Good afternoon, Madam Chair.
Singapore is one of the countries most open to trade in the world. This developed and politically stable country of 5.4 million people serves as a hub for regional trade thanks to its first-class infrastructure. Its city-state is the main regional financial centre. It is easy to do business here, as the rules are clear and the rule of law prevails. The common language is English.
All these features contribute to the fact that many Canadian companies have made Singapore their primary market in Southeast Asia. It’s also the main focus of their operations in the region.
Since Singapore is a trade hub and part of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, there are essentially no barriers to entry for Canadian products and services. Despite the modest size of its market, Singapore offers significant business opportunities for Canada because of the average wealth of its citizens and its appetite for adopting new technologies. Also, with no natural resources and very limited space, Singapore must import virtually all its food and energy.
Finally, foreign multinationals’ top regional executives are based in Singapore, where they often make their purchasing decisions for their Southeast Asian operations.
The pandemic did not spare Singapore, but its economy has already rebounded in 2021 with gross domestic product growth of 7.6%. In 2021, Canada exported $1.2 billion worth of goods to Singapore and imported $1 billion. Canada exports nearly $1 billion more in services and imports $2.6 billion. In Southeast Asia, Singapore is the largest investor in Canada and the largest recipient of Canadian investment in the region.
The Canadian High Commission in Singapore has 85 employees from several government departments, including representatives from British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Export Development Canada, or EDC, and Quebec both have independent offices there.
The Canadian Trade Commissioner Service in Singapore focuses on agriculture, information technology, education, aerospace, life sciences and sustainable technologies. We also administer a technology accelerator, a mentorship program and an investment attraction program. Singapore hosts major business events, including last week’s Asia Tech x Singapore, the Singapore Airshow, the FinTech Festival and Singapore International Water Week. We organize hundreds of business matches with Singaporean and regional contacts through these activities.
For example, Minister Ng visited us on May 24 and 25. One of the things she announced was Canada’s intention to launch a design study for a gateway to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, and take advantage of Singapore’s hub status.
Madam Chair, I thank you and the committee for your attention to the region and to Singapore.