Question No 137 of Notice Paper No 246 of 2010 (For Written Answer)

Sitting Date: 22 November 201 

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mdm Ho Geok Choo, Member for West Coast GRC.

Question

To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) how many investors were granted PR status under the Global Investor Programme (GIP) over the last three years and what was the cumulative amount of their investments; (b) where are these investors from and how many of them operate from Singapore; (c) what are the employment opportunities generated by these investors over the last three years; and (d) how does Singapore's GIP compare with those in other countries and whether our GIP guidelines are too stringent.

Answer

The Global Investor Programme (GIP) is intended to attract entrepreneurs setting up business or investing in Singapore, to make Singapore their home. With effect from 1 Jan 2011, a minimum investment of $2.5 million is required to qualify for the GIP. This is higher than the investment quantum required under the PR programmes in widely favored locations such as Australia, Canada, US and UK, which are in the S$1.1 million to S$2 million range^[1].

Over the past three years, the GIP has attracted close to 1,000 investors who have invested over $1.5 billion either in an approved investment fund or directly in a business in Singapore. These investors are predominantly from North-East Asia and South-East Asia. Close to 100 have invested directly in businesses ranging from engineering, R&D, shipping, asset management and services & trading, creating some 1,500 jobs.

[1] Australia (AUD$1.5 million/S$1.9 million), Canada (CAD$0.8 million/S$1.1 million), US (USD$1 million/S$1.3 million) and UK (£1 million/S$2.07 million)