HOW long will the current economic tsunami last? That was one of the many questions fired at Mr Philip Yeo, chairman of Spring Singapore during the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (Sicci) Champions- of-Industry Dialogue at Swissotel Merchant Court on Feb 11.

About 200 people attended the session including representatives from the chamber's member companies and invited guests, among them CEOs of banks.

In his opening remarks, Mr Yeo said in this economic downturn, companies should manage their finances and resources in a prudent way without compromising their future growth. He also emphasised the need for employees to upgrade their skills.

To the tsunami question, he said it depends on how fast the American economy shows signs of recovery. This, in turn, will help the rest of the global economy pick itself up. Now that US president Barack Obama's economic package has been passed by Congress, it will be put into effect in the next few months and should start making an impact late this year and early next year.

Thereafter, the economies of Asia will start seeing some of the spillover effects, which should appear by mid-2010. Singapore being a very trade-dependent open economy, despite being vulnerable, is nimble enough to bounce back fairly quickly when this happens.

Mr Yeo also spoke about how Singaporean entrepreneurs should be encouraged to tap non-traditional markets such as Libya, Brazil, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. For these markets, the branding, labelling and marketing has to be different. He has already noticed how some Singaporean brands like shoe label Charles & Keith are being successfully marketed overseas.

Mr Yeo's advice to fresh graduates from our tertiary institutions is not to be picky about jobs but to focus on gaining as much experience as possible which will benefit them in the long run.

They should be ready to take on jobs overseas, even in the non-traditional markets, and such unique experiences will be a valuable asset for them and Singapore in the long run.

In his closing remarks, Mr Yeo said that the future of SMEs in Singapore was bright. He highlighted the importance of SMEs in any economy especially Singapore's and how agencies like Spring Singapore will continuously work to assist them and enhance their competitiveness. -tabla!