Business as usual despite looming EU referendum
SINGAPORE — The United Kingdom’s looming referendum on membership of the European Union (EU) should not be a barrier to Singapore companies doing business there, says Britain’s Foreign Secretary.
Mr Philip Hammond, who was here for Singapore’s Golden Jubilee celebrations, acknowledged that membership of the EU is a key reason Singapore companies want to do business in Britain.
While the new Conservative government is committed to a referendum to allow the public to decide on Britain’s European future, leaving the EU is not British Prime Minister David Cameron’s objective, Mr Hammond told 938LIVE in an interview.
“What he (Mr Cameron) is seeking is an effective renegotiation of Britain’s relationship with the European Union and a modernisation of the EU itself to make sure it’s fit for purpose,” said Mr Hammond.
As part of that, Mr Hammond said Britain wants the EU to be less inward-looking and to expand its horizons to embrace the opportunities in high-growth parts of the global economy, such as South-east Asia.
“If Europe cannot be competitive in these fast-growing markets in South-east Asia, it has no future,” he said.
“There is no point in the EU spending its time arguing about how to slice up a declining cake. It has to focus on ensuring that we are competitive (and) productive enough to hold our own in a global marketplace with the fast-growing economies of South-east Asia, working together symbiotically so that we can add value to each other’s economies.”
Mr Hammond’s comments come two weeks after the British Prime Minister led a high-level delegation to Singapore and neighbouring countries, with trade and investment top of the agenda.
Ahead of the visit, Mr Cameron pointed out that Britain does more trade with Belgium than it does with Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam combined. Mr Hammond rejected a suggestion that this meant that Britain has not paid as much attention to its economic relationship with Singapore as it could have.
“We have a very strong base from which to do more. There are many household-name British companies established here, operating their Asia-wide businesses from this hub,” he said. “We have to tap into that potential as well as encouraging Singapore businesses to invest in and trade with the UK.”
But will the uncertainty about Britain’s position in Europe act as a barrier to Singapore businesses stepping up their investment?
“I hope that won’t be the attitude. Many businesses will know the UK very well, and will have a highly informed view of British public opinion. And public opinion is much more mature about the importance of our relationship with the European Union than perhaps some of our newspapers sometimes suggest,” said Mr Hammond.
“For the British people to decide to leave the EU would require, in my judgment, a catastrophic miscalculation by our European partners in refusing to pursue the reform agenda that we’ve put on the table.”
Mr Hammond said the high-level British representation — which also included the Duke of York — at the weekend’s SG50 celebrations was a reflection of the close ties between Britain and Singapore.
“If there’s a country anywhere in the world which has demonstrated consistent progress and economic growth over the last 50 years, Singapore is it. It’s a great success story, and we’re very proud of our small role in that story,” he said.
