PwC launches S$4 million Trade Advisory Hub to sharpen Singapore’s edge, create quality jobs

[SINGAPORE] PwC Singapore will invest S$4 million over three years to establish its Trade Advisory Hub to help businesses grow amid the shifting global trade environment, it announced on Wednesday (Apr 22).

The Trade Advisory Hub, backed by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), will support local and multinational companies as they adapt to evolving global trade dynamics, assess the impact on their operations and supply chains, and make better-informed decisions for growth and transformation across the region, PwC said.

The funds will be used to build specialist talent, develop innovative tools and assets, and support businesses in areas linked to trade and international growth, it added.

PwC Singapore executive chairman Marcus Lam said that it has started hiring, noting the hub’s intent to build up human capital capability. The aim of the hub is not to help businesses merely survive, but to “really enable the ecosystem”, he added.

Trade Advisory Hub leader Frank Debets told The Business Times that it was now engaging the public sector and PwC’s clients, to validate and prioritise the assets – from digital tools to playbooks and white papers – that would be most useful.

In line with PwC’s global strategic focus on technology, the advisory hub will collaborate with PwC’s AI Hub, drawing heavily on artificial intelligence to develop technology-enabled solutions.

Debets said the hub will set itself apart by being proactive and all-encompassing, adding that even in PwC’s advisory practice, support tends to be reactive.

“What we really need is end-to-end support to come to a business decision that makes sense,” he said. This is through setting up people and resources, such that the advisory hub can accompany businesses on their entire journey, Debets added.

Boost for global hub

Dr Tan See Leng, minister for manpower and minister-in-charge of energy and science and technology in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, officiated the hub’s launch on Wednesday alongside Ho Weng Si, EDB’s executive vice-president.

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The event was attended by representatives from the government, trade associations as well as companies, mainly in the manufacturing and logistics industries.

Businesses face significant complexities, and policy frameworks alone are not sufficient, Dr Tan noted. Businesses will need access to expertise that will help them not just to navigate change, but also, more importantly, to seize new growth opportunities, he added.

First, the planned facility will strengthen Singapore’s position as a trusted hub for global trade, as well as ensure that the Republic can continue to sustain robust demand for professional services, he said.

This aligns with the government’s goal to build new trusted services that can help businesses better manage risks and operate amid greater uncertainty.

Second, it will enable enterprises to expand from Singapore, not just into South-east Asia, but beyond that, noted the minister.

Citing a White Paper by the World Economic Forum and PwC, Dr Tan said that close to US$10 trillion in global trade lanes are now facing increasing compliance complexity and risk.

Singapore welcomes professional services firms such as PwC, which can invest in differentiating capabilities to help businesses analyse tariff impacts, make strategic decisions, and give them a competitive edge in regional and global expansion, he added.

Lastly, the Trade Advisory Hub will support quality job creation for Singaporeans, building key skills in areas such as trade compliance, supply chain, advisory and international business operations.

“These are exactly the type of high-value positions that will keep Singapore competitive and strengthen our manpower base for future-ready and globally relevant roles,” Dr Tan said.

The hub “exemplifies the kind of trusted partnerships with the private sector that we need to cultivate and to achieve”, he concluded.