80th Anniversary Commemorative Book - Singapore Manufacturing ...

Those who were with the SMF at the time remember feeling a keen senseof mission in helping Singapore companies spread their wings overseas,and they describe the SMF office as bustling with energy as its leaders andofficers worked toward a common goal.“I was particularly interested in what I call ‘matchmaking’, where we wouldmatch smaller Singapore businesses with overseas contacts so they couldform a connection,” recalled Mr John Chin, the SMF Secretary-General,who headed the SMF Secretariat between 1989 and 1998. “That, I feel,was one of the SMF’s most active roles in the 1980s and 1990s.”Added Datuk Chua: “Not only were we helping the MNCs,we were helping the SMEs to grow. In some instances,experienced manufacturers brought along smaller companies,which were doing complementary work, into countries likeChina and Malaysia. And the small ones were able to set upfactories overseas.”Mr Douglas Foo, the founder and CEO of Japanese restaurantchain Sakae Sushi, who had attended several SMF trademissions to countries like Indonesia, China and Vietnam,concurred. “As an established organisation, the SMF is wellconnectedin many countries, enjoying relationships whichhave grown over the years.”Going on SMF trade missions helpedcompanies like Sakae Sushi to tap into theSMF’s network of relationships and contacts.Forging a new identityAs the SMF moved into the 1990s, Datuk Chua observed that differentindustry groups were forming their own separate associations.According to former SMF Vice-President Paul Chan, it is a fact that severalassociations today have their roots in the SMF – The Association of Smalland Medium Enterprises, the Singapore Furniture Industries Council andthe Singapore Chemical Industry Council.Datuk Chua, who recognised the new landscape, pushed for change andultimately managed to restructure the SMF into the Singapore Confederationof Industries (SCI) in 1996.The change would allow other industry associations to join their voices withthe SCI.64 A Partner in Nation Building 1965 – 1996