Doing Business in India and Singapore

SingaporeCompanyIncorporation.sg, a portal for the registration of a Singapore company, has today published a comparative report on Setting Up a Company and Doing Business in Singapore and India. The report is designed to help international companies, including those based in India, regarding the ease of doing business in India and Singapore and determine which jurisdiction would help them grow their business and better serve as a hub in Asia Pacific and beyond.

The report referred to data from World Bank’s 2014 ‘Ease of Doing Business’ report and World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness 2013-2014 as well as 2014 Global Enabling Trade reports. It measured five indicators namely company incorporation, corporate tax rate, foreign investment friendliness, intellectual property protection and workforce.

“The report is not meant to show that Singapore is intrinsically better than India. Rather, it is meant to show that Singapore is an ideal platform for international and Indian businesses that want to go regional, but still want to do business in India. This is realistic, as India and Singapore has signed the CECA, which facilitates business and movement across borders. Indian companies are in good stead to set up a subsidiary or headquarters in Singapore in order to tap Singapore’s advantages and later invest back home,” explained Ms. Cheryl Lee, Operations Manager at SingaporeCompanyIncorporation.sg.

In gist, the indicators measured are as follows:

Foreign investment friendliness

To attract international businesses to set up shop in the city-state, Singapore supports an open trade policy and has few barriers to external trade transactions.

The World Economic Forum’s 2014 Global Enabling Trade report ranked Singapore at the top position due to its trade-friendly regulations and a business-enabling environment. India stood at the 96th place in the same report.

Intellectual Property protection

Protection of Intellectual Property (IP) rights is a crucial element responsible for gaining confidence of foreign investors. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014, Singapore stands second in the world and first in Asia for having the best IP protection. The Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) ranks India at the 71st position.

Workforce

Singapore offers a highly-educated and skilled workforce and has a work visa framework to facilitate the employment of workers from overseas, including from India. The GCI ranks Singapore at the top position for ‘Labour Market Efficiency’ and ranked India 99th for the same indicator. However, Singapore has signed the CECA with India, which facilitates the inflow of talent from India into Singapore.

To view the full report, please visit: Comparative Report on Doing Business in India vs. Singapore

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