Singapore rises to 8th in Kearney FDI confidence ranking

Chinese firms boost spending as investors favour neutral hubs.

Singapore climbed to eighth place in Kearney’s 2026 FDI Confidence Index, up from 15th a year earlier, as investors increasingly favoured innovation-led and geopolitically neutral markets.

Kearney said the city-state recorded its highest ranking since 2012, with its rise reflecting growing appeal for so-called middle powers in a more fragmented global environment.

The firm said Singapore’s general neutrality amid rising geopolitical turbulence was a key attraction for foreign investors.

Chinese companies were a major part of that shift. Kearney said Chinese firms are increasingly setting up international headquarters in Singapore to mitigate geopolitical risk, and that China’s investments accounted for about 50% of Singapore’s total business expenditure in 2025, up from 15% in 2024.

In the ranking table, Singapore posted an index score of 1.9679, placing it just ahead of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Investor reasons for choosing Singapore were led by technology and innovation capabilities at 34%, followed by economic performance at 30%, ease of doing business at 28%, talent and skill of the labour pool at 26%, and transparent governance or lack of corruption at 25%, according to the survey table.

Kearney also said Singapore’s net optimism score on its three-year economic outlook stood at 25%, based on 40% of respondents being more optimistic and 15% more pessimistic.

The report said the broader backdrop is a recalibration of global capital towards markets that combine innovation capacity, growth potential, and geopolitical relevance, with ASEAN FDI flows reaching a record $225b in 2024.

It added that the index measures investor sentiment and intended foreign direct investment over the next three years, rather than actual realised inflows.