US envoy to lead S'pore delegation to Washington

SINGAPORE - One of the first things on new US ambassador to Singapore Kirk Wagar's to-do list is to lead a local business delegation back to his country to showcase the US as an attractive place to do business in.

They will attend the inaugural SelectUSA Investment Summit, a national- level investment event that takes place in Washington, DC, on Oct 31 and Nov 1, the US Embassy in Singapore said on Thursday.

The announcement of this trip comes a day after Mr Wagar, 44, formally presented his credentials to Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam at the Istana.

Singapore is the first diplomatic posting for the Canada-born American envoy, who was the managing partner of a Miami-based law firm that he founded in 1998.

The Republic is the sixth-fastest growing source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the US.

Overall, Singapore is the 18th-largest source of FDI, with the total stock amounting to US$22.1 billion at the end of 2011.

The states of California, New York and Texas are the leading investment destinations of Singaporeans.

Singapore's top investment sectors in the US include communications, semiconductors, software and IT services.

The SelectUSA Investment Summit is part of a big push by the US government to encourage more foreign investment across all sectors.

Participants at the event will get to hear from US Fortune 100 chief executive officers about how they make investment decisions and why they invested in the US.

The participants will also find out about topics ranging from investor visas to state and local incentives, as well as how to establish and operate a business in the US.

Four Cabinet secretaries from President Barack Obama's administration will speak at the event - Secretary of State John Kerry, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and US Trade Representative Michael Froman.

Other speakers include Laurence Fink, chairman and CEO of BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager; Eric Spiegel, CEO of Siemens Corporation; and Ajit Manocha, CEO of Global Foundaries, the world's first full-service semiconductor foundry.

Guiding the Singapore business delegation will be the US Embassy in Singapore's minister-counsellor for commercial affairs, Patrick Santillo.

"We want to attract globally competitive companies. We would like to bring with us companies that are investment-ready, that are already exporting to the US market and want to find a way to be closer to their customers," he told The Business Times in an interview on Thursday.

Besides the trip to the US capital, the group will also visit cities in the Gulf Coast and in north-east US where they will meet executives of Singaporean companies that have set up shop there.

"(The delegation) can meet with their fellow Singaporeans, see what they are going through, what life is like in the US, what it's like working with Americans. They will be able to get a better sense of the challenges, risks and opportunities from people who have invested successfully," he said.

For more information about the SelectUSA summit, visit singapore.usembassy.gov. Those keen to join the delegation can call 64769029 or e-mail yiukei.chan@trade.gov

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