APEC leaders to discuss sustainable growth at next week's meeting

Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia 5 Nov 09;

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry said that the topic of sustainable growth will be discussed at the APEC leaders' meeting next week, along with trade and economic issues that have an impact on climate change.

Basically, APEC leaders will be clearing the air about one thing - growth should not be done at the expense of the environment.

"We are looking at very specific initiatives to increase energy efficiency in the region, and to facilitate trade in environmental goods and services," said Ravi Menon, second permanent secretary, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore.

Singapore Cables Manufacturers hopes that the plans can be rolled out soon. The firm said it started producing green products over five years ago and has seen good results.

The company also said that reusing and recycling scrap materials can help to cut cost by at least two per cent a year; and that green manufacturing will also have a positive impact on revenue, as consumers pay a premium for innovative and environmentally-friendly products.

Moreover, the Singapore Manufacturing Federation is confident that green manufacturing will provide lots of spin-offs for the economy.

"When you use less resources, you lower your cost, you are more efficient, and on the other hand create a lot of economic multiplier," said Renny Yeo, president, Singapore Manufacturers' Federation.

"A green building when you retrofit, for example, green products go into it, (and) it creates a lot of employment. It is a whole new sector that can grow into significant area in the long-term recovery of the economy," he added.

The International Chamber of Commerce said it is setting up a sustainability committee to promote sustainable development among its members. It estimated that nearly half of the 800 companies represented under the chamber adopt some form of green practices. It said it has also been lobbying the green cause with the authorities.

Shanker Iyer, first deputy chairman, Singapore International Chamber of Commerce said: "I am heading the chamber's tax committee and one of the things we have been lobbying the Ministry of Finance for the last three years is actually to give more tax incentives to companies to have more environmentally-friendly investments in terms of buildings, renovation and so on.

"I think the ministry is receptive to the idea, but they are still looking for more evidence of whether such incentives will result in benefits or not."

Industry players said other initiatives could include green lanes at Customs to expedite the processing and shipping of environmentally friendly goods, or accelerated depreciation to encourage manufacturers to invest in innovation and technology.

- CNA/sc

Apec aims for specific targets
Ministers will want to set plans in motion
Fiona Chan, Straits Times 6 Nov 09;

IT HAS been criticised as being nothing more than a 'talk shop', but the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) grouping is doing its best to shed that image.

When Apec ministers meet in Singapore next week, they will set tangible and down-to-earth targets on lofty issues such as regional integration and economic growth, said Mr Ravi Menon, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Trade and Industry and chairman of the Apec senior officials' meeting.

This means putting a specific figure on, for example, by how much to cut the cost of shipping a container - matters which will result in very real savings to companies.

'These are targets we are setting and we're working at it, so it's not as though next month there will be a drop in the cost of shipping a container,' he said, at a press briefing ahead of the gathering. 'But this is how we're trying to translate actions.'

Similarly, Apec ministers want to try to reduce the number of days it takes to start a business.

'If it took 30 days before, and now 25 days, you've saved five days in starting a business,' Mr Menon said. 'That's tangible help.'

To do this, Apec economies are systemically going through their laws and regulations. They will also appoint a number of 'champion economies', ones which have implemented successful reform programmes, to help the other economies improve.

Many firms in the region do business across borders - they may receive their raw materials from one country, manufacture products in another, and ship them off to be sold in a third. These regional supply chains are sometimes inefficient and Apec is looking at ways to improve them, said Mr Menon.

He said that eight 'chokepoints' had been identified in Apec meetings earlier this year, although he would not elaborate on what they were.

But he said unblocking these chokepoints would make it easier to move goods and services across borders, especially for small- and medium-sized companies, which are less able to overcome such barriers when compared to larger companies.

Aside from promoting economic integration in these ways, senior officials, finance ministers, and trade and foreign ministers from each of Apec's 21 member economies will discuss issues in two other areas, the first of which is how to support free trade and resist protectionism.

Apec's trade ministers will review how well each economy has done to keep protectionism at bay, as well as discuss how to restart the Doha round of trade negotiations that are aimed at freeing up world trade. Finance ministers will also talk about economic and financial reforms.

The ministers will also discuss how to lay the ground for stronger and lasting growth in the Asia-Pacific region. Here, Apec will set goals to try and help the man in the street, said Mr Menon. It wants to make sure growth is inclusive - that as many people as possible feel the benefits of growth and free trade, not just the rich or lucky ones.

To achieve this, Apec is tackling issues on improving worker skills and providing safety nets for those who need them.

'This recession has been extremely deep, but the implications for the labour market have been much less,' said Mr Menon. While people have lost their jobs, many have been able to move on to other jobs.

'We need to do better, we need to improve more of these skills and flexibility in the labour market.'

Schemes to help lower income workers who may not feel the positive effects of growth and free trade will also be discussed by Apec ministers and officials.

'We want to be able to give short-term assistance, but in the long term you want the person to be able to pick himself up and participate in the economy...' Mr Menon said.

More than 10,000 delegates and international media are expected to converge for the week-long Apec Leaders' Week starting this Sunday.

Asean policymakers zero in on health and environment issues
Straits Times 7 Nov 09;

HEALTH and environmental issues were identified as key areas for collaboration at a gathering of regional policymakers from the science and technology sector in Singapore yesterday.

Participants at the 13th session of the Asean Ministerial Meeting for Science and Technology, which brings together senior government officials from the 10 member states, identified six programmes to focus on: biofuels, disaster mitigation, food security, health, water and the environment.

Speaking at the forum's opening ceremony at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng highlighted the need for Asean to forge closer links in an increasingly globalised world, where many countries face common threats such as infectious diseases, natural disasters and international terrorism.

The identified areas, to be addressed through the Committee on Science and Technology (Cost), are key to improving the lives of people as well as enhancing economic growth, Mr Wong added.

Research into alternative energy sources, such as

biofuels and geothermal power, had the potential to reduce the region's reliance on oil and hence reduce its carbon footprint, said the minister.

Each area will be spearheaded by an Asean member state which will be tasked with developing a set of targets to be achieved by 2015, said Professor Low Teck Seng, deputy managing director (research) at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, who chairs Cost.

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, he said Singapore will lead research efforts in the area of health, specifically in combating infectious diseases.

'This is something that impacts the entire region. From the recent H1N1 pandemic, it is clear that the threat knows no boundaries.'

He added that Singapore will leverage on its large research base to contribute to the regional effort as well as its experience in dealing with Sars in 2003.

The Philippines and Vietnam will lead efforts in tackling climate change, given their vulnerability to extreme weather events and natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes.

Singapore could render assistance in beefing up early warning systems for natural disasters through the work done at research institutes, such as the Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing, and the Earth Observatory of Singapore, added Prof Low.

Funding for the projects will be sourced in part from the $9.3 million Asean Science Fund, although the private sector will also be approached to co-fund some of the programmes.

Said Prof Low: 'In doing this, there is a stark realisation among Asean countries that there is a huge disparity in terms of the needs, focus and capabilities of each member state.'

AMRESH GUNASINGHAM