By Ndubuisi Micheal Obineme
Singapore – Ivan Tan, Director of Trade at Enterprise Singapore, has said Singapore would continue to maintain its prominent position as a global business and trade hub, due to strategic efforts by the government to support the growth of the country’s economy.
Tan made this known in an interview with The Energy Republic, stating that Singapore is setting an economic growth trajectory of 2 to 3 percent per annum for the next decade.
To fuel this growth, Singapore is focusing on offshore wind for the energy sector. He maintained that Singapore has a competitive advantage in the marine and offshore space, highlighting that Enterprise Singapore is now working with companies to build a competitive advantage to support global offshore wind projects.
“Singapore companies are building offshore marine structures and fabrication infrastructures such as jack-up rigs and offshore supply vessels.”
He noted that commodity trading has been one of the driving forces for Singapore’s economic growth, positioning the country as one of the world’s largest trading hubs for energy, metals, minerals, and agri-commodities.
On energy and metal trading, he highlighted that Singaporean-based companies have extensive experience in trading commodities such as crude oil, liquefied natural gas, and petrochemicals, adding that Singapore also has a good base of metals companies involved in trades of both ferrous and non-ferrous metals used in industries such as electric vehicles, and shipbuilding.
“Singapore refineries account for a significant amount of export and a large part of Asia-bound iron ore carried on ships are managed by companies in Singapore.
Reports have also shown that almost 400 international trading companies have strategically anchored themselves in energy, metals and minerals, agri-commodities, and other trading businesses in Singapore, which now positions the country as a global commodity hub.
Companies such as Ecopetrol, the national oil firm of Colombia, and the Abu Dhabi National Oil firm are recent newcomers that have established their trading offices in Singapore. This is against the backdrop of geopolitical tensions, the climate emergency, and harsh economic challenges across the world.
Tan believes that this development will continue in Singapore as the government is intensifying efforts to create an enabling environment to attract more global companies in major industries to base their operations in Singapore.
Speaking further, he said Singapore has a competitive tax regime, with a corporate tax of around 17%, while in most cases, dividends remitted from overseas subsidiaries are not taxed.
“Singapore also has a progressive personal income tax system where the top income bracket is only 24%, “ he explained.
He also acknowledged that Singapore has been making significant strides in green tech innovation with a new investment focus on climate-tech solutions.
He expressed the government’s readiness to support climate-tech innovation, reiterating that Singapore has a robust Intellectual Property (IP) framework to protect the product of innovators.
“We give the same treatment to foreign companies and our local companies. We don’t distinguish between local and foreign companies’ intellectual property rights protection.
He said Singapore hosts the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH) annually, which creates networking opportunities for innovative startups and companies to share and pitch their innovative ideas to companies and other partners who might be interested in funding and collaborating with them on their projects.
According to him, companies like ExxonMobil and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company have tapped SWITCH and open innovation challenges organized by Singapore to find innovative solutions to support its sustainability development efforts.
On the part of Enterprise Singapore, Tan explained that beyond working with Singapore companies, the agency assists global trading companies to establish their businesses in Singapore, as well as connect them to other industry players and partners that will provide support for their growth in the country.
“Enterprise Singapore is a government agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the work that we do spans four areas: championing local enterprise development, including internationalization; supporting the growth of Singapore as a global trading hub by attracting global commodities traders to establish their global or Asian home base in Singapore; attracting global enterprises, startups and investors to operate in Singapore’s robust pro-enterprise environment; and building trust in Singapore’s products and services through quality and standards projects.
“Enterprise Singapore plays a key role in all the four areas I mentioned,” he added.