Singapore Minister Mentor Lee remarks during a conference in his country recently on Singapore's ability to lead her neighbours economically besides attract foreign talent to its soil shows the republic's over-confidence and underestimation of its neighbours.

The fact is that talent-lacking Singapore is paying a heavy price by filling up its talent pool with foreign talent in order to remain relevant. In doing so, it has overlooked the fact that most foreign talent prefer not to stay long-term but merely make use of Singapore as a stepping stone for their
future pursuits in other parts of Asia.

Thus, Singapore's efforts to attract more foreign talent to fill the gap left by its own people plus departing foreign talent remains to be proven effective in the long run.

An even greater challenge for Singapore's policy-makers is how to continue marketing her attractiveness to investment and the foreign talent pool while remaining cost-competitive in relation to the region.

The exposure that Singapore provides to its soon-to-depart foreign talent would ultimately benefit not Singapore, but the homelands of those foreign talent as their experience will be channeled back as brain gain to their respective countries.

In that sense, these ex-foreign talent would help close the gap between their country with respect to Singapore when they eventually return to their homeland.

Singapore's Inland Revenue Department might be happy collecting more taxes from the better- remunerated expat while the street is full of discontented locals but is this the price Singapore wants to pay?