Mexico is fashionable in Singapore, says Francisco Rios, a member of the Board of Directors of the Singapore-Mexico Chamber of Commerce.
Mexico would become the manufacturing center for 5 companies from Singapore, who study investing in the construction of factories and will move their production lines from Asia to the Bajio and other regions of the country.
“Of the 7 companies (based in Singapore), which came a month and a half ago (to know the Mexican market), I think there were 5 that do not have a presence in Mexico and are evaluating (investing), while the other two are evaluating expansion,” reveals Francisco Ríos, member of the Board of Directors of the Singapore-Mexico Chamber of Commerce (SgMxCham).
Singaporean companies are very interested in jumping on the bandwagon and the trend of nearshoring, manufacturing and the reconfiguration of the industry globally, says the founder of the business chamber to Forbes Mexico.
“Today it is no longer enough to be on the other side of the world (Asia), some production processes need to be here in Mexico,” says the representative of the business organization, which was presented on September 20, 2022, to Singaporean and Asian investors in Singapore.
The relocation, known as nearshoring, of Asian companies is due to the intention of complying with the new rules of the Agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC), as well as no longer paying high transport prices and no longer depending on the maritime industry. Also shield themselves from the disruptions of supply chains caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s war against Ukraine.
About 20 days later, they inaugurated the new headquarters of the Singapore-Mexico Chamber of Commerce at the facilities of Interplex, a Singaporean specialized manufacturing company with operations in different cities of Mexico, led by Alessandro Perrota, founding member of the Chamber. And just this week it was presented in Mexico.
Luis Coronado, EY partner and Global Tax Controversy leader, is listed as president of SgMxCham, and Agustín García López, Mexico’s ambassador to Singapore, is the honorary president.
“(The founding of SgMxCham arises because) we have seen that over the last decade, relations between Mexico and Singapore at the governmental level and at the commercial level have been growing,” says Franciso Ríos.
He recalls that governments have created new commercial avenues such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Free Trade Agreement between Singapore and the Pacific Alliance, as well as Singapore rose as an associate member of the Pacific Alliance.
“We are in a very good moment to add a tool to this whole (commercial) ecosystem, as well as help the private initiative to get good partners on the other side of the world,” he says.
The idea is to have as members companies from Singapore, Southeast Asia with operations in the country formed by 73 islands and Mexican to make synergies and investment partnerships, says the founder of the Singapore-Mexico Chamber of Commerce.
Also, the mission of the Chamber is to follow the trend and help companies see those opportunities, which are being created and talk better about the areas with others.
“We have started with a major effort in Singapore of companies that are based there, that want to look at Mexico and need a little more help to look at Mexico and register within the Chamber.”
In 2023 we will have a very solid base of companies in Singapore and Mexico, and we are not alone in attracting companies to SgMxCham, he points out.
“There are other associations that we work with very closely, such as the COMCE (Mexican Council of Foreign Trade) here in Mexico, the Latin American Association and the Latin American Chamber in Singapore.”
Francisco Rio points out that nearshoring is one of the topics of interest for the associates, even after the creation of the Singapore-Mexico Chamber of Commerce the first business mission was carried out in the Bajío.
“There were 7 manufacturing companies from Singapore, which came to Guanajuato to the Hannover Messe of Mexico and Latin America. Then a group of Mexican companies also went to the Hannover Messe Singapore event, “says the director of Group COO (LATAM) and SEA Group.
A couple of the companies, who participated in the trade mission in Guanajuato, have investments and factories in Mexico, so “they want to see how they can grow them more,” he says.
At the moment, Singaporean investors are brought by their own customers, who are part of the manufacturing chain in Mexico and are “looking to be served much faster and have a much closer relationship with their own suppliers,” adds Francisco Ríos.
Additionally, there is a modernization of the industry in Mexico, which is accompanied by all the global trends of industry 4.0: “There we think that some of the solutions that come from Singapore could be very interesting.”
There are about 5 billion dollars in the bilateral balance of Mexico and Singapore, one of the highest in Latin America and there is a diversification of products.
Mexico and Brazil are Singapore’s two major trading partners in Latin America, although it depends a little on the year on commodities and things are changing a bit, he says.
“The government of Mexico sees the government of Singapore as a partner on the other side of the world and we are also convinced that the government of Singapore sees Mexico as a partner on this side of the world.”
“In Singapore, Mexico is all the rage, as in September a replica of Chichen Itza was installed in the Gardens By The Bay, which is one of the most interesting places in Singapore today.”
In addition, there was the emergence of a large number of Mexican restaurants, some more authentic and others less authentic, he clarifies.
“Definitely, Mexicanism is gaining more momentum in Singapore,” says the representative of the Singapore-Mexico Chamber of Commerce.
References
Hernández, E. (November 23, 2022). Forbes. Retrieved from Nearshoring: About 5 Singapore companies consider building factories in Mexico: https://www.forbes.com.mx/nearshoring-unas-5-empresas-de-singapur-evaluan-construir-fabricas-en-mexico/