What P-Noy can learn from Lee Kuan Yew

Our economic policy of welcoming foreign investments made the difference.  —Lee Kuan Yew

The best entrepreneurs and professionals flourish not just because of the money or the prestige, but more because of passion for their vocation and a genuine love or enjoyment of their work. Wealth in the millions and billions are often just numbers on scorecards to quantify or measure their efficiency, creativity, risk-taking spirit and hard work.

Philanthropist Howard Buffett recently told media that his 81-year-old father, the world’s richest billionaire investor Warren Buffett, plans to work until death leading Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and that he isn’t thinking of retirement.

“That word is not in his vocabulary,” the younger Buffett said. “He says when he goes to the grave he will communicate with us via Ouija board.”

Indeed, one can formally retire from an executive position or job, but one should continue to work and be busy. John Gokongwei Jr. told me that one secret to longevity is continuously keeping himself busy, like SGV founder Washington SyCip and Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew.

The folksy, pragmatic, simple-living and incredibly brilliant investor Warren Buffett manages over US$100 billion in securities and approximately 70 subsidiaries he bought into in four decades leading the publicly listed Berkshire conglomerate.

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How Singapore’s Openness To Foreign Investors Influenced China

Singapore’s legendary 88-year-old statesman Lee Kuan Yew is to politics and good governance what Warren Buffett is to investments and what the late Steve Jobs was to innovation. His wife’s recent death also revealed that Lee is an admirably devoted and loving husband.

Lee Kuan Yew and his other leaders built up Singapore — now led by his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong — to become Asia’s least corrupt country, a bastion of flourishing capitalism and the nation on earth with the highest ratio of dollar millionaires per capita.

On Oct. 7 at the final dinner reception of the World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention at the Compass Ballroom of Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew enthralled 4,000 ethnic Chinese business people from all over the world with his exceptional eloquence in both Mandarin and English, his acerbic wit, incisive analyses, humor and wisdom during the dialogue. He spoke on a broad range of topics, from entrepreneurship, geopolitics and history to global economic trends, how important it was for the youth of ethnic Chinese diaspora to learn Mandarin, and success secrets.

One of the most memorable stories Lee shared — which President Noynoy Aquino and our political leaders should heed — was how Singapore’s openness to foreign investors had a positive impact on China’s Deng Xiaoping. This anecdote is especially relevant now that Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and House of Representatives Speaker Sonny Belmonte have the guts to reform economic provisions that impede or discourage increased foreign investments.

When Lee discussed why he considered the late Deng the political leader he admires most in the world, he said, “Well, he’s a physically small man but a giant of a leader. He is decisive, weighs his options carefully and makes decisions. If not for him, China would have gone down the drain. So he was a decisive leader. He saw how to shortcut the learning process, not to do it only by reverse engineering.”

Lee added: “I believe his visit to Singapore in 1978 helped him move internationally. He saw we had no natural resources and we’re a small place with foreign investments that changed his mind about opening up. He came here in November 1978; by December 1978 China had opened up six or seven special economic zones. Then, years later under Zhu Rongji and WTO, all of China opened up… Had they closed up, they’d be stagnant and trying to do reverse engineering.”

One of the most interesting books I have read in recent years is the 438-page Lee Kuan Yew: Hard Truths To Keep Singapore Going by Han Fook Kwang, Zuraidah Ibrahim, Chua Mui Hoong, Lydia Lim, Ignatius Low, Rachel Lin and Robin Chan. 

In the book, Lee discusses the attributes or conditions of Singapore society that have made this small and resource-poor country one of the world’s top 10 wealthiest nations, with an economy now even larger than that of much bigger-populated neighbor Malaysia, and a favorite destination for foreign investors.

Lee said — and I sincerely hope our leaders can aspire to replicate some of these conditions in the Philippines for faster economic growth — “These are the basics that differentiate us from our neighbors … they are not clean systems, we run clean systems. Their rule of law is wonky; we stick to the law. Once we come to an agreement or make a decision, we stick to it. We become reliable and credible to investors.”

Lee continued: “World-class infrastructure, world-class supporting staff, all educated in English. Good communications by air, by sea, by cable, by satellite and now, over the Internet. So it is a location which is different from any other in this region. You want to work in Bangkok? Jakarta? Manila? You’ve got this valuable equipment, where do you want to place it?”

He added, “Look at (petrochemical hub) Jurong Island. We are land-scarce so we joined up the land there. We just fill up, now we’re going to dig (oil storage) caves in the ground. Why? Because we are a reliable, dependable location. There is a rule of law; we never break our word. We maintain stability, industrial peace and we are completely to be trusted… ExxonMobil is putting in an additional US$4 billion worth of investments to build downstream products. Its CEO Rex Tillerson is bringing his whole board here to look at the place. He will ask me to meet the board. What for? So that the board will know that his judgment is right.”

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I urge President Aquino to reconsider his lack of interest in the bold and progressive initiatives of Senate President Enrile and Speaker Belmonte to decisively modernize our Philippine economy by revising our constitution’s antiquated and overly protectionist economic provisions.

Let us voice our support for Charter change of the economic provisions, and let all our politicians know our strong sentiments.

In stark contrast to foreign investors’ favorite Singapore, or even ostensibly “socialist” China and Vietnam, both of which assiduously woo foreign investors, the most protectionist and anti-foreign investor societies like North Korea and Cuba are also among the most backward on earth.

Let us woo more foreign investors and become truly globally competitive!

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