Minister Lim Hng Kiang's written reply to Parliament Questions on BRIC countries

Question No 62 of Notice Paper No 21 of 2010 

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mdm Ho Geok Choo, Member for Parliament for West Coast GRC.

Question
To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in view of the growing clout of BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) (a) how can Singapore enhance bilateral trade with these countries; and (b) whether IE Singapore will increase its number of trade representative offices in these countries and, if so, how many more are being planned and where will they be located.

Answer
The BRIC countries are among the fastest growing economies in the world.They are widely expected to emerge as key growth engines for the global economy over the next 10 years. The burgeoning middle class and rapid urbanization in these countries have created significant opportunities to grow our trade and investment with them. And indeed, we have been capitalizing on these opportunities. Based on latest available data, Singapore’s exports of goods to the BRIC countries has grown by 15.4% per annum from 2000 to 2009, much faster than the 5.7% per annum we have seen to the rest of the world, while our exports of services from 1999 to 2008 has grown by 24%, faster than the 14% annual rate to the rest of the world. Singapore’s stock of foreign direct investment in the BRIC countries has grown by 3.4 times over 10 years (from 1999 to 2008)

[1]

and accounted for 18.3% of our total foreign direct investment stock abroad in 2008, up from 14.9% in 1999.

IE Singapore’s overseas centers in the BRIC countries reflect our growing trade relations and the interest of Singapore-based companies in these markets. The BRIC countries account for 14 out of IE Singapore’s total of 36 overseas centres. There are 9 centers in China, 3 in India and an office each in Brazil and Russia.

[2]

In the case of China, we have gone beyond the first tier cities to open centers in less well-known but promising cities like Chongqing and Xi’an.

But while the term “BRIC countries” is a convenient label to describe these rapidly growing economies, the opportunities that each of them presents varies widely. MTI thus adopts a differentiated approach for each of the BRIC countries.

Our economic relations with China and India are well established. China and India are our 3rd and 10th largest trading partners respectively. Singapore is linked to China and India through both bilateral and regional FTAs through ASEAN. These FTA shave reduced barriers to trade and created new opportunities for our businesses

In the case of China, MTI has also established various engagement platforms at the Government-to-Government level. The Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), the Investment Promotion Committee, as well as provincial-level business councils, have been effective platforms to discuss mutually beneficial areas of cooperation.

Beyond these formal platforms, IE Singapore actively encourages and facilitates exchanges at the company level. This is done through organizing seminars, and business missions to explore opportunities in a wide range of sectors. Similarly, as more Chinese and Indian enterprises look to expand their operations abroad, EDB and IE have been promoting Singapore as a location for their regional and global headquarters and as a hub for international trading.

China and India are not only important to us as markets for our companies but also as sources for tourism. Tourist arrivals from these two countries stood at 1.66 million last year, and STB has set up 7 offices in these two rapidly growing markets.

[3]

Our economic relations with Brazil and Russia are still at a nascent stage. The geographical distance between Singapore and these two countries has meant a lower degree of familiarity among our companies with these markets. Russia and Brazil were our 27th and 29th largest trade partners respectively in 2009.In order to enhance bilateral trade and investment activities in these countries, we have to continue to extend our networks with the government and business communities, and deepen our understanding of their markets. At this stage of our engagement, we will first focus on facilitating business interest in priority sectors such oil and gas, urban solutions, and consumer products, as well as promoting Singapore as a commodity trading hub for the Russian and Brazilian mega-traders who are keen to expand their Asian presence.

To enhance our relations at the Government-to-Government level, MTI established a joint committee with Brazil’s Ministry of Development, Industry and Commerce (MDIC) in 2009 to serve as a platform to promote bilateral economic cooperation and business flows. We have also established business platforms, viz. the Latin-Asia Business Forum and the Russia-Singapore Business Forum, to engage Brazilian and Russian businesses, as well as government leaders, on investment and partnership opportunities.

MTI will continue to monitor the opportunities in the BRIC economies, as well as the interest and demand from our companies, and regularly review the degree of our engagement and presence in these countries.

[1] Based on latest available data from Dept. of Statistics.

[2] IE’s China offices are located in Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Shanghai, Xi’an, Hong Kong SAR while their offices in India are in Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi. IE’s office in Brazil is in Sao Paulo while its center in Russia is in Moscow.

[3] The STB offices in the Greater China region are located in Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong SAR and Chinese Taipei while the offices in India can be found in Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi. STB also has 2 Visit Singapore offices in Guangzhou and Chengdu which provide information to promote tourism to Singapore.