Hong Kong is becoming less appealing to multinational firms, and this means good news for Singapore.
According to a report on CNBC, firms are seeing more stability in Singapore than Hong Kong, evidenced by several big companies moving their regional headquarters from China to here.
This outlook stems from the fact that Hong Kong is increasingly becoming part of China, especially with the mainland’s recent unpopular decision on severely limiting Hong Kong’s 2017 democratic election. There has been political unrest between Beijing loyalists and the pro-democracy activists with the “Occupy Central” campaign taking place last month.
A number of western multinational firms such as Unilever, DHL and IBM have operated their regional businesses from Singapore for decades, with General Motors relocating back here from China earlier in August. Many others are looking to Singapore to for their regional headquarters.
Both Hong Kong and Singapore have been consistently ranked as one of the top locations to do business, both offering an English-speaking environment and highly developed infrastructure. Analysts point out that Singapore’s quality of life, relatively low pollution levels, strong political stability and intellectual property protections have made the country a favourable place for companies to set up their headquarters.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Read Also: US rises to third in competitiveness table, Singapore in second place
Hong Kong is becoming less appealing to multinational firms, and this means good news for Singapore.
According to a report on CNBC, firms are seeing more stability in Singapore than Hong Kong, evidenced by several big companies moving their regional headquarters from China to here.
This outlook stems from the fact that Hong Kong is increasingly becoming part of China, especially with the mainland’s recent unpopular decision on severely limiting Hong Kong’s 2017 democratic election. There has been political unrest between Beijing loyalists and the pro-democracy activists with the “Occupy Central” campaign taking place last month.
A number of western multinational firms such as Unilever, DHL and IBM have operated their regional businesses from Singapore for decades, with General Motors relocating back here from China earlier in August. Many others are looking to Singapore to for their regional headquarters.
Both Hong Kong and Singapore have been consistently ranked as one of the top locations to do business, both offering an English-speaking environment and highly developed infrastructure. Analysts point out that Singapore’s quality of life, relatively low pollution levels, strong political stability and intellectual property protections have made the country a favourable place for companies to set up their headquarters.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Read Also: US rises to third in competitiveness table, Singapore in second place