Strategic Location

Singapore's strategic location has made it one of the most attractive business locations in Asia. It is situated within ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), which represents a combined market of more than 500 million people. Singapore can also access a market size of 2.8 billion people within 7 hours' flight time.

World-Class and International Connectivities

Singapore is home to the world's largest transhipment hub port, with connections to more than 600 ports in 123 countries. Over 20,000 vessels from more than 200 lines called at Singapore's four terminals in 2003, generating a record 18.1 million TEUs. This includes daily sailings to every major port in the world. In terms of world container port traffic, Singapore Port handled more container traffic than busy ports like Rotterdam (Netherlands), Long Beach (US) and Hamburg (Germany).

Besides having outstanding seaport facilities, Singapore's Changi Airport is also renowned worldwide for its outstanding efficiency and customer service. It has consistently bagged best airport awards from major international publications and organisations over the last few decades. In 2003, it won the Best Airport Worldwide award (based on the IATA Global Airport Monitor) for the fourth time. It handled a record of 29 million passengers in 2003.

For more information on Singapore's transport network, do visit the websites of the Singapore Land Transport Authority and Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.

Excellent Telecommunications Network

Singapore is one of the most competitive telecommunications hubs in the Asia Pacific region. In the 2004 annual E-readiness rankings by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Singapore emerged tops for Asia-Pacific. Notably, Singapore made the greatest advance in the year's ranking, up five places from the previous year. The island nation is also the second most wired country in the world, trailing behind only the United States, according to the Networked Readiness Index rankings for 2003-4.

Click here for more information on Singapore's telecommunications infrastructure.

Vibrant Financial Sector

Singapore's financial sector is built based on the highest regulatory and prudential standards and today, it is well-plugged internationally. There are more than 500 financial institutions here, including many of the world's largest and most reputable. In the last three surveys of global foreign exchange activities conducted by the Bank for International Settlements, Singapore was consistently ranked as the fourth most active forex trading centre after London, New York and Tokyo.

The Singapore Exchange - the first demutualized, integrated securities and derivatives exchange in Asia-Pacific - is also home to the listing of leading companies in Singapore and Asia. More than 200 international asset management firms are located in Singapore to serve the Asia Pacific market. Many of the world's leading names in insurance broking, captive management and risk management are present here too. In addition to meeting the needs of the domestic market, numerous reinsurers and captive insurers use Singapore as a base to write risks from the region.

For more information on Singapore's financial sector, do visit the website of Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

And many more
Singapore's attraction as the investment choice for businesses is also the result of a combination of many other factors.

A clean and efficient government, emphasis on science and technology, excellent employee-employer relations and a competitive and flexible labour force are just some of these factors.

For more on Singapore's competitive advantages, please visit Why Singapore.

National Library Board (NLB) - Lee Kong Chian Reference Library >>Business Collection
http://www.nlb.gov.sg
(At the home page, select: Reference Libraries >> Lee Kong Chian Reference Library >> Business)

The National Library Board aims to promote a knowledgeable civic society and through its Lee Kong Chian Reference Library, provides individuals and organisations with global access to information anywhere in the world. The Business Collection at Lee Kong Chian Reference Library comprises books, periodicals, market/industry/country/annual reports, business & trade directories, electronic databases and terminals such as Bloomberg. The collection focuses on Asian business information and covers non-Asian countries that have close business links with local companies. For information assistance, please email ref@nlb.gov.sg or click here.