Singapore Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in singapore, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Selling to the Public Sector
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Selling to the Government

Many governments finance public works projects through borrowing from the Multilateral Development Banks. Please refer to “Overview of Financing” Section in “Obtaining Financing” for more information. Singapore is a signatory to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement. The U.S.-Singapore FTA (USSFTA) provides increased access for U.S. firms to Singapore’s central government procurement. The USSFTA contains specific conduct guarantees to ensure that Singapore Government Linked Companies (GLCs) will operate on a commercial and non-discriminatory basis towards U.S. firms.  

GLCs with substantial revenues or assets are also subject to enhanced transparency requirements under the USSFTA.  In accordance with its USSFTA commitments, Singapore enacted the Competition Act in 2004 and established the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) in January 2005. With effect April 1, 2018, the CCS has been renamed the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) to take over the role as the government agency responsible for administering and enforcing the Consumer (Fair Trading Act), in addition to enforcing the Competition Act. The Act contains provisions on anti-competitive agreements, decisions, and practices; abuse of dominance; enforcement and appeals process; and mergers and acquisitions. 

U.S. firms generally find Singapore to be a receptive, open, and lucrative market.  The Singaporean government procurement system is considered by many American firms to be fair and transparent. Procurement recommendations are made at the technical level and then forwarded to management for concurrence. Bidders should work closely with the project manager to determine the relative importance of decision criteria such as technical capability and price. Bidders must meet the specifications set out in the tender. Post-mortem hearings or meetings for losing bidders are not required or common. Government procurement regulations are contained in Instruction Manual 3, available from the Ministry of Finance. The Singapore Government also advertises its tenders on its website.

Singapore Government agencies generally expect good after-sales service. U.S. suppliers should have at least had some form of local representation to provide after-market service if they do not have their own presence. Where required, a separate maintenance contract might be entered with the U.S. supplier. U.S. companies bidding on foreign government tenders may also qualify for U.S. Government advocacy. Within the U.S. Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration, the Advocacy Center coordinates U.S. Government interagency advocacy efforts on behalf of U.S. exporters in competition with foreign firms for foreign government projects or procurement opportunities. The Advocacy Center works closely with our network of the U.S. Commercial Service offices worldwide and inter-agency partners to ensure that exporters of U.S. products and services have the best possible chance of winning government contracts. Advocacy assistance can take many forms but often involves the U.S. Embassy or other U.S. Government agency officials expressing support for the U.S. exporters directly to the foreign government.  Consult the Advocacy Center’s program web page on www.trade.gov for additional information.


Financing Projects

Singapore is considered a developed country and does not receive development assistance from multilateral institutions.  The country’s domestic public infrastructure projects are funded primarily via Singapore government reserves or capital markets, reducing the scope for direct project financing subsidies by foreign governments. 

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

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As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

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