Securing Of Succession Bodes Well For Policy Continuity In Singapore

Key View

• We at Fitch Solutions continue to see a high degree of political stability in Singapore with the nomination of Finance Minister Lawrence Wong as the successor to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on April 14.
• We expect Wong and his colleagues to maintain a high degree of policy continuity and preserve Singapore’s business friendly environment, though they are also likely to continue tightening restrictions on foreign labour in order to address voter concerns.
• Future governments will also have to contend with an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape, especially in light of rising tensions between China and its partners on the one hand, and the West, on the other.

We at Fitch Solutions still consider Singapore as one of the most politically stable economies in the world, in part reflecting stable transitions between successive leaders over the years. While there was some uncertainty caused by then Prime Minister-in-waiting Heng Swee Keat stepping aside in April 2021, that has now been resolved with the nomination of Finance Minister Lawrence Wong as the successor to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on April 14, 2022. That said, discontent among voters with regard to the presence of foreign labour in the workforce is likely to remain a key issue over the coming years. Overall, we maintain our Short-Term Political Risk Index score at 95.2 out of 100, with policy continuity and policy-making process components scoring 100.