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Asia and Oceania
Singapore |
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Last reviewed: 05 November 2009 |
Country information
TRADE AND INVESTMENT
Trade and Investment with the UK
Singapore is the UK’s largest trading partner in South East Asia. Nearly two-thirds of all UK exports of goods and services to Southeast Asia are to Singapore in 2008. Outside of Europe, Singapore is the UK’s fifth largest export market and seventh largest source of imports. Bilateral trade relations are excellent: there are few import tariffs and Singapore supports the WTO process fully. In May 2007, ASEAN and the EU agreed on the launch of negotiations for an ASEAN-EU Free Trade Agreement.
The UK is now the largest overseas investor in Singapore, with 15.1% of total FDI. This is followed by the Netherlands, USA and Japan. The stock of the UK’s foreign direct investment in Singapore in 2007 was over S$62.8 billion, up about 14% from 2006. There are over 22,500 British nationals and some 700 British companies in Singapore. Some of the major long-term investors include GlaxoSmithKline, Shell and BP. More recent British investors include Tate & Lyle and Lucite.
The UK now attracts about 80% of all Singaporean investment in the European Union. The stock of Singaporean total direct investment in the UK in 2007 was more than S$20 billion, with financial & insurance services, real estate and commerce being the most significant sectors.
