Staying open and connected globally critical to Singapore's competitiveness: Finance Minister

Staying open and connected to the world is critical to Singapore's competitiveness and attract global investors and the country must never let anti-foreigner sentiments take root, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said on Wednesday, while explaining the latest tweaks to foreign worker policies.

During his round-up speech on this year's Budget in Parliament, Wong said that if global investors conclude that Singapore is closing itself and becoming less welcoming of foreigners, the Republic ''will become less attractive to them, and it will be ordinary Singaporeans who suffer the most.'' Singapore must never let anti-foreigner sentiments take root or give the impression that it is becoming more inward-looking. Staying open and connected to the world is a critical aspect of the country's competitiveness, he said.

''This is not just an option. This is essential, even existential for us,'' the minister said.

Responding to a question in the House, the minister said the latest tweaks to foreign worker policies announced in this year's Budget are careful, calibrated adjustments made over the years.

''This is not a sudden change in policy. We made our intentions very clear in the Economic Strategies Committee report in 2010,'' The Straits Times newspaper quoted the minister as saying.

''We recognise that tightening too quickly will hurt our small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but moving too slowly will lessen the incentive for firms to upgrade. So it is really about maintaining that careful balance,'' he said.

The latest changes will ensure that foreign workers coming in are of the right calibre, for areas where they are needed, and to complement the local workforce.

''We are not closing ourselves to the inflow of foreign workers and professionals,'' Wong said.

''They are and will remain integral to our economy and our competitiveness. They are a valuable complement to our Singaporean core at all levels of the workforce,'' he said.

Singapore will continue to welcome committed foreigners who have the capabilities and share the same values, ''to stay on and help us build the next phase of our Singapore story,'' he added, noting that this would give the country the best chance of success amid intense global competition.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)