By SGN | 02 Jan 2024
Six years after moving to Singapore in 2000, Scott received another overseas posting, this time to the Bahamas. He and his wife elatedly looked forward to an idyllic life by white-sand beaches and crystal ocean waters – and they had no intention of coming back.
“The Caribbean was great on paper in terms of lifestyle,” he recalls. “But my wife especially really wanted to come back to Singapore.” She missed the quality of life, the safe environment – never having to worry about being out late at night – and the amazing variety of food, from hawker centres to the finest restaurants.
“The vibrancy of the city and the dynamism of the people drew us back,” Scott says. “And we’ve been here ever since.”
A winding road to Singapore
Born to a Canadian father and an Australian mother in Edmonton, Alberta, Scott left Canada straight out of university. He began his career in Sydney, Australia, working for the English merchant bank Hambros.
“I didn’t really know what I wanted to do,” he shares. “I just thought international finance sounded like an interesting line of work where you could make money and travel the world.” After a few years, he was posted to London, where he would join the Canadian firm Scotiabank and meet his French wife.
The first time the couple set foot in Singapore was on a stopover. “We walked around, had noodles at Boat Quay, and thought: This is actually a pretty cool place. We could probably live here one day,” he says. When Scotiabank offered him a Singapore role in 2000, he jumped at the opportunity.
“Singapore was a pretty different place back then. It hadn’t fully grown into the financial hub that it is today,” he says, adding that expats tended to be multinational hires on short-term stays – not transplants looking to start businesses or seize new opportunities, as many are today.
We don’t have to build all over the world
Over the years, Scott has helped large financial institutions set up several new business arms or global outposts, including in Singapore.
“Finance has always been a core sector here in Singapore,” he notes. “The environment makes it very attractive to establish regional hubs here.” He highlights factors such as a strong talent pool, well-developed infrastructure, ease of air travel, and a family-friendly environment as further pluses.
In 2021, he joined Tribeca Group, a boutique investment and advisory firm. The Singapore office remains the 25-year-old Australian firm’s sole overseas branch. “And we don’t need to build offices all over the world,” Scott says. “There’s so much to do just between Singapore – which is now the undisputed hub for Asia – and Australia.”
Tribeca’s Singapore team raises capital for their investment funds from institutions, family offices and sovereign wealth funds. They also have a corporate advisory business that works with multibillion-dollar listed firms – whether in North America, Europe or Australia – as well as Singapore startups.
“For us, we just try to find good people. Because at the end of the day, management quality is probably the biggest factor for success in any company, big or small,” he observes.
Connecting players in critical minerals
A key theme of Tribeca’s investments is critical minerals, particularly as it relates to the global transition to clean energy. “In Asia, there’s such a keen focus on securing these supply chains and reducing carbon footprints in a sensible way,” Scott explains.
To foster partnerships in this emerging area, Tribeca launched the Future Facing Commodities conference in March 2023. The event was the biggest of its kind in Asia, welcoming more than 1500 attendees from 100 companies to the Raffles City Convention Centre in Singapore. It brought together mining firms, EV makers, battery makers, family office investors, and governments promoting their energy transitions.
Increasingly, the global shortage of minerals like lithium, copper, cobalt and manganese have led manufacturers to look beyond commodity trading houses like Glencore and Trafigura. Firms like Tesla have begun investing directly in mines to secure the materials they require.
At the same time, Western economies are seeking to diversify mineral supply chains and reduce the reliance on China. “That’s why Singapore is the perfect meeting place,” Scott says. “It’s neutral territory where everyone’s comfortable to gather and talk about deals or investments.”
Within the region, he also points out that Australia has the greatest mineral resource potential, and that Tribeca is well positioned to help makers and investors tap into this market.
Of diverse cultures and pursuits
As an environment for raising his two children, Scott says Singapore has been a blessing. While they were attending United World College, the sheer diversity of students cultivated a blindness to difference.
“It was especially good having such a mixed group of kids that came from every culture, nationality and background, where you can just fit in no matter who you are,” he says.
The siblings have since grown up and entered college. “The younger one just started university in Scotland, and the older one was studying in Australia, but chose to continue her studies here because she misses Singapore,” he shares with a smile.
“I still play ice hockey, like a good Canadian,” Scott says.
Outside of work, Scott enjoys keeping active with his wife. The couple cycle, play tennis, and take long walks around East Coast or the Botanic Gardens.
“I still play ice hockey, like a good Canadian,” notes the former president of Singapore’s National Ice Hockey League (NIHL). “When I first moved here, it was just a bunch of crazy expats who started the Ice Hockey League. Now, the association is completely run by Singaporeans. They’ve set up teams for men, women and youth, who’ve done really well in regional competitions. And it’s been great to see that happen over the years.”
Along with the ice hockey and ice skating communities, he laments the recent closure of Singapore’s only Olympic-size ice rink. While waiting for future rinks to be built, teams have to train and compete abroad for now.
Another significant passion of Scott’s is wine, both for savouring and investing. “I think the best place for wine in Singapore is 67 Pall Mall,” he says, referring to the first Asian location of the private wine club. “The wine scene has grown a lot. Now there’s more variety, better value, and the wine is better-transported.” He could hardly ask for more – well, maybe save for one thing.
“I wish they’d lower the taxes on it, but that’s probably too much to hope for,” he jokes.
Meet Scott
Scott’s global career in investment banking has spanned roles in Sydney, London, Singapore, and the Bahamas, many of which involved setting up new businesses. Based in Singapore for two decades, he is currently Partner at Tribeca Capital, the advisory arm of Australian financial services firm Tribeca Group.
Connect with him here.
