Nothing to suggest F1 contracts were structured to government's disadvantage; preparations for 2024 event on track: MTI

SINGAPORE: All preparations for the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix this year are on track, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Thursday (Jan 18), adding that there was nothing to suggest that the contracts for the event were structured to the government’s disadvantage.

“The terms of all the agreements were considered carefully by the government. There was an independent consultancy study,” the ministry said in a statement after former Transport Minister S Iswaran was charged with corruption among other offences.

“There is nothing to suggest as of now that either the F1 contracts or other contracts were structured to the disadvantage of the government.”

Iswaran, who was Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, had been actively involved in the government’s engagements with F1.

He pleaded not guilty to all 27 charges, which relate to his interactions with property tycoon Ong Beng Seng, who owns the rights to the Singapore Grand Prix and is chairman of race promoter Singapore GP.

This year’s edition of the Singapore night race is scheduled to take place from Sep 20 to Sep 22. 

MTI said since the event’s debut in 2008, the F1 Singapore Grand Prix has brought “substantial benefits” to Singapore, attracting more than 550,000 international visitors and generating around S$2 billion of incremental tourism receipts.

It has also raised Singapore’s reputation as a “vibrant global-asia node”.

“Between 2008 and 2022, the race captured a global audience of over 1 billion viewers," MTI noted.

"Many international business events, such as the TIME100 Leadership Forum, the Forbes Global CEO Conference, the Milken Institute Asia Summit and SuperReturn Asia, have also been organised around the F1 race in Singapore to take advantage of the