From Asia One

Singapore firms have been encouraged to seize business opportunities in fast-emerging Africa as global economic trends favor the continent.

Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam suggested that Africa could present major openings as production costs rise in China’s transformed economy.

“China has dominated manufacturing, particularly low-cost manufacturing, but China is becoming much more expensive, wages are rising quickly, they’re trying to move up the value curve as well,” he said yesterday.

As a result, many companies are shifting manufacturing out of China – a trend that Africa, with its rapidly growing middle-class consumer market, should capitalize on, he said.

“If you can bring manufacturing production closer to the market, I think that’s a major economic opportunity. I think the future of Africa has to be about value-add – value-add processing and manufacturing for a growing market.”

Tharman, who is also Finance Minister, was speaking on a panel to about 600 government officials and business leaders from Singapore and Africa attending the Africa Singapore Business Forum held at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel.

The views he hears from policymakers and business leaders regarding Africa today reflect positivity and optimism, he said, which is quite different from just five years ago.

Read more at Asia One