2024-04-10 09:39:31
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A good environment for business, people flock from all over the world… 4,200 multinational companies have headquarters in 亞
Korea exported $18.7 billion last year… 7th in trade
Ranked 1st in Asia in national competitiveness in 2023 by the Swiss Graduate School of International Management, 1st in GDP per capita among Asian countries, and 1st in the Logistics Performance Index selected by the World Bank… .
These are the major economic achievements that Singapore achieved last year. When global economic research institutes list countries with economic freedom and ease of doing business, Singapore is always ranked high. This means that there is a good environment for doing business.
According to market research firm Bloomberg Intelligence, about 4,200 multinational companies had their Asian regional headquarters in Singapore last year. In Hong Kong, which once competed with Singapore, the number of regional headquarters in Asia is only 1,336. As China’s influence grows, Hong Kong is increasingly being neglected. Singapore has established itself as a hub for global finance, information technology (IT), logistics, and manufacturing.
Singapore is an essential economic partner for Korea. Korea established diplomatic relations with Singapore in 1975, and since the establishment of diplomatic ties, Korea’s trade balance with Singapore has never recorded a deficit. The volume of exports and imports, which was only $71 million (approximately 95.6 billion won) at the time of diplomatic relations, increased more than 31 times to $22.3 billion last year. In particular, the two countries signed the Korea-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in March 2006. Singapore was Korea’s second FTA partner after Chile.
In 2007, immediately after the FTA, Korea’s exports to Singapore exceeded $10 billion for the first time. Except for 2020, when the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) situation peaked, exports have never fallen below $10 billion. Last year, Korea’s exports to Singapore amounted to $18.7 billion, making it Korea’s seventh trading partner in terms of export value.
Korean companies are using Singapore as a strategic bridgehead for entering Asia and the global market. About 160 companies, including Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motors, and LG, are registered as members of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Including small and medium-sized enterprises, startups, and private companies, the number of corporations operating in Singapore amounts to about 4,000. The fields of entry are diverse, including semiconductors, electricity/electronics, automobiles, oil refining, chemicals, finance, and IT.
According to the Export-Import Bank of Korea on the 9th, the number of new Korean corporations established in Singapore between 2019 and 2023 was 741, and the amount of investment by domestic companies in Singapore was about $14.1 billion. Although it is only half of the amount invested by domestic companies in China during the same period (USD 28.1 billion), it is considered a significant investment considering that the size of Korea-China trade is nine times that of Korea-Singapore.
An executive from a top 10 group said, “It is more difficult to find a global company that does not exist in Singapore. “As it is the center of the world economy, Korean companies are steadily entering the market,” he said. “Singapore investors are also paying a lot of attention to Korean companies.” “As cooperation between the two countries strengthens, various opportunities will be created,” he said.
Reporter Byeon Byeon-guk [email protected]
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2024-04-10 09:39:31