As Singapore businesses try to pave their way into foreign markets, the country’s finance minister Heng Swee Keat advises firms to partner with each other instead of getting caught up in a rivalry.

By 2030, Southeast Asia is expected to become the fourth largest economic region in the world and companies working together would enable the firms to tap into the potential of the region in a better way. The finance minister spoke during a post-Budget forum earlier this week

The Parliament of Singapore recently approved the ministries’ spending as a part of the annual budget of $80 Bn. During this post-budget discussion, Keat said that companies must start relying on one another in order to succeed in an overseas market.

Given that the population in the region continues to grow and so does the competition among various businesses, many of the Singapore-based companies are moving towards unchartered territories overseas.

Transforming the existing businesses is a crucial need of the hour. As the workforce reduces in number and foreign competition looms closer, getting the buy-in from top-level management is essential in order to build robust businesses that would withstand international competition in a competitive foreign labor market, the minister added.