Former foreign minister George Yeo yesterday called on successful Chinese businessmen from around the world to be more socially responsible.
‘Wherever we do business, we must have a keen sense of our social responsibility to others and make sure that the benefits of growth are evenly spread,’ he told 4,000 Chinese entrepreneurs from 33 countries attending a conference here.
The need to do so is particularly important as the prospects for Chinese businessmen brighten along with the prospects for Asia, he added.
‘Asia will lead the world economy, and ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs will have to bear heavier responsibilities. We must rise to this challenge,’ he said.
Mr Yeo was delivering the welcome address on the first day of the 11th World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention. The three-day conference is at Resorts World Sentosa, with the meetings today and tomorrow taking place at Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Last night, the conference participants were treated to a water stunt show at Universal Studios, ahead of the convention’s actual opening today by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Singapore is hosting the biennial meeting for the second time, after holding the inaugural convention 20 years ago. Mr Yeo, who was then Minister for Information and the Arts, supported the idea of a meeting to discuss issues affecting ethnic Chinese businessmen and delivered the keynote address in 1991.
His message last night was well-received by the businessmen at the dinner who were interviewed by The Straits Times.
Mr Patrick Lee, chairman of apparel provider Sing Lun Holdings and secretary-general of the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations, said Chinese firms needed to do more in such areas as environmental protection and fair treatment of workers.
‘In the earlier phase of development, Chinese businesses were very concerned about the bottom line. But now that they’ve done well, it’s time to move to the next phase and give back to society,’ he said.
Agreeing, Mr Tony Cheung, chief executive officer of real estate company Tuenbo Holdings in Hong Kong, said Chinese businesses had a lot to learn from Japanese businesses on this subject.
He cited how electrical appliance giant Sony provided a free service in collecting broken-down appliances from owners so that the parts can be separated and recycled or disposed of properly.
‘You won’t find any electrical appliance company that does that in Hong Kong or mainland China,’ he said.
But there are signs that things are starting to move in the right direction, they added.
Chinese companies are beginning to realise that if they want to be respected by the residents of the countries they do business in, they had to be seen as a responsible member of that community, said Mr Zhang Jianyou, chairman of Lan Tian Holdings in Gansu, China.
In this way, corporate social responsibility forms ‘part of your brand’, noted Mr Cheung.
‘That is why many Chinese firms that were notorious for producing sub-standard goods in the 1980s and even the 1990s have decided to improve the quality of their products,’ said Mr Zhang.
At the same time, some pressure from local governments as well as better-educated company managers and consumers is starting to nudge companies to do good, they added.
In China’s Hubei province, for instance, more companies are routinely setting aside 3 per cent to 5 per cent of their annual profits in a charity fund to be spent on causes such as education subsidies for needy students or sustainable development, said Mr Du Junqi, general manager of Caofeidian Development and Construction, a real estate company in the province.
‘Values are slowly starting to change,’ he said.
