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Going Global: Expand Your Business to Singapore
April 18, 2018
There are currently 195 countries in the world in which companies may choose to do business. Successful companies looking to “go global” proactively seek out the most attractive opportunities. In making the decision of where to expand internationally, companies must consider business objectives as well as the business and legal environment of potential locations.
Follow Newland Chase’s continuing Going Global series where we take a look at a different country each month – ranking countries in tiers from 1 to 5 (with 1 being most attractive for international expansion) based on its current business climate and corporate immigration system. In this edition, we take a look at the country of Singapore.
Business Climate
Despite its small geographical size – at just two-thirds the area of New York City or half the area of London – Singapore has perennially played a key role in the economics of Southeast Asia. The island nation has the world’s 41st largest economy and, while heavily dependent on imports and exports, is well diversified in sophisticated manufacturing, IT, and international finance. Looking at economic indices, since the global economic downturn of 2007-08, Singapore’s GDP has grown at an average of just over 3.5 percent annually, while maintaining low inflation and low unemployment. The corporate income tax rate is low at 17%. Key growth industries currently include IT, healthcare (including med-tech), and finance (including fin-tech).
The World Economic Forum’s 2018 Global Competiveness Report places Singapore #3 of 137 nations measured and ranked for attractiveness to business. The WEF gives Singapore high marks in most metrics, including public institutions’ responsiveness to business, infrastructure, and goods market efficiency. While ranked second in foreign direct investment and transfer of technology, the WEF report indicates that there is room for improvement in both technological readiness and business sophistication of local firms.
Looking specifically at the labour market, Singapore is ranked second in the world for labour market efficiency. The local labourforce is well educated and trained with high productivity. While labour costs to employ foreign talent in Singapore is high due to high salaries and costs of living, foreign nationals consistently rank Singapore near the top for overall satisfaction in numerous polls of expats.
Corporate Immigration
The corporate immigration system in Singapore is robust and efficient due to the high volume of foreign labour employed in the economy and the government’s responsiveness to business needs. Noteworthy, the government has implemented among the world’s most technologically enhanced immigration systems, with most processes utilizing electronic means. This leads to relative ease in applications and short processing times for most employment and residence authorizations.
The most common route for employing skilled foreign nationals is the Employment Pass (EP) scheme. The EP is issued in three tiers based on monthly income – currently (1) SGD 12,000 and above, (2) SGD 6,000 to 11,999, and (3) SGD 5,999 and below. While the process is essentially the same for each tier, the salary tier defines the ability of the EP holder to sponsor family members for dependent passes and long term visit passes.
Processing times for EP applications are typically 1 to 2 months. Labour market testing is required under the Fair Consideration Framework where open positions must be advertised for at least 14 days and local applicants considered before submitting an EP application. No quotas or foreign-to-local worker ratios apply to the EP. Successful EP applications generally involve candidates with demonstrated skills not readily available in sufficient supply in the local labour market, with a premium placed on those with university and advanced degrees.
There has been a trend in the recent three years toward the government placing greater emphasis and enforcement on the provisions of the Fair Consideration Framework requiring companies to ensure that they are sincerely attempting to recruit local candidates for open positions and fairly considering local applicants before resorting to hiring foreign talent.
Summary and “Going Global” Tier Ranking
Singapore continues to present one of the top choices for “going global” in the APAC region. The economy is healthy on all indices, and the business climate remains open and inviting to foreign companies, with a low corporate income tax rate and responsive, business-friendly government and public institutions.
The fast, efficient, and user-friendly corporate immigration system makes bringing foreign talent to Singapore easier than almost any other Asian destination. The recent trend toward encouraging local hiring over foreign recruitment presents no significant barrier to employing foreign talent in Singapore. With a significant foreign population and expats reporting high quality of life, recruitment and retention of highly skilled foreign employees is enhanced for companies operating in Singapore.
Newland Chase places Singapore solidly in Tier 1 on our Going Global Ranking. For more information on corporate immigration in Singapore, readers are invited to contact Newland Chase’s Singapore office at:
Newland Chase
135 Cecil Street
#07-02 MYP Plaza
Singapore
+34 91 1234 218
For more information on the opportunities in Singapore, readers may also be interested to read the perspectives from Newland Chase’s Managing Director for Asia, Voon Lee, in a recent interview here.
This blog post was prepared by Newland Chase. It is informational only and is not intended as a substitute for legal advice based on the specific circumstances of a matter. Readers are reminded that immigration laws are fluid and can change at a moment’s notice without warning or notice. Please reach out to your Newland Chase contact should you require any additional clarification or guidance. Written permission from the copyright owner and any other rights holders must be obtained for any reuse of any content published or provided by Newland Chase that extend beyond fair use or other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for the determination of the copyright status and securing any permissions rests with those persons wishing to reuse this blog post or any of its content.
