Singapore: 12 priority sectors

Singapore has a new productivity council headed by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean and this council has its sights fixed on a dozen key industries that employ half of Singapore's workforce and contribute 40 per cent to the economy.

These sectors have been identified to lead the national drive to raise productivity as part of Singapore's move to transform its economy to one fuelled by innovation and better skills.

A dedicated group will be formed in each sector to come up with ways to improve productivity, especially in devising measures specific and relevant to the industry, Mr Teo told reporters yesterday before he chaired the first meeting of the National Productivity and Continuing Education Council.

'If you take the construction or hotel industry, we'll look for things where we can compare with best practices in other countries, and I think these will give us a sense of where we stand, how we can improve.'

These measures will also help companies and sectors identify better with the national goal to raise productivity, he added. Singapore aims to boost productivity by 2 per cent to 3 per cent every year for the next 10 years.

The 19-member council met for four hours and later, in a statement, identified the 12 sectors. These are: construction; electronics; precision engineering; transport engineering; general manufacturing; retail; food and beverage; hotel; health care; infocommunication; logistics and storage; and administrative and support services.