Singapore is rewriting rules for global cities

Citigroup Inc, HSBC Holdings Plc, UBS Group AG: Global
capital’s gleaming logos dominate the night skyline of
Singapore’s central business district. They don’t have the vista from a balcony at the Marina Bay Sands hotel to themselves, however. Nestled among them, competing for eyeballs, is a tower bearing the logo of the National Trades Union Congress. Local lenders and property developers also jostle for attention.
Long a beacon for planet-spanning corporations, a sanctuary of administrative stability in a volatile neighbourhood and a template
for global cities, Singapore is undergoing a subtle but significant
reorientation. It still wants foreign investment and is keen as ever to retain its status as a hub: Ministers assure companies they are welcome and insist Singapore won’t turn its back on the world.
Yet those soothing incantations now come with an important caveat: The republic sounds far less enthusiastic about the talent that those prized firms want to bring with them. Instead, Singapore’s leaders find themselves focusing increasingly on social cohesion. A series of race-related incidents and violence have played across domestic media this year. Concerns about a growing wealth gap are prompting consideration of a wealth tax on local tycoons and the many well-heeled globetrotters who have taken up residence.
While the foreign workforce has receded over the past two years, it still represents more than 20% of the population. Where Singaporeans once accepted that for their small nation to survive, they needed to welcome foreigners, the question now asked has become akin to: Is there sufficient direct benefit in it for me? How Singapore emerges from this period of soul-searching will say a lot about the mobility of cash and skills in the post-pandemic era and whether Asia, which rode to prosperity on outside investment, still wants that infusion — and at what social price.
Like any nation, Singapore understandably wants to adjust its expectations of, and demands on, international companies. The republic controls its borders, who enters and leaves and on what terms. But the transition to a more nuanced landscape also requires a
recalibration of the country’s reputation. It may well still be a top Asian destination for commerce, but its appeal will rest as much on the shortcomings of its neighbours as the warmth of its welcome.

—Bloomberg