The Singapore Experience

Creating our playing field for co-operatives

Chan Tee SengChairman

Singapore National Co-operative Federation6th Asia Pacific Co-op Forum

4th September 2010Beijing, China

Population: 5m

Size: 700 km2

Economy: Export Driven service economy

About Singapore

Co-operatives in Singapore

NTUC Co-ops Non-NTUC Co-ops

Supermarket Insurance Child care Health care Elder care Food Housing Thrift & loan Media

Thrift and loan Campus / School Services

Security Food Bereavement Travel

Number of Affiliates: 72Membership : 1.7 millionRevenue : USD 3.5 billion

Stretching the dollar

• Modernisation seminar of the trade union movement (1969)

• Formation of co-operatives to stretch the dollar of the worker

Guiding Principles

• Fully Competitive

• Areas with natural built-in advantage

• Professional Management

• Strong GovernanceThe late Dr Goh Keng Swee, former Deputy Prime Minister, Singapore

Success of Singapore co-operatives

• Earned the trust of the people

• Business and operational excellence

• Enabling policy framework

Co-operatives: Doing Good

Our co-operatives are market leaders

Co-operatives Competitors

55%

20% – 40%

12%

Co-ops: creating our playing field

Private enterprise Govt.

VWOs

Co-ops

Example: supermarket services

• Basket of 400 essential items

• Ensure availability of essential items in times of crisis (e.g. rice)

• Competes on an equal footing with global competitors

Example: insurance services

• First co-operative started by the trade unions

• Market leader in Life, Health, and Motor Insurance

• Competes on equal footing with top international players

• Increased market share during global financial crisis

Example: child care services

•Took over 10 crèches from the Government in 1977

• Accessibility, Affordability, Quality

•One of two “anchor operators” in Singapore to help ambitious plans to increase child care services

Example: manpower services

• Founded by the Singapore Police Credit Co-op and Singapore Government Staff Credit Co-op

• Competes with large players like Cisco, Aetos.

•More than 500 guards

Conclusions

• Enabling policy framework – no overt policy discriminations

• Business and operational excellence – wean off initial Government subsidies.

• Maintain the trust of people in maintaining better price and quality

• Co-ops can position themselves as alternative delivery models for public or semi public services.

• Co-ops can create niches to compete with the private sector to deliver better value

Thank you