Politics

Five-pronged strategy to build up Singapore as e-commerce hub: Chan Chun Sing


Thu, Jan 28, 2021 – 10:41 AM

DESPITE the global supply chain disruption due to border closures and export restrictions caused by the pandemic, Singapore managed to distinguish itself by keeping supply chains and connectivity with the rest of the world open and secured.

This was a point brought up by Minister for Trade and Industry, Chan Chun Sing at Amazon’s Southeast Asia Online Seller Summit on Thursday, where he shared the government’s five-pronged approach to build up Singapore as a global and regional e-commerce hub.

Firstly, Singapore will continue to strengthen its digital infrastructure, such as through the roll-out of two nationwide 5G networks by 2025 to enhance the nation’s infrastructure capacity to handle large e-commerce orders from around the world.

The Republic will also encourage more firms to adopt digital solutions such as PayNow Corporate and E-Invoicing Network to improve baseline e-commerce capabilities.

Secondly, the government will develop a robust supply chain within the country to support a strong digital infrastructure Singapore is striving towards.

Government agencies, including Enterprise Singapore, will work closely with the logistics sector to value-add to areas like cold-chain management, retail and pharmaceutical logistics.

The government will also partner the industry to help build a strong foundation of data infrastructure to facilitate secure data sharing across supply chains.

Thirdly, building a secure and trusted digital landscape to support the shift towards digitalisation of the economy will take place concurrently with the digitalisation of Singapore’s economy.

Singapore will ramp up cybersecurity to protect businesses, and strengthen digital connectivity by enabling cross-border data flows through Digital Economy Agreements (DEAs). The Republic has concluded DEAs with Australia, New Zealand and Chile.

Fourth, Singapore will do more to support local businesses in gaining e-commerce capabilities.

Previously, there had been a strong take-up of support schemes like the E-Commerce Booster Package which saw over 2,200 applications in the first six months since it was launched.

Apart from the different support schemes rolled out to bring businesses online, the government and industry players like Amazon are also aiming to develop talent to maximise e-commerce returns for businesses.

Lastly, Mr Chan said that the government will continue to ensure the policies rolled out remain consistent and effective.

“We will work with Singaporeans to continue staying vigilant, so that we can resume our economic activities sustainably and start building our new economy as quickly as possible,” he said.





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