SINGAPORE

New Zealand and Singapore business ties

Singapore and New Zealand have a close and collaborative relationship based on shared history and interests.

We celebrated the 50th anniversary of our diplomatic relationship in 2015, which also marked the 50th anniversary of Singapore’s independence.

As advanced small countries within the Asia-Pacific region, there is strong economic complementarity between New Zealand and Singapore. Singapore is New Zealand’s seventh-largest trading partner and an important source of investment. Many New Zealand businesses operating in East and South-East Asia use Singapore as a base.

The New Zealand-Singapore relationship also spans science and innovation, education and tourism. New Zealand and Singaporean research communities have longstanding links, especially in areas of food and nutrition.

Approximately 500 Singaporeans study in New Zealand and many New Zealand students study in Singaporean universities. Tourism from Singapore is also on the rise – approximately 61,000 Singaporeans visited New Zealand in 2018, and the number is growing at about 6 percent. More than 4,000 New Zealanders live in Singapore.

Meet our

Trade Commissioner

Rachael Kerr

Singapore

Rachael Kerr leads NZTE's trade team in supporting New Zealand companies to grow their exports in Singapore. Rachael joined NZTE from Facebook, where she led Facebook's privacy policy communications for the Asia-Pacific region.

Rachael has a strong background in government relations and political engagement having previously worked as an adviser to the Minister of Commerce, the Minister for Small Business and as a political journalist in New Zealand.

She also brings governance experience as Associate Director at Wakatū Incorporation and has previously worked with New Zealand firms in Dubai and Singapore as NZTE's Regional Marketing and Communications Manager for India, the Middle East and Africa; and later in East Asia.

Rachael is a qualified lawyer, holding a Bachelor of Laws from Victoria University of Wellington and a Masters in Broadcast Journalism and Media Law from the University of Westminster.