Chinese firms look to call Singapore home

As global scrutiny grows, a shift to reduce risk emerges, write Xinghui Kok and Claire Fu

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A growing number of Chinese companies are looking to domicile in Singapore, betting a move to the trade-focused city-state would reduce risks their operations get disrupted by Sino-US geopolitical tensions.

The trend, billed as "Singapore washing" by some analysts, started gaining traction near the end of US President Donald Trump's first presidency and has since accelerated, spreading to various sectors from critical minerals to tech and biotechnology, analysts and experts said.

"Demand has always been rising ... and the key thing right now is that it's probably going to accelerate at a more rapid pace," said KG Tan, CEO of InCorp Group, which helps companies relocate or expand in nine Asia-Pacific locations.

There is no official data on how many Chinese companies are domiciled in Singapore, but Tan said interest from Chinese firms is "very strong" with about 15-20% more inquiries now year-on-year.

Singapore-domiciled companies include optical products maker Terahop, backed by China-based Zhongji Innolight, which set up shop in the city in 2018.

More recent additions include data centre operator DayOne, spun off from GDS Holdings; Manus AI, an artificial intelligence agent from China's Butterfly Effect; and ChemLex, an AI-powered chemical synthesis company.

Neither Manus AI's nor Terahop's websites make reference to their Chinese backers. ChemLex CEO Sean Lin said he considers his Shanghai-founded startup a Singapore company.