Singapore is the Location of Choice for Large Highly Innovative Projects

 Singapore was the leading destination for greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first-half of 2022 within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) trade bloc.

Foreign investors in Singapore also announced 142 projects worth $8.2bn in the first six months of 2023, following two consecutive half-year periods in which FDI topped $9bn, according to the latest figures from investment tracker fDi Markets. The estimated capital expenditure of $8.2bn in Singapore was double that of Malaysia, the next best-performing Southeast Asian country.

The success of the Lion City is in contrast to China, where FDI has fallen to a record low in the first half of 2022. Foreign investors have become increasingly weary of making long-term plans in China, due to the detrimental effects of draconian zero-Covid policies and rising geopolitical tensions with the West.

During the first six months of 2022, Singapore attracted more FDI than any other country in the ‘Asean plus three’ group of countries, which includes the southeast Asian trade bloc along with China, Japan and South Korea, fDi Markets figures show.

The semiconductor industry accounts for almost 7% of Singapore’s gross domestic product, according to EDB Singapore, and is a major part of the country’s attempts to expand its manufacturing sector by 50% by 2030.

The French semiconductor material maker Soitec also announced in June that it would plough €400m into expanding its factory in Singapore. Foreign investors have also sought to do highly specialised and innovative activities in Singapore. In July, Chinese bio-manufacturing company Wuxi Biologics said that it would invest $1.4bn to open a contract research, development and manufacturing centre in the city.

MIDA and MITI in Malaysia need to get their act together to see how best we could be a better destination for large innovative projects. We have the base in Penang and Selangor. With a little imagination and adaptability we could secure a portion of this contract research and development market for ourselves?

Reference:

The city state has become a location of choice for large highly innovative projects, Alex Irwin-Hunt, FDI Intelligence, 5 October 2022