Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

This year�s launch of E50 comes at the most testing of times. Although the Iraq War ended quickly and oil prices are on the decline, the economy is being hit by SARS.

Much of the impact has come from fear and perceptions of SARS, not the disease itself. Business and tourist travel is down badly, with visitor arrivals falling by 67% in April. Consumer confidence has also been hit.

But the first phase of this crisis of confidence is over. The fear factor has receded. An understanding of SARS and what everyone needs to do to stop the disease is taking over. Singaporeans are learning to live with SARS, to take sensible precautions and to get back out into the shopping centres and restaurants. Parents are confident with their children going to school and playing their games. Businesses are adjusting their ways of operating, both internally within their organisations and in dealing with suppliers and customers. Confidence and a sense of normalcy is returning in Singapore.

We can and we will contain SARS in Singapore. But how large a hit we take to our economy will also depend on how successfully SARS is contained in the region and in Asia. The progress in fighting the disease in China is critical, for the rest of the region. It is too early to tell which way it is going. While new SARS cases are declining in Guangdong, they continue to surge in Beijing and risk expanding elsewhere. If the SARS situation in China continues to worsen over the next few months, it will dampen China�s growth and Asia�s economic growth. It will put at risk even our revised 0.5 to 2.5 per cent GDP growth forecast for this year.

The Government will continue to work with businesses to bring a recovery in the economy. The priority is to strengthen and sustain confidence - of investors, travellers and consumers - so that we can get back to normal. There is a small element of paradox here. To get back to normal, at business, in school and in public places, we have to get used to doing things that were not done before. Everyone has to make simple precautions and improved hygiene a daily way of life. We will not be able to lower our guard for a long time. It is the only way of carrying on with life, with business and with enjoying ourselves.

We are rolling out the COOL Singapore programme, which provides assurance of stringent SARS preventive measures in places where people congregate. For Singaporeans, this includes shopping centres and malls, restaurants and supermarkets, and our schools and workplaces. For business travellers and tourists, COOL Singapore aims to ensure them maximum protection and peace of mind while they are in Singapore. It will follow the visitor all the way through, from the time he boards a participating airline, arrives at Changi airport, gets driven to his hotel and checks in, and when he visits various attractions and events.

Since we launched the COOL Singapore programme exactly a week ago, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and SPRING Singapore have been working to audit and certify all gazetted hotels and shopping malls. To date 65 gazetted hotels (covering 85% of hotel rooms) and 64 shopping malls and centres (covering 36% of them) have qualified for certification. The hotels are meeting stringent standards, including daily temperature checks for all staff and suppliers, daily disinfection of rooms and common facilities and good ratings by NEA for their F&B outlets.

The next step that STB will work with our hotels on is to ensure that hotel guests are themselves screened each day for their temperature. It will give added sense of assurance to every hotel guest that the hotel environment is protected. It will also minimise any gaps in our overall effort to break the spread of SARS in Singapore, especially as the inflow of tourists recovers. Singapore hotels must be best in class in their SARS prevention measures.

STB has also launched today a complementary campaign, Step Out! Singapore, to encourage Singaporeans and residents to get out and have fun. Spanning two-months, it will involve a festival of activities and special promotions held at hotels, tourist attractions, retail and F&B outlets, as well as events like the Great Singapore Sale. STB will help fund the promotion of these events. The idea is to encourage Singaporeans to come out and have fun while exercising social responsibility by taking all necessary precautions.

Entertainment is getting back to normal. Sally Yeh and George Lam will perform in concert later this month, and the organisers expect a sell out crowd. Taiwanese boy band 5566 will be a highlight at the Courage Fund Charity Concert in June, where a 20,000 crowd is expected.

The Government is also partnering with the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and other industrial associations to ensure that all companies are aware of SARS prevention measures, and of the importance of business continuity management (BCM) to minimise disruptions. SBF has issued an advisory on good BCM practices and is facilitate knowledge sharing by compiling examples of actual company practices. SPRING Singapore will also develop a certification scheme for establishments with effective business continuity plans.

The Government has kickstarted this process by moving quickly to audit establishments for their SARS prevention capabilities. Much of this task can be passed on to the private sector. SPRING and STB are now talking to private sector players to take on this role. (I would be remiss not to mention this at an Enterprise 50 launch.)

SARS has not broken our economy. Our strategies for economic growth remain valid. We have to first get over this crisis by containing the spread of SARS. But we are well positioned to take advantage of economic opportunities in the coming years.

Asia, despite this SARS crisis, will remain the fastest growing region in the world over the next 5 years, and most likely the next 15 years. China will remain a huge growth story, driven not just by low labour costs but a rapidly growing middle class that clamours for a more sophisticated lifestyle, and parents in every province getting their child to compete for places in the best schools and universities. It will remain on the move, and will be joined by India. As the rest of Asia integrates with China and India, the region will gain competitiveness against the rest of the world and gain prosperity. Singapore will be a key hub in this new Asia. Our FTAs will give us added advantage in this role.

We have to make adjustments in the short term, and adopt realistic strategies for recovery. But we should continue to position ourselves for these big opportunities over the long term.

We will also learn lessons as we go along. The economic lessons are already evident in the SARS crisis. The first lesson is the importance of diversification in our economy. We need both manufacturing and services. This time around, we are lucky we have a strong manufacturing sector to hold up the economy. Manufacturing is less vulnerable to psychology. Goods are still being exported, even if business travel has come down. The outlook for the US economy looks cloudy for this year, but we expect growth in manufactured exports to be sustained. Our services sector will eventually recover, as confidence returns and there is recognition of how Singapore has played its cards differently from the others. We should continue to grow services, but keep our manufacturing economy strong and build up our R&D capabilities for the long term.

Second, as with all crises, there are opportunities to searched for and created amidst the gloom. Companies are already taking advantage of the heightened awareness of hygiene and health. Businesses such as pharmacies, health food stores, and traditional medicine stores have experienced sharply increased patronage since the onset of SARS. Demand for disinfectants and cleaning services has never been so good. New products are being marketed - like floor mats that sanitise the bottom of your shoes. In business, electronic customer relationship management is seeing new interest. Leisure activity will change, but leisure will not disappear. DVD/VCD rental stores, home delivery services, and Internet Service Providers are already flourishing. And people are getting back into restaurants and shopping centres, but they will be more choosy about which restaurant they eat in and where they shop.

The third lesson is that credibility pays. Singapore�s forthright and transparent handling of SARS has been noticed by businesses internationally. A few days ago, the CEO of the International Society of Performing Arts, Mr Johann Zietsman, informed STB of its decision to continue with its global conference at the Esplanade in June. In his e-mail, Mr Zietsman said, "It is clear to us that Singapore is taking this matter seriously, and is taking responsible preventative and containment measures to prevent further infections. It is our view that Singapore is in control of the situation, and more importantly, that your transparent reporting gives us confidence that we are aware of the whole picture� If we did not feel totally confident in Singapore's ability to manage this virus, we would have cancelled the Congress." It is a strong endorsement, and one shared by many businesses that our economic agencies have been in touch with during the crisis. It pays to be honest and quick in reporting the facts. We take an immediate hit, but we strengthen our reputation with serious players for the long term.

It is during testing times like these that the best companies rise to the challenge. Companies that continue to seize opportunities, and make quick adjustments to keep their customers. I am confident that our homegrown enterprises have the agility and mettle, and that is certainly the case for the companies represented here today.

Since its inauguration in 1995, the annual Enterprise 50 (E50) rankings have featured the most enterprising and promising of our homegrown companies. Since their induction into the E50 ranks, more than 50 companies have gone on to list publicly. Several have gone on to build an international reputation - companies like Osim, Tee Yih Jia, and Ocean Sky International. They are the rest of the companies we have recognised in the E50 awards serve as vital role models for our aspiring entrepreneurs.

The E50 rankings have also evolved with our economy. Reflecting our economy�s increasing diversity, a growing number companies from sectors such as education, exhibitions, retail and F&B have made the list in recent years. In 2000, Knowledge Management was introduced as a judging criterion as knowledge-based industries gained in prominence. And last year, the e50.startup awards were introduced in recognition of the increasing relevance of startups to the economy.

Events like E50 are integral to our efforts to develop local entrepreneurship. It is my pleasure to declare that nominations for the E50 and e50.startup Awards 2003 are now open.

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