It comes as no surprise that Singapore is recognized as being the number one metropolis in the world in terms of business friendliness, and that it ranked third in the world’s top business cities survey, following closely behind New York and London.

 

The joint report, compiled by real estate firm JLL and The Business of Cities, a London-based intelligence and strategy group, analyses over 200 globally recognized city performance studies to come up with the rankings. Singapore ranked third place worldwide, behind New York and London, to make it as the top-ranked city in Asia across a broad range of indicators, edging out Tokyo and Hong Kong. Among the aspects taken into consideration for the survey rankings were higher education, mobility, science, broadband, technology, business and finance, quality of life, economic growth, reputation, global influence, and a city’s brand.

Economist Song Seng Wun remarked that Singapore achieved its success through its ability to manage talent resources and being able to stay relevant in the global landscape. However, he also warned against comparisons with London and Tokyo, as these cities have long and established histories and economies behind them.

Chris Fossick, JLL’s managing director for Singapore and South-east Asia, stated that the results of the survey confirmed that Singapore has all the infrastructure required to be an Asia-Pacific headquarters for companies. Small wonder, then, that it was named the number one city for business friendliness.

In a separate study, Asian cities dominated the top 10 spots of the MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index, with Singapore ranking 7th ahead of Kuala Lumpur (8th), Seoul (9th) and Hong Kong (10th), but far behind second-placed Bangkok.

Is it a good time to invest in Singapore real estate? The numbers and reports say YES, but the question most likely to follow is whether investors will be able to afford to do so in the near future. Just some food for thought, eh?

Source
Asia Property Report, May 22 (link)
The Straits Times, May 20 (link)
The Straits Times, June 4 (link)