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SPEECH BY MR. RAYMOND LIM
MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND
SECOND MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
AT THE HOTEL RADISSON SAS PLAZA,
OLYMPIA BANQUET HALL, LEVEL 2
ON 10TH JUNE 2009, WEDNESDAY, 6.30PM (OSLO, NORWAY)
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentleman,
1.
I am pleased to join you
at this “Singapore Nite” reception. Also joining us tonight is Mr. Otto Tidemand who was recently appointed Singapore’s Honorary Consul-General in Oslo – a
reflection of our commitment to enhance Singapore-Norway ties.
Strong Relationship between Singapore and Norway
2.
Singapore and Norway are countries with small populations, but both countries have thriving
and vibrant maritime clusters with influence that extends far beyond our
shores. Norway is a major shipowner, a leader in maritime technology
and research and has many specialised and innovative
players in both shipping and offshore sectors. Singapore is a top global port, an international centre for maritime business,
and a leading offshore construction and ship repair centre.
3.
With our complementary
strengths, there is much scope for maritime Norway and maritime Singapore to collaborate and work together.
There is much evidence that this is already taking place.
4.
The Maritime Port
Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the Research Council of Norway (RCN) have in place a Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU) on maritime research, development, education and
training. The MOU, first signed in 2000,
was extended just 2 days ago for another 3 years.
5.
Each year, about 50 maritime
undergraduates from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University
(NTU) spend a semester at the BI Norwegian School of Management. In January this year, the two institutions
furthered their collaboration and jointly launched an Executive MBA in
Shipping, Offshore and Finance.
6.
At the company level, relationships
are also warm. Many Norwegian maritime
companies use Singapore as a base to tap into the growing Asian market. The number of Norwegian companies in
Singapore tripled in the last 3 years, bringing the total number of Norwegian
companies in Singapore to about 180, with many considering Singapore their
second home. Correspondingly, the
Norwegian community in Singapore has grown strongly to around 1,500 people. This close linkage has found its way into
our palates as well. I was told that
Norwegian salmon accounts for almost 70 percent of Singapore’s salmon imports last year.
Commitment to the Maritime Industry
7.
The current
economic and shipping downturn must be at the top of everyone’s mind
this year. Port throughput volumes,
freight rates and ship charter rates have all fallen. Both the Norwegian and Singapore maritime clusters cannot expect to escape unscathed.
8.
The Singapore
Government is therefore committed to helping the maritime community ride
through the downturn. A Job Credits
scheme was announced at our recent budget to help companies defray up to 12%
of their wage costs. Through a special risk sharing initiative,
the Government will take on a greater share of the risks involved in bank
lending to facilitate companies’ access to loans. Specifically for the maritime industry, we
are granting an additional 10% port dues concession to ocean going vessels,
and a 20% port dues concession for harbour craft. We have extended a waiver of withholding
tax on overseas interest payments for financing the purchase of Singapore flagged vessels.
We have also set aside additional funds of about US$31 million as
grants to support new business development.
9.
But the Singapore government is also looking ahead to the
future. The potential for Asian
shipping remains strong. A few weeks
ago, a front page Lloyd List headline declared that the “financial
crisis will see Asia become the world’s dominant maritime
force”. At the recent Singapore Maritime Week,
industry participants continued to exude confidence in the prospects for
growth in the medium to long term. In
fact, Singapore Maritime Week 2009 saw record attendance of about 13,200
people, almost double the attendance of Singapore Maritime Week 2008.
10.
The Singapore
Government is therefore also focussed on investing for the future, so that
the Singapore maritime cluster will come out of this downturn
stronger and more competitive. Work to
expand our port capacity is proceeding without delay. We are also developing a new port
operations control centre and deepening the main approaches to our port.
11.
Beyond hardware,
the Singapore government will also invest in maritime
talent. We have ramped up on our
support for training grants to co-fund the development of maritime training
programmes, course fees, scholarship and internship programmes, among others.
To ensure that the maritime industry
does not lose its next generation of leaders to other industries due to
hiring freezes, I recently announced a programme where the government will
defray the cost for companies that take in fresh maritime graduates as
interns. With lower business activity
for many companies at this time, we hope companies will find these programmes
useful in training and developing their people for the long-haul.
12.
In closing, let
me re-affirm once again that the Singapore Government values the close ties
between our two countries and looks forward to our continued partnership in
the maritime industry. I wish you a
pleasant evening. Thank you.
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