Oral reply to PQ on Developing Corporate Due Diligence framework to align Singapore-registered firms with EU'S Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive

Question:

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) whether the Government will consider introducing a mandatory Corporate Due Diligence framework to align Singapore-registered firms with the European Union's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive on fostering sustainable and responsible corporate behaviour to maintain our competitive edge as a transparent global trade hub. 

Oral Answer (to be attributed to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade), Mr Gan Kim Yong)

1.       We have no plans to introduce a corporate due diligence framework like the EU's CSDDD at the moment. We will continue to study other regimes and review our regulatory approach from time to time to ensure it remains robust and relevant while balancing the obligations on our companies. 

2.       We have already introduced in phases reporting requirements for sustainability which are aligned with the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards for listed and large non-listed companies. We also help companies build capabilities they need to adapt to evolving sustainability-related requirements in overseas markets through Enterprise Singapore's Enterprise Sustainability Programme (ESP) and Enterprise Development Grant (EDG).