COVID-19 and Global Value Chains in South-East Asia and Singapore

Abstract

East Asia, which is highly interconnected with Europe and the Americas, is a perfect geographical area to study impacts of global turbulence such as the COVID-19 pandemic on the functioning of the twenty-first century global value chains during the public health crisis and beyond. Since 2004, health officials in South-East Asia have been fearing a new, bigger occurrence of a viral infection that could spread quickly across the world. When COVID-19 reached Singapore on January 23, 2020, precautionary measures were put in place immediately not only in relation to public health, but also in respect of business continuity, job support, avoiding mass bankruptcies of small- and medium-sized enterprises and self-employed persons. The Singaporean government took measures to contain the virus and tried to avoid the irreversible disruption of company activities and supply chains in the country. In the conditions of COVID-19, Singapore – with its small local market and export-oriented economy has felt the effect of the pandemic.