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It hasn't been cool for a long time. My dad was offered Singaporean citizenship in the 1990s despite then being an Indian national but decided to immigrate to t

It hasn't been cool for a long time. My dad was offered Singaporean citizenship in the 1990s despite then being an Indian national but decided to immigrate to the US to work in tech in Silicon Valley instead and raise us. This is a pretty common story among Bay Area Chinese and Indian Americans who immigrated during that era. In the 90s and 2000s, Singapore's value add was that it could act as a door into China, India, and ASEAN due to expansive trade and investment treaties, but why would I want to build an R&D center in Changi staffed with PRCs and Indians when I could just hire them directly in Shenzhen or Bangalore. After China committed to being hands-off on HK business and contract law in the 2000s, SG lost some value as it didn't have the same connections that HK had legally speaking to enter the Chinese market. SG continues to remain the best place to incorporate a business in Asia, but just because your lawyers and holding company is in SG it doesn't mean your operations, operational headcount, and capital expenditures is there.

lostmsu 9mo ago
This changed back to the advantage of Singapore when China cracked down on HK.
- alephnerd 9mo ago
  For the average HKer - absolutely. Most of my HK native friends and colleagues who could immigrated to London, SG, NYC as a result. For a business - it depends on how dependent they are on ExChina capital markets or customers. If you were a company that was primarily and overwhelmingly operating within China, after the changes there was no incentive not to shift most of your operational and executive staff to Shanghai. If you weren't one of those, then shifting to Singapore makes sense. The issue for Singapore is Indian companies have started making the same decisions as those China First companies, so Singapore has lost it's comparative advantage within Asia, as Western FDI remains prominent but is increasingly either routed directly or (in India's case) through challengers like the UAE or London.
  - lostmsu 9mo ago
    Jane Street moved a lot of people out.
    - alephnerd 9mo ago
      IK. Jane Street - like other Western financial institutions - has been de-risking out of China for a couple years now. That's why I wrote the comment below: "If you were a company that was primarily and overwhelmingly operating within China, after the changes there was no incentive not to shift most of your operational and executive staff to Shanghai. If you weren't one of those, then shifting to Singapore makes sense." Jane Street isn't dependent on Chinese markets. It primarily operates in Western markets with speculative bets in Asian markets excluding China such as SGX and NSE+BSE in India (albeit with a massive regulatory target on their back). China has done infringed on it's agreement with the HK people, but not all capital in Greater China is Western and is increasingly Chinese originated.

lostmsu 9mo ago

This changed back to the advantage of Singapore when China cracked down on HK.

alephnerd 9mo ago
For the average HKer - absolutely. Most of my HK native friends and colleagues who could immigrated to London, SG, NYC as a result. For a business - it depends on how dependent they are on ExChina capital markets or customers. If you were a company that was primarily and overwhelmingly operating within China, after the changes there was no incentive not to shift most of your operational and executive staff to Shanghai. If you weren't one of those, then shifting to Singapore makes sense. The issue for Singapore is Indian companies have started making the same decisions as those China First companies, so Singapore has lost it's comparative advantage within Asia, as Western FDI remains prominent but is increasingly either routed directly or (in India's case) through challengers like the UAE or London.
- lostmsu 9mo ago
  Jane Street moved a lot of people out.
  - alephnerd 9mo ago
    IK. Jane Street - like other Western financial institutions - has been de-risking out of China for a couple years now. That's why I wrote the comment below: "If you were a company that was primarily and overwhelmingly operating within China, after the changes there was no incentive not to shift most of your operational and executive staff to Shanghai. If you weren't one of those, then shifting to Singapore makes sense." Jane Street isn't dependent on Chinese markets. It primarily operates in Western markets with speculative bets in Asian markets excluding China such as SGX and NSE+BSE in India (albeit with a massive regulatory target on their back). China has done infringed on it's agreement with the HK people, but not all capital in Greater China is Western and is increasingly Chinese originated.