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Ministry of Trade and Industry (Singapore)

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Formed
  
March 1979 (1979-03)

Employees
  
2,932 (2015 est.)

Jurisdiction
  
Government of Singapore

Annual budget
  
$3.05 billion SGD (2015 est.)

Ministers responsible
  
Lim Hng Kiang, Minister (Trade) S Iswaran, Minister (Industry) Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon, Minister of State Low Yen Ling, Parliamentary Secretary

Agency executives
  
Loh Khum Yean, Permanent Secretary Lee Ark Boon, Deputy Secretary (Trade) Ngiam Shih Chun, Deputy Secretary (Industry)

The Ministry Of Trade and Industry (Abbreviation: MTI; Malay: Kementerian Perdagangan dan Perusahaan; Chinese: 贸工部; Tamil: வர்த்தக, தொழில் அமைச்சு) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore that directs the formulation of policies related to the development of trade and industry in Singapore.

Contents

Mission

To promote economic growth and create good jobs, to enable Singaporeans to improve their lives

This will be done through three strategies, which are derived from Singapore's general philosophy of economic management — strong adherence to a free market economic system, and active pursuit of outward-oriented economic policies:

  • Facilitating the development of industry sectors with strong growth potential and fundamentals.
  • Protecting Singapore's international trade interests, in particular, with a view to enhance access to global markets for our goods,services and investments.
  • Providing a good understanding of the current state of and outlook for the Singapore economy for policy formulation and refinement.

    • Vision

    The vision of the Ministry of Trade and Industry is to turn Singapore into a leading global city of enterprise and talent, a vibrant nation of innovation and opportunity.

    A Globalised, Entrepreneurial and Diversified Economy

    The MTI's vision is for Singapore to be by 2018:

  • a globalised economy where Singapore is the key node in the global network, linked to all the major economies;
  • a creative and entrepreneurial nation willing to take risks to create fresh businesses and blaze new paths to success; and
  • a diversified economy powered by the twin engines of manufacturing and services, where vibrant Singapore companies complement MNCs, and new startups co-exist with traditional businesses exploiting new and innovative ideas.

    • Strategies

    To realise the MTI's vision of Singapore as a leading global city — a hub in the new Asian and global economic networks, and an entrepreneurial and diversified economy — the Economic Review Committee (ERC) identified six key areas which are critical:

  • External ties
  • Competitiveness and flexibility
  • Entrepreneurship and Singapore companies
  • Twin engines: manufacturing and services
  • People
  • Restructuring

    • According to MTI, Singapore needs to embrace globalisation, and continue linking ourselves to the developed economies, to attract investment and expand its markets. Investors should be offered that extra plus, in terms of superior capabilities and an efficient and flexible business environment.

    The MTI also claims Singaporeans must constantly upgrade themselves, and make Singapore a knowledge economy powered by innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. As manufacturing is an important industry in Singapore, to hold out in the increasingly competitive sector, Singaporeans must maintain our cost competitiveness, equip themselves with relevant skills and expertise, and continue to attract high-quality investments.

    Departments & Statutory boards

    The ministry oversees a department and 10 statutory boards. These are:

  • Singapore Department of Statistics
  • Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
  • Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS)
  • Economic Development Board (EDB)
  • Energy Market Authority (EMA)
  • Hotel Licensing Board (HLB)
  • International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore)
  • JTC Corporation (JTC)
  • Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC)
  • Singapore Tourism Board (STB)
  • SPRING Singapore (Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board)

    • References

    Ministry of Trade and Industry (Singapore) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA