ABOUT 200 people were given permanent residency through Singapore’s Global Investor Programme (GIP) from 2020 to 2022, said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling in Parliament on Thursday (23 Feb).

And for the 11 years from 2011 to 2022, GIP investors brought in more than S$5.46 billion in total business expenditure via direct investments, and generated more than 24,000 jobs, she added.

She was responding to Member of Parliament Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang SMC), who asked how many people had leveraged on the GIP to qualify for permanent residency in the past three years, as well as the economic benefit they brought to Singapore.

As of October 2022, GIP investors have injected S$1.62 billion into approved GIP funds, added Low. Of this, fund managers have deployed 87.2 per cent or S$1.41 billion into actual investments – of which 65.6 per cent, or S$930 million, was invested in Singapore-based companies.

Yip also asked what the government has done to facilitate the integration of such permanent residents (PRs), and their “eventual conversion to Singapore citizenship”.

Low noted that PRs under the GIP can join other new residents in various integration activities, as well as tapping the Singapore Economic Development Board’s networks to conduct philanthropic activities or contribute to community causes.

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But she added: “All applicants for Singapore citizenship, including PRs under the GIP, are assessed independently by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority.”

Workers’ Party MP Pritam Singh later asked how many individuals who received PR status under the GIP have gone on to become citizens. Low said this was a “very, very low percentage” of the PRs under the GIP, but did not provide an exact figure.

She added: “Interest in the GIP has remained stable  since its launch and the GIP investors who are approved as PRs are much less than 1 per cent of the total number of PRs approved each year.”

The GIP accords PR status to eligible global investors who invest at least S$2.5 million here in a business entity, GIP fund, or family office with assets under management of at least S$200 million.