Speech by Minister Chee Hong Tat at the Singapore Corporate Awards 2026

Good evening, I am very happy to join you at the Singapore Corporate Awards, or SCA 2026.

The SCA recognises and celebrates strong governance and corporate transparency. These are important foundations for successful companies. They contribute to trust and confidence in Singapore's corporate and capital markets, and remain important competitive advantages for Singapore. This evening, we recognise organisations and individuals who have distinguished themselves in these areas. Let me extend my heartiest congratulations to all the award recipients and thank you for setting high standards for Singapore's corporate sector.

In today's uncertain and rapidly changing business environment, these qualities are becoming even more important. Companies must manage a wider range of risks, respond to new technologies and business models, and continue to create value for their shareholders and stakeholders. Good governance does not mean avoiding all risks. Companies have to understand and manage their risks well, while still being open and prepared to innovate, to invest, and to seize new opportunities. Mr Piyush Gupta described these very well in his book, in his lectures, where you have to strike this balance between trust and stability.

In the same way, the Government puts in place rules and regulations to protect public interest, but we know good regulation does not mean having more rules or trying to eliminate every possible risk. Our regulations must be clear, proportionate, and responsive to changing circumstances. They should provide certainty and maintain high standards, while giving businesses the space to innovate and grow.

This evening, I would like to share how the Government is working with our businesses to build a more pro-enterprise environment, and what more we can do in the years ahead.

Building a Competitive and Pro-Enterprise Environment

Singapore's success is built not only on strong businesses, but also on trust, strong institutions, and sound governance. Businesses value Singapore because our rules are predictable, our institutions work, and agreements are upheld. These are strengths which we must preserve. In fact, I would say that in this current, more volatile and less predictable world that we are in, these elements become even more important.

At the same time, we know that the environment in which businesses operate in is changing rapidly. New technologies like Artificial Intelligence are emerging, business models are evolving, together with consumer expectations and societal needs. Government policies and regulations must keep up with these changes. We cannot remain static, we cannot keep looking back, we need to look ahead. A rule that made sense some years ago may no longer be relevant today. In some cases, it may even become an obstacle that prevents new innovations from being implemented. So we got to be more mindful of that.

Being pro-enterprise therefore does not mean having fewer rules. It means having better rules, rules that can achieve the desired regulatory outcomes, while minimising unnecessary costs, time delays and friction for businesses.

We also have to adopt a risk-proportionate approach, and not a zero-risk approach, to balance the different trade-offs and objectives. When we open the windows to let in sunlight and fresh air, some flies may enter. We will deal with the flies, but it does not mean that we shut our windows.

When trying something new, we will identify and manage the risks, put in place appropriate safeguards, but we must be prepared to take some calculated risks and accept some failures along the way. Ms Tan Su Shan, CEO of DBS Bank, spoke about this too at a recent fireside chat. If we insist on zero risk, it will translate into very high costs for everyone in society. There is a cost of being overly kiasu, we must be mindful of that. If we cannot tolerate failures when we try new ideas, and very likely the outcome is that we will have zero innovation.

This is something that we had in mind when we embarked on the Equities Market Review together with our industry partners. We engaged widely and listened to feedback from stakeholders, but at the end, the review group members and myself, we had to make some difficult decisions, and judgment calls on the areas and the ideas that we want to pursue and which proposals we want to implement.

None of these moves are completely risk-free, or as I shared during one of the industry events, this is not like buying durians, there is no “bao jiak”. We took some calculated risks and I am glad the moves have helped to generate some positive momentum in our public equities market.

My colleagues and I will press on with the implementation of the measures, and we will continue to look for new ways to innovate and push the boundaries. We have also adopted the same approach to other ongoing reviews to grow our Financial Services industry, such as the Growth Capital Workgroup and the Gold Trading Workgroup.

Next Steps in Our Pro-Enterprise Approach

But we need to scale up our pro-enterprise rules review efforts and this risk-taking approach across the entire Public Service, so that it becomes a key element of our DNA. This is why the Government established the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Pro-Enterprise Rules Review in 2024. The Committee is chaired by DPM Gan Kim Yong. I took over the role of Deputy Chairman of the Committee earlier this year from SM Shanmugam.

Over the past two years, the Committee has engaged more than 200 business leaders across 18 sectors and reviewed over 300 pieces of feedback from the industry. We have made some progress in addressing many of the issues raised. These include simplifying application processes, streamlining government approval processes, removing longstanding requirements that are no longer necessary and extending licence validity periods to reduce the frequency of licence renewals.

For example, SCDF has extended the validity of the Fire Certificate for buildings from one year to three years since 1 April this year. This is in view of a strong track record of industry compliance, with over 98% of the buildings that require a Fire Certificate maintaining reliable fire protection systems.

At the same time, the necessary safeguards remain in place. Buildings must continue to undergo annual inspections to ensure their fire protection systems remain functional. Those which are non-compliant will remain on the one-year Fire Certificate regime. I think this is the right approach because this provides the right incentives for building owners to comply with safety requirements. So if you comply, we extend the renewal period, and you don’t have to renew so frequently – this encourages the right behaviour.

This important work will have to continue. I mentioned we made some good progress, but it is only the tip of the iceberg. There is still a lot that we need to do together with our industry partners. Businesses operate at the frontline and you will often see pain points before the Government agencies know about these problems. We have to continue to maintain open, two-way conversations with our businesses, our Trade Associations and Chambers, and we will follow up on your feedback to see what other improvements can be made.

Looking ahead, I believe that our pro-enterprise rules review work would have to go further than what we have done so far. We should not only wait for businesses to tell us which existing rules are causing difficulties - that is something that will have to continue because we want to listen to your feedback - but we shouldn't just rely on that alone. I believe we should also anticipate where technologies and business models are heading, and proactively ask ourselves whether our regulatory frameworks, our rules, our policies, can help Singapore companies to capture new business opportunities.

In particular, what I have in mind is the use of Artificial Intelligence. We know this is a new frontier, and we know that this is an area where our existing rules, some of them may not fit well with the new operating models, new technologies, and so we have to be proactive about this. We will work with our companies to identify what are some of these areas that we can improve and enhance, so that we can help you to use AI more effectively.

So the next phase of our work for the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Pro-Enterprise Rules Review will focus on two areas: We will continue to remove or reduce regulatory friction, so that we help companies to save time, save manpower and save costs. We will also work proactively with industry to enable opportunities for growth, innovation and enterprise, while achieving good regulatory outcomes that protect public safety and other interests. And I think this will help to strike that balance that Piyush spoke about - trust and stability versus innovation and new ideas.

Creating Opportunities through Policy and Regulatory Review

As Minister for National Development, I have also asked my colleagues in the MND Family to apply this pro-enterprise mindset in our work. We have made some progress since we ramped up our efforts in this area over the past 15 months. Please allow me to provide an update and share some examples.

First, we have reviewed existing policies to give businesses more flexibility and help them respond to changing operating conditions. For example, for HDB shops in new BTO developments, and in particular, I am referring to those that are located further away from the town centre, we extended the rent-free period from two months to up to six months and adjusted the staggered rent structure during the first tenancy term. The intention is to better support new tenants while residents progressively move into the estates. So that when residents move in, there will be at least some amenities and some services, some shops in the vicinity for them.

We have also worked with MTI and MHA to support the continued rejuvenation of Boat Quay, Upper Circular Road and Clarke Quay. Following the one-year pilot, we have formalised the revitalisation measures, such as lifting of pub, bar and nightclub use restrictions, and extending liquor licensing hours to provide room for new concepts and strengthen night-time vibrancy in these precincts.

We intend to go further in developing the night-time economy in certain parts of Singapore, including the downtown area, and we will share more details when ready. Briefly, our plans go beyond the sale of alcohol, as many people these days are interested in a wider range of night-time activities that they can do with their friends, families and colleagues. This could include sports, music, arts and cultural performances. Sale of alcohol will still be part of our night-time economy, but I think it can be more diversified than just alcohol. We can have a range of different activities, cater to different groups of people, to enjoy the downtown area with their friends and families.

Second, we have been reviewing our rules and streamlining our regulatory processes, so businesses can save time, have greater flexibility, and respond more quickly to market opportunities. For example, agencies have simplified change of use applications in JTC’s Business Parks, PA’s Community Centres, and Changi Airport. We have also made it easier for real estate developers to source temporary sites for show-flat use.

We are also reviewing our existing requirements to ensure they remain relevant and support better outcomes. In response to industry feedback we received, I have asked URA to review its Gross Floor Area guidelines to give industry greater design flexibility for buildings and to encourage provision of building features that support heat resilience and thermal comfort. The review is on-going and we will share more details with the industry when ready.

Third, we have gone beyond individual rules and are redesigning some of our regulatory processes more fundamentally in the Built Environment sector. One example is CORENET X, which digitalises our building regulatory processes and consolidates over 20 regulatory touchpoints across multiple agencies into one single platform.

The CORENET X gateway process allows project teams to detect design conflicts upfront and receive coordinated, multi-agency responses before construction begins. Since CORENET X became mandatory last October for projects with GFA above 30,000 square metres, over 140 projects involving 300 firms have been submitted through the platform. Firms have seen time savings of up to two months and cost savings from fewer resubmissions and less abortive work.

One recent example is Norwood Grand, the first project to obtain its Temporary Occupation Permit, or TOP, under CORENET X. Based on the project team’s assessment, the project achieved an estimated overall time savings of six to nine months, from land award to TOP. This was possible because the project team engaged the Government agencies early through the design clearance process, aligned upstream on a coordinated design and ensured high-quality submissions, which helped to speed up approvals and make the subsequent construction phase more efficient.

We are also continuing to take in industry feedback to further improve CORENET X. One area which we are reviewing is how to streamline upfront requirements at the Design Gateway stage, to expedite key clearances in the critical path for activities such as the commencement of works. I know this is important for our developers, because you want to start selling your units as soon as possible. We want to help you achieve this goal, while ensuring that the subsequent steps of the entire construction process can also proceed smoothly down the line. BCA will share more details with the industry when ready.

Earlier this year, we formed the Action Team to Improve Built Environment Productivity, bringing Government and industry together to review practices, rules, and processes across the building lifecycle, and identify practical ways to save time, cost, and manpower. We have already started implementing several ideas from the Action Team.

For example, from January 2027, we will progressively remove the overseas testing requirement for new construction work permit holders. Firms will be able to bring the workers in and test them locally in Singapore, significantly shortening hiring timelines and giving them greater flexibility to recruit, train, and deploy workers according to their project needs. Another example is a new approval pathway for developers using standardised designs and precast components, or “Kit-of-Parts", across multiple projects. Instead of submitting applications for each individual building project, developers can save time and money by submitting their designs for assessment once upfront and reuse them across qualifying projects.

We also introduced Whole-of-Government Virtual Inspections. Project teams can submit 360-degree virtual scans for participating agencies to conduct inspection checks remotely. This is a win-win, because it gives the firms greater flexibility in coordinating inspections, saves time, and it also allows the agencies to be able to do their inspections more conveniently. And by doing this, we hope that issues can be identified and resolved earlier.

Government and Businesses Working in Partnership

These examples that I shared with you demonstrate an important part of our approach to the Pro-Enterprise Rules Review: Government cannot do this alone. We need to work with our businesses and our industry. You are often best placed to identify where there is unnecessary duplication or where there can be a more efficient approach to achieve the same outcome. Many of the improvements we have made, whether for the Equities Market Review or for the Bult Environment, came from the industry. And Government and businesses need to continue to work together through such channels.

Tonight, I am pleased to announce another example of such partnership – a new initiative – which is to streamline the testing of reinforcement steel bars, or rebars, used in construction projects.

Today, rebars can be subjected to repeated testing on a project-by-project basis, even when they come from the same certified source. The industry highlighted to us that there could be a more efficient way to achieve the same assurance for quality, without being so kiasu.

We worked closely with Mr Seah Kiin Peng, who is the CEO of BRC Asia and President of the Prefabrication Association of Singapore for Precast and Steel Limited, other industry partners, and BCA, to look into this issue.

The Association proposed an alternative optional framework which allows testing to be carried out further upstream by accredited laboratories before shipment, with digital verification of records.

Under the new framework, the industry could potentially reduce testing and associated costs by up to 90%.

This is the kind of win-win partnership that we want to encourage – industry identifies what are the pain points that you face, you share with us what are some of the practical solutions. Government agencies must remain open-minded, work closely with our industry partners to test out some of these new ideas, to enable viable solutions while maintaining the necessary safeguards to protect public interests.

I would like to encourage our businesses to continue sharing your ideas and feedback with us. This can be done directly through the feedback channels or through your industry associations. It can also be done through our SME Pro-Enterprise Office. Some suggestions may lead to more major changes, others may involve smaller adjustments, but both sets of suggestions are important, are useful, and they can help our businesses environment to become more competitive, to become more productive, and help our companies to be able to save time, save costs and save manpower.

Building Capabilities for the Future

Being pro-enterprise is not only about reviewing rules and reducing regulatory friction. That is part of it. The Government is also working with industry to help businesses build the capabilities needed for the future. As technology and business models evolve, the way we work must also change. Business transformation and workforce transformation need to go hand in hand.

Through initiatives such as the SkillsFuture Workforce Development Grant, or Job Redesign+, firms can receive support for workforce transformation efforts, including job redesign, workforce planning, AI readiness and organisational change management.

The Skills and Workforce Development Agency, working with BCA, the Singapore Business Federation, and the Singapore Contractors Association Limited, has rolled out a Job Redesign Initiative for Decarbonisation, with KPMG appointed as the consultant. This initiative will help Built Environment firms to redesign jobs and equip workers with sustainability-related capabilities, including in areas such as sustainable construction and carbon accounting. 15 firms have already come onboard this initiative, and I hope many more will join them.

This is another example of the partnership that we want to encourage – Government, industry associations, and companies working hand in hand, working together, to support both business and workforce transformation.

Conclusion

Please allow me to conclude by returning to where I started. Tonight, the SCA recognises organisations and leaders who exemplify strong governance, innovation, and long-term stewardship. These qualities matter because they build trust with investors, customers, employees, and business partners. The Government has a responsibility too – to maintain a regulatory environment that is trusted and predictable but also responsive to changes and business needs. This is what our pro-enterprise efforts aim to achieve.

We must adopt a pro-enterprise mindset - help our companies to do well, help our companies to succeed. We will take calculated risks to try new ideas and accept that some of these ideas may fail. And we will continue to review our rules, simplify our processes, and work with businesses partners to identify opportunities where government policies and regulation can be tweaked and adjusted to better enable growth and innovation.

This is an important partnership. Greater flexibility from regulators needs to be met with responsible behaviour from businesses, strong governance, and a commitment to uphold the rules. When businesses demonstrate that they can be trusted to act responsibly, regulators will also have greater confidence to focus on outcomes, rather than to be too prescriptive on every step. Good governance and a pro-enterprise environment therefore go together and reinforce each other.

As The Business Times celebrates its 50th anniversary this year under the theme "Celebrating Legacy, Igniting the Next Wave", it is a timely reminder that Singapore must continue to build on our strengths, our strengths that have brought us this far, while preparing ourselves for what will come next.

We want Singapore to remain a place where good companies have the confidence and the space to invest, innovate and grow. The Government will continue working with our tripartite partners to keep Singapore competitive and create more good jobs and better opportunities for our people.

Congratulations once again to the award recipients, and I wish everyone an enjoyable evening ahead. Thank you.