In the British Chamber of Commerce’s latest business sentiment results, released in early September 2023, British businesses have signalled their continued confidence in Singapore but raised concerns over the current business climate, specifically talent and increasing costs in the market.
Remaining positive for the future, with over three-quarters of businesses confirming their confidence in Singapore as a business hub for the long-term, satisfaction in today’s business climate was split with a near 50-50 result. Despite a challenging period for hiring, retaining staff and balancing budgets, companies reported several positives. Interest in ASEAN remains a priority for the majority of members and the aggregated average proportion of Singaporean citizens and permanent residents among the respondents is 68%.
Currently, a third of the UK's exports to Singapore are digitally delivered, particularly in services sectors such as finance and advertising, and in engineering.
The Fintech Bridge builds on an agreement signed in 2016 – which will remove barriers to fintech trade by opening new regular talks between regulators and businesses, in addition to previous areas of cooperation
This will increase the cooperation and sharing of information on emerging trends in the fintech sector. It will also break down barriers to trade for UK and Singaporean fintechs, boosting growth and investment opportunities.
The existing Regulatory Cooperation Agreement signed in 2016 has enabled the UK and Singaporean fintech sectors to closely align at a regulatory level. The commitment in Nov 2022 goes further in a number of areas, making clear the business support available to firms, highlight opportunities in each other’s markets and creating a clear link between challenges firms face and policy discussions.
Dialogue Partner status puts the UK at the heart of the Indo-Pacific. The UK will work with ASEAN and its members on key shared challenges such as maritime security and transnational crime, boost our economies through trade, and strengthen our cooperation on issues such COVID-19 and climate change.
Watch our recent webinar below with the UK Ambassador to ASEAN to understand more about this status.