Roundtable

The Thirty-Eighth Singapore Economic Roundtable

Synopsis

The Singapore Economic Roundtable (SER) is a biannual meeting of private sector economists, business leaders and policymakers. Participants gather to discuss major macroeconomic policy issues and their implications for macroeconomic policy. In addition, the SER also includes a Special Session that focuses on a specific contemporary topic of economic and policy interest. The topic of the Special Session for the 38th SER will be “The Implications of the Anwar Administration for Singapore-Malaysia Ties”.

Singapore’s economic relations with Malaysia have often been influenced by the political trends of its most consequential neighbour. With Anwar Ibrahim’s emergence as Malaysia’s Prime Minister, there are hopes for a fresh start in relations. The two countries share significant trade ties, with Singapore’s exports to Malaysia totalling US$42.09 billion, and Malaysian exports to Singapore amounting to US$41.85 billion in 2021. Furthermore, the new administration has signalled a desire to deepen bilateral ties with Singapore. This goodwill may extend to infrastructural projects such as the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) to stimulate shared growth and cooperation. Issues like Pedra Branca and the unfulfilled realisation of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) project notwithstanding, there is potential for the economic relationship to be placed on a more synergistic footing. In this special session, panellists will examine the policies and potential attitudes of the Anwar government as well as their implications for economic relations between the two countries.

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