While Singapore companies in financial technology, biomedical sciences, sustainability and renewable energy are well-placed to compete in the US, F&B brands are also savouring success there.
US correspondent Charissa Yong recently went on a trip organised by Enterprise Singapore to find out how the companies are making inroads in the world’s largest economy.
S’pore companies on a journey to expand in the West
More Singapore businesses are looking to set up shop or expand in the United States, drawn by the potential for growth and the vast customer base in the world’s largest economy.
Enterprise Singapore helped 190 companies to explore the US in 2022, up from about 130 in 2019 – a jump of nearly 50 per cent.
Mr Clarence Hoe, EnterpriseSG executive director for the Americas and Europe, said that the Covid-19 pandemic prompted some companies to look at markets that were farther away.
S’pore F&B brands hunger for expansion after tasting success in US
Killiney Kopitiam’s outpost in Palo Alto, California, has something that its Singapore outlets do not have – outdoor heat lamps, for al fresco dining when the weather turns cold.
From buying heat lamps to swopping ingredients for close substitutes more easily available in the United States, Singaporean food and beverage businesses like Killiney Kopitiam, snack brand Irvins and the Urban Hawker food hall in Manhattan have had to adapt to establish a foothold in the country.
But they have found a market hungry for South-east Asian flavours and are looking to make further inroads across America, even as they grapple with challenges like scaling up production and complying with local regulations to obtain permits.
It’s still worth it, say S’pore fintech firms expanding into the US amid tougher times
Despite recent risks like the Silicon Valley Bank collapse and a drop in venture capital funding, Singapore fintech start-ups entering the United States say that expanding there is worth it for the access to a large market, talent, and financial institutions.
“The US is like putting Singapore, Hong Kong and Switzerland together, plus Indonesia. You have the wealthy as well as the developed markets, in addition to a huge population,” said Mr Rony J. Palathinkal, chief executive of GreenArc Capital.
The start-up, whose clients include the New Mexico state government’s sovereign wealth fund and French banking group BNP Paribas, uses algorithms to help investors calculate the social and environmental impact of their investments.
S’pore biotech firms making inroads into the US, the world’s biggest healthcare spender
When biotech start-up Lucence began setting up its medical laboratory in the United States in August 2020, it faced long waits for equipment amid supply chain snarls caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Vendors would give the firm the cold shoulder because they wanted to prioritise supplies for Covid-19 tests over what Lucence needed for its cancer-detecting blood tests, said the company’s founder, Dr Tan Min-Han.
But the bumpy start did not hinder its success.
