Singapore is fast rising in the ranks of becoming one of the most expensive cities in Asia for expatriates to live in. The latest Cost of Living survey by consultancy firm ECA International shows that Singapore has leapt 17 places in ranking this year. The city-state is now ranked 13, trailing behind cities such as Beijing, Taipei and Shanghai. Higher food and fuel prices are among the reasons for the...
Foreigners
The shortage of places at international schools in Singapore shows little sign of easing, even as many have announced expansion plans. The latest is Tanglin Trust School which says it will add another 700 places from next year. The situation is of concern among business groups and even the Singapore government. For many foreign companies, doing business in Singapore is getting more costly. Amidst rising...
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Singapore will continue to develop the financial sector as more activities are being moved to the city-state. Mr Lee, who was speaking to 120 bankers at the hour-long Thomson Reuters Dialogue on Tuesday, added that more would be done to ease capacity constraints, such as the crunch in office space and accommodation. The financial sector in Singapore grew by some 17.5...
When it comes to work and play for Asian expats, Singapore is the number one choice. This is according to a recent survey by ECA International, a global human resources organisation. Singapore has maintained the top spot for ten years now but regionally, it is getting tough competition from Japan and even Hong Kong. The survey found that Singapore's infrastructure, low crime rate and lack of social and...
Singapore is the best city in the world for Asian expatriates to live in due mainly to its quality of life and low crime rate, a survey released Tuesday by ECA International showed. Sydney was rated second in the survey, with third spot shared by Melbourne and Kobe in Japan, the human resources firm said. Rounding out the top 10 list for Asian expatriates was Copenhagen in fifth spot, followed by Canberra...
Singapore has been increasingly attracting new citizens and permanent residents (PRs), who help sustain the country's economic growth. Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng said local Singaporeans alone are still not sufficient to meet the manpower demands here. He revealed the latest immigration statistics during the debate on the Prime Minister's Office budget on Wednesday. According to the figures,...
Singapore is an increasingly popular choice for Korean students. It's not just the local education system that's attracting them here. There has been a small but growing number of students who are coming to Singapore, specifically to enroll in international schools. Students at the Singapore Korean School Weekend classes at the Singapore Korean School have become the only time where many of the...
In the eyes of some, at least, there may never be a better time to slaughter one of the sacred cows of the landed home market. The idea of owning a nest in Singapore is becoming increasingly attractive to foreigners. The Government, too, has been effusive in its efforts to draw foreign talent here to build the economy. So why not relax restrictions on the sale of landed property to foreigners — and...
More American companies are feeling the heat from rising rentals for homes and offices here. About 61 per cent say their housing expenses have swelled over the past six to 12 months, according to a survey by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Singapore, which polled 95 senior managers from US firms. The proportion is up significantly from the 42 per cent that felt so in the same poll last year,...
If you have put your money down for a newly launched private property in the first quarter of this year, there is a pretty good chance that your future neighbour may not be Singaporean. Singapore’s attractiveness to foreign talent has seen an increase in the number of foreigners putting their money down for properties here, according to a report by real estate specialists DTZ Debenham Tie Leung. An...