SINGAPORE - To ensure sustainable growth, Singapore manufacturers should actively seek out new markets globally, said Second Minister for Trade and Industry S Iswaran on Wednesday.

This will allow them to "grow their top-line and develop the scale required to maximised efficiency", he said.

Speaking at the launch of the Singapore Innovation and Productivity Conference, Mr Iswaran also stressed on the need for companies to "adopt best practices and technologies that can raise productivity through automation and process re-engineering".

These measures are necessary for manufacturing companies here, in light of changes that are taking place in the manufacturing landscape across the world, such as the advent of disruptive innovations including advanced robotics and 3-D printing, he said.

Mr Iswaran said that as the manufacturing sector continues to be an important driver for productivity growth, innovation and trade, the Government will also do its part in creating an enabling environment and giving support.

The two-day conference at Suntec Exhibition and Convention Centre features more than eight industrialists, academics and researchers in a series of plenary and panel sessions.

Organised by the Singapore Manufacturing Federation, the conference is part of the inaugural National Productivity Month, a national-level initiative to showcase and share ideas.