The Singapore International Chamber of Commerce has asked the government to further weigh the business impact of implementing tighter controls on hiring foreigners.

It said it has surveyed 120 of its members and more than half felt that access to foreign talent is a key determinant to their decision to set up or expand operations in Singapore.

Some have also said they may downsize business here if constraints are tightened.

SICC added that while employers prefer to hire Singaporeans, they found it challenging to recruit and retain them.

It said employers cannot afford to let this hinder their business growth as they leverage on the strong economics in Asia and other parts of the world.

The SICC survey was conducted after a closed-door dialogue with the Manpower Ministry last month.

It included both large companies and SMEs across industries such as manufacturing, hospitality, oil and gas, construction engineering and education.

Source: CNA