By Dr. TUNG Chen-Yuan, PhD, Taiwan’s Representative to Singapore
At the start of 2026, Taiwan’s exports to Singapore have recorded remarkable growth. According to the latest statistics released by the Taiwanese government, Taiwan’s exports to Singapore reached US$ 9.56 billion in January–February 2026, representing a 56% year-on-year increase and marking a record high for the same period in history. Singapore’s share of Taiwan’s export market also rose to 8.3%, about 2 percentage points higher than a year earlier. In just two months, Taiwan’s exports to Singapore increased by approximately US$ 3.43 billion compared with the same period last year, highlighting the rapidly strengthening momentum in bilateral trade.
During the same period, Taiwan’s imports from Singapore also grew significantly, rising 53.9% year-on-year. With exports expanding even faster, Taiwan’s trade surplus with Singapore widened accordingly. In January–February 2026, Taiwan’s trade surplus with Singapore increased 56.8% compared with the same period last year, reflecting the strong trade momentum driven by the bilateral high-tech industrial supply chain. In fact, as cooperation in high-tech industries between the two economies has deepened, Taiwan became Singapore’s largest trading partner and largest source of imports in 2025, underscoring the growing importance of bilateral economic ties.
From a longer-term perspective, Taiwan’s exports to Singapore have steadily increased over the past decade. In 2016, Taiwan exported about US$ 16.1 billion to Singapore, accounting for 5.8% of Taiwan’s total exports. Although exports briefly declined around 2018, they expanded significantly after 2020 as global demand for semiconductors surged. Taiwan’s exports to Singapore exceeded US$ 25 billion for the first time in 2021, approached US$ 30 billion in 2022, and reached US$ 33.7 billion in 2024.
In 2025, Taiwan’s exports to Singapore climbed further to US$ 40.4 billion, setting a new historical record, while Singapore’s share in Taiwan’s export market surpassed 7%. With the strong growth seen in the first two months of 2026, Singapore has become one of the fastest-growing export destinations for Taiwan.
At the same time, Taiwan has consistently maintained a substantial and expanding trade surplus with Singapore. The surplus stood at about US$ 8.6 billion in 2016, increasing to US$ 13.7 billion in 2021 and US$ 17 billion in 2022. By 2024, the surplus had expanded to US$ 24 billion, and in 2025 it exceeded US$ 27.3 billion. In the first two months of 2026 alone, Taiwan’s trade surplus with Singapore reached US$ 6.92 billion.
Notably, Singapore has become an increasingly important source of Taiwan’s overall trade surplus. In 2022, Taiwan’s surplus with Singapore accounted for more than 33% of Taiwan’s total trade surplus, and it remained close to 30% in 2024. Although the share was 17.5% in 2025, it rose again to 21.9% in January–February 2026, meaning that more than one-fifth of Taiwan’s total trade surplus now comes from Singapore.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s imports from Singapore have also shown steady growth. Taiwan imported about US$ 7.5 billion worth of goods from Singapore in 2016, rising to approximately US$ 12.1 billion in 2021 and US$ 12.5 billion in 2022. Although global economic cycles have caused some fluctuations in recent years, imports remained at around US$ 13 billion in 2025. Singapore’s share of Taiwan’s import market has generally ranged between 2.5% and 3.4%, reaching 3.1% in January–February 2026.
Overall, Taiwan–Singapore trade exhibits a pattern of growing two-way trade accompanied by an expanding surplus, reflecting the strong complementarity between the two economies. The semiconductor industry is the primary driver of this rapid growth. Currently, about 85% of Taiwan’s exports to Singapore are semiconductor-related products, including chips, integrated circuits, and electronic components, while approximately 80% of Singapore’s exports to Taiwan are also semiconductor-related. Such a high concentration in high-tech products is relatively rare among major bilateral trading relationships worldwide.
The recent strong rebound in Singapore’s semiconductor industry has further boosted demand for Taiwanese products. According to Singapore’s latest industrial statistics, Singapore’s semiconductor output surged by 52% year-on-year in January 2026, becoming the key driver of growth in the electronics manufacturing sector. As chip demand recovers, Singapore’s electronics industry has significantly increased its demand for Taiwanese semiconductors and related components.
From the perspective of the global industrial supply chain, Taiwan and Singapore play distinct but complementary roles in the semiconductor industry. Taiwan is a global leader in advanced chip manufacturing and semiconductor fabrication, while Singapore serves as a major manufacturing and operational hub for international semiconductor companies, with strengths in equipment, materials, packaging and testing, as well as regional operations. Many multinational semiconductor firms have established regional headquarters and production facilities in Singapore while maintaining close cooperation with Taiwan’s wafer fabrication industry.
Therefore, the rapid growth in Taiwan–Singapore trade reflects not merely an expansion in goods trade but also the deep integration of the semiconductor supply chain. As global technological competition intensifies and supply chains continue to reorganize, the complementary relationship between Taiwan and Singapore in the semiconductor industry is becoming increasingly significant. Taiwan and Singapore are not only key trading partners but are also emerging as two pivotal technological hubs that mutually reinforce Asia’s semiconductor supply chain.
About the Author:
Dr. Tung Chen-Yuan is currently Taiwan’s Representative to Singapore. He was Minister of the Overseas Community Affairs Council of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from June 2020 till January 2023. He was Taiwan’s ambassador to Thailand from July 2017 until May 2020, senior advisor at the National Security Council from October 2016 until July 2017, and Spokesman of the Executive Yuan from May to September 2016. Before taking office, Dr. Tung was a distinguished professor at the Graduate Institute of Development Studies, National Chengchi University (Taiwan). He received his Ph.D. degree in international affairs from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University. From September 2006 to May 2008, he was vice chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council, Executive Yuan. His areas of expertise include international political economy, China’s economic development, and prediction markets.
