Economic Contribution In Singapore By Chinese Firms Surge To S$12.39b in 2020
SINGAPORE – Data from the city-state’s Economic Development Board (EDB) shows that Chinese firms are catching up with their American counterparts on the value they contribute to Singapore’s gross domestic product (GDP), reported the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Wednesday evening (20 January, SGT).
According to recent figures released by Singapore’s economic planning agency, investment commitments from overseas firms in 2020 are forecasted to add S$31.2 billion per year to the city-state’s economy after the pertinent projects are finished.
Of this, companies from China made up S$12.39 billion or 39.7 percent of the total. In comparison, US-based businesses accounted for S$12.76 billion (39.7 percent).
The economic contribution from Chinese companies increased sharply from just S$2.53 billion in 2019, when they accounted for just 8.6 percent of the S$29.4 billion total. At the same time, investments from American firms reached S$20.1 billion (68.4 percent).
The surge in economic contribution is credited to investments by Chinese companies that were “largely digital in nature,” noted EDB’s Managing Director Chng Kai Fong.
For instance, tech giant ByteDance has decided to establish a regional headquarters here amid speculation that the company is considering to transfer its overseas game-publishing business from mainland China.
Facing sanctions in the US and India, Tiktok’s developer ByteDance has agreed to lease 60,000 sq ft of office space in the city-state, on top of hiring hundreds of workers and spending several billions of dollars.
Chng pointed out that tech firms have flourished over the past few years, and their growth was further accelerated by the higher dependence on technology during the health crisis. Consequently, this trend has enabled such companies to give an “outsized contribution” to Singapore’s economy.
He clarified that the estimated S$31.2 billion total annual economic contribution by foreign firms includes the companies’ expected profits here, number of jobs to be generated locally, and the salaries of their Singapore-based workers. The figure is expected to be realised after their related investment projects are completed.
