Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

nowyourdoingit t1_iyjwlwc wrote

Reply to comment by thebigsplat in New York and Singapore top the list of world’s most expensive cities in 2022 by Elandtrical

Yes, it is. Singapore has no natural resources, no long term benefit for trade once the Kra Canal is completed, no great tourism appeal. It's a happenstance of history that the Brits utilized Singapore as their main trading port with SEA and China and that Malaysia kicked them out allowing them to establish a corporate tax haven.

Also, only ~10% of Singapore GDP is derived from shipping.

Intl tax law is changing rapidly and the wild west situation that currently exist enabling places like Singapore and Dubai to flourish won't last long and then they'll be back to being backwaters. Every company with a headquarters building in Singapore is there as a tax dodge.

1

Elandtrical OP t1_iykhf6z wrote

Singapore's lack of resources is a great strength. It means it had to invest in the only thing it had- its people. Highly educated workforce based on international commerce, no one wanting to go back to work in the glorious coal mines. For the foreseeable future Singapore is locked in. Hong Kong is no longer so Singapore serves as the sole finance center of the whole of Asia until another country creates one.

0