With Africa’s steady growth and economic resilience, Singapore is looking to deepen its economic presence in the continent, starting with the South. The Commercial Office of the High Commission of the Republic of Singapore (International Enterprise Singapore) will officially open its first office in Africa on 25 January 2013. Located in Johannesburg, the Commercial Office will be operated by International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, which has an overseas network of more than 35 overseas centres established in over 20 countries.

IE Singapore is the government agency driving Singapore’s external economy through international trade and outward investment. The Commercial Office will facilitate greater trade and investment cooperation between the Southern Africa region and Singapore. It will work closely with Singapore companies to explore partnership and investment opportunities in the region, especially in education and training, Infocomm Technology (ICT), transport, and urban & environment solutions. It will also support Southern African companies looking to penetrate the Asian market by using Singapore as a base for their regional operations.Strategically located in the heart of Asia, Singapore is home to 7,000 global MNCs and is the world’s 14th largest trading partner. It has continually been ranked Asia’s most competitive economy in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report for the past five years. Today, the country enjoys a GDP per capita of US$50,000 and is an established international finance centre and trading hub.

Given its lack of land and natural resources, Singapore has been driven to rely on integrated long-term planning to ensure a liveable society balanced with sustained economic growth. This in turn gave rise to the development of strong capabilities in both hard and soft industries such as urban and environment solutions, logistics, transport management, as well as education and training, and ICT. With relevant experience in urban solutions, Singapore companies are well-placed to play a role in addressing Southern Africa’s needs and challenges of managing rapid urbanisation, and balancing sustainable development. This includes water and waste management, urban planning and more. As the region embarks on modernisation and economic diversification, and works towards creating regional value chains, Singapore’s track record in ICT and transport will also be relevant.

Education is another key engine behind Singapore’s transformation into a modern industrial economy. As a continent, Africa has the youngest population in the world and will have the youngest labour force ahead of China and India by 2040. Greater access to and better quality education and training will be important in building an effective work force, harnessing productive sectors and further shaping the continent’s path, from resource-dependent economies to knowledge and innovation-driven countries.
To date, Singapore has fostered strong investment links with Africa. More than 48 Singaporean companies are doing business in 42 African economies, in diverse sectors, including agriculture, infrastructure, urban solutions and transport & logistics. Singapore is Africa’s largest investor among ASEAN countries, with direct investments (flow) into Africa reaching US$19.8 billion in 2010, a 29% increase from the previous year .  Bilateral trade with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8% to hit US$3.8 billion in 2011 in the past four years, higher than 2008’s US$3.1 billion. Total trade in 2012 is promising, hitting US$3.7 billion from January to November 2012. Operating through the Commercial Office, IE Singapore’s extensive networks, deep market knowledge and connectivity in the Asian region will help grow and deepen such economic relations between Singapore and South Africa, as well as the greater Southern African region.