Singapore keeps key links going with very selective quarantine-free entry

Singapore

THE Lion City is still open for business: Key global travellers who need to enter Singapore are given flexibility by the authorities, even if they do not qualify for the inbound travel channels formally in place here.

Stay-home notice (SHN) requirements can even be waived for some of these business and essential visitors, although government agencies told The Business Times that the number of short-term entries remains low and SHN exemptions are not a given.

This is as watchers stress Singapore's continued importance as a business and travel hub in the region.

Said CIMB economist Song Seng Wun: "We are not talking about thousands of such meetings and travel, so it is still fairly selective, but enough to be able to still add value to Singapore's position and reputation as a hub."

Hsien-Hsien Lei, chief executive of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), said: "Business travel is critical to our member companies." She noted that Singapore is still a key location for American businesses' regional headquarters, as well as "a great hub for business" because of its travel connectivity.

Singapore blocked short-term visitors from entering or even transiting through the country from March 23, 2020. But it is re-opening its borders and resuming international travel "in a gradual and calibrated manner", a spokesperson for the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) told The Business Times.

Short-term visitors are still not allowed into Singapore, but the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said in an online advisory on Dec 28 that there are exceptions under Reciprocal Green Lanes (RGLs) for business and official travel; there are also the Air Travel Pass (ATP), which has no restrictions on travel purposes, and cases of "special prior approval".

When approached, the authorities did not confirm the number of inbound travellers who enter under special arrangements, or the criteria used to assess and approve applications.

Yet some of these special arrivals have been exempted from the mandatory SHN if they are tested for Covid-19 on arrival, and isolate until the results come back negative - just like visitors using RGLs and ATPs.

BT understands that top executives in sectors such as banking, from areas such as Europe, have entered through such special channels.

Meanwhile, business school Insead has brought in 22 participants of its Global Executive MBA programme to attend courses lasting one to two weeks. The participants, who did not have to serve SHNs, included 17 students from non-RGL areas. Insead did not say where they were from.

Depending on visitors' travel history and arrangements, they may have to undergo virus tests, follow controlled itineraries and/or serve out SHN periods to enter Singapore, the MTI spokesperson confirmed.

But official and business travellers may request Covid-19 tests in place of SHNs; these appeals are "assessed on a case-by-case basis", said the spokesperson, in reply to BT queries.

Andrew Phua, director of exhibitions and conferences at the STB, told BT last November: "Under MOH's current guidelines, selected groups of travellers are allowed to enter for essential business, official or work purposes and not isolated under SHN."

In the wake of a trade show for which the STB facilitated the short-term entry of 65 delegates from 14 countries in Asia, the Middle East and Europe, Mr Phua noted that the virus risk is managed with measures such as strict quotas and controlled itineraries, which limit interactions with the wider community for 14 days.

DBS senior economist Irvin Seah had reservations about wiggle room in border controls as "Singapore can ill-afford another circuit breaker".

He told BT: "Singapore has to remain open, and ultimately, we are a global city - business travel is fundamental. But I think it is very important to weigh the risks and benefits...

"Having more flexibility at this juncture doesn't add more competitiveness to Singapore at all, because people have adapted to the new normal."

But CIMB's Mr Song said the travel flexibility is "about making sure Singapore stands out as a safe haven".

"Anyone who continues to shut off will lose out," he added. "That is the reality, so for Singapore, it is about making sure that we can still manage in this current environment - not to allow mass travel, but whatever is essential and necessary, as long as all the health measures are in place."

Indeed, AmCham has worked with the Singapore government and US Embassy to facilitate inbound travel since last June, Dr Lei told BT.

She noted "a strong response" from the business community, including requests to let international business leaders into Singapore to expand local operations, but could not give the number of travellers who have entered with the chamber's help.

Even as Singapore lets in select short-term visitors, not all arriving business travellers have been exempted from the SHN requirement.

For instance, two Covid-19 cases who tested positive in January were placed on SHN upon coming to Singapore from Myanmar and the United States for work assignments, going by Ministry of Health information.

Some overseas e-sports players were also let in for a tournament here in January, but placed on 14-day SHN.

Still, the MTI spokesperson earlier told BT last year that the number of non-residents coming here for essential business activities "remains low".

Even RGL travel has been limited, with Health Minister Gan Kim Yong telling Parliament that Singapore recorded fewer than 2,500 arrivals from seven RGLs from June 8 to Dec 25, 2020.

Separately, Singapore started offering all-purpose ATPs last September. Between the launch of the scheme on Sept 8 and Jan 31, 2021, more than 10,000 people arrived on these passes, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore told BT.

Yet fresh virus outbreaks abroad could stymie a return to business-as-usual travel. After earlier suspending RGLs with Indonesia and Japan, Singapore most recently halted its RGLs with Germany, Malaysia and South Korea on Monday, citing the resurgence of Covid-19 cases worldwide.