With its strategic location, Singapore is a stepping stone into the Asia Pacific. The country has experienced one of the most rapidly emerging economies over the past 50 years. With a compounded annual growth of 2.6 percent from 2015 to 2019, Singapore’s economy has blossomed, driven by both workforce and productivity levels.
For the past 3 decades, Singapore has topped the ASEAN Market when it comes to GDP growth. From 1980 to 2015, Singapore’s economy grew from minimal amounts to abundance. With other countries such as Hong Kong, China and Korea, the land has been developing rapidly and is expected to further boom in the future.
Singapore in bloom
Singapore is known for being a business-friendly country. In the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business List, the country has been hailed as the best country for the ninth consecutive year. At the same time, it has been ranked second in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitive Index. With a relatively low tax rate and strong government support for investment in technology, Singapore is an attractive hub.
Singapore serves as the headquarters for its neighboring countries. With over 37,400 international companies located in Singapore, this is the place for companies to develop and commercialize solutions to be deployed within and outside the country.
Historically, Singapore has been politically stable and has a transparent regulatory framework. It also welcomes foreign investments in order to have a strong and local manufacturing and service industry. This land’s openness is yielded from an open-trade industry.
Singapore also has one of the most developed infrastructures in the world. With advanced information and communications technology, it has been ranked second in the World Economic Forum’s Networked Readiness Index. In addition, the country has a relatively low crime rate and strong enforcements of IP-laws.
International trade in Singapore
The beauty of Singapore has not remained unnoticed by the global eye. In fact, Changi Airport has been hailed as the world’s best airport by travelers for the third year in a row at the 2019 World Airport Awards. In the international passenger traffic ranking by Airports International Council that is rated monthly, the airport is ranked seventh in the world.
PSA is also considered as the world’s second busiest port in the globe. This makes trading with the country for both small and large business investments.
Foreign direct investment inflows
In the past 5 years, the value of Foreign Direct Investment Inflows within the country have grown from $60,000 USD in 2010 to $70,000 USD in 2014. Key factors identified as being favorable are lending, a simple regulatory system, tax incentives, high-quality industrial real estate parks, political stability, and absence of corruption.
With the existing FTA between Europe and Singapore, investments are expected to increase manifold in the years to come. In October 2014, the two countries completed negotiations for a comprehensive free trade agreement.
With a strong track record of growth of Singapore’s economy and commercial industry, the country continues to be a prospective nation for business investment. With the connections made with some of the most successful countries and favourable bonds made within the local industry, Singapore is the next business hub for many business ventures, both locally and internationally.
