Singapore Companies Urged To Look Overseas For Growth

SINGAPORE, Nov 23 (Bernama) -- Given Singapore’s small domestic market, it will be important for Singapore companies to look overseas for growth and success, said its Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Teo Ser Luck. He said amid the gloomy global economic climate, the outlook in Asia was fortunately much brighter and more optimistic. "In the midst of uncertainty, the government will continue to work with the local enterprises to identify opportunities, especially niche areas and markets where there are more growth and expansion opportunities," Teo said in his address at the 2011 enterprise 50 awards here on Wednesday. Teo also pointed that Singapore must get used to slower economic growth in the next 10 years as it faces tougher global competition and a tightened supply of foreign workers. "Our land constraints and small population will also limit our ability to maintain the good growth we have experienced in the past." He said for many locally-owned enterprises in Singapore, the current global economic climate posed a great deal of uncertainty. Rising business costs caused by inflation, a strong Singapore dollar, and limited land and labour supply were key challenges to their competitiveness. To address these challenges, some companies have turned to improving productivity by re-designing their work processes, Teo said. The government has also been proactive in encouraging local enterprises to increase their productivity to deal with the rise in business costs, he said, urging companies to use the various schemes offered in the country. --BERNAMA Malaysia