Former A*STAR chairman Philip Yeo on growing Singapore's biomedical industry

[@marktan8074]

This man is a national asset of Singapore. He credentials are incomparable. Thank you Mr Yeo for your dedication and service to Singapore. 💐💐💐

[@leewn2319]

We are very very blessed to have Mr Philip Yeo whose wisdom, vision, talent, gumption brought great development for Sg. Even our founder PM Lee Kuan Yew have full respect and trust for him giving him a full free hand & support to do the necessary to attract top talents to Sg. Thank you Mr Yeo.

[@michaelzeng7096]

Mr Philip Yeo is a master of trades.He a top civil servant, economist, scientist, entrepreneur, n great contributor to development of Singapore. I am a great admirer of him. He is straight forward no bias of staffs under his wings, very selective of staffs on specific jobs. Singapore is very fortunate to have such person to support the government. Full of respect for Mr Philip Yeo.

[@ahjaykim7362]

Yes, yes, agreed. ki jiu. He is a dynamic whale under late Dr Goh Keng Sweet in the 1970s..!!

[@kimlengaw4343]

@@ahjaykim7362 b

[@somerslim25]

i am honor that he came to my former company for a official opening and he did ask a question on a product and everyone got stunned but i am the only one that answer him. he is a nice man. and quick thinking.

[@spanishjo4282]

My beloved Mr Philip Yeo is my indirect big boss….I like him very much for his way of speeches and leadership

[@mindscaffold]

Symbiotic relationship. He is a man of foresight and courage, a go getter who factor failure but who manage to win the hearts and minds of Goh Keng Swee and PM Lee Kuen Yew

[@ichigobagus]

Thank you Mr Yeo...30 years of hardwork backed by Belief, Passion and Conviction/Tenacity to push your Vision through ! 👏 👏 👏 🙏

[@brandenongkp]

Mr Philip Yeo should be a full time minister. He has the guts and the wisdom to get things done swiftly.

[@franciscody9622]

He got things done quickly but did he do the right things. For example, when he was Sembawang Chaiman it acquired Delifrance for $400m. It was later sold to Prudential for only $70m, a massive loss. Let that sink in.

[@tanjeffrey9396]

He might not be a likable person, but he is definitely One of our Singapore Top Talent and a very successful Executive, a no nonsense person. His contrbutions to Singapore are very well recognised and appreciated by many Singaporeans.

[@franciscody9622]

"Did he "succeed" in the private sector? Did he succeed when he was Sembawang Chairman?

[@leowtaimeng811]

Philip Yeo is a blessing to Singapore

[@chiaoengchia7507]

No, he has invested into too many industries, making too many unproductive investments.

[@franciscody9622]

@@chiaoengchia7507 Good point. Shoddy due diligence is not business risk.

[@angxiang3186]

Philip Yeo is a great man, in the same manner as Liu Thai Ker; men of legacies. Singapore is so fortunate to have such persons. We succeeded because of such great men with zeal n foresight n dynamism driving the spokes of Singapore growth. So where are our future the “4G” economic master craftsmen??? Singapore must also have a succession plan of these great persons = economic master craftsmen. Majulah Singapore.

[@franciscody9622]

Success in the public sector is an oxymoron because civil servants are not effective risk-takers.

[@angxiang3186]

@@franciscody9622 Of course there are differences an Administrator vs Entrepreneur; an Engineer vs Marketer. But Philip Yeo, Liu Thai Ker r men who walk the ground, leaders of other men of talents/gifts to actualise a planned course of action towards a defined goal. They are not the typical “pencil-pen pusher”.

[@HKspurs10]

i love this interview. the good side of foreign talent!

[@Buttercookies0]

This man is really a local talent.

[@chiaoengchia7507]

Really when Singapore after so many years has still not carved out any niche area unlike Korea and Taiwan! Singapore is heavily invested in the tourism industry which I see a dark future for it, with the coming long world- wide recession coupled with inflation, to reap any benefits.

[@Buttercookies0]

@@chiaoengchia7507 Go and read up his book "Neither Civil Nor Servant" to know about this man. His era does not belong to the time you are mentioning.

[@chiaoengchia7507]

@@Buttercookies0 You agree with me that Singapore has not carved out any niche area.? There are worldwide brands associated with Taiwan and S Korea but not Singapore except for SIA. Singapore continually depends on MNCs but how long?

[@Buttercookies0]

@@chiaoengchia7507 Which area(s) do you think S'pore should do since you are so concerned?

[@chiaoengchia7507]

@@Buttercookies0 Well, the leaders should identify rather than me as they are paid to do so. Not to identify means that Singapore has spread itself too thin and this is my grievance with Philip Yeo's policy. Notice that at yet Singapore does not develop any world-wide brand in the biotechnology area.

[@wheelfree]

Mr Yeo...Salute!!!

[@thatone8085]

Singapore has plenty of money to start this. All great planning by the PAP government . Bless to be a singaporean. Thanks to the 3 PM.

[@martinlee7102]

What we effectively have here in TH, is a privately run commercial entity, operated by non elected personnel (such as the wife of Prime Minister, Madam Ho Ching) in charge of our country’s nest egg. Our public monies being managed by people who the public have no oversight over. To put it another way, non-elected people being able to make huge financial decisions without any public accountability. The oximeter is just an example of what could be a colossal waste of our nation’s money. Why does every household need an oximeter anyway? By TF’s own admission, oximeter readings may be inaccurate due to reasons such as trembling or shaking hands, or perhaps even the use of nail varnish. TF also stressed that blood oxygen level readings do not replace a COVID-19 test as low levels may be caused by other underlying conditions besides the virus. With that in mind, could the money have been better spent elsewhere? Take a further step back, who is really keeping TH and TF accountable with how they spend our money?

[@martinlee7102]

Rubbish pap government

[@franciscody9622]

Wasn't he Sembawang Chairman when it bought Delifrance for $400m? It was later sold for only $79m.

[@obgprasa]

Some credit to Goh Keng Swee too who recognised Phillip Yeo's talent and gave him a free hand to cut corners.

[@johnwong4424]

He is definitely a TOP TALENT 👍👍 Now we have none.

[@ktan8]

His son is a very famous scientist.

[@pkweksh]

Philip Yeo spoke more about Singapore social issues but why were many of his views not taken & acted on?

[@anthtan]

I wish there would be a Singapore version of The Apprentice with Mr. Philip Yeo as the Host, who gets to say, "You're fired!"

[@albertwong1919]

Mr Philip Yeo's contribution is similar to what our late Goh Keng Swee did for Singapore under our late PM LKY. Mr Philip Yeo is a visionary and straight talker and hence not suitable for politics!

[@chiaoengchia7507]

Nonsense! Goh Keng Swee is so much better than Philip Yeo who had wasted Singapore's wealth on numerous unprofitable investments. Only after 40 years are there signs of some returns, but there are no world class companies to speak of.

[@Lawyer1606]

PM Lee should complete the picture. While there may be success in the biotech, we failed in the semiconductor fabrication industry. Having invested heavily in the 90s with the creation of the likes of chartered semiconductor (almost the same time as TSMC), we literally do not have any meaningful existence any more. One key reason is the meagre pay engineers received and the progression prospect. Many of the top students were encouraged and took up engineering in the 80s and 90s but the harsh reality they faced compared with your peers in medicine, law and perhaps accountancy meant that by the 2000s, no sensible top students takes up engineering. Look at all the perm sec and scholars, what is the percentage that took up engineering. Yet science and engineering is the foundation of a country's progress in productivity and innovation.

[@chinmengtan646]

Great man

[@TamilSelvan-gk9wc]

How many of the 25k workers are Singaporean after 30 years ?

[@farland789]

It doesn’t matter. What matters is you will never be one of them.

[@franciscody9622]

How many billions have been spent on the biomedical industry? What is the return on investment to date? How many foreigners are employed in the industry on taxpayers' money?

[@franciscody9622]

His book is entitled : "Neither civil nor servant". Really?

[@yb7756]

Dawn Tan CNA Reported

[@JJJJJYT2205]

God is the best ever

[@khokl9288]

He is the Singapore version of Kong Ming

[@maxyogi]

This interview is a bit too real. It appears Singapore has pushed well passed this onto more advanced methods.

[@lee0282926]

He is a threat and a challenge to paper generals

[@souffled]

Not LACK of corruption but absence of corruption

[@chiaoengchia7507]

Well, corruption comes in many forms. Some although legally protected are corrupt enriching the ruling class and its members.

[@toonlianong4580]

Most countries are doing this... how are we different?

[@hussainbinshamsuddin9488]

How many countries in Asia doing this?

[@nicrome]

wah he so old liao

[@cheval63sg]

a few success stories, but quite some failures. just check out return/investment ratio.

[@greatasia606]

China?!!! Angmohs did the ranking, teoh bo? Ha ha ha!