Singapore beat Switzerland and Hong Kong in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest ranking. The city-state retained the top spot in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) latest ranking of the world’s most investor-friendly locations, staying ahead of second-placed Switzerland and third placed Hong Kong.
The EIU survey measures the quality of the business environment in 82 locations across the world. Designed to reflect the main criteria that companies use to formulate their global business strategies, the survey is based on historical conditions as well as expectations of prevailing conditions over the next five years.
EIU said that Asia’s best performers have several factors in common: a favourable policy environment, particularly for finance and foreign investment; and competition policies that encompass international best practices. It also noted that the competition among cities to become hubs for international finance, manufacturing and logistics has driven improvements in the business environment.
Infrastructure remains a weak point for Asia, with only Singapore ranking among the world’s top 10 in this category, EIU added.
Asia’s other top ranking locations are Australia in 5th place, New Zealand in 8th place, Taiwan in 14th and Malaysia in 19th.
