Tractus Asia > Markets > Singapore

Tractus in Singapore

Singapore’s strategic location has long made it the entry point to ASEAN 

Singapore has rapidly transformed it into the regional headquarters of many of the world’s largest multinationals operating throughout the Asia Pacific region. Regardless of the sector, companies are attracted to the island nation’s efficiency in all matters of business, and it continues to top global rankings as one of the easiest countries in which to do business. Offering interconnectivity of its groundbreaking air, sea, and land infrastructure, combined with its highly educated and globally minded population; Singapore boasts a robust ecosystem comprised of established and start-up firms across every industry from agriculture to aerospace.

Tractus has been bringing our global clients into ASEAN via Singapore since the company’s founding in 1995. Offering site-location, market entry, and entity establishment strategy for companies seeking a presence in Singapore for a country or regional office. In 2012, Tractus established its fulltime office in Singapore and has grown our team in the period since. Our Singapore office, like those of our clients, serves as a regional hub connecting throughout ASEAN and further to APAC.

The team in Singapore supports our ASEAN regional corporate strategy and execution assignments and is an active hub for The Tractus Corporate Finance team allowing us to more efficiently access VC, PE and sovereign sources of capital. The Singapore Team is often also the hub for ASEAN focused Economic Development client’s serving as the bridge for our clients to access trade and outbound investment opportunities across ASEAN.  

Strategy and Execution

Tractus’ Singapore office has assisted our clients establish a strategy to enter Singapore, as well as expand their operations beyond Singapore and into new markets throughout ASEAN.

Developing a strategy to identify the optimal location within the densely populated island nation can be a challenge for many companies making the decision from abroad. The Tractus team has worked with clients assessing industrial and commercial footprints across the 724 km2 territory of Singapore utilizing our site-selection methodology to identify the optimal location for establishment of an office or industrial facility. Our team has also worked extensively with the Singapore based management of our clients as they expand operations beyond the borders of Singapore by performing site-location – as well as project management projects – to survey a client’s next base of operations on a country level and develop business cases to determine which markets to enter and how.

In addition to our site-location and project management services, we have executed multiple distribution & partner searches, market assessments, tailored market research reports, as well as B2B and B2C match-making services. Gaining a clear understanding our clients’ goals and objectives is always our top priority. Then working in close collaboration with our clients, we execute our verified systematic and methodological approaches to achieve the desired results.

For some companies, Singapore is a critical export destination and a buyer of high-value added industrial, consumer and business to business products. For others, the city-state is a critical launch point for entering and expanding exports, or making investments in the wider ASEAN region. Whatever the role of Singapore in our clients’ Asia business strategy, the experienced Tractus team has the expertise and network to support the successful implementation of our clients’ investment, market entry and expansion strategies in Singapore and across the wider ASEAN region.

Corporate Finance

Singapore’s place in the ASEAN financial services sector is undisputed. With a vibrant bourse, strong banking system, active private equity and venture capital market, and highly developed financial services sector, Singapore is the financial center of Southeast Asia. As a hub for companies operating their regional ASEAN businesses, it is also an important center for M&A decision-making. Its importance has made Singapore a critical location for Tractus’ corporate finance practice.

Tractus’ Singapore corporate finance team has years of experience negotiating joint ventures, acquisitions and dispositions. The Singapore corporate finance team has assisted companies to:

  • identify and screen acquisition targets and joint venture partners
  • formulate optimal corporate and deal structures
  • undertake financial modeling and analysis
  • undertake financial and operational due diligence and
  • support negotiations and deal documentation through closing on both acquisitions and dispositions

The Singapore corporate finance team has also developed significant experience structuring private placements and capital fund-raising for innovative technology companies from North America, particularly in the MedTech space, working closely with groups such as Spring Singapore and the Singapore MedTech Accelerator, among others.  The Tractus Singapore’s corporate finance team has been able to successfully secure growth capital for several early and mid-stage technology firms at valuations significantly higher than might be expected from the more competitive markets in North America and Europe.

Economic Development

For economic development organizations (EDOs), industry trade associations, and government investment promotion agencies (IPAs) that are assessing strategies to attract outbound foreign direct investment, or promote trade throughout ASEAN, Singapore is a key market.

Singapore has been, and continues, to grow as a Global Headquarters mecca, with a solid outbound investors base. Singapore is preferred by North American and EU EDOs seeking high technology, high value adding companies with strong OFDI ambitions.

Singapore is a significant importer of high value goods, but many trade promotion agencies see it more as a critical transshipment point for trading activities with the rest of Southeast Asia. EDOs focusing on trade promotion are therefore interested in the accessing the established Singaporean companies that have a long history of trading throughout ASEAN and South Asia. EDOs also seek to maximize trade shows, conferences, and other events hosted in Singapore to engage with leading companies throughout the region to provide a convenient single location for gaining initial entry into ASEAN’s rapidly growing markets.

The Tractus Singapore team often acts as the project leader for our trade promotion and investment attraction representation engagements for the firm’s US state-based and other international EDO clients focused on Southeast Asia. Across the practice, Tractus leverages its experience advising and assisting corporate investors to make informed decisions about where to invest to help EDOs and IPAs devise investment attraction and trade promotion strategies. Sharing these experiences gives these organizations insight into what strategies should be used to attract and retain investors and promote exports as well as policies to implement to promote economic growth.