Sustainable Development Impacts of Investment Incentives: A Case Study of the Pharmaceutical Industry in Singapore

The document examines Singapore's use of financial incentives to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in the biomedical sciences (BMS) sector. While the sector saw significant growth in FDI and employment between 2000 and 2007, the report notes that its total employment capacity is limited compared to other manufacturing sectors like electronics. It argues that incentives must be part of a broader industrial policy to avoid reducing national welfare through competitive bidding and suggests focusing on specific disease areas where Singapore has a comparative advantage.

• Singapore invested over US$ 2 billion in the biomedical sciences (BMS) sector since 2000, with an additional US$ 1 billion allocated in 2006 to enhance translational and clinical sciences capabilities, largely centered at the Biopolis hub.
• The pharmaceutical and biomedical sector attracted the largest share of foreign direct investment (FDI) by 2007 and produced some of the highest returns in the manufacturing sector.
• Employment in the biomedical sector grew from 5,880 to 11,500 people between 2000 and 2007, with an additional 5,000 jobs for professionals such as scientists and engineers predicted for the following years.
• Despite its growth, the biomedical sector offers fewer absolute employment opportunities than other manufacturing subsectors, specifically electronics, which it is intended to help mitigate.
• To maximize the impact of the BMS sector, Singapore should leverage its population's three Asian ethnic groups to develop competitive programs in specific disease areas and utilize ASEAN integration to increase market access and investment flows.

APA

Wei,, H. L. T. (2010). Sustainable Development Impacts of Investment Incentives: A Case Study of the Pharmaceutical Industry in Singapore. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/sustainable-development-impacts-investment-incentives-case-study-pharmaceutical

Chicago

Wei,, Hank Lim,Lim Tai. Sustainable Development Impacts of Investment Incentives: A Case Study of the Pharmaceutical Industry in Singapore. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2010. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/sustainable-development-impacts-investment-incentives-case-study-pharmaceutical.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Wei, |first1=Hank Lim,Lim Tai |title=Sustainable Development Impacts of Investment Incentives: A Case Study of the Pharmaceutical Industry in Singapore |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=22 April 2010 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/sustainable-development-impacts-investment-incentives-case-study-pharmaceutical |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wei2010sustainable, author = {Wei,, Hank Lim,Lim Tai}, title = {{Sustainable Development Impacts of Investment Incentives: A Case Study of the Pharmaceutical Industry in Singapore}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2010}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/sustainable-development-impacts-investment-incentives-case-study-pharmaceutical}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }