SINGAPORE - Singapore drew more investment in 2025 despite geopolitical and economic uncertainties, with China forming a larger share of total commitments and business expenditures, according to data released on Monday (Feb 9) by the city-state's Economic Development Board.
Fixed asset investment commitments in Singapore rose 5.2 per cent to $14.2 billion, from $13.5 billion a year earlier, while total business expenditure rose 6 per cent to $8.9 billion, the agency said in a statement.
Singapore has seen an influx of Chinese companies looking to domicile in Singapore to reduce the risks to their business arising from the growing geopolitical tensions between China and the United States.
China's share of fixed asset commitments accounted for 20.6 per cent of the total last year, exceeding the United States for the first time, with the US share falling to 17.3 per cent. In 2024, China accounted for only 2.5 per cent of the commitments, with the United States at 55.5 per cent.
EDB chairman Png Cheong Boon said that many Chinese companies are seeking to expand internationally in response to slower domestic growth.
"We have a good track record of hosting MNCs from the US, Europe, Japan, India, Southeast Asian countries, and China. We continue to look towards the US and Europe to be key sources of investment commitments in terms of stock and flow," he added.
China also accounted for 50.7 per cent of business expenditure in Singapore in 2025, up from 15 per cent in 2024.
The manufacturing sector remained dominant and contributed $12.1 billion in fixed asset commitments, led by new semiconductor manufacturing plants catering to strong global AI-related demand, as well as the biomedical, chemicals and aerospace sectors.
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However, the number of jobs created fell by 16.0 per cent to 15,700 in 2025, from 18,700 in 2024.
Png said job creation has been impacted by rapid technological advancements, with companies now able to do more with fewer employees. New investments yield fewer opportunities than before, he said.
"To create the same number of jobs, EDB will have to bring in more investments. This means engaging more companies, both existing and new ones, across more sectors and regions and of different company sizes and growth stages," he said.
Monday's EDB data comes ahead of Singapore's budget, which is set to be delivered by Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on Feb 12.
Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said in a media interview in January that the city-state can no longer assume that economic growth will generate jobs.
"With automation, AI and productivity, as all of us hope to achieve, there will be higher value-adding industries and business activities. That means with higher value-add per worker, you will not need as many workers," he said.
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