Singapore, UK negotiate ‘modernised’ bilateral investment treaty

SINGAPORE and the United Kingdom have launched negotiations for a new bilateral investment treaty that will supersede the existing one which entered into force in 1975.

This new treaty will include robust, up-to-date rules on the treatment of investments and investors from Singapore and the UK, with a view to modernise the investment protection provided and explore investment facilitation support where appropriate.

Announcing this on Wednesday (Mar 29), the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said the launch was marked by a virtual meeting between Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations S Iswaran and UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch.

“By giving investors more certainty and confidence, the new (treaty) will provide a strong foundation for two-way investment flows between Singapore and the UK to continue growing strongly into the future,” MTI said.

Iswaran said the new treaty will provide updated protections for Singapore investors venturing into the UK and vice versa.

Negotiations will build on the strong momentum of bilateral economic cooperation in recent years, including the UK-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, Digital Economy Agreement and Green Economy Framework, he added.

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He also noted that Singapore and the UK are investor-friendly jurisdictions with large and growing investments in each other’s markets, and that this investment relationship is “important”.

He expects the relationship to be further strengthened with the new treaty, for which both sides will consider how to facilitate and encourage two-way investment flows.