Singapore built its edge on something rare: neutrality that actually worked. Capital moved in, companies set up and deals got done without politics getting in the way.
From where I sit, that predictability has always been “The Product.” Yet, it seems that pressure on that model is now out in the open as it grapples with striking a balance between the US and China.
As announced this week, China is forcing Meta to unwind its US$2 billion acquisition of Singapore-based AI startup Manus, a company with Chinese roots in what amounts to much more than a blocked deal.
It seems to show that location no longer protects you. Origin and control now matter more than where a company is registered. I don’t see this as an isolated move. I see a system tightening.
AI has, over the last couple of years, moved into the category of strategic infrastructure. And governments are treating it accordingly.
Washington has already restricted outbound investment into Chinese advanced tech. Beijing is now tightening control over outbound ownership and talent. Both sides are drawing lines, and those lines are starting to overlap. Singapore sits directly in that overlapping region.
The scale matters here. More than $140 billion in foreign direct investment flowed into Singapore in 2024, one of the highest levels globally relative to its size.
Over 80 of the world’s top 100 tech firms run regional operations from there. Southeast Asia’s AI funding, roughly $6 billion in 2025, is largely structured through Singapore before being deployed.
Capital still wants to be in Singapore, that hasn’t changed, but it looks like freedom around that capital has.
For years, Singapore has acted as a bridge. Founders could relocate, restructure and access global capital without being forced into one geopolitical system. Investors could back companies with cross-border exposure and still expect a clean exit.
Chinese regulators are now looking past incorporation and focusing on origin, meaning where the technology was built, who built it and where it ends up. A Singapore address might no longer neutralize those questions.
From an investor’s perspective, this could mean behavior shifts quickly. Founders could choose sides earlier. Hybrid models of Chinese roots, Singapore structure and Western exit are likely to become harder to execute. Building for both systems at once introduces too much risk.
Valuations will start to reflect that new reality. Companies sitting between systems will carry a discount because of execution uncertainty. Clean alignment, fully inside one system, will command a premium because the path to exit is clearer.
Against this backdrop, cross-border M&A in AI can be expected to slow. Not because deals aren’t attractive, but because too many may be blocked. Boards and investors will avoid transactions where approval risk is obvious and fewer deals attempted means less liquidity across the middle.
Singapore could, I suspect, feel that directly. The city-state’s fundamentals remain strong, of course. There’s legal clarity, infrastructure and connectivity that still attract capital and talent.
This isn’t disappearing, but what’s changing is the ceiling on how globally those companies can operate. A Singapore-based company with Chinese founders and US buyers is no longer viewed as neutral.
This, therefore, is going to change how regulators respond and how investors assess risk. From where I sit, this leads to a more fragmented system.
Global tech is not unwinding completely, but it appears that it could be splitting into overlapping blocs. AI sits at the center of that split because it touches productivity, defense, finance and information all at once.
If this plays out, investors need to adjust fast. Understanding where a company sits politically is becoming as important as understanding what it does commercially. Of course, growth still matters, margins still matter, but now alignment does too.
Nigel Green is CEO and founder of the deVere Group
