Chan Chun Sing touts Singapore's 'progressive environment' in pitch to Japanese business leaders

SINGAPORE offers businesses "a progressive environment" for capital, talent and intellectual property, Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said on Tuesday, as he rubbished what he called "beggar-thy-neighbour policies" in global trade.

Reiterating a point that he made at a conference last month, he warned against fiscally-strained governments competing for tax revenue with policies "that further distort investment and commercial decisions" related to manufacturing sites and supply chains.

"Worse, it may destabilise the global financial system if economies undertake irresponsible and unsustainable monetary or exchange rate policies," he added.

This was even as he argued that the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated trends such as protectionist tendencies towards supply chains, "just when the opposite - open and connected trade - is more important than ever before".

"We will only get out of this faster, together," he said. "We will be here longer and in deeper trouble when we practise beggar-thy-neighbour policies."

In contrast, Mr Chan touted Singapore's approach to business - such as its network of free trade and digital-economy agreements, its pledge not to restrict commercial exports for its own benefit, and its access to young, middle-income regional markets.

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"Businesses must certainly factor geopolitical risks into their decisions, but business can and also have a responsibility to speak up and advocate for global trade and against populist policies which may hurt businesses and workers in the long run," he said.

The minister told attendees at a business forum, which was organised by Japan-based media group Nikkei: "In a time of global uncertainty, we will distinguish ourselves by being a trusted partner, providing a safe harbour for capital, talent and intellectual property, while offering long-term policy coherence and consistency."

He name-checked conglomerate Mitsui, engineering and construction group Kajima, pharmaceutical firm Santen and medical-equipment maker Shimadzu as some Japanese companies that have set up shop in the Republic.

Mr Chan had made similar overtures to US corporate leaders less than a week before, at a summit hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore.

"In the search for stable long-term returns, policy consistency and business environment predictability are critical considerations for businesses," he has now said in his latest outing.

"This is why Singapore pays so much attention to this. We say what we mean, and we mean what we say. We will keep our promises and deliver on them."

Japan contributed 6.3 per cent of Singapore's S$17.2 billion in fixed-asset investments in 2020, he noted, and added that the Republic "will never take for granted" and "will seek to repay many times over" these investment commitments.