Singapore-Entrepreneurs

Singapore Is EUs ticket to Trade Pacts with Asia

The European Union has announced the launch of free-trade talks with Singapore which will set the path to seal commercial pacts across Southeast Asia. Singapore is an perfect city for business and entrepreneurial ventures.

EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht and Singapore Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang agreed to launch the talks for a free-trade agreement (FTA), and Lim’s ministry said the first round would be held from March 8 to 12.

De Guch stated that Singapore would be the first country for talks but their doors would be open to all other ASEAN countries who would be interested in negotiating a comprehensive free-trade agreement with the European Union.

Guch further added that these talks with the wealthy city-state would be good for the business world and consumers alike and that for Europe these talks would mark an important stepping stone in the EU’s engagement with the ASEAN region.

The EU is Singapore’s largest trading partner and foreign investor, with bilateral trade exceeding 55 billion Euros (75 billion US dollars) in 2008, the government said. The Singapore Company Registration and Incorporation process is highly convenient and beneficial to foreign and local entrepreneurs.

Singapore is the EU’s 15th biggest trading partner and its largest in ASEAN.

ASEAN’s market of 550 million people groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

In his speech, Guch stated that free trade was imperiled by the global financial crisis as unemployment rose and complaints over unfair national practices intensified. He further stated that policymakers had to break free from the notion that free trade is what got the world economy into a crisis. The idea had to be turned around to support international trade and get the world out of the economic downturn.

Tags: entrepreneurial ventures, entrepreneurs, Singapore Trade Minister