Statistics on Singapore Firms with Foreign PMETs

50 Mr Leong Mun Wai asked the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the current percentage of firms in Singapore with more than 30% foreign PMETs; and (b) of the firms in Singapore with more than 25% foreign PMETs from a single foreign nationality, what percentage has (i) more than 25 PMETs and (ii) less than 25 PMETs respectively.

Dr Tan See Leng: Amongst firms hiring at least one employee, around 20% have a foreign PMET share of 30% or more. Out of firms that have a single foreign nationality comprising at least 25% of its PMET employees, 3% hire 25 or more PMET employees and 97% are small firms that hire fewer than 25 PMET employees. This is similar to the share of small firms in the overall economy.

However, it should be noted that the workforce ratios of small firms are easily skewed by their small base. Of these small firms where a single foreign nationality comprises at least 25% of its PMET employees, the median number of PMET employees is two. In a firm with two PMET employees, if there is one Singaporean and one foreigner, the share of foreigners from a single nationality would already be 50%. Therefore, it is not meaningful to look at the distribution of small and large firms in this way.