Just two years ago, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, like other people around the world, had not heard about video-conferencing app Zoom.
But today, nearly all his work meetings are done online.
“I’ve found them to be equally effective in getting things done. I’m sure many of you share a similar experience,” he said while speaking to a group of leaders on Wednesday (8 September) at the Singapore Institute of Directors Conference.
Speaking on the theme of Asia’s Renaissance: The New Era Of Recovery and Reopening, Mr Wong pointed out that traditional barriers to digital adaptation are dropping, particularly in industries that were slow to adapt earlier.
This will most likely improve digital transformation in sectors like energy, construction and other domestic services as there still a lot of opportunities for digital solutions to generate new value and productivity gains, he said.
Mr Wong went on to note that COVID-19 is likely to become another endemic disease like chicken pox and influenza, where people just learn to live with it.
“So we can’t talk about post-COVID-19 anymore because COVID-19 will continue to be with us. But at some point, this pandemic will end, and we must start preparing now for this new post-pandemic world,” he said.
COVID-19 pushes for importance of environmental, social and governance issue
The Finance Minister also stated that COVID-19 has speed up other trends, including the importance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in business.
He added that governments around the world today realise that globalisation and free market competition create efficiencies but also vulnerabilities.
“We know that left to market forces, the fruits of growth will not be so evenly distributed. We also know that corporates will always tend to optimise from their own perspectives, and may not maximise the common good,” he said.
He added, “So there is a greater role for the government to step in, and work with the private sector, to address our collective concerns, be it for more resilient supply chains or to tackle the threat of climate change.”
He noted that this is a positive catalyst for ESG, adding that investors worldwide are starting to use ESG matrices in measuring the sustainability of their investments.
“Compared with Europe and America, Asia has been somewhat of a laggard in ESG investing. But post-pandemic, I have no doubt that we will see Asia catching up.”
He said that Singapore has and will go on to capitalise on these trends by investing heavily in digital infrastructure, such as expanding 5G coverage to the entire city-state by 2025 as well as helping business harness new technologies.
Additionally, it is also making supply chain more resilient and has introduced the Singapore Green Plan. The country is also capitalising on new growth opportunities in sustainability in areas like agritech and green finance.
Firms have to “continually innovate”
During his talk, Mr Wong has also encouraged businesses to adjust to the post-pandemic world. While some companies are keeping up with the pace, others continue to fall behind.
“But if we do not start thinking ahead and acting now, the gap between leaders and laggards will continue to widen, and the need to restructure and transform will likely increase in the future,” said Mr Wong.
“So firms have to continually innovate. They have to look at ways to optimise their operations, reconfigure processes to be more efficient, and to bring productivity up a notch.”
He pointed that some companies can consider expanding abroad while others may require to switch to adjacent emerging sectors. Some may have to consolidate and merge to become stronger, he added.
“All this is part of the creative destruction we see in any dynamic economy – where firms with new ideas and innovation will render existing models obsolete, and thus replace existing jobs and activities. This ensures the continued renewal and rejuvenation of our businesses,” he said.
He also asserted the Government’s readiness to partner with businesses in their transformation journey.
“It has created the possibility for change and reform. It is up to us to seize this opportunity and to shape a fairer, greener and more inclusive future together.
“We cannot sit back and just hope for the best. We must be the ones to make things happen and usher in a new renaissance for Asia and for Singapore,” he said.
