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On a related note, in the last 1 to 2 years there has already begun a shift in terms of multi-national investment in APAC outside of Singapore. Singapore used
by refurb 2y ago
On a related note, in the last 1 to 2 years there has already begun a shift in terms of multi-national investment in APAC outside of Singapore.
Singapore used to be the obvious location for MNC offices in APAC. Especially since Hong Kong's return to China, Singapore has benefited and see an increase in head offices and employment.
However, over the last couple of decades surrounding countries have improved significantly. Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand to name a few. Layer on top the ever increasing cost of living in Singapore and the latest trend is MNCs moving their offices outside of Singapore.
The benefit is a lower cost of operation including office rent and employee wages and it will be interesting to see how the trend continues. Not sure if that will help the process of locating datacenters in those countries as well, I guess we'll see.
- decimalenough 2y agoWhile multinationals are investing elsewhere in SE Asia to serve SE Asian markets, I'm not seeing them move their HQs out of Singapore though, because they don't trust the Malaysian/Thai/Indonesian legal system and regulatory environment. Cyberjaya (yes, you can cringe at the name) in Malaysia was built with the explicit goal of attracting them, but it's mostly call centers, not R&D. Even Malaysian success stories like Grab (the SE Asian Uber) prefer to operate out of Singapore.
- crowcroft 2y agoBeing able to trust the govt is a pretty important factor for businesses.
- refurb 2y agohttps://www.thevibes.com/articles/world/101600/singapore-loses-appeal-as-mnc-headquarters-of-choice https://www.thevibes.com/articles/world/101600/singapore-los... Some are moving HQ, some are just downsizing HQ and expanding offices in Malaysia or Thailand. I agree it’s not a wholesale move out, but the trend is noticeable.
- frontfor 2y agoThe cost of living is rising everywhere, not just Singapore, so I’m not sure how relevant that factor is. Do you have evidence that MNCs are net moving out of Singapore?