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

This case study examines the role of investment incentives in attracting foreign investment to Singapore's pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences (BMS) sectors and evaluates the resulting impacts on employment, economic diversification, and technology spillovers.

• Singapore invested more than US$ 2 billion in the biomedical sciences (BMS) sector since 2000, with an additional US$ 1 billion allocated in 2006 specifically for translational and clinical sciences capabilities, much of which is focused on 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 people in 2000 to 11,500 by 2007, with a further prediction of over 5,000 jobs for corporate executives, technicians, scientists, and engineers in R&D and manufacturing.
• While the biomedical sector offers potential for technology and know-how transfers to local entrepreneurs, it has fewer absolute employment prospects than other manufacturing subsectors, particularly electronics.
• Success in the competitive biotechnology sector is supported by clustering, infrastructure development, effective institutions, and strong governance and public administration.

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} }