SINGAPORE’S manufacturing sector has seen more new entrants each year despite Covid-19, with the pandemic possibly burnishing the Republic’s attractiveness to investors, said industry watchers.

According to information compiled by data platform Handshakes, entries into manufacturing rose during the pandemic, outpacing exits. In 2021, there were 2,649 entrants, up from 2,468 in 2020 and 2,087 in pre-pandemic 2019. Exits fell from 1,980 in 2019 to 1,700 in 2020, before rising back to 1,970 in 2021.

“Investors naturally look out for places that can provide them greater business certainty when making capital and intellectual property-intensive advanced manufacturing investments, and this notion is reinforced in times of uncertainty,” said senior vice president and head of resource development and advanced manufacturing divisions at the Singapore Economic Development Board, Glory Wee.