Singapore
The Republic of Singapore is a city-state located in Southeastern Asia on the islands between Malaysia and Indonesia. Singapore is about 3.5 times the size of Washington DC and covers an area of 692.7 sq. kilometers. The total population is 5.46 million and is growing at a rate of 2% with 100% living in urban areas. The people are governed by a parliamentary republic and consist of a mix of Buddhists, Muslims, Taoists, Hindu, and Christians coming from Chinese, Malay, or Indian ethnic backgrounds. The main language used for business is English while the national language is Malay. There are also two other official languages in Singapore, Mandarin and Tamil, but due to the diverse nature of Singapore many other Chinese and Asian dialects are commonly used as well. The local currency used is the Singapore Dollar.
Singapore has a strong and stable free-market economy and is the focal point for Southeastern Asian sea routes with its port being one of the busiest in the world. Its economy is based on exports specifically of electronics and information technology products. Singapore’s main trade partners are mostly Asian countries, including Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, China, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, and South Korea, but also include the US. Its primary imports are machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs, and consumer goods. Exports include machinery and equipment (including electronics), consumer goods, mineral fuels, and pharmaceuticals. Singapore’s GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) is $331.9 billion and is growing at a real rate of 1.3% with an inflation rate of 4.6%. Singapore ranked 1st out of 183 countries in the World Bank Group’s Ease of Doing Business Ranking.
Doing Business in Singapore (2012)Click the links below for articles with more information on Franchising in Singapore
US Commercial Service Market Report - Singapore (2012)
Franchising Laws - Singapore (2009)
CFE Program Launches in Singapore and Thailand (2009)
Franchising Rides Waves of Economic Expansion in Asia and Pacific Rim (2007)
* CPI Score is published by Transparency International and relates to the perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts and ranges between 100 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt).
**Ease of Doing Business Ranking is determined by the World Bank Group and is ranked out of a possible 185 countries. www.doingbusiness.org
Most recent statistics have been taken from the CIA World Factbook unless noted otherwise.
International Franchising Opportunities
After you have finished researching the international markets, learning international expansion strategies and best practices, and understanding the basics of international franchising law, IFA provides numerous opportunities for franchising internationally.