UK-Singapore Investment Treaty Negotiations

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HLWS694

UK-Singapore Investment Treaty Negotiations

Statement made on 12 June 2025

Statement UIN HLWS694

Statement made by

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Legislation)

Labour

Life peer

Lords

Statement

My Rt Hon Friend the Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security (Douglas Alexander MP) has today made the following statement.
The Government will shortly end negotiations with Singapore on the UK-Singapore Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT).
Negotiations were launched in March 2023 to strengthen the UK-Singapore investment relationship, through agreeing modern provisions to guarantee high standards of fair treatment for investors, in line with a commitment in the 2020 UK-Singapore Free Trade Agreement. As British investors in Singapore now benefit from the high-standard investment protections gained through our membership in CPTPP (formally joining Dec 2024), we are ending negotiations on the UK-Singapore BIT.
We will instead focus on efforts to further facilitate and promote investment and to boost our economic growth, as well as help to build on the stock of UK investment in Singapore and Singapore’s stock of investment in the UK, which stands at £15.7 billion and £19.3 billion, respectively.
The strong cooperative relationship between the UK and Singapore extends beyond just investment. On digital trade, seven Memoranda of Understanding signed alongside the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement (DEA) facilitate cooperation in several key areas, including Fintech and Lawtech services. Trade digitalisation pilots conducted under the DEA demonstrated significant business benefits to trade in goods, including 40% reduction in trade processing time, 89% reduction in paperwork, and 67% improvement in staff productivity. We are looking forward to continuing our close collaboration on digital innovation.
And to further strengthen our trading relationship, we will continue to work closely with Singapore as part of CPTPP to modernise trade rules and promote deeper cooperation with other economies, including through accessions and the General Review.

Statement from

Department for Business and Trade

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This statement has also been made in the House of Commons

Department for Business and Trade

UK-Singapore Investment Treaty Negotiations

Mr Douglas Alexander

Minister of State for Trade Policy and Economic Security

Labour, Lothian East

Statement made 12 June 2025

HCWS695

Commons