DPM Heng Swee Keat at the 10th Anniversary of Rajah & Tann Asia

Senior Counsel Lee Eng Beng, Chairman, 
Rajah & Tann Asia,
Patrick Ang and Ahmad Fikri Assegaf, 
Vice-Chairs, Rajah & Tann Asia
Ladies and gentlemen,

Good evening.

I am delighted to join the teams from Rajah & Tann Asia, as well as your partners and clients from around the region, to celebrate your 10th anniversary. Usually, it is the lawyers who do all the talking. So this is an interesting change – to be speaking and have a room full of lawyers listening instead!

As you may know, I started my career in the Police before spending many years engaged in economic and financial policy. I was in the trenches battling the Global Financial Crisis, and later on the economic crisis brought on by the COVID pandemic. Over the years, I have personally witnessed the symbiotic relationship between legal services and economic vibrancy. Legal services are what economists term as “derived demand”. The more dynamic an economy is, the greater the need for commercial transactions.This, in turn, translates to greater demand for legal services. At the same time, high-quality legal services keep the economy vibrant and growing by enabling stronger business – be it through trade, investment, or financial flows. Good legal systems give investors and enterprises greater confidence that their investments and transactions are safe and well-protected, and that there is good support to navigate local rules and regulations. They also help maintain strong corporate governance standards, establishing responsibility and upholding accountability. In addition, they provide platforms for partners to work through differences and disputes, such as through arbitration and mediation, in an impartial way that reinforces cooperation and credibility.

We should seek a virtuous cycle between legal services and the economy. Here in Asia, the region’s economic rise has and will continue to raise the demand for legal services, and especially for lawyers who know Asia, given the region’s diversity and complexity. Rajah & Tann Asia’s founding vision – as Eng Beng mentioned earlier – to be a unified, integrated and authentically Asian legal services offering throughout the region is far-sighted. In the 1970s, Asia accounted for around 20% of global GDP. Today, that figure has more than doubled to around 45%. This year alone, in 2024, the Economist Intelligence Unit projects that Asia collectively will contribute to 60% of global real GDP growth. This momentum of growth has transformed countries and economies in the region, and uplifted lives and communities. Against the tide of growing anti-globalisation sentiments in other parts of the world, Asian policymakers are instead promoting closer trade and economic integration – because it has worked for us. Today, Asia is home to 18 of the 20 fastest-growing trade corridors globally, as well as 13 of the 20 largest by trade value, showing close integration of supply chains. The two largest trade agreements of the past decade are the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership or CPTPP, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or RCEP. Both are anchored in, and driven by, Asia. CPTPP members collectively account for more than 15% of global GDP. The RCEP, the world’s largest Free Trade Agreement, comprises around 30% of global GDP and about a third of the world’s population. Singapore, as a major trade, commercial and financial centre in Asia, has consistently supported this economic integration agenda. Since the early 2000s, we have built up a network of 27 implemented Free Trade Agreements.

These agreements provide the broad framework for business to be conducted, bilaterally and regionally. But it is entrepreneurs, traders, bankers and investors who must give life to these frameworks. By enabling trust and collaboration between businesses of different sizes and sectors, and across borders, lawyers play a critical role in unlocking greater investment and financial flows, and ultimately economic growth. Against the backdrop of Asia’s growth trajectory, the Rajah & Tann Asia network has expanded from 500 to more than 1000 fee-earners over the past decade. And your teams practice in newer areas like intellectual property, sustainability, technology and data and the digital economy, alongside expertise in more traditional practice areas.

This is timely and useful, as the global economy restructures to meet new demands, and seize new technological advances. Digitalisation and sustainability are two important drivers of future economic growth, globally and in Asia. In turn, these developments will generate demand for new and different legal expertise. ASEAN, for instance, is already one of the fastest-growing digital economies globally. ASEAN countries are currently negotiating a Digital Economy Framework Agreement or DEFA, to help unlock up to US$2 trillion in value from the region’s digital economy by 2030 and McKinsey projects that Asia’s economies need more than US$3 trillion annually for the regional green transition, to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. 

When I worked for our founding Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew – whom as you know was an eminent lawyer – his favourite question was “So what?”.  As Rajah & Tann Asia marks this 10-year milestone, what does Asia’s economic momentum, and the two drivers I have mentioned, mean for your network and the region?

Economies across Asia are pivoting to seize new opportunities and address challenges arising from digitalisation and sustainability as part of their ongoing transformation. Singapore, for example, has laid out our Singapore Green Plan 2030 and our National AI Strategy. Others in the region have also announced similar initiatives. With this, we can expect the regional business landscape to change significantly in the years ahead. One, corporate structures within businesses are already evolving to elevate digitalisation and sustainability as key corporate priorities. Two, the need for new solutions will bring about constant waves of innovation and disruption within and across sectors. As we are already seeing in Asia, startups will bring new products, services and technologies to market and challenge the status quo. Three, the future economy will require new modes and modalities of partnership, across industries and borders. 

To maximise opportunities in digitalisation and sustainability, businesses must work with one another in different configurations, and supply and value chains will be realigned.

For law firms, navigating these shifts will need new skills and expertise. The lawyers in this room know far more about this than I do. But allow me to share an outsider’s view on two sets of capabilities that will be valuable. First, to support innovation in the real economy, law firms themselves must be nimble and cutting-edge, bringing teams of different expertise to work together in ways that best serve the evolving needs of clients. I am encouraged to hear that Rajah & Tann Asia launched the RTA Regional Lawyer Development Framework last year, to better develop “T-shaped” lawyers and upgrade their skills and competencies at different stages of their careers. In October 2023, the Ministry of Law and IMDA, working with industry partners, introduced the Industry Digital Plan to assess the digital readiness of law firms and identify tools to help them automate knowledge work. And since May 2024, the Singapore Academy of Law has been working with AI Singapore on a certification scheme to recognise lawyers with specialist knowledge in responsible AI, as well as to develop specialist AI engineers to support the legal profession. I trust that the Rajah & Tann Asia network will make the best use of these platforms, and give your inputs on the broader development of the industry, in Singapore and the region.

Second, as the region grows to be more closely integrated, firms with a strong local practice complimented by a broad regional platform will have a competitive advantage in enabling cross-border transactions and collaborations. These firms can provide reliable and appropriate legal services within particular jurisdictions. At the same time, they can also leverage a network for clients to tap on to amplify the impact of their investments and partnerships. Importantly, firms with a regional network can serve as important nodes connecting these markets, to build deeper understanding of the opportunities around the region for businesses and investors to explore. On the part of Government, we are encouraging law firms in Singapore to build greater international exposure and networks, through schemes like the China Ready Programme and the Singapore-Shanghai Lawyers Exchange Programme. This will be useful, as the economic relationship between ASEAN and China expands. Law firms can also take this further through your own internationalisation efforts. As you mark your 10th anniversary, it is heartening to see that Rajah & Tann Asia now has a presence in 10 countries around Asia, covering ASEAN, China, Japan and South Asia. And I am glad to hear that you will soon celebrate the opening of a new representative office in Shenzhen, a leading technology and innovation hub in China.

Over the past 10 years, Rajah and Tann Asia has done well to facilitate greater business and investment flows around the region, and to generate positive impact. Beyond business, Rajah & Tann Asia has also actively contributed to social causes, such as through your RTA Community Day earlier this year where each member firm worked with a local charity to support youth and children in your respective communities. Last month, Rajah and Tann Singapore was also recognised as a “Champion of Good” by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre for your commitment to corporate purpose. Later this evening, the Rajah & Tann Foundation will be showing additional support for Fei Yue Community Services’ programmes here in Singapore. As you look to the next 10 years and beyond of your journey, it is encouraging to hear that sustainable finance is among your focus areas. I encourage the Rajah & Tann Asia network to mobilise your clients to get more involved in this area, including under the Finance for Net Zero Action Plan laid out by MAS. And as technology redistributes the economic pie in the region, I am heartened to hear that you are also supporting and advising clients engaged in impact investing and philanthropy.

Let me end by once again congratulating Rajah & Tann Asia on your achievements over the past 10 years.

As we look forward, I hope that Rajah & Tann Asia will tap on your network and regional presence to further enhance collaboration and innovation towards creating positive economic and social impact, including in collaboration with your partners and clients. As I said earlier, you have an important role to play in shaping a better collective future for Asia and ASEAN. Congratulations once again to Rajah & Tann Asia on your 10th anniversary. I wish you much success and many more celebratory milestones ahead. Thank you