Asia Inc

PHILIP Yeo, chairman of SPRING Singapore, and Professor Annie Koh, dean of executive education at the Singapore Management University, had a rather public “argument” recently. Speaking at an event to mark the graduation of a class of entrepreneurs and business leaders from local SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), Koh was trying to outline the needs and aspirations that SMEs should have.

When Koh proudly announced what she calls the 3Gs — Glow, Grow and Globalise, Yeo, who chairs the government agency that supports the development of SMEs, jokingly protested that he had a hand in coming up with the concept. “Okay, I will share this byline with you,” Koh replied in mock exasperation.

Koh quipped that there was also another “G” that SMU had to contend with: Golf. “We don’t mind giving up our golf if you have something relevant to tell us,” she said, repeating what some course participants said to her. “We know [the choice] is between golf and us. So, we must be so good that they are willing to forgo golf to sign up!”

This response underscores a fact that everyone — SPRING, SMU and the course participants (Singapore Inc’s next generation of business leaders, perhaps?) — is aware of: that Singapore needs its SMEs to develop, thrive, generate income and provide jobs. The country’s economy cannot rely solely on the investments brought in by MNCs, which can easily be uprooted and relocated to other countries, lured by the very same things that brought them to Singapore in the first place.