IE S'pore chief: The job is about securing deals for companies

Singapore

ASK Lee Ark Boon what he enjoys most about leading the government agency spearheading Singapore's external economy, and he describes the job as the "most exciting, fun and challenging" one of his long public service career.

The 45-year-old chief executive officer of International Enterprise (IE) Singapore said in a recent interview: "It's not about writing papers, but about securing the deals for our companies. We get the action done, make sure we bring in the right people, train our officers well, and send them to our different overseas centres."

IE Singapore has 38 such centres around the world - in cities as far-flung as Sao Paolo (Brazil), Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Chongqing (China) and Accra (Ghana). Roughly 150 of IE Singapore's total staff strength of 500 are based abroad.

"We send our officers there and make sure they can engage the companies in that market, work with the stakeholders and get the deals. These deals are concrete, tangible results and they result in profits and jobs for Singapore companies," said Mr Lee.

Officers at IE Singapore go through a training programme and get wide exposure to a cluster of sectors to build up their expertise. The agency usually posts them overseas after three to four years of service.

Each overseas centre has at least one Singaporean centre director - sometimes two or even three depending on the size of the centre and the needs - supported by staff from that particular country.

IE Singapore makes it a point to recruit those from that country because they have a "better appreciation" of the city, especially in places like India or Russia, where it might be more difficult to understand the language and culture.

Said Mr Lee: "They are important because they are able to provide what our own Singaporean staff will not have immediately. And over time, our Singaporean centre directors will build up a close working relationship with both the public and private sectors in that city, and identify opportunities Singapore companies can tap.

Mr Lee was previously deputy secretary at the Ministry of Trade and Industry for three years before taking up the IE Singapore posting in February 2016.

At the ministry, he oversaw the negotiation and conclusion of major trade deals such as the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Turkey-Singapore FTA.

A Public Service Commission overseas merit scholar and economics graduate of University of California Berkley and Yale University, he also previously worked at other ministries such as Manpower, Transport and Foreign Affairs.

READ MORE: Going global: Many Singapore businesses do get it, says IE