Business 'bubble' scheme put on ice

Singapore

THE launch of a pilot plan to bring "business, official and high-economic value travellers" into Singapore and put them in a "bubble" was pushed back, The Business Times has learnt.

Under the original plans for the Connect@Singapore initiative, the first travellers would have been able to arrive from mid- to late January.

The programme would allow them to enter Singapore without quarantine for up to 14 days, as long as they stay, work and meet in dedicated facilities and undergo regular testing.

But the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said it has not yet picked operators for the facilities where these short-term visitors must be housed.

These dedicated facilities are responsible for sponsoring travellers, and visitors using the scheme can apply for an entry pass only through the designated facility operators.

The STB did not give a date by which it plans to appoint facility operators. Asked about the reasons for the launch delay, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) - which is overseeing the pilot - replied only that "the traveller application start date will be broadly aligned with the estimated operational start date of the first Connect@Singapore facility".

"The appointment process for the facilities is still ongoing," the MTI spokesperson reiterated, while also not stating when it expects the first travellers to arrive under the scheme.

Only one facility has been named as a possible operator for the pilot: Connect@Changi at Singapore Expo, developed by a consortium led by national investor Temasek Holdings.

A spokesperson for Temasek told BT that "we remain on track to launch Connect@Changi in Q1 2021". Its initial phase, expected to open by end-March, will feature some 670 guest rooms and 170 meeting rooms. Capacity will go up to 1,300 guest rooms and 340 meeting rooms by mid-2021.

Other aspiring operators were to have applied to the STB from Dec 15 to Dec 31, 2020, with a preference for venues with experience as dedicated facilities housing people on Stay-Home Notices or government quarantine, according to a government circular.

They also had to apply for assessment by the Health Ministry and approval from the MTI by Jan 7, 2021, and can accept Connect@Singapore travellers only after gaining MTI approval.

CIMB economist Song Seng Wun speculated that the discovery of infectious virus variants has thrown a spanner in the works since Connect@Singapore was unveiled on Dec 15.

He also noted that recent aviation-linked Covid-19 cases here - such as a work permit holder infected with the British B117 strain, who delivers pre-packed meals to air crew and hotel guests at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport - "will be on the war room map".

"So we have to look at how we can make this airtight... How do we 'barricade' Changi Airport?" Mr Song said, adding that Connect@Singapore could resume when measures are tightened and staff are vaccinated.

When Connect@Singapore was launched in December, Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing had framed it as "another step in our aim to re-establish ourselves as the business hub and as a financial hub".

Observers saw it as a novel way to enable international executives to meet safely. Lessons learnt from the Connect@Singapore pilot could even be applied to large-scale events such as the World Economic Forum (WEF), which has been pushed back from May to August due to global travel restrictions and international challenges in containing the pandemic.

Before the postponement was announced, Singapore had also suspended five reciprocal green lane arrangements due to resurgence of Covid-19 cases worldwide.

Still, Irvin Seah, senior economist at DBS, said the lowered risk of a second wave of Covid-19 infections in Singapore is a key benefit of the Connect@Singapore launch delay, given the resurgence of outbreaks in many countries around the world.

"Maintaining status quo may not necessarily be a bad thing," he told BT, while noting that Singapore is unlikely to draw flak for the postponed business reopening "because everywhere in the world is the same".

Maybank Kim Eng senior economist Chua Hak Bin added that the pilot could still go live in the coming months: "With the WEF postponed to August, they would want to try to revive Connect@Singapore by the end of the second quarter or early third quarter to prepare," he told BT.

Indeed, stakeholders so far indicated that the scheme has not been scrapped, despite missing its original end-January target for arrivals.

"As the appointment process for the facilities is still ongoing, we are unable to disclose the number of applications," said Chew Tiong Heng, executive director for infrastructure planning and management at the STB.

"We are rolling out the Connect@Singapore pilot and will monitor its progress closely as the situation evolves domestically and globally."

Business travel measures

March 2020

• Short-term visitors are blocked from entering or transiting through Singapore.

June 2020

• First Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) opens for essential travellers from six mainland Chinese provinces and municipalities.
• More RGLs follow: Malaysia in August; Brunei, South Korea and Japan in September; Indonesia in October; and Germany in November.

August 2020

• Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA) is launched for workers moving between Singapore and Malaysia.

September 2020

• First unilateral Air Travel Pass (ATP) is launched for visitors from Brunei and New Zealand.
• More ATPs follow: Vietnam, mainland China and Australia in October.
• Business Travel Pass, also known as Pre-approved Business Pass, is piloted for Singapore-based executives to leave and re-enter Singapore.

October 2020

• First two-way ''air travel bubble'' is announced between Singapore and Hong Kong, to open in November.

November 2020

• Singapore-Hong Kong bubble is postponed by two weeks, shortly before its slated launch on Nov 22.

December 2020

• Singapore-Hong Kong bubble is deferred until further notice.
• Connect@Singapore initiative is announced.

January 2021

• First suspension of an RGL as Indonesia bars entry of foreign nationals.
• More suspensions follow: Japan, as foreigners are barred, in January; and Germany, Malaysia and South Korea in February, ''given the resurgence of Covid-19 cases worldwide''.