Expand to Southeast Asia from Singapore

EDB Connections Concierge

Explore our network of service providers who offer professional solutions for setting up businesses in Singapore. They can provide assistance in areas ranging from recruitment to legal advisory, so you can start, run, and grow your business quickly.

EDB Nav

Take a look at the partners (including research centres and innovation communities) and service providers who can help with business expansion in Asia.

The Workshop

Learn about EDB’s platform for business leaders to access complimentary, personalised guidance on expanding to Asia. Run by trusted experts, the sessions cover topics from market entry, to talent, incorporation and partnerships.

Singapore Professional Services Partner Guide

Access a specially-curated digital catalogue of professional services firms, with a track record of serving companies expanding in Asia.

Incentives and Schemes

Take a look at the range of support EDB offers key enterprises

Enterprise Singapore

Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) champions enterprise development and works with companies to build capabilities, innovate, and go global. The government agency also supports the growth of Singapore as a hub for global trading and startups. 

Visit Singapore MICE Events Calendar

Explore premier business conferences, meetings, and marquee events designed for business executives who are seeking unparalleled networking opportunities in our vibrant innovation ecosystem. Engage and connect with industry leaders and decision-makers from around the globe to tap into new markets and forge valuable business partnerships.
 

Startup SG Events

Discover a wide range of events tailored for entrepreneurs and startups. From workshops and networking sessions to conferences and pitch competitions, these events provide valuable insights into the latest industry trends and help you build connections to accelerate your business’ success.
 

Free trade agreements

Singapore’s free trade agreements (FTAs) cover 60 per cent of the world’s GDP, allowing companies to lower costs and reap production and supply chain efficiencies as they plug into global markets and value chains.

Learn more about Singapore's FTAs

Trade facilitation schemes

Our trade networks are further supported by a range of trade facilitation schemes, including:

• ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services / ASEAN Agreement on Movement of Natural Persons
  Facilitates the freer flow of trade in services and people in the region by providing broad guidelines and substantially eliminating restrictions
• ASEAN Free Trade Area
  A trade bloc agreement that supports local trade and manufacturing in all ASEAN countries, and works towards lowering intra-regional tariffs
• ASEAN Investment Area
  Ensures mostly non-discriminatory treatment for ASEAN and ASEAN-based investors, transparent rules and regulations, and protection for investors and their covered investments
• ASEAN Single Window
  Expedites cargo clearance by enabling the electronic exchange of border trade-related documents between member states
• ASEAN-wide Self-Certification Scheme
  Allows Certified Exporters to self-declare the origins of their exports, instead of waiting for hardcopy certification, and benefit from preferential tariffs
   

SIJORI

The SIJORI model – short for Singapore, Johor (Malaysia) and the Riau Islands (Indonesia) – allows businesses to locate complementary activities in the three countries. For example, your regional HQ and R&D can be established in Singapore, with broad-based manufacturing activities and digital and software development located close by, in Johor and the Riau Islands. 

Read about how Malaysia and Indonesia’s industrial parks are supporting manufacturers’ business expansion plans
 

Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone

Singapore and Malaysia have signed an MOU to work on a Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone. Both sides will work towards enhancing cross-border flows of goods and people, and strengthen the business ecosystem to support investments.

Learn more about Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone
 

Nongsa Digital Park

Located in Batam, the largest city in Indonesia’s Riau Islands Province, Nongsa Digital Park houses an ecosystem of tech talent development programmes, hiring initiatives and IT infrastructure to support the tech needs of Singapore-based companies. 
 

Southeast Asia Manufacturing Alliance

Companies can also tap the Southeast Asia Manufacturing Alliance, a partnership between EDB and private sector partners, to help manufacturers build stronger production bases in the region.

Learn more about the Southeast Asia Manufacturing Alliance
 

For businesses looking to expand into a new market, having a team who can speak local languages and understand cultural and political contexts can be a game-changer.  With its robust mix of global, regional and local talent, Singapore is the perfect location to form a team with diverse and complementary strengths to help you drive growth across SEA. 

Singapore also has talent exchange schemes in place with Indonesia and Vietnam that offer development opportunities for young professionals. Tech:X is for young tech professionals from Singapore and Indonesia to work in each other’s countries and pursue growing opportunities in the digital economy. The Innovation Talent Exchange Programme (ITX) enables Singaporeans and Vietnamese professionals to seek working stints in innovation-related areas in both countries. 

Businesses interested in Tech:X and ITX can reach out to EDB for more information. 

Digital Economy

With a young and digitally-savvy workforce, Southeast Asia is forecast to be a growth engine for the Asia Pacific region. It is one of the fastest-growing internet markets in the world with penetration rates rising rapidly at more than 70%, with over 400 million internet users. Over 95 % of SEA’s internet users have access to LTE or WiMAX connectivity.  

The region is intensifying its economic integration to improve cross-border trade and investment flows, thereby unlocking a potential S$2.7 trillion in its digital economy by 2030. This thriving market provides ample opportunities for new startups to emerge and for existing ones to expand. The Southeast Asia tech ecosystem has a combined market valuation of US$395 billion, and SEA tech startups have raised close to US$100 billion in the past 10 years.¹  
 

Green Economy

Southeast Asia has an outsized role to play in the global push for decarbonisation to achieve net zero. The region derives 80% of its energy needs from fossil fuel and contributes to 70% of global emissions from land use change and forestry.  

Already, eight out of 10 Asean countries have Net Zero or carbon neutrality commitments, and there is immense potential for renewable energy development, especially in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia. As the region increases the financing, production and distribution of renewables, Singapore is expanding its ecosystem of innovators, financiers and project developers looking to enable this shift. 

Southeast Asia’s biodiversity and abundance of natural resources as well as strategic importance as an industrial hub means there is strong potential for nature-based solutions. The region is tipped to unlock S$407 billion in additional annual revenues from green investments by 2030. Already, the size of private green investments in Southeast Asia has grown by 20 per cent from 2022, to S$8.5 billion in 2023³ - reflecting the significant opportunities for businesses looking to invest in Southeast Asia's green economy.