Singapore is 3rd most competitive city in the world

It lost to two Western financial hubs, but beat out regional rivals, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Singapore notched a 70.0 overall score, enough for it to bag third place behind New York (71.4) and London (70.4). Paris and Hong Kong tied for fourth with 69.3.

Tokyo, Zurich, Washington, Chicago and Boston rounded out the top 10 out of 120 major cities worldwide ranked by the Economist Intelligence Unit, commissioned by Citigroup.

Dissecting its overall score, Singapore shined in two competitiveness areas of physical capital (tied in 1st) and financial maturity (tied in 1st). It also placed well in global appeal (4th) and institutional effectiveness (6th).

But the nation relatively floundered on economic strength (15th), social and cultural character (below 20th) and human capital (below 20th).

"Singapore's favorable ranking is testament to our appeal as a global business location, plugged into the heart of a growing Asia. Our strong attributes of trust, knowledge, connectivity and liveability have underpinned our ability to attract investments, business, talent and ideas," said Mr. Leo Yip, Chairman of the Singapore Economic Development Board in commenting on the results.

"Singapore's competitiveness has made it attractive as a strategic location for MNCs and global mid-sized companies to manage their business, innovation and talent, in order to pursue growth in Asia. It is also becoming a strategic location for Asian enterprises to build capability to grow in international markets," he added.

Reaching the people who run Asia's businesses is harder than it used to be.

Inboxes are crowded. Attention is short. The executives you most want to reach — the founders, CFOs, and operators who actually move budgets — are the hardest to find through the usual channels. If you're building a company, a category, or a reputation, you already know this.

We've spent twenty years building the room they read. Singapore Business Review is where senior decision makers in Singapore and across Southeast Asia come for business coverage they can't get elsewhere — in print, online, and in person at the summits and roundtables we host across seven markets.

If you have something these readers should know about — a point of view worth publishing, a product worth their attention, an event worth their time — we'd like to hear what you're trying to do.

Book a meeting

| Or download the media kit (PDF)

240,000 senior readers quarterly in print Top 1,700 Singapore companies reached

7 markets across Southeast Asia