Singapore's Western connections, talent pool attraction, and city-state's 4,200 regional headquarters are dwarfed by those in Hong Kong, the report said. The international business community is well aware of what it wants to call its business headquarters in Asia: Singapore.
With 4,200 regional headquarters for multinationals in 2023, Singapore has extended its lead and dwarfed the 1,336 companies of its main rival, Hong Kong, in a report detailing Singapore's rise in the perennial battle to be known as Asia's premier business destination. The report found that even many Chinese companies seeking to hedge their risk and expand their reach chose Singapore over Hong Kong.
According to the 50-page report, "Hong Kong has lost the competition to become the preferred choice for international businesses with Asian headquarters because more global and even Chinese companies choose Singapore because of its better relations with the West, broader talent pool, diversified economy, and stronger tax incentives." "Amid increased geopolitical risks in the region, companies are likely to rank Singapore higher in terms of stability and freedom. ”
Singapore, for its part, has emphasised its independence and has become the preferred location for international business offices, the report said. It was found that even Hong Kong 16The lower standard corporate tax rate of 5% may also be beaten by Singapore projects, which can reduce the 17% tax rate to 13 for some activities5% or less.
Singapore is also offering targeted incentives to foreign companies looking to establish regional centers, an approach that is paying off.
The list of companies with regional headquarters in Singapore is like who for multinational companies'S who: FedEx Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Alphabet Incof Google, Meade Johnson, Rolls-Royce, and General Motors. Companies operating in more sensitive environments – such as TikTok Incand the fashion giant Shein – which has commercial hubs in Southeast Asian cities. Electric vehicle manufacturer NIO Incand other Chinese companies were established in the city-state, while technology companies Alibaba Group Holdings*** and Huawei Technologies *** are expanding their operations there.
Even state-owned companies like China Railway Materials have set up overseas headquarters in Singapore. Over the next five years, corporate critical mass and a more diversified economy can help Singapore attract more global business than Hong Kong.
Those who have been working in investment banking for more than 10 years and are currently working on the sell side believe that in the eyes of foreign investors, Hong Kong has a long history as an international financial center for many years, and foreign countries have a deep understanding of Hong Kong, coupled with complete financial facilities, and a set of laws and regulations that everyone is familiar with, which is also the reason why Hong Kong's status as a financial center has been established. As a rising star, he believes that Singaporeans have a stable environment, coupled with a number of measures conducive to foreign investment, and Singaporeans have high language skills, many of whom are fluent in Mandarin or English, and this effective communication is also conducive to foreign investment in the country. However, Singaporeans have been less flexible in the past decade, but this has improved in recent years.
In the eyes of financial people, Mr. Jin, who has been engaged in asset management business in Hong Kong for many years, believes that Hong Kong and Singapore are not in direct competition with the financial industry. Mr. Kim said that Singapore had a stronger advantage in foreign exchange than Hong Kong in the past, while Hong Kong had an advantage in corporate financing, especially in the initial listing of enterprises, in the past, Hong Kong attracted many enterprises, especially Chinese-funded enterprises, to list in Hong Kong, and the scale of the enterprises concerned is large, Hong Kong has advantages in terms of geography and financing scale, and the enterprises that choose to list in Singapore are often mainly from neighboring Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia.