With growing concerns over China's slowing economy, and the volatile stock market and its impact on Singapore, we will need more than ever for our public sector to have vision and confidence ("China's slowdown will hit S'pore hardest: ANZ warns"; Tuesday).

The recent announcements of a $19 billion plan by the Government to support Singapore's research and development (R&D) efforts over the next five years, and the formation of five sub-groups under the Future Economy steering committee are both positive and timely ("Singapore commits record $19b to R&D"; last Saturday, and "5 sub-groups to study key areas of Future Economy"; Tuesday).

The above initiatives will help to encourage more entrepreneurship, create value for the economy and ensure more sustainable long-term economic growth.

This will create a more symbiotic relationship between the public and private sectors, where start-ups and entrepreneurs can benefit from investments and markets created and shaped by the Singapore Government.

We will definitely need more "R" from the Government and "D" from the private sector to identify the next innovation or growth sector for our economy.

Rohith Murthy