FTP
By Angela Lim – May 21st, 2010
It’s official — Singapore is now the world’s most
competitive nation.
In the latest edition of the World Competitiveness
Yearbook released by the Lausanne-based
Institute for Management Development (IMD), Singapore dethroned
the United States from its 16-year reign at the
top. Hong Kong comes in a close second after the Lion
City.
The yearbook is widely regarded to be the most updated and
comprehensive ranking of the management of governments, businesses,
people and infrastructure in industrialised and emerging nations.
58 key countries are assessed based on 320 different criteria
including economic performance, government and business efficiency,
exports, level of corruption and infrastructure.
Under business efficiency, it listed key
criteria such as productivity, labour market,
finance, management practices as well as attitudes and values.
Switzerland, Australia, Sweden, Canada, Taiwan, Norway and
Malaysia make up the Top 10 (see here for full
list).
Stephane Garelli, Director of IMD’s World Competitiveness
Centre, observed that while Asian nations were as badly-hit as
others by the financial crisis, they had the ability to
pull themselves out of recession much faster.
He tells TIME, “Singapore and Hong Kong suffered during
the recession, but demonstrated a striking ability to rebound.”
Compared with the Western world, both countries are reaping
the benefits of strong expansion in the surrounding Asian
region, he adds.
He points out that during the first quarter of 2010,
Singapore’s economy grew 13.1% and China’s 11.9%, while
Europe struggled with a projected growth of only 1%
this year.
As the largest industrialised nations like Japan, Germany and
Great Britain continue to be saddled by debt, emerging economies
like Brazil, Russia, India and China are becoming more
robust.
“For the first time, the emerging economies seem to create an
economic bloc, which becomes increasingly self-sufficient and
encompasses markets with a growing middle class, raw materials,
money and global brands,” Garelli says.
Check out his video.
Yes, Singapore is tops but how about next year? Now that we’re
No.1, it’s going to take even more hard work to keep our
position.
