Discusses the legal requirements for selling to the host government, including whether the government has agreed to abide by the WTO Government Procurement Agreement or is a party to a government procurement chapter in a U.S. FTA. Specifies areas where there are opportunities.
Last Published: 6/13/2019

Many governments finance public works projects through borrowing from the Multilateral Development Banks. Please refer to “Project Financing” Section in “Trade and Project Financing” for more information. 

Singapore is a signatory to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement. The U.S.-Singapore FTA (USSFTA) provides increased access for U.S. firms to Singapore’s central government procurement. The USSFTA contains specific conduct guarantees to ensure that Singapore Government Linked Companies (GLCs) will operate on a commercial and non-discriminatory basis towards U.S. firms. GLCs with substantial revenues or assets are also subject to enhanced transparency requirements under the USSFTA. In accordance with its USSFTA commitments, Singapore enacted the Competition Act in 2004 and established the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) in January 2005.  With effect April 1, 2018, the CCS has been renamed the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) to take over the role as the government agency responsible for administering and enforcing the Consumer (Fair Trading Act), in addition to enforcing the Competition Act. The Act contains provisions on anti-competitive agreements, decisions, and practices; abuse of dominance; enforcement and appeals process; and mergers and acquisitions.

U.S. firms generally find Singapore to be a receptive, open and lucrative market. The Singapore government procurement system is considered by many American firms to be fair and transparent. Procurement recommendations are made at the technical level and then forwarded to management for concurrence. Bidders should work closely with the project manager to determine the relative importance of decision criteria such as technical capability and price. Bidders must meet the specifications set out in the tender. Post mortem hearings or meetings for losing bidders are not required or common. Government procurement regulations are contained in Instruction Manual 3, available from the Ministry of Finance. The Singapore Government also advertises its tenders on its website.

Singapore Government agencies generally expect good after-sales service. U.S. suppliers should have at least some form of local representation to provide after-market service if they do not have their own presence.  Where required, a separate maintenance contract might be entered with the U.S. supplier.
 

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.