\n<\/p>\n
Ms Teo said the pattern of moving some functions out of Singapore has already been taking shape for years \u2013 particularly in banking and financial services, where shared service centres in Malaysia now handle many support functions.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOffshoring is not today’s business. It has been there for a decade,\u201d she noted.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe support functions, the know-your-client roles, customer care roles, HR operations, finance operations, marketing operations roles, typically will be moved to Malaysia. But we do see a trend that the higher value jobs (will) still (be retained) in Singapore.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n These include leadership roles, project management positions and specialist jobs, Ms Teo said.<\/span><\/p>\n This is because Singapore still offers\u00a0value\u00a0many companies want, including reliability,\u00a0efficiency, strong regulation and governance, she added.<\/span><\/p>\n Prof Agarwal concurred, saying Singapore offers\u00a0credibility\u00a0to clients, as well as rule of law and an environment that is hard to replicate elsewhere.<\/span><\/p>\n For\u00a0those reasons,\u00a0some functions are much less likely to move\u00a0out of\u00a0Singapore, especially in the areas of research and development, high-end pharmaceuticals and chip manufacturing, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n Even with higher wages and living costs, Singapore still has the talent pool and ecosystem needed to support those sectors, he added.<\/span><\/p>\n As for middle management roles, Ms Teo said companies in Singapore are still hiring for them, but a trend has emerged where they are \u201ca little bit more cost-sensitive\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n