S'pore could be used as lab to develop products for the
aged
By May Wong, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 10 January 2008 1845
hrs
SINGAPORE: Singapore can be used as a living laboratory for
companies to develop new products and services for the elderly,
said Minister-in-Charge of ageing issues, Mr Lim Boon Heng.
Speaking at the first Silver Industry Conference and Exhibition at
Suntec Convention Centre on Thursday, he urged firms to experiment
their ideas in Singapore before launching new businesses to capture
the opportunities available in Asia.
The four-day event enables international academics and business
leaders to discuss about Asia's growing silver market. It also
showcases various silver-related lifestyle products and
services.
The elderly will increasingly offer abundant business opportunities
in financial security and healthcare.
In Singapore, the number of those aged 65 and above will triple to
nearly a million by 2030.
Urging the audience at the conference to turn silver into gold, Mr
Lim said: "Our multi-ethnic and ageing population, together with
strengths in logistics, finance, research and technology, makes
Singapore an ideal test-bed for the wider Asian silver
market."
Even though the silver industry is a very new area, the minister is
confident that as this sector develops, Singapore will be able to
share its expertise with other countries and become a regional
leader for these products and services.
Dr Joseph Coughlin, director of AgeLab, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, said: "Singapore could be a strategic change agent in
showing how many technologies and new services could work in an
industrialised country. Singapore could be agile and take the lead
in defining how ageing is going to be tomorrow."
Providing services such as day and home care for the aged is an
area that private companies can grow their silver dollar. Mr Lim
noted that many such services are currently run by voluntary
welfare organisations to cater to the disadvantaged and low-income
elderly.
"But we also have a rising number of day care and nursing homes
that are being provided by for-profit private sector companies,
which will then cater to those who don't qualify as hardship
cases," he said.
"This addresses an important need. And what we need to ensure is
that this sector will be allowed to grow and that they will have
sufficient economies of scale to bring the cost level to the
optimum," he added.
Mr Lim said this will in turn help to bring the cost down for
consumers.
- CNA/so
Could turn out to be good actually.
If these companies indeed start designing products locally it could
mean increased employment opportunities for the locals of
Singapore. The key word is designing, and not manufacturing.
Manufacturing seems to be "sun set" industry in Singapore.
