International Enterprise Singapore
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International Enterprise Singapore (Chinese: 新加坡国际企业发展局) is a statutory board incorporated under Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry with the aim of spearheading the development of Singapore's external economic wing.
It focuses on activities facilitating the overseas growth of Singapore-based companies overseas, as well as promoting international trade. One of such initiatives is its iadvisory portal which aims at providing Singapore-based companies with free expert advice for their expansion needs.1 With 31 offices in 20 countries, in addition to being based in Singapore, IE Singapore offers services to help enterprises export, develop business capabilities, find overseas markets and to enter new markets, through its "3C" framework of assistance - Connections, Competency and Capital.
At the same time, it works on positioning Singapore as a base for foreign businesses to expand into the region in partnership with Singapore-based companies. There is some overlap with the mandates of other statutory boards under the umbrella of the Ministry of Trade, such as the Economic Development Board, SPRING Singapore and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). However, it is officially considered to be the "primary" or "lead" agency dealing with such matters.2
IE Singapore originated from a re-organization of what used to be called the Singapore Trade Development Board (TDB). The TDB was formed in 1983 to develop Singapore as an international trading hub, promoting the nation's goods and services. Activities ranged from basic trade facilitation, to reviewing existing marketing policies, strategies and techniques. It explored opportunities in both traditional and non-traditional markets, and subsequently exported business systems and developed international offshore trading. It also had a role in trade policy after Singapore joined the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), to actively secure market access and lobby for free trade.
The re-branding coincided with an acknowledgment that Singapore had to move beyond its investment-led and electronics-dominated export base and to diversify her sources of growth. One of the key thrusts in Singapore's new economic strategy was to help Singapore-based companies internationalize and grow in an increasingly global market. TDB was thus renamed International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore) on 12 Apr 2002 to mark a strategic shift in activities, which would now focus less on export promotion, and more on helping Singaporean business start and develop their business overseas.
In this way, IE Singapore is analogous to other trade and export promotion agencies such as the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) and the Japan External Trade Organization. However, their roles differ to reflect the different economic strategies envisaged by their respective governments, which also depend on the relative profile and orientation of their economies. IE Singapore, for example, focuses also on investment matters, while organizations such as JETRO have also shifted to activities such as import promotion.3 It is one of many examples of Trade Promotion Agencies (TPOs) internationally facing change, and having adjusted their mission appropriately to suit the times.4
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[edit] References
This article contains information summarized from IE Singapore's website.
1. IE Singapore's iadvisory
2. Ministry of Trade Article on IE Singapore
3. JETRO's Organizational History. JETRO's official website, retrieved on 2007-07-23.
4. TPO's Facing Change. Singapore: New Mission, New Name. Adapted from the presentations of the 4th World Conference of TPOs
