Latest news with #US-Singapore
The Star
6 days ago
- Business
- The Star
US tariff, export controls not directed at Singapore, says Rubio in meeting with Vivian
Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan (left) meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, DC, on June 4. - AFP SINGAPORE: Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has raised the impact of America's tariffs and export controls with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said these were not directed at Singapore. 'But nevertheless, there is a lot of work in the next few months to ensure that there are no adverse secondary impacts on Singapore, so we will have to continue to engage the administration very, very closely in the months ahead,' said Dr Balakrishnan in a statement after they met on June 4. Dr Balakrishnan is in Washington, DC, on a working visit. He and Rubio had a 'substantive and wide-ranging discussion' on bilateral ties and international developments, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). It added that Dr Balakrishnan registered the impact of the US' tariff policy on Singapore as a small and open economy that is highly dependent on trade, and the Republic's commitment to constructive engagement with the US to find mutually beneficial arrangements, including on pharmaceutical exports. In May, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said preferential or even zero tariffs on Singapore's pharmaceutical exports to the US are a possible concession that has emerged in ongoing talks between the countries. However, the secondary impact has already hit the Republic, with Singapore's factory activity contracting for a second month in May off the back of US President Donald Trump's tariffs continuing to threaten the global economic outlook. The majority of Trump's sweeping global tariffs have been paused for 90 days, with the pause expected to expire at the start of July. On June 4, Trump signed an order to double tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from 25 per cent to 50 per cent. During their meeting, Dr Balakrishnan and Rubio also reaffirmed the longstanding and substantive bilateral relationship between the two countries in traditional areas of the economy, defence and security, as well as emerging areas such as critical technologies, energy and artificial intelligence. MFA said they also discussed other potential areas for collaboration, such as the 2026 US Group of 20 presidency and how Singapore can contribute to the US' priorities in meaningful and practical ways. In a separate statement, a spokesperson for Rubio said he reaffirmed the strength of the US-Singapore strategic partnership and both countries' shared commitment to a 'safe, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region'. Dr Balakrishnan is on a working visit to London and Washington, DC, from June 3 to 7, aimed at advancing bilateral cooperation in traditional and emerging areas of mutual interest. His visit to Washington, DC – where he will meet senior administration officials, members of Congress and other senior personalities – is the first ministerial visit from Singapore to the US following both governments' new terms in office. He will also participate in a fireside chat hosted by US think-tank Hudson Institute, to discuss how the US can deepen engagement with Singapore and the region. - The Straits Times/ANN
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
US tariff, export controls not directed at Singapore, says Rubio in meeting with Vivian
US tariff, export controls not directed at Singapore, says Rubio in meeting with Vivian SINGAPORE - Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has raised the impact of America's tariffs and export controls with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said these were not directed at Singapore. 'But nevertheless, there is a lot of work in the next few months to ensure that there are no adverse secondary impacts on Singapore, so we will have to continue to engage the administration very, very closely in the months ahead,' said Dr Balakrishnan in a statement after they met on June 4. Dr Balakrishnan is in Washington DC on a working visit . He and Mr Rubio had a 'substantive and wide-ranging discussion' on bilateral ties and international developments, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). It added that Dr Balakrishnan registered the impact of the US' tariff policy on Singapore as a small and open economy that is highly dependent on trade, and the Republic's commitment to constructive engagement with the US to find mutually beneficial arrangements, including on pharmaceutical exports. In May, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said preferential or even zero tariffs on Singapore's pharmaceutical exports to the United States are a possible concession that has emerged in ongoing talks between the countries. However, the secondary impact has already hit the Republic, with Singapore's factory activity contracting for a second month in May off the back of US President Donald Trump's tariffs continuing to threaten the global economic outlook. The majority of Mr Trump's sweeping global tariffs have been paused for 90 days, with the pause expected to expire at the start of July. On June 4, Mr Trump signed an order to double tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from 25 per cent to 50 per cent. During their meeting , Dr Balakrishnan and Mr Rubio also reaffirmed the long-standing and substantive bilateral relationship between both countries in traditional areas of the economy, defence, and security, as well as emerging areas such as critical technologies, energy, and artificial intelligence. MFA said they also discussed other potential areas for collaboration, such as the 2026 US G20 Presidency and how Singapore can contribute to the US' priorities in meaningful and practical ways. In a separate statement, Mr Rubio's spokesperson said he reaffirmed the strength of the US-Singapore strategic partnership and both countries' shared commitment to a 'safe, secure, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region'. Dr Balakrishnan is on a working visit to London and Washington DC from June 3 to 7, aimed at advancing bilateral cooperation in traditional and emerging areas of mutual interest. His visit to Washington DC - where he will meet senior administration officials, members of Congress, and other senior personalities - is the first ministerial visit from Singapore to the US following both governments' new terms in office. He will also participate in a fireside chat hosted by US think-tank Hudson Institute, to discuss how the US can deepen engagement with Singapore and the region. Anjali Raguraman is a correspondent at The Straits Times. She covers politics, as well as consumer stories spanning tourism, retail and F&B. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
PM Lawrence Wong and former US president Bill Clinton discuss global and regional issues
PM Lawrence Wong and ESM Goh Chok Tong with former US president Bill Clinton on May 21. PHOTO: LAWRENCE WONG/ FACEBOOK PM Lawrence Wong and former US president Bill Clinton discuss global and regional issues SINGAPORE - Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and former US president Bill Clinton had an insightful exchange on global and regional developments during a meeting on May 21. In a Facebook post, PM Wong said he thanked Mr Clinton for his strong support of US-Singapore ties during his time in office. He said: 'He worked closely with then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong to lay the groundwork for the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement – a landmark deal that set the gold standard for future FTAs and remains a pillar of our bilateral ties.' PM Wong's Facebook post also included photos of him and Mr Clinton with Mr Goh, who is now Emeritus Senior Minister. Mr Clinton, who is in Singapore to attend an event organised by Swiss investment bank UBS, was US president from 1993 to 2001 . ESM Goh in 2000 famously proposed playing an impromptu game of golf with Mr Clinton at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation dinner in Brunei. After the game, both men had drinks and the free trade deal was struck. It was ratified in 2003. In 2015 , Mr Clinton led a high-level delegation to Singapore to attend the funeral of former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. American statesman Henry Kissinger, who had close friendship with Mr Lee, also made the trip. PM Wong, in his Facebook post, said: 'Singapore and the US continue to share many areas of strategic cooperation. We look forward to deepening this partnership in the years ahead.' Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Mint
28-04-2025
- Business
- Mint
Peak XV Partners seeks AI edge with strategic investments in US funds, takes LP route
MUMBAI : Bengaluru-headquartered Peak XV Partners has made a clutch of investments over the past 12 months in a handful of seed and early-stage US funds, varying in size between $1 million and $10 million, a person with knowledge of the development said on condition of anonymity. The names of the funds could not be ascertained. The move is part of the venture capital (VC) firm's broader strategy to deepen its network and identify early trends on artificial intelligence (AI) where the US is the market leader, the person cited above said. To be sure, Peak XV (pronounced Peak 15) has also made direct investments in AI-related companies in the US market in the past two years since it separated with Sequoia Capital. Recent American investments include Supabase (US-Singapore), Atomicwork (US), Hightouch (US), Luminai (US), Nirmata ( US), RapidCanvas (US), among others. However, the person cited above said that building fund relationships will allow Peak XV to be ahead of the curve on new AI trends and can potentially lead to new introductions with the founders of upcoming firms where the firm might be able to invest in. Peak XV is also a limited partner (LP) in former executive Piyush Gupta's fund launched last November, and expects to be an investor in more funds launched by other former company executives, the person added. Separately, the firm is in early talks to raise up to $1.4 billion in a new India-SEA (Southeast Asia) fund, its first since the split with its parent. The fund is likely to be raised by end of the current financial year, people with knowledge of the development said. Making fund investments is a tried and tested way for new VC and private equity (PE) firms to enter a new market. When global investors first started investing in India, they made several LP investments in Indian fund managers to first understand the market, before they started making direct investments. Partners at Peak have been investing since 2006 and had access to the US market when they were part of Sequoia Capital. However, this access ended in June 2023, when Sequoia split into three globally. The India and South East Asia team became Peak XV Partners. 'Investing in funds helps in building out the ecosystem and to track larger opportunities in those markets better," said Kashyap Chanchani, founder and managing partner, The Rainmaker Group, an Indian investment bank. 'Firms get access to proprietary deals as well as widen the network and track trends besides simply making returns." In turn, the investee companies of these funds, too, stand to gain access to the India market and service base, according to Chanchani. For the past two years, Peak XV has been building out its US presence to recoup the access it had when the firm was part of Sequoia Capital. One key reason is to help its portfolio companies, which are already based in the US or have links to the US market. Peak XV has a portfolio of more than 400 companies across financial services, software and AI, and consumer internet, and across stages–seed, venture and growth. Nearly 150 companies have ties to the US market–either for market access or they were founded by Indian origin people incorporating in the US. Soon after the split in 2023, Peak XV hired Jaime Bott, a former talent executive at Sequoia Capital, to help hire talent for its portfolio companies in the US. In April 2024, it hired Dini Mehta and Chris Meritt as operating partners in the US. Earlier this month, it hired Arnav Sahu as partner and the firm's first investment team member in the US. Sahu was previously with Y Combinator. He has also founded a fintech app, BondGrid, and has worked at Spark Capital and Blackstone, PeakXV said earlier this month. Since the split with Sequoia Capital, Peak XV has seen at least half a dozen top executives from its India and SEA team leave. In recent months, partner Shailesh Lakhani and managing directors Abheek Anand and Anandamoy Roychowdhary left the firm. Last November, Piyush Gupta, managing director at Peak XV, left the firm to launch his own secondaries fund Kenro Capital. Other top executives such as Shweta Raj Kohli and Gayatri Yadav also left the firm. Last month, Shreyansh Thakur, an executive at PeakXV, also made an exit. Besides employee churn, PeakXV announced last October that it was cutting its management fee for its growth fund to stay competitive in the market. It also returned 16% of its capital from across funds raised for India and SEA, citing an overheated market. The VC major has sold stakes in its portfolio companies that were either headed for public market listings or pared down stakes in already listed firms such as Ixigo, Awfis, Go Digit General Insurance, Blackbuck, Zomato , Mamaearth, Truecaller, Indigo Paints , Five Star Business Finance, and Mobikwik, among others. The firm also took some money home by selling either partial or full stakes in its unlisted portfolio such as Rebel Foods, Healthkart, Finova, K12 Techno, and Cloudnine Hospitals. In all, the firm has clocked over $1.2 billion in exits in the past 12-15 months.
Al Arabiya
08-04-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Singapore says US tariffs not what ‘one does to a friend'
US President Donald Trump's tariffs on Singapore are 'not actions one does to a friend,' the city-state's leader said Tuesday, adding that the government will likely downgrade this year's economic growth forecast. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong warned that the 'likelihood of a full-blown global trade war is growing' and urged his trade-reliant nation to prepare for difficult times ahead. 'We are very disappointed by the US move, especially considering the deep and long-standing friendship between our two countries,' he said in an address to parliament. 'These are not actions one does to a friend.' Trump last week announced sweeping levies on friends and foes alike after accusing the world of 'ripping off' the US for years. Singapore was hit with a 10 percent tariff, despite a free-trade agreement (FTA) with the US. The rate, though, is much less than those imposed on other countries. However, Wong said the trade-dependent nation will be particularly hurt by a slump in world economy and the unravelling of the global trading system based on free trade. 'Singapore may or may not go into recession this year, but I have no doubt that our growth will be significantly impacted,' he said. The trade ministry is reassessing its economic growth forecast this year of 1.0-3.0 percent 'and will likely revise it downwards,' he added. Wong said that under the US-Singapore FTA, the city-state imposes zero tariffs on American goods. Singapore also runs a trade deficit with Washington. 'If the tariffs were truly reciprocal and if they were meant to target only those with trade surpluses, then the tariff for Singapore should be zero,' he said. Singapore hosts thousands of US companies and many of them have made the city their Asia-Pacific headquarters. While the island-nation is not a US defense treaty ally, it enjoys robust military ties with Washington. 'This marks a profound turning point,' he said. 'We are entering a new phase in global affairs, one that is more arbitrary, protectionist and dangerous.'
