of scale that smaller companies may not have, will be critical.

36.              That is why the Government has taken steps to work with companies, and help to build their own capabilities from within – through digitalisation programmes, skills training, and also support for technology adoption. We are working and will continue to work with industry partners to make AI solutions more accessible, practical, and relevant to your real business needs. It’s got to be not just technology for the sake of technology, but it’s got to integrate deeply with your own systems and your own work processes.

37.              We also provide funding support to help companies to defray the costs of investing in AI, and as I said earlier, in being able to overcome the higher barriers to entry in smaller companies. We will continue to strengthen this support to help enterprises adopt AI and build deeper digital capabilities. This is a priority for the Government, and you will shortly hear more about our plans in due course.

38.              Let me encourage all of you to start where you can, because every one of us is along that spectrum – along different points of the spectrum and different points of that journey. I encourage you to experiment, upskill people, work with partners, and learn by doing. Sometimes, when you struggle with getting a product to market, getting all the bells and whistles on it, the easiest and perhaps most practical thing is to try it out and experiment. Quick to succeed, maybe quick to fail, but if you fail quickly, you move on to something else.

Conclusion

39.              Before I close, I want to say that every award winner here tonight demonstrates what is possible when ambition meets perseverance, and when innovation is matched by execution.

40.              All the award winners are proof that Singapore manufacturing is not standing still, far from it; it is evolving with the times.

41.              As we celebrate your achievements, I hope these awards also inspire others, who are watching, in the manufacturing sector – to innovate more boldly, to expand internationally, and to embrace technology more fully.

42.              Together, I believe we can build a manufacturing sector that is globally connected, technologically advanced, but also at the same time, deeply rooted in heritage – something special for us in Singapore.

43.              Once again, congratulations to all the winners. And my very best wishes to SMF for many more successful editions of the Singapore Innovation and Manufacturing Excellence Award to come.

44.              Thank you very much, enjoy the evening.

Last updated on 30 January 2026