Singapore leads FDI in Asia

Compared to what may be anticipated given its GDP level, Singapore received more than five times its fair share of inward greenfield FDI. The city-state is doing incredibly well in terms of FDI in this area. Singapore is ranked first in Asia-Pacific and ninth globally for inward FDI based on this measure, ahead of economic giants China and India, which had scores of 1.2 and 0.2, respectively.

In Singapore, FDI reached its peak in 2019, with 383 projects. The UN Conference on Trade and Development’s 2020 World Investment Report states that this amounted to a $92.1 billion increase in capital investment over 2018’s estimates. The Covid-19 epidemic is to blame for the sharp reduction in project numbers in 2020, which fell by 20.1 percent to 306 total. Singapore recovered in 2021 and added 34 new projects, but it was unable to return to pre-pandemic levels. Singapore’s recovery levels remained much lower at 11.1 percent despite the fact that FDI increased globally by 18.1 percent in 2021.

Singapore was fourth in the Asia-Pacific in terms of inward FDI project volumes in both 2020 and 2021, trailing only China, Australia, and India. Even though the number of projects increased between 2020 and 2021, Singapore’s regional market share for FDI nominally decreased from 11% to 10.1%.

With 90 projects, or more than one-quarter (26.5 percent) of all investments made in Singapore in 2021, the software and IT services sector led all other industries. With 57 projects, business and professional services came in second, and financial services came in third with 39 projects. The top five industries in Singapore accounted for 68.8% of its inward FDI, including electronics (25 projects) and communication and media (23 projects).

In 2021, Western Europe and North America accounted for 112 and 110 projects, respectively, making them the top regional investors for Singaporean FDI. With 89 projects, Asia-Pacific came in third place.