17 October 2000

Delivered at Contact Singapore Office in Chicago, USA
@ 10 am on Wednesday 18 October 2000 (Singapore Time)

SPEECH BY RADM TEO CHEE HEAN, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AND 2ND MINISTER FOR DEFENCE AT THE LAUNCH OF CONTACT SINGAPORE OFFICE IN CHICAGO, USA ON TUESDAY 17 OCTOBER 2000 AT 7.30 PM

1 Contact Singapore is an international network of offices in key cities around the world. It is set up as the first point of contact for people who want to know about Singapore and for Singaporeans overseas to keep in touch with their own country.

2 A physical office may seem at odds with the growing trend towards virtual facilities, internet businesses, and web-based lifestyles. However, a physical presence for Contact Singapore will help to provide the sights, sounds and smells of Singapore, so vital in giving a personal touch to those who use its services. An office in Chicago is also timely, given the number of Singaporeans living and working in Chicago, and the number of Chicagoans living and doing business in Singapore.

3 I am pleasantly surprised that while Singapore and Chicago are half a world apart, we share many close links and similarities. Let me mention some of these.

4 First, we both make things. Like Chicago, manufacturing is the largest employer in Singapore. Our engineering industry has more than 2000 companies, employing 145,000 workers. It is made up of three main clusters of electronics, chemicals and engineering. Singapore currently has 13 semiconductor wafer fabrication plants, and plays host to 9 out of the top 20 leading semiconductor manufacturers in the world. We also account for 36% world-wide share in volume shipment of disk drives.

5 Second, we are big on moving things around. Our cities are major nodes in transportation for our respective regions. Singapore is the world’s busiest port by tonnage, and our airport has been consistently rated the best in the world. Chicago is the largest intermodal container port in North America, and is one of the biggest passenger air centres in the world.

6 Third, we also specialise in moving intangibles. Chicago and Singapore are major centres for financial trading, and our links with each other are growing. Chicago is the acknowledged world leader in the trading of commodities, futures and currency and Singapore was ranked as one of the most sophisticated financial markets in the world by the 1999 World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report. With Singapore’s strong economic fundamentals and increased financial liberalisation, there is increasing demand for professionals in the financial sector in areas such as risk management, financial engineering, securities trading and investment banking. Well before exchange linkages became the norm, the Singapore Exchange Derivatives Trading Limited (SIMEX) had co-pioneered the world’s first mutual offset trading link with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. This year, we were pleased to welcome Mr Thomas Kloet as the Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore Exchange. Mr Kloet was formerly a board director as well as board treasurer of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

7 Importantly, the people of Chicago and Singapore believe strongly in Education. Chicago is well known as a centre of higher education, ranking after New York City in terms of the number and quality of major universities. Likewise, Singapore has collaborated with many top international universities to establish centres of educational excellence. We have worked with Johns Hopkins University, Georgia Institute of Technology, The Wharton School and MIT to set up research and education centres in Singapore. We have also attracted renowned institutions to set up independent campuses in Singapore. I am pleased to note that in September this year, the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business set up an Executive MBA Programme in Singapore. All these efforts offer exceptional opportunities for study and continual learning in support of Singapore’s strong focus on lifelong learning.

8 Last but not least, we are both highly wired and ready for the Information Age. Today, Chicago is considered one of the most wired cities in the US. I was told that Mayor Daley has a visionary Technology Action Plan for Chicago to promote growth in the technology sector. We in Singapore have also invested heavily in information technology. Through the Singapore One initiative, we plan to wire up our entire island with high capacity broadband internet access. Businesses, households, government agencies and schools will all be linked to make Singapore a uniquely intelligent island. In 1997, we committed US$1.2 billion to provide computers, full networking of schools, physical renovations, software and courseware, and teacher training. Today, we have the highest number of internet hosts per capita in Asia and our per capita personal computer usage rate of 59% surpasses even that of the US, Japan and Finland. 42% of our households are Internet subscribers, placing Singapore among the top three countries in the world in terms of household Internet penetration.

9 With so much in common, it is not surprising that contacts are being made in both directions. Our people can be very comfortable in each other's city. Singapore is a gateway to Asia, the same way Chicago is the gateway to the Mid-West. Singapore, like Chicago, is a multi-lingual and multi-cultural city. Several cultures meet in Singapore, giving it a unique blend of East and West. English is the main language of government and business, but many more languages are spoken and understood. The city is safe, clean and cosmopolitan.

10 These contacts can only grow with the many new opportunities being created. There are now 80,000 highly-skilled foreigners working in Singapore. Most of them are working with the 5,000 multi-national corporations like Microsoft, Maxtor and CNBC, many of whom have established their regional headquarters in Singapore. With the Singapore economy expected to grow by 9% this year and the focus on promoting high-technology entrepreneurship, there will be many opportunities for international corporations, investors and individuals to make their marks and reap rewards.

11 Singapore welcomes you to come and experience our city. Let this Contact Singapore Centre be your first stop.

12 For Singaporeans and local residents in Chicago, the Centre will help provide a link to Singapore. The Centre will serve as a point of contact, offering a wide range of services and answers to many queries, especially for those who have been away for some years and need to update themselves on the situation back home, as well as Chicagoans who want to find out more about Singapore.

13 I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mayor Daley and the people of Chicago for the assistance you have provided to the Singaporeans living here in Chicago, and your generous support for Contact Singapore. I am pleased to now declare the Contact Singapore Centre in Chicago open.