Singapore already relies on a range of laws to monitor and manage entities in sectors such as telecommunications, banking and utilities.
The proposed Significant Investments Review Bill seeks to allow the government to review ownership or control transactions in the ‘critical entities,’ the trade and industry ministry said in a statement on Friday. Australia, China, Japan, the UK and the US have similar investment regimes to safeguard strategic sectors, including artificial intelligence, production of semiconductors, cybersecurity, aerospace, or energy. While Singapore didn’t specify the sectors, trade and industry minister Gan Kim Yong said he expects “only a handful of critical entities to be designated under this bill.”