Singapore is facing its toughest crisis in a generation, but it is in this time that the country and its people find the resilience and resolve to take on the impossible.
This is the message the Economic Development Board (EDB) is sending to the world in a new marketing campaign video titled Dear World, launched yesterday.
The 90-second advertisement was published on EDB's social media platforms, including Facebook and YouTube. It was produced with English and Mandarin voice-overs, with subtitles in German and Japanese as well.
It is part of the investment promotion agency's efforts to draw investors to Singapore amid its most difficult economic crisis, and to underline the Republic's commitment to remain connected to the world as well as its openness to talent, trade and investment from the global community.
Framed as an open letter to the world, the video highlights how Singapore, like it did when it faced adversity in the past, is "not (looking) at what if, but what's next".
Singaporeans are "a people who stare impossible challenges in the face and say no, we won't be beaten", the video's narrator adds.
Mr Chng Kai Fong, managing director of the EDB, told The Straits Times: "Through this campaign, we hope to remind the world that Singapore is ready for business, even while the pandemic rages.
"But more importantly, we remind ourselves that we will ride through this storm, and fly again."
Among the partners featured in the video and acknowledged by EDB in its posts are Changi Airport, Singapore Airlines, German logistics firm DB Schenker, tech giant Google, and medical device manufacturer Forefront Medical Technologies.
South Korean carmaker Hyundai, which recently broke ground for its innovation centre in Jurong where electric cars will be built, is also featured in the video.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Singapore has continued to draw interest from international companies this year. For example, Japanese construction firm Kajima Corporation broke ground on its $100 million innovation centre at Changi Business Park in August, which will also serve as the company's Asia-Pacific headquarters.
Tech giants such as Amazon, Rakuten and Tencent also look to be expanding their presence here, leveraging Singapore's strategic position as a launchpad into the fast-growing South-east Asia region.
Singapore also came in at No. 1 for the second year in a row in the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2020, demonstrating its strong economic performance globally.
But as its overall economic outlook remains gloomy - the Ministry of Trade and Industry projects gross domestic product will shrink between 5 per cent and 7 per cent for the year, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore said this week that recovery will take longer than in previous recessions - some see the video's upbeat note helping to project confidence.
Sharing the video in a Facebook post yesterday, Minister for Transport Ong Ye Kung wrote: "A poignant message from EDB to the world - we may be in the toughest crisis of our generation, but we are ever ready, as always, to take on impossible challenges for the survival and prosperity of Singapore."
Choo Yun Ting
