What Does The 2012 World Bank Doing Business Report Mean For Singapore?
World Bank released its 2012 version of the Doing Business report last week and Singapore
was once again ranked in the number one position for overall ease of doing business. World Banks annual report has become an important tool to evaluate investment potential of a country by global entrepreneurs and many refer to the well-researched report to study the feasibility of entering a particular market.
So what does the latest version of the Doing Business report mean for Singapore considering it has once again topped the rankings for ease of doing business amongst all nations in the world? Well at a time when most part of the world is under tremendous pressure to keep their economies growing and the word recession on every investors mouth, Singapores vibrant economy and continual pragmatic economic policies are in focus again. What the World Banks Doing Business 2012 report reaffirms is that Singapore has been able to overcome various challenges like its tiny geographical size and still come out on top to be one of the best places on earth to start a company. Today several thousand foreign owned companies are being registered in the country each year and the numbers of local entrepreneurs are also on the rise.
World Bank recognizes Singapores immaculate business infrastructure and environment and also the fact that businesses face next to zero problems while operating in the country. Singapore has zero corruption and no red tape that holds projects unnecessarily. At the same time, Singapore follows a highly liberal taxation as well as immigration policy which make it easier for foreign entrepreneurs to enter Singapore and setup a new business. Singapore is now attracting the best minds as well as the most innovation companies that want to make Singapore their base for future operations. With the growth in the Asian economy, a lot of companies from the west have also been eyeing entering several Asian markets and many have started to choose Singapore over other destinations in the continent for their regional headquarters.
While being in the number one position in the Doing Business report means a lot to Singapores economy, it also has a lot of significance for global entrepreneurs looking for the best location for their business ventures. Clearly Singapore is now an important global business hub and more foreign business owners will consider making the country the home for their companies. Singapore laws make it simpler for foreign nationals to incorporate businesses in the country and also treats them the same as a local entrepreneurs in terms of tax and business incentives.