Published on 26 Mar 2024

Singapore trumps China to become the biggest exporter to Nigeria

A surge of defence equipment and vehicles imports from Singapore in Q4 puts the city-state in the top spot

Photo credit: autoevolution

Singapore has overtaken China as the biggest exporter to Nigeria for the first time in at least 16 years. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that Nigeria imported goods worth N5.09 trillion (US$3.6bn) from Singapore in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023 year, which accounted for 36.1% percent of its total imports. The bulk of Singapore's exports to Nigeria this time were tanks, armoured ‘fighting’ vehicles or their parts, which alone constituted NGN5.06 trillion (US$3.23bn) of the total NGN5.09 trillion (US$3.25bn) in shipments from the city-state.

Although the details of the defence exports to Nigeria are not clear, Singapore has ambitions to increase its defence exports. Despite its small size Singapore has managed to sustain an indigenous arms industry and develop competitive advantage in certain niche areas. This includes the ability to refurbish and upgrade old equipment as well as manufacture a range of ordinance small arms and vehicles. This includes the SAR-80 and SAR-21 assault rifle, the multipurpose all terrain tracked carrier Bronco, and a range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that can provide tactical reconnaissance capabilities to the Singapore Armed Forces. Its home-grown defence equipment manufacturer ST Engineering is ranked 45 amongst the largest defence firms in the world with sales of around US$2.17bn in 2023. ST Engineering is a publicly-listed company (with the state-run sovereign wealth fund Temasek holding a 51% stake) and is run as a for-profit corporate outfit, with a number of subsidiary companies. It operates in the United States, through VT (Vision Technologies) System, which is headquartered in Virginia. It also has several non-military businesses in China, in the areas of aerospace, electronics and land systems. The four major companies of ST Engineering which form the core of Singapore’s defence industry today consist of ST Aerospace, ST Kinetics, ST Marine and ST Electronics. The firm employs almost 22000 people worldwide and has grown rapidly over the years.

According to SIPRI, arms exports from Singapore between 1990 to 2011 totalled US$493m. In 2022, Singapore exported US$26.4m in weapons. Singapore's largest defence company, noted that geopolitical conflicts have prompted many countries to increase their military budgets, which offers export opportunities for ST Engineering. It has identified prospects for its Bronco All Terrain Tracked Carrier – a fully amphibious armoured vehicle – and its commercial counterpart, the ExtremV, designed for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions.

Nigeria’s military spending increased sharply over the past decade as the country confronts widespread security challenges, including banditry and kidnappings that afflict various regions. Its expenditure on weapons imports soared by 418% from 2022 to 2023. The country sources military equipment from a range of countries. In 2022, Nigeria's imports included ammunition and projectiles from Turkey, weapons from the US, armoured combat vehicles from the Czech Republic, large-calibre artillery systems from Serbia, attack helicopters from Italy, and assault rifles from Bulgaria. Though Singapore has not traditionally been a major defence supplier to Nigeria, it has previously provided equipment such as mortar launchers and patrol boats.

The surge in imports represents a dramatic shift from previous years, with the quarter's shipments value far exceeding the total imports from Singapore in the full years of 2020, 2021, and 2022 – valued at approximately US$555m, US$356m, and US$561m, respectively. Moreover, the sudden appearance of Singapore as Nigeria's top import source is notable given it did not rank among the top 10 import origins in the first three quarters of 2023.

In 2022, Singapore's principal exports to Nigeria included refined petroleum (US$260m), passenger and cargo ships (US$20.3m), and motor-working tools (US$16.6m). From 1995 to 2022, Singapore's exports to Nigeria expanded at an annualised rate of 6.37%.

References

‘Why there’s a mismatch between funding for Nigeria’s military and its performance’, The Conversation, 18 November 2020

‘US approves arms sale to Nigeria despite human rights concerns’, Al Jazeera, 15 April 2022

‘Critical factors influencing the development of Singapore’s defense industry’, Security and Defence Quarterly, 30 June 2022

‘Nigeria signs $1 billion deal with India to boost defence industry’, Military Africa, 09 September 2023

‘Nigeria spends 418% more buying foreign weapons in 2023’, Nairametrics, 31 January 2024

‘Singapore’s ST Engineering seeks to boost defense exports: cyber, ammo, ships’, Breaking Defense, 26 February 2024

‘How Singapore overtook China as Nigeria’s top trading partner’, Business Day, 12 March 2024

‘Nigeria/Singapore’, Observatory of Economic Complexity, Accessed 18 March 2024

‘Nigeria’, UN Register of Conventional Arms, Accessed 18 March 2024

‘List of supplying markets for a product imported by Nigeria – Product: 9306’, Trade Map, Accessed 18 March 2024

‘List of supplying markets for a product imported by Nigeria – Product: 9301’, Trade Map, Accessed 18 March 2024