USABC Business Delegation Meets with Singapore Cabinet under New Leadership of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong
From July 23 to July 25, 2024, the US-ASEAN Business Council (US-ABC) hosted its 2024 Singapore Business Mission, engaging with Singapore government ministries and statutory boards under the new leadership of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. The business mission, the largest in Singapore since post-COVID, was comprised of 26 companies and was co-led by US-ABC’s President & Chief Executive Officer Amb. Ted Osius (ret.) and US-ABC’s Singapore Committee Chair Oracle, represented by Matis Pellerin, Vice President, Global Government Affairs.
This year’s business mission was a collective engagement with the Government of Singapore following its first leadership change in 20 years. The delegation committed to working closely with the government on enhancing trade and investment, fostering innovation, and addressing challenges in areas such as the digital economy, sustainable development, and public health.
"With Prime Minister Wong at the helm, Singapore remains a crucial partner for the U.S. private sector," said Amb. Osius. "Our discussions this week were highly productive and showcased our unwavering commitment to innovation and sustainable development. We explored numerous opportunities for collaboration, focusing on leveraging cutting-edge technologies and best practices to drive mutual growth," he added.
The delegation was hosted for a reception at the U.S. Ambassador to Singapore Jonathan Kaplan’s residence. Throughout the mission, the delegation met with the following senior government officials: Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo, Second Minister for Finance Indranee Rajah, Minister for Manpower Dr. Tan See Leng, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment and Transport Dr. Amy Khor, Economic Development Board Chairman Png Cheong Boon, Enterprise Singapore Chairman Lee Chuan Teck, and National Research Foundation Chief Executive Officer Beh Kian Teik, and Temasek represented by Amb. Ashok Mirpuri, Head, International Policy & Government and Ms. Juliet Teo, Head, Portfolio Development Group and Head SG Market.
The delegation will also be meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade & Industry Gan Kim Yong and Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan at a later date.
During the 3-day mission, the delegation identified several areas where U.S. companies can support Singapore’s strategic initiatives, including in trade policy, workforce development and skills training, promoting artificial intelligence, advancing sustainability, and collaborating on hallmark initiatives like HealthierSG.
“Singapore remains an important market for U.S. companies and Singapore’s priorities align with many of ours” said Pellerin. Singapore understands that digital transformation is key to addressing economic challenges, acknowledging that the private sector is a critical innovation partner to the government” he added.
US-ABC’s Singapore Committee Chair Oracle, its Vice-Chairs, Micron, MSD, Visa, and BowerGroupAsia, along with 3M, Amazon, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Atmo, Estée Lauder Companies, Excel Services, ExxonMobil, Expedia, FedEx, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Mastercard, Marriott International, Meta, Qualcomm International Inc., Quokka, Salesforce, Solventum, and Stripe participated in the 2024 Singapore Business Mission.