Re: Local Talent
Having recruited in Singapore myself, the real issue I find here is that most Singaporeans appear to apply for a job at least one or two levels above where their experience is and won't settle for working their way up the ladder and wish to make jumps with every job change. These job changes are often frequent with once every 1.5-2 years being quite common.
The upshot of this is that it works in larger teams as information sharing can happen, but if you are recruiting for smaller teams and organisations, the skills tend to lack and often this results in not being able to cope with the role as there is no one to help them.
"Foreign Talent" on the other hand, regardless if that is someone from a nearby country or a distant one, tend to apply more or less at the level where they have experience for. This leaves some room for development but they can hit the ground running and still develop in the role. This leads to a win win for both the employer and employee.
There is a strong dislike of FT by Singaporeans as there is a concept of them taking their jobs, but I would liken it more to them doing the jobs that they don't want to do as they have their sights set higher.