LOOKING AHEAD TO UK-SINGAPORE TRADE IN 2024

― Martin Kent, His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific, sets out his priorities for the UK’s trade relationship with Singapore and the wider region

I still remember my first mouthful of nasi lemak just over ten years ago, when I lived in Singapore as a fresh-faced management consultant with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). It was the perfect meal after an evening run in the Botanic Gardens, paired with a refreshing cup of sugar cane juice.

Fast forward and I am back – this time in government but in many ways working in the same way as I did in the BCG. I am focused on the data to promote trade and investment for the UK, and to build mutual prosperity between the UK and Asia Pacific.

The Asia Pacific region is the engine room of the global economy and is brimming with opportunity for UK businesses. As His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) for Asia Pacific, I will be focused on securing and implementing high-quality Free Trade Agreements, attracting investment to all parts of the UK, opening markets for and supporting UK exporters, and positioning the UK as a beacon for free trade in the region.

Before I started this role, I served as the Minister and Deputy Head of Mission in the British Embassy, Tokyo, and have been a Director in the UK’s Department for Business and Trade including leading our investment and exports work.

I am now around five months into the job, and I am keeping a close eye on the data to ensure my team and I are working to strengthen trade and investment links with the region.

I am based in Singapore, which is one of the UK’s closest and most dynamic partners in the region. Our £22.3 billion trade relationship accounts for more than 45% of the UK’s total trade with Southeast Asia.

I have three areas of strategic interest for the UK’s trade relationship with Singapore, and with Asia Pacific:

The first is digital trade. The UK has signed one of the most innovative trade agreements with Singapore. Our Digital Economy Agreement (DEA) overhauls outdated trade rules that affect both goods and services exporters, making it easier for UK business to target new opportunities in both Singapore and lucrative Asian markets. The latest trade data from the Office for National Statistics shows that nearly 80% of UK services exports to Singapore were digitally delivered, and the DEA offers opportunities to build on this.

We have seen numerous trade missions of UK tech businesses visiting Singapore since the signing of the DEA, including missions focused specifically on LawTech, which has its own provisions in the agreement. In September 2023, we saw the world’s first fully digitalised movement of good between the UK and Singapore, inspired by the DEA, and demonstrating the great potential of trade digitalisation to deliver time and cost savings for businesses. The British Chamber of Commerce are supporting us to drive wider adoption of trade digitalisation in the region, including through a project to fully digitalise further shipments between the UK, Singapore and Thailand. This has included hosting workshops during the recent UK-SE Asia Tech Week held in Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.

Second, decarbonisation. I am committed to maximising the economic value that the shift to net-zero can deliver for the UK, to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable global economy.

The UK has plenty to offer as a global leader in clean and green technologies. We host the world’s largest offshore wind farm, and wind is now the country’s largest single source of installed power capacity.

The UK-Singapore Green Economy Framework will enable both countries to achieve national decarbonisation targets in alignment with the Paris Agreement while enhancing energy security and promoting green growth through new investment, job creation and export opportunities.

Third is defence. The UK and Singapore have recently signed a new Strategic Partnership to grow our economy and enhance shared security. It will strengthen security cooperation, science and technology innovation, and research and development. This includes collaboration to counter new and emerging threats in domains like cyber, through a first of its kind partnership between Singapore’s new Digital and Intelligence Service and the UK. It’s crucial for us to tie in closely with industry on this and my team are working to ensure businesses can take full advantage of these new opportunities.

The Strategic Partnership builds on the agreements across the region, including the Global Combat Air Programme with Japan and Italy, and AUKUS with Australia and the US. These demonstrate the UK’s commitment to support peace and stability across the Indo-Pacific.

The Partnership also covers financial services, which is a key sector in Singapore along with many others including maritime, tech, infrastructure and life sciences and pharmaceutical products. My team and I are here to help financial services of all sizes to expand and prosper in the region. The digitalisation of financial services is a major area of opportunity with British companies including Wise and

Revolut expanding into Singapore and the wider region. In Southeast Asia alone, digital payments now make up more than 50% of the region’s transactions.

We will continue to build on the UK-Singapore bilateral relationship through Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which solidifies our commitment to Singapore. I was pleased that Singapore was the second country to ratify the UK’s accession to CPTPP, bringing us a step closer to becoming a fully-fledged member.

Accession will upgrade the UK-Singapore relationship, providing opportunities to deepen participation in each other’s supply chains, diversify trade, grow investment into our economies, and collaborate on shared priorities, all while supporting greater access and opportunities for business.

I had the privilege last month of attending a lunch with members of the Chamber, expertly hosted by Executive Director David Kelly, President Damian Adams and their team, and I look forward to working alongside them and other partners such as Britain in South East Asia and the UK-ASEAN Business Council.

This June, I am running an exports roadshow together with my counterpart for South Asia, Harjinder Kang, across all nations of the UK. This will be a two-week series of events to showcase how our department supports businesses to unlock the opportunities of our world-class Free Trade Agreements and expand into the thriving Indo-Pacific region. If you are looking to grow your business in the Indo-Pacific, I warmly welcome you to join us.

Please reach out to me if you are looking to explore business opportunities in Singapore or the wider Asia Pacific region. I’m always open to a chat, especially if it’s over teh tarik and a plate of nasi lemak.

Follow us on LinkedIn for more updates on Singapore and Asia Pacific.