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Speech By Mrs Josephine Teo, Senior Minister Of State For Finance And Transport
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted to join you for the opening of the 13th Asia Pacific Maritime (APM), one of Asia’s premier maritime events.
Growth in Asia
We are at the cusp of a sustained recovery for the maritime sector. We have been seeing signs of recovery since the second half of 2013, with improved earnings particularly in the dry bulk and tanker segments. This has been driven by the recovery of advanced economies like the US and Europe as well as continued growth in Asia and emerging markets.
Looking ahead, we can expect continued growth across Asia. It is therefore fitting that this year’s APM has adopted the theme, “Repositioning for Growth in the Asia Pacific Region”. Asia will be the key engine behind global trade growth, both today and in the medium term. The IHS[1] predicts that Far East-Europe seaborne containerised trade will grow at 4.6% per annum from 2014 to 2016, while Intra-Asia seaborne containerised trade is expected to grow at 5.8% per annum from 2014 to 2016. As a result, Asia’s share of global seaborne trade is expected to increase to more than 40% in the years ahead.
Singapore as the Maritime Gateway to Asia
Singapore is well-positioned to serve as a gateway to Asia and benefit from the shifting centre of gravity to this region. We are a key maritime nation in the heart of Asia and home to a leading hub port. We provide an optimal location for businesses to tap on Asia's growth opportunities.
As a result, an increasing number of international maritime companies have sought to establish regional offices here. Our maritime cluster today is vibrant and comprises more than 130 international shipping groups and more than 5,000 maritime companies. These cover a broad and comprehensive range of shipping and ancillary maritime services such as marine insurance, shipping finance and ship broking.
Growing Maritime Singapore
The Singapore Government is committed to developing our maritime sector and enabling our maritime companies to seize opportunities that Asia’s growth offers.
To provide premier connectivity and service levels, we continue to invest in port infrastructure well ahead of demand. We are expanding Pasir Panjang Terminal to increase our handling capacity to 50 million TEUs per annum and the first set of new berths will be ready later this year. In the longer term, we plan to consolidate our container port operations at Tuas with a capacity of up to 65 million TEUs.
We are also supporting our maritime sector to achieve productivity-driven growth. Last year, the MPA launched a S$25 million Productivity Programme under the Maritime Cluster Fund (MCF) to support our maritime industry's productivity efforts. MPA has also extended the Maritime Innovation and Technology (MINT) Fund for another five years with a top-up of S$50 million to further support innovation, and research and development (R&D) by maritime companies.
Our maritime companies will also need to tap on a quality workforce to capitalise on growth opportunities. This is why we are intensifying our efforts to attract and develop maritime talent. For example, MPA’s new Global Internship Award that enables young talent to gain industry exposure through local and overseas internships with maritime companies. We are looking at placing some 20 interns later this year. Our educational institutions have also expanded their range of maritime courses at all tertiary levels. And we will continue to support our maritime professionals in upgrading their knowledge and skills to meet new industry needs.
We will continue to work closely with the industry to refine our maritime policies and schemes to ensure that they provide a pro-business, stable and competitive environment for our maritime stakeholders.
Conclusion
Just as Maritime Singapore continues to mature, APM has grown from strength to strength over the years. APM thus provides an ideal platform for the maritime industry to exchange views and gain deeper insights on how to address the challenges ahead and chart ways to capitalise on the growth opportunities. I am told that this year's APM is the largest to date with some 15,000 participants from over 60 countries.
On this note, I am pleased to declare the 13th APM open. I wish you a fruitful conference. And to our overseas participants, I wish you an enjoyable stay in Singapore.
Thank you.
Source: Ministry of Transport
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted to join you for the opening of the 13th Asia Pacific Maritime (APM), one of Asia’s premier maritime events.
Growth in Asia
We are at the cusp of a sustained recovery for the maritime sector. We have been seeing signs of recovery since the second half of 2013, with improved earnings particularly in the dry bulk and tanker segments. This has been driven by the recovery of advanced economies like the US and Europe as well as continued growth in Asia and emerging markets.
Looking ahead, we can expect continued growth across Asia. It is therefore fitting that this year’s APM has adopted the theme, “Repositioning for Growth in the Asia Pacific Region”. Asia will be the key engine behind global trade growth, both today and in the medium term. The IHS[1] predicts that Far East-Europe seaborne containerised trade will grow at 4.6% per annum from 2014 to 2016, while Intra-Asia seaborne containerised trade is expected to grow at 5.8% per annum from 2014 to 2016. As a result, Asia’s share of global seaborne trade is expected to increase to more than 40% in the years ahead.
Singapore as the Maritime Gateway to Asia
Singapore is well-positioned to serve as a gateway to Asia and benefit from the shifting centre of gravity to this region. We are a key maritime nation in the heart of Asia and home to a leading hub port. We provide an optimal location for businesses to tap on Asia's growth opportunities.
As a result, an increasing number of international maritime companies have sought to establish regional offices here. Our maritime cluster today is vibrant and comprises more than 130 international shipping groups and more than 5,000 maritime companies. These cover a broad and comprehensive range of shipping and ancillary maritime services such as marine insurance, shipping finance and ship broking.
Growing Maritime Singapore
The Singapore Government is committed to developing our maritime sector and enabling our maritime companies to seize opportunities that Asia’s growth offers.
To provide premier connectivity and service levels, we continue to invest in port infrastructure well ahead of demand. We are expanding Pasir Panjang Terminal to increase our handling capacity to 50 million TEUs per annum and the first set of new berths will be ready later this year. In the longer term, we plan to consolidate our container port operations at Tuas with a capacity of up to 65 million TEUs.
We are also supporting our maritime sector to achieve productivity-driven growth. Last year, the MPA launched a S$25 million Productivity Programme under the Maritime Cluster Fund (MCF) to support our maritime industry's productivity efforts. MPA has also extended the Maritime Innovation and Technology (MINT) Fund for another five years with a top-up of S$50 million to further support innovation, and research and development (R&D) by maritime companies.
Our maritime companies will also need to tap on a quality workforce to capitalise on growth opportunities. This is why we are intensifying our efforts to attract and develop maritime talent. For example, MPA’s new Global Internship Award that enables young talent to gain industry exposure through local and overseas internships with maritime companies. We are looking at placing some 20 interns later this year. Our educational institutions have also expanded their range of maritime courses at all tertiary levels. And we will continue to support our maritime professionals in upgrading their knowledge and skills to meet new industry needs.
We will continue to work closely with the industry to refine our maritime policies and schemes to ensure that they provide a pro-business, stable and competitive environment for our maritime stakeholders.
Conclusion
Just as Maritime Singapore continues to mature, APM has grown from strength to strength over the years. APM thus provides an ideal platform for the maritime industry to exchange views and gain deeper insights on how to address the challenges ahead and chart ways to capitalise on the growth opportunities. I am told that this year's APM is the largest to date with some 15,000 participants from over 60 countries.
On this note, I am pleased to declare the 13th APM open. I wish you a fruitful conference. And to our overseas participants, I wish you an enjoyable stay in Singapore.
Thank you.
Source: Ministry of Transport
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