SINGAPORE - A committee formed to develop economic strategies for Singapore's future will be made up of 30 members, including government officials and leaders of companies large and small.
Called the Committee on the Future Economy, the group aims to complete its work by the end of 2016.
The committee is chaired by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, with Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S Iswaran as deputy chairman. Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung; Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong; and Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress Chan Chun Sing are also on the committee.
However, the majority of the committee - 25 out of 30 members - comprises leaders of multinational companies such as Shell and the Boston Consulting Group, as well as local enterprises such as the Timbre Group, ST Engineering, and Sing Lun Holdings.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in October that the task of preparing Singapore for the future is an urgent one. Singapore will have to grapple with challenges such as a leaner workforce, tapering growth, and a weaker global economy, he noted.
The practice of setting up such a unit is not new.
In 2001, then-PM Goh Chok Tong created the Economic Review Committee - chaired by Mr Lee who was Deputy PM at that time - to review policies and propose appropriate strategies to promote further growth in the Singapore economy.
About eight years later in 2009, PM Lee himself commissioned the Economic Strategies Committee - led by then-Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam - to brainstorm new and creative ways to ensure the economy's long-term growth.
Here's a look at the 25 members who come from the private sector:
1. Azmoon Ahmad, 53
Senior Vice President and Member of Executive Management, Desay SV Automotive
2. Christian Bischoff, 56
Founder and Executive Chairman, Pan Asia Logistic
3. Jean-Luc Butel, 59
President, K8 Global, and Senior Advisor, McKinsey & Company
4. Bill Chang, 49
Country Chief Officer, Singapore and CEO, Group Enterprise, Singtel Ltd
5. Cham Hui Fong, 47
Assistant Secretary-General and Director, Industrial Relations, National Trades Union Congress
Co-Founder and Managing Director, Timbre Group
7. Chia Yong Yong, 53
Partner, Yusarn Audrey
8. Susan Chong, 46
Founder and CEO, Greenpac
9. Vincent Chong, 46
President and CEO (Designate), ST Engineering Ltd
10. Rachel Eng, 44
Joint Managing Partner, WongPartnership
11. Goh Swee Chen, 55
Chairman, Shell Companies in Singapore
12. Han Kwee Juan, 48
CEO, Citibank Singapore Ltd
13. Mariam Jaafar, 38
Partner and Managing Director (Singapore), The Boston Consulting Group
14. Mark Lee, 42
CEO, Sing Lun Holdings Limited
15. Forrest Li, 38
Founder, Chairman and Group CEO, Garena
16. Lim Chow Kiat, 45
Group Chief Investment Officer, GIC
17. Lim Der Shing, 40
Venture Partner, Jungle Ventures, and Co-Founder and former CEO, JobsCentral Group
Active Angel Investor in 13 ASEAN tech start-ups and various tech VCs. Co-founder and former CEO of JobsCentral Group, a regional job portal. Serves as a District Councillor with Southwest Community Development Council; Board of Directors of the Action Community of Entrepreneurs (ACE); and SPRING's Sub-Committee on Innovation and Enterprise (SCIE) Industry Expert Panel.
18. Harish Manwani, 63
Global Executive Advisor, Blackstone, Private Equity, and Former COO, Unilever
19. Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, 52
Head, Enterprise Development Group, Temasek Holdings
20. Saktiandi Supaat, 42
Executive Vice President, Head of FX Research, Global Markets, Global Banking, Maybank Group
