Trade tensions not affecting investments in Singapore’s startups

A couple ride on an e-scooter along Marina Bay in Singapore. (Photo by ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP)

VENTURE capital investors are flocking to Singapore despite uncertainty around US-China trade relations, even as businesses hold back spending, according to Peter Ong, chairman of Enterprise Singapore.

Protracted trade tensions have not affected investor willingness to pump billions of dollars into young companies because their investment horizon goes beyond the current environment, Ong said in an interview on the sidelines of the city-state’s annual fintech festival. Funding for Singapore startups grew to US$9.7bil (RM40.29bil) in the first nine months of 2019, a 28% jump from the total amount raised in all of 2018, according to Enterprise Singapore.