Minister Lim Hng Kiang's written reply to Parliament Question on Impact of S-Pass & Employment Pass Tightening Measures on Singapore’s Attractiveness as Location for Companies’ Regional Headquarters

Question

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Ms Tan Su Shan: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry whether studies have been done to (i) determine how many MNCs use Singapore as its regional headquarters and so locate their key executives here to gain experience; and (ii) survey if a tightening of the issue of S-Passes and Employment Passes will negatively impact MNCs' international training programmes for executives and result in a significant number of affected MNCs deciding to relocate their regional functions elsewhere.

Written Reply by Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry

According to a 2010 survey by the Frontier Strategy Group, 44 per cent of MNCs with an Asia Pacific headquarters have chosen to site their regional headquarters in Singapore, ahead of Hong Kong and Shanghai at 17% and 13% respectively. 

Using Singapore as a base to train key executives is only one of the reasons why MNCs locate their regional headquarters here. Many MNCs have chosen Singapore to access opportunities in Asia because we have an open economy, a world-renowned business infrastructure and a talented workforce. Moreover, we enjoy strong business and cultural links to many Asian markets, which enables companies to tap Asia’s growth potential more effectively.

Changes to our domestic policies will affect companies in Singapore.  For example, tightening our foreign worker policy may make it more difficult for companies to bring in executives for training and exposure. However, it is unlikely that MNCs will choose to relocate their regional headquarters purely because their international training programmes are affected.

To maintain our well-established advantages, we continually engage executives from MNCs to help them understand and accept our policy direction. These engagements also enable us to address concerns and obtain feedback on our policies. Thus far, MNCs remain confident of the value of siting their regional functions in Singapore due to our innovation capacity, strategic reach and connectivity with the pan-Asian region. This confidence is also reflected in EDB’s investment forecast of $11-$13 billion in fixed asset investments for 2013.