Attracting foreign talent key to Singapore’s existence: Deputy PM Lawrence Wong

Wong said ‘global companies based in the city state will simply find other places to operate in if the government’s policies become overly restrictive’

He added staying open to foreign talent and developing local workforce will create more opportunities

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Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:39pm, 18 Oct 2022Updated: 3:49pm, 18 Oct 2022

Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said staying open to foreign talent is key not just for economic growth, but the very existence of the city state that has little else to fall back on in terms of resources.

Seeking to overcome any resentment against the government’s efforts to scout for so-called rainmakers from around the world, he said recent years have seen “very ugly anti-foreigner sentiment” in favour of keeping the good jobs for Singaporeans.

“That thinking is fatally flawed,” Wong, also the finance minister, said in his address to the Singapore Economic Policy Forum on Tuesday.

“If our policies become overly restrictive, global companies based here will simply find other places to operate in,” causing all the jobs they brought here to be lost, he said.

Singapore, one of the world’s wealthiest nations by per capita income, has very little land and no natural resource, making people its biggest asset. The city state this year overhauled its visa programme to attract top global talent as it seeks to compete with rival financial and innovation hubs including Hong Kong and Dubai.