Colleagues, Partners and Friends,

Good afternoon.

It is truly a pleasure to be addressing all of you at this Chinese New Year celebration. Over the past two years, we’ve missed out on our annual lo hei due to COVID-19. But Chinese New Year is a time for reunions, so I’m really glad we’re finally able to gather like this again.

Although COVID-19 is not fully behind us, the past year has been a major turning point. Governments all over the world have announced the transition to COVID-19 endemic societies, and borders have been reopening. The second booster has also been made available in most countries, including Singapore, allowing us to go about our daily activities with some protection against infection and serious illness. And, of course, allowing us to bring everyone back together for this luncheon.

Growing the Temasek Family

I’m thrilled to see so many familiar faces. But I also want to welcome the new faces that have joined our Temasek family in the last two years – we are glad to have you here with us. 

We continue to meet year after year because the Temasek ecosystem is important to us at Temasek. And, beyond that, we hope that it can act as a network of support and sharing for all of you. 

The pandemic showed us that we are stronger together, when we unite, and that we can overcome adversity when we put our heads and hands together.

Indeed, over the last three years, we’ve seen many of you stepping up to contribute towards our fight against COVID-19. The Prime Minister’s Office has recently announced the National Awards recipients to recognise those who have made outstanding contributions in this whole-of-nation effort.

We are proud to share that over 100 National Awards were presented to recipients within the Temasek ecosystem, including Tan Chong Meng from PSA, Wong Heang Fine from Surbana Jurong and Fidah Alsagoff from Temasek. Our portfolio companies Affinidi, Constellar, Mediacorp, PSA International, Sheares Healthcare, Singapore Airlines, SingTel, SP Group, ST Engineering and Surbana Jurong were also conferred awards. Congratulations on your outstanding contributions and for your relentless commitment towards doing good for our communities.

Preparing our Workforce for Change

As we emerge from COVID-19, we must be prepared to continue battling strong headwinds. In a short span of time, we’ve seen a slew of global disruptions, from the US-China bifurcation to the Russia-Ukraine war. These have had devastating impacts on our economy and society, including supply chain shocks, stagflation and overall uncertainty. Unfortunately, this tough macroeconomic environment is unlikely to abate any time soon, notwithstanding the cautious optimism expressed at Davos¹ this year.

While setbacks are inevitable, it is what we do during tough times that sets us apart. To ensure that we thrive amid uncertainty, we must prepare our companies to face the known and unknown challenges ahead.

I often speak about the need for us to skill, reskill and upskill our workforce. This is an ongoing necessity as we navigate an everchanging world.

At Temasek, we have been organising the Temasek Tripartite Conversations since 2017, to drive progress for the upskilling of our workforce. Through a series of engagements, Temasek has been working together with leaders from the Singapore government, unions and our portfolio companies, to help co-curate solutions and actionable outcomes for a future-ready workforce.

Our organisations are only as good as our employees. We can plan, we can strategise, but it is our employees who execute.  As times change and technology progresses, we must develop our people in tandem. We have a role to play in preparing our workforce for a world that will only become more complex.

In this regard, I would like to acknowledge the union leaders in our midst. Thank you for working tirelessly to upskill our workforce and, in turn, uplift our lives and livelihoods.

Staying Rooted in Purpose

While we navigate uncertainty and changing environments, we must remain resolute in what we stand for. Amidst the choppy waters, we need an anchor to steady ourselves as we chart the course ahead.

This is where Purpose comes into play.

In the face of uncertainty, Temasek’s Purpose has been our guiding north star. Some of you may recall, in my email to you last Chinese New Year, I shared our Purpose Statement: “So Every Generation Prospers”.

Our Purpose encapsulates who we are, and why we do the things we do. Having a clear, unifying sense of purpose will guide us through unpredictable times. It helps us stay focused and motivated, as we deliver on our ambition to do well, do right, and do good always, So Every Generation Prospers.

During the pandemic, we saw a wave of job switching as workers re-examined their priorities. Without the connection to work that comes from a shared purpose, it is impossible to create a culture of ownership and shared responsibility. 

Purpose is not a good-to-have, but a need-to-have in today’s world. It is existential. Only by having a genuine purpose will businesses be granted their social license to operate, allowing them to engender trust and thrive in the long term.

It is therefore crucial that boards, management, and staff have a deep understanding of the values, culture, and beliefs that your organisations stand for. Values underpin how we achieve our Purpose, so it is important that we examine whether our own personal values align with our corporate values.

As leaders, we must take the first step to champion purpose in our work – both organisational and personal purpose. Only when we lead by example can we inspire our teams towards a common mission.

I encourage you to embark on your own organisational Purpose Journey, and discover how it helps to align and unify your teams and businesses towards your north star.

This year is the Year of the Rabbit. The rabbit zodiac is said to symbolise agility and quick thinking. These are qualities that we will need in the coming year and beyond, to help us overcome obstacles and come out stronger. But above all, we must remain anchored in our collective and individual purposes. This will give us a firm foundation to ride out the challenges that lie ahead.

I wish you all a prosperous Year of the Rabbit. May we leap forward into a new year of fresh beginnings and exciting opportunities.

祝大家新年快乐、万事如意、生意兴隆。谢谢。
(Wishing all of you a Happy and Prosperous New Year. Thank you.)

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Note:

¹ The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2023 was held in Davos, Switzerland.