Top Countries for Business Travel in 2019 – Singapore

Moving up 1 place to the 8th top country for business travel in 2019 is Singapore. According to Forbes, this is due to its ‘highly developed and successful free-market economy’ as well as its ‘stable prices and a per capita GDP higher than that of most developed countries’.

Why Do Business in Singapore?

• Singapore is a small but wealthy island city-state in Southeast Asia with an open, trade driven economy
• It is located where the major east and west shipping lanes converge, making it the ideal gateway to the Asia Pacific markets
• Singapore has long been regarded as one of the world’s most advanced economies and serves as a model for developing nations
• It is a major financial hub in the Asia Pacific region, scoring 4th on the Global Financial Centre’s index 2018 (Long Finance)
• Singapore is known globally as a business friendly city, scoring 2nd for ease of doing business and 3rd for starting a business (The World Bank)
• It is also a competitive and innovative city, scoring 2nd for global competitiveness (World Economic Forum) and 7th for technology and innovation (KPMG)
• Singapore is credited as having one of the best infrastructure systems in the world and is on track to be a smart city by 2020 (KPMG)
• According to Forbes, Singapore has an ‘open and corruption-free environment’, ranking 2nd in the world for economic freedom (Heritage) and 3rd on the Corruption Perceptions Index (Transparency International)
• The majority of its residents are bilingual in English and one of its three other official languages (Mandarin, Tamil, Malay), with Singaporeans scoring 3rd on the English Proficiency Index
• The official currency of Singapore is the Singapore Dollar. This is currently weaker than the pound, dollar and euro meaning more spending money for your next business trip (XE)
• The time zone in Singapore is GMT +8 which although makes communication back home more difficult, makes doing business within the Asia Pacific region much easier
• The general climate of Singapore is hot, humid and consistent year round. Average temperatures range from 23°C to 30°C
• With low taxes, a stable political environment, a highly skilled workforce and a very low unemployment rate, Singapore is one of the most favourable business locations in the world… (Forbes)

If you would like to have your Business Travel Simplified, then speak with a member of our team on (028) 9038 9007 or email hello@selective-travel.co.uk