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Lee Hsien Loong
The Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) has helped strengthen economic links between Singapore and India by providing local firms with market outreach and advisory on the Indian market, former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said. These efforts have helped us to benefit from India's tremendous growth potential, Lee said in a farewell letter to the SICCI after relinquishing the premiership on Wednesday in a political leadership renewal process of the People's Action Party which has ruled the prosperous city-state for six decades. He noted SICCI's significant contribution to Singapore's economic growth, highlighting, You helped many local Indian firms grow their businesses through transformation, innovation, and overseas expansion. SICCI has also been a close partner of the government, providing valuable feedback on government policies, said Lee who led Singapore for 20 years and now sits as a senior minister in the Cabinet headed by Lawrence Wong -- sworn in
Singapore's deputy leader Lawrence Wong is set to be sworn in Wednesday as the nation's fourth prime minister in a carefully planned political succession designed to ensure continuity and stability in the Asian financial hub. A US-trained economist, Wong (51), succeeds Lee Hsien Loong (72), who stepped down after two decades at the helm. Lee's resignation marked the end of a family dynasty led by his father Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's charismatic first leader who built the colonial trading outpost into a business-friendly, affluent country during 31 years in office. Wong, a civil servant turned politician, came to prominence while coordinating Singapore's successful fight against COVID-19. But he wasn't the first choice for the top job. Heng Swee Keat, a former central bank chief and education minister, was the anointed successor but he withdrew his nomination in 2021. Wong was then picked by the ruling People's Action Party in 2022 to fill the vacuum and was quickly promoted to deput
Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday defended an exclusive deal his city-state struck with Taylor Swift that prevents the pop star taking her current Eras Tour to anywhere else in Southeast Asia. Swift is performing six concerts from March 2 to 9 in Singapore under an exclusive deal that has been criticised by some Southeast Asian neighbours who complain they have been deprived of the tourist boom that her concerts have brought elsewhere. Lee confirmed that Swift was provided with certain incentives from a government fund established to rebuild tourism industry after COVID-19 disruptions to make Singapore her only Southeast Asian destination. He did not say how much the deal cost. He said he did not regard the deal as unfriendly toward his neighbours in the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It has turned out to be a very successful arrangement. I don't see that as being unfriendly, Lee said in the Australian city of Melbourne where he is attending