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1 Myth: Mint grants Indian citizens unconditional access to Singapore and immigration privileges
It is not true that Ceca grants Indian citizens the right to acquire citizenship or permanent residence, Chan said. In Chapter 9 of the agreement on the movement of natural persons, Article 9.1.2 establishes: “This Chapter shall not apply to measures related to citizenship, permanent residence or permanent employment.”
The proportion of ethnic Indians in Singapore’s population has remained stable, he said.
The agreement does not oblige Singapore to automatically grant employment passes (EPs) to Indian citizens. Like all other foreigners, they must meet current PE criteria, such as minimum wage thresholds.
One bone of contention is intra-corporate transfers (ICT), which refer to transfers of employees from a company from one country to another. In these cases, recruiting companies do not have to advertise the position to locals as part of the Fair Consideration Framework.
But they still have to meet the PE criteria, as well as have industry experience and work at the parent company for a minimum period, Chan said.
According to Ceca, said assignees must have worked at least six months in the parent company, among other requirements. They can stay for a total period of eight years, maximum.
Chan said Singapore’s commitments to Mint are neither unique nor too broad, as most of the 164 members of the World Trade Organization have also made commitments on ICT entry under the General Agreement on Trade in Services. . Local companies also take advantage of Singapore’s ICT when expanding abroad, he said.
“It applies equally to Indian companies that come here and Singaporean companies that go abroad, under the Mint or under any other (free trade agreement). This is to help them start up operations abroad.”
2 Myth: Mint does not benefit Singapore financially
Since Mint was signed in 2005, Singapore’s trade with India has grown by $ 7.6 billion and investments by 34 times.
By 2018, more than 650 Singaporean companies had invested in India.
Chan said that the trade pact not only protects Singaporean companies investing in India, but also attracts foreign investors who invest in India and employ Singaporeans to manage their investments.
In Singapore, these companies employ nearly 100,000 Singaporeans and permanent residents.
This means that the Indian market, like other large markets, helps these companies to diversify and strengthen their operations.
“As well as having better access to a huge market and all the savings that come with tariff reductions, it also allows us to increase our capabilities,” Chan said.
Companies such as PSA and engineering firm Meinhardt are also now key players in port engineering and management in India, he added.
3 Myth: Mint has caused an excessive concentration of Indian citizens in some companies here
Chan said that the presence of certain nationalities is determined by the choice of sectors that Singapore wants to grow.
These currently include new and fast-growing sectors such as information and technology, professional services, and financial services.
It’s not that Singaporeans aren’t good enough for the jobs in these sectors, but that Singapore doesn’t have enough people for these jobs, he said.
“We don’t have enough numbers to reach critical mass.”
Chan said the profile of Singapore’s foreign workforce will evolve over time as the profile of its industry changes.
“In the 1960s and 1970s, when we were building our petrochemical industries, the top management positions (at companies like Shell) weren’t primarily from Singapore either. But after a few decades, why are the top positions held by Singaporeans? ?
“Because we gave the previous generation the opportunity to create jobs not only for themselves, but also for this generation.”
The same thing happened in the 1980s and 1990s, when Singapore focused on electronics and semiconductors, he said.
“Today, we have a whole generation of precision engineering companies, engineers that support the semiconductor industry, and we have many spin-offs.”
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