Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs, Mr. Masagos Zulkifli visited Kenya last week in bid to explore ways to build partnerships between the city-state and Sub-Saharan Africa. Singapore Incorporation regarded the business mission as affirmation for the growing trade relations between Singapore and Africa.
He was accompanied by a business delegation of 17 Singaporean businesses that includes PSA, Hyflux and Pacific International Lines. Mr. Zulkifli was also present at the signing of two Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) in Nairobi by the Kenyan Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) with the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and Vector Scorecard Asia-Pacific, a Singaporean firm that provides business solutions services.
This visit was briefly preceded by a Singaporean business mission of 10 companies that took place in Botswana and South Africa two weeks ago. These nations are among the growing number of African governments that have become increasingly competitive in attracting foreign investments to stimulate private sector expansion.
ST Electronics, which was one of the companies on the mission, has a branch office in Botswana and has worked with the country in aviation and homeland security. Other sectors such as infrastructure, communications, healthcare, transport and business services were also explored for prospective collaboration with the other Singaporean companies in the business mission.
“Singapore is actively trying to promote strong ties in trade and investment with Africa in areas of logistics, energy and consumer goods. This is why within six months of opening an office in South Africa, trade agency International Enterprise (IE) Singapore opened their second office in Ghana last July. By establishing presence in these African nations, the city-state is helping their companies to start a company in Singapore before venturing into Asia and beyond”, said Cheryl Lee, Business Development Manager at Singapore Incorporation.
According to Nanyang Business School (NBS), Singapore’s total trade with the African continent has increased from S$7.7 billion in 2009 to S$13.2 billion in 2012. As the fastest-growing region outside Asia today with an average of 5% GDP growth per year in the last decade, the African continent is rapidly turning into an investment destination. It has amassed investments worth US$13.2 billion in 2012, up from US$ 29.5 billion in 2010.
Recognising the opportunities present in Africa, Singapore is set to launch Southeast Asia’s first Centre for African Studies this month by SBF and Nanyang Technological University (NTU). Apart from providing executive programmes for African and Asian business leaders, the NTU-SBF Centre of African Studies aims to foster closer relations and bolster capabilities for businesses between Africa and Southeast Asia.
Come August 27 - 28, IE Singapore also intends to host the Africa Singapore Business Forum (ASBF) in Singapore, which will be attended by approximately 1,000 business and government leaders from 30 countries. The ASBF 2014 aims to address the significant issues and identify avenues for strategic growth between the two regions.
“Some parts of Africa have begun to undergo rapid urbanisation and is luring investors to capital cities. In addition, the IMF expects sub Saharan Africa to see 6% output growth this year. Their governance and economic management has improved, and the rising popularity of African sovereign debt is an indicator of that. Singapore Incorporation believes that the nation’s proactive stance in forging business ties with Africa will pave the way for African businesses to set up in Singapore and for Singapore businesses to benefit from the growing market,” affirmed Ms. Lee.
About Singapore Incorporation (incorporation-singapore.com)
Singapore Incorporation is a one-stop solutions provider to companies and professionals who want to do business or work in Singapore. Other than incorporating companies, Singapore Incorporation also offers Singapore work pass, accounting and tax, as well as statutory compliance services.
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