MM Lee says future challenges will focus on economic issues
By May Wong, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 05 November 2009 2134 hrs

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SINGAPORE: Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has said global competition in the future will centre around economic issues.

Mr Lee was speaking to some 400 business leaders at a Visa Payments Forum on Thursday evening.

He said creating innovative products and providing good infrastructure are what will set countries apart in the next 20 years.

"I don't think the world's future will be decided by either Islamic fundamentalism or Christian reaction to it," he said.

"The big countries do not fight each other because they all have got nuclear bombs. Your contest in the future will be an economic one - who has the best technology, the best products, who commands the largest market share.

"Today, (it) is the US, despite its difficulties. Japan is not doing badly, although its domestic economy is still sluggish. But as I see it, the next 20 years, the rise of China and India is inexorable."

India, Mr Lee said, will not be able to move as fast as China because of its poor infrastructure and different languages.

But once India allows private firms to build its roads and container ports, the country can transform its infrastructure in five years.

When asked what government can teach businesses about leadership and vice versa, Mr Lee said the two are different and require different leadership styles and emotional drive.

One example he gave was that if a person is calculating and cannot appeal to the emotions of the people, he would not succeed as a politician.

Mr Lee said: "In business leadership, all you've got to do is to get a good organisation and get market share, in other words, get customers to buy your products or buy your services.

"In politics, you've got to get the people to vote for you and support you. That's a completely different kind or set of qualities you require."

With the focus on the emerging economies, some participants at the forum wanted to know how the roles of institutions like the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation will evolve.

Mr Lee said they will have to adjust and accommodate new players on the global scene.

- CNA/ir