US welcomes rise in Singapore investments

ONE of the top economic officials in the Obama administration has said that Washington welcomes Singapore's increased investments in the United States, which have soared more than 10-fold in the space of a decade.

Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker made this point in her first meeting here with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Monday (Tuesday morning, Singapore time).

Mr Lee is in the US capital for the first leg of his week-long working visit to the US, which includes a stop in New York City.

Latest figures from the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis show that Singapore's investments in the country have gone up nearly 11 times to US$26.2 billion in 2012, from just US$2.2 billion in 2003.

The Republic was the third-largest Asian investor in the US in 2012.

Major Singapore companies such as Keppel Corporation unit Keppel AmFels and VT Mobile Aerospace Engineering, a commercial aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul provider, are doing well since expanding in the world's largest economy. Meanwhile, popular restaurant group Crystal Jade is investing US$7 million in its first US branch in San Francisco later this year.

Ms Pritzker encouraged "further efforts and platforms" to grow Singapore's investments in the US, said a statement from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) issued shortly after the closed-door meeting.

Writing in his Facebook page later, Mr Lee said that Ms Pritzker, who visited Singapore last year, was keen to get more Singaporean companies to invest in the US through SelectUSA, a government programme to attract and facilitate more investment in the US.

Both Mr Lee and Ms Pritzker also reaffirmed the mutual benefits that the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement - marking its 10th anniversary this year - has brought to both countries so far.

They also noted the progress made in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, a free trade deal involving 12 Pacific Rim countries, including Singapore and the US.

The longstanding talks on what would be the world's largest free trade agreement, covering 40 per cent of global gross domestic product, are now deep into the final stretch.

US President Barack Obama said earlier this week that he hoped to have a document on the TPP ready before visiting Asia in November.

In a meeting with Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Mr Lee said that Singapore welcomed the US' commitment to intensify its engagement in the Asia-Pacific. They also discussed the prospects of the US economy and the TPP, among other issues.

Separately, the Prime Minister attended a meeting convened by US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid which was also attended by Senators John McCain and Barbara Mikulski. Mr Lee said on Facebook that the Senate's support was vital to ratify treaties such as the TPP.

Yesterday, Mr Lee also met Federal Reserve chairman Janet Yellen for the first time since she became the first woman to ascend to the post.

At press time, he was due to speak at a dialogue organised by the Council on Foreign Relations, a non-profit public policy think tank.

During the hour-long event moderated by former senior US diplomat J Stapleton Roy, Mr Lee was expected to discuss the strategic challenges and opportunities in Asia, the role of trade, the TPP, and broader foreign policy topics.